Ed Stetzer on Being on Mission

Ed Stetzer - The 9s from LifeWay on Vimeo.

vision and job hunting

God's vision is that "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the water covers the sea" (Hab 2:14). The association of churches that I am a part of has taken this vision seriously and has taken responsibility for the geography known as "the Greater Austin area." This area comprises about 1.6 million people. In an attempt to reach this area with the life changing reality of Jesus Christ, we've embraced a three-fold strategy: 1) Multiply Disciples, 2) Multiply churches 3) Partner with like minded ministries, churches and individuals.

When it comes to the second of those three, (church planting) we have embraced a model known as the "missional" model. This is different from the traditional hive off in that it involves fewer people (usually about 10 families) but an increased level of outward focus on missional living. Weeknight small groups are morphed into "missional communities" and there is usually a gathering on Sunday morning. This model seems to work somewhat well in the suburbs of Austin. The jury is out on how well it works towards the core of Austin. (As a side note for those of you who don't know, Austin is a very eclectic city that is very different from the suburban areas that surround it in terms of political persuasion, lifestyle and values.)

In my journey on mission, I have become increasingly aware of the number of people who are anit-Christian but pro-God. Books such as UnChristian by Kinneman and almost anything coming from George Barna's research document and confirm on a professional level that such people exist. The soon to be released movie “God Save Us From Your Followers” is another example of what I’m talking about. These people tend to be creative, eclectic and tribal. An attempt to reach them with traditional/institutional church-ianity will fail because of their ingrained distrust for "the man." Thankfully, there is a solution to the problem of reaching these people.

Some call it simple church, others call it missional, some call it house church. I'm not all that interested in descriptive handles or labels, so I don't care what we call it as long as we are willing to do it. Shayla and I are actually attempting to birth a network of these kinds of churches in the Austin area. Part of what that means is that I will no longer be a paid pastor at a church. Of course that means that I need a job that will be able to support our family and hopefully offset the increase in housing needed to move to central Austin.

All that said, we're confident that God will show Himself faithful to provide direction, wisdom and resources for this endeavor. Please pray for us to be obedient and wise. I am currently looking for a job in sales or project management/operations. My resume is posted here for sales and here for PM/Operations. We would greatly appreciate any leads you can give. Feel free to contact me with potential careers in these areas or persons interested in reaching people using this new model.

very interesting

Church Disguised as Life

An illustration of my philosophy of ministry...

One mouth, two ears

Funny thing about us humans... we can communicate but oftentimes we don't. We front and appear to be listening while mentally preparing our rebuttal statements. I bet there's a term for people talking AT each other instead of TO each other. Perhaps communication dysfunction, or correspondence retardation, or mouth/ear/brain disorder. I don’t know.

What I do know is that I observe this phenomenon all the time. The usual suspects are political “discussions” or “debates.” In this sphere, Republicans label Democrats as baby killers and Democrats berate Republicans as “imperialists” with no compassion for the poor. Libertarians, don’t enter the “conversation” because they are “apathetic” and just want everyone to get along.

As of late, I’ve observed this phenomenon in another arena, namely church methodology/ecclesiology. As many of you know, Shayla and I are venturing out on a journey that we believe God has called us on. This journey includes no longer being a paid pastor of an institutional church, getting another job, living on mission and starting house churches. The conversations I’ve been having with some have been painfully predictable. Institutional church Christian: “How are you going to do leadership? Who will run it? What about doctrinal purity? You’re going to meet in a house? When will you get a building? House churches just don’t make sense to me.” House church Christian: “Institutional church is so regimented and full of consumers. Worship at an institutional church is entertainment. Where are the relationships? Money is used on salaries and staff not the kingdom.”

The truth is, both models are just that, models. They are not right or wrong. Each one has inherent strengths and weaknesses. House churches struggle to be on mission and outward focused as much as institutional churches. Consumerism is rampant in both. IC has program consumers, HC has relationship consumers. Both have leadership issues. Both have problems. Both also have tremendous plusses as well.
IC (particularly mega churches) have major resources in land, buildings and funds. These assets can be capitalized on for mission in the community as co-work centers, soup kitchens, food banks, meeting rooms, education and training centers, recreational facilities, etc. For a great example check out Hope For New York sponsored by Redeemer Presbyterian. On the other hand, house churches can utilize their small size to quickly adapt and plant more quickly and more efficiently. Since leadership responsibility is small in terms of numbers, the pool of potential leaders of churches is increased significantly. The end result is quicker multiplication and viral growth. HC’s also tend to have shorter assimilation processes for unbelievers to become friends and family of the local body.

The bottom line is that everything has pros and cons. Everything. We would be wise to heed the proverbial saying… God gave us one mouth and two ears for a reason. We as the body of Christ should be especially conscious of this truth. Jesus, help us to listen to you by listening to each other!