The Ecclesia Network

a missional church network

Equipper Blog

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Why I'm Going to the National Gathering – Ben Sternke

Ben Sternke is a pastor in Fort Wayne, IN at Christ Church. 

Since the inception of our church plant, we have been part of a remarkable group of people and churches called The Ecclesia Network. This year our national gathering will be held March 5-7, 2012 near Washington, D.C. The focus this time is on how our churches can function as centers of reconciliation, where we learn through the power of the Spirit to live as one reconciled family of God across racial, economic, and generational lines. John Perkins, Ivy Beckwith, AJ Swoboda and others will join us for three days of conversation, learning, discussion, and prayer.

I’ll be attending the gathering again this year (with my 14-year-old son!), but not out of a sense of obligation because we belong to a network. I’ll be going because this isn’t like other conferences I’ve been to. There is a passionate desire among the organizers and attendees to simply equip people to join God in what he’s doing in their respective local contexts, and that comes through every single year.

You can read my reflections from the gatherings in 2010 and 2011 to get a feel for what they’ve been like in the past, but here are a few reasons I’ll be attending again this year:

  • There really are no superstars (even when Dallas Willard was there). There is a remarkable lack of insecure posturing on the part of the leaders who attend, and the special speakers we invite in are always very accessible for conversations (which is part of the reason we cap gathering attendance). It always feels like an extended conversation with friends and allies in kingdom mission.
  • I always learn something. We’re not simply gathering to affirm what all of us already know. There is in the atmosphere of the gathering a genuine desire to grow and learn.
  • It always kind of feels like a family reunion. It’s a relationalnetwork, and this shines through at the national gathering.
  • Robust missional ecclesiology is combined with rooted incarnational expression in a way I’ve not seen before. As my friendJR Rozko said, “I’ve never experienced an event or a group of people that is so capable of engaging in serious theological discourse without losing sight of its irrelevance apart from incarnational expression.”
  • The value of men and women co-laboring in all aspects of ministry is expressed concretely and consistently. This is one of the things I love most about the Ecclesia Network generally.
  • There is a precious openness to the activity of the Holy Spiritthat is starting to bear very good fruit in the network.

So that’s why I’ll be there. Maybe you want to come too! You can register here, and if you plan to come, let me know so I can meet you while we’re there together.

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Why I'm Going to the Ecclesia National Gathering: JR Rozko

I used to be a conference junkie. Straight out of college and anxious (though I never would have admitted it) to be the next big thing, I though that if I hit enough conferences, rubbed shoulders with big-shot speakers, and played my cards right, I’d be well on my way. What can I say, I was 22 and still naive enough to believe that personal ambition, so long as it was “for God,” was a noble quality as opposed to a liability.

I’m not 22 anymore – I’m 32. And while there are plenty of 32-year-olds out there still nursing a desire for “their time to come,” I am grateful for the people and circumstances God has used over the last 10 years of education and ministry to heal me of the selfish ambition I had previously baptized in my own mind. I’ve simply become much more enthusiastic about the advancement of God’s kingdom than mine – trust me, it’s way less stressful! So now, whenever I am presented with the opportunity to attend or participate in a conference, rather than asking, “Will being there contribute to my own advancement?” I try to ask, “Do I have a passion for how this conference is seeking to contribute to God’s kingdom work in the world?”

This is the central reason that I’ll be at the upcoming Ecclesia National Gathering – because it’s an event that oozes authentic passion for God’s kingdom work rather perpetuates the cult-of-personality tenor of much of current Christian conferencing.

Besides that overarching reason, I’ll be there for a few additional important reasons as well…

I’ll be there because I love the down-to-earth, in-the-trenches, church planters and pastors who attend and focus on encouraging and supporting one another rather than engendering a spirit of competition.

I’ll be there because, in word and action, Ecclesia holds up the value of men and women co-laboring in all aspects of ministry.

I’ll be there because humble submission to God’s mission and not fine doctrinal points is what unites us as a group.

I’ll be there because I’ve never experienced an event or a group of people that is so capable of engaging in serious theological discourse without losing sight of its irrelevance apart from incarnational expression.

In short, I’ll be there because I think God is mightily at work in and through this group of people and this event is central to facilitating and furthering that work. Hope you’ll consider joining us!

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Ecclesia Podcasts Now Available

Announcing the Ecclesia Leadership Podcast

One of the best things about being part of Ecclesia has always been the conversations and the relationships. With that in mind, we are proud to announce a podcast that continues those conversations and introduces you to people within and around the network. Think of the Ecclesia Leadership Podcast as an opportunity to listen in on a conversation over a cup of coffee (or some other products that allow for good conversations!). You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or check out our landing page for the podcast on our website. Oh, and the podcast is hosted by Todd Hiestand and John Chandler. The best part? Our very own Winn Collier is our first conversation.  Check it out!

The Ecclesia Events Podcast

Over the years we have had some amazing teachings take place in our gatherings. Over the years we have not been so great at making those teachings available. Well my  friends, that ends now! Say hello to the Ecclesia Events Podcast. A depository for teachings from Ecclesia Gatherings (that have been recorded at least).  We are still adding some of the older (or “retro”) teachings but you can subscribe to the podcast here or visit the landing page on our website here.

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How Do You Serve the Poor?

By Gary Alloway

Redemption Church is a 2-year old church plant in Bristol, PA, a post-industrial small town just outside Philadelphia. About 2 miles from where we meet for worship, there is a tent encampment where about a dozen homeless folks live. For almost 2 years, we have made weekly visits to the camp and are proud to call those who live there our friends, neighbors, and brothers and sisters in Christ. This is one of our many stories …

How do you serve the poor? Do you bring them food and clothing, so that they might survive another day? Do you attempt to find them housing and jobs, so that they might leave poverty? Do you lobby your local leaders to care for those in need and make systemic changes?

Yes. And more. One of the crippling things about poverty is it turns people into consumers. They receive free meals, free clothing, and housing subsidies. And if they do this long enough, they can become hardened in a sense of entitlement and self-centeredness. But a life based on the gospel is never about just receiving. To be whole, we must both receive and give.

In May, we did a simple service project in our community of Bristol, PA. We helped paint and do maintenance at the local after school program. We had a few volunteers from among our regulars. We had a few volunteers from my home church, a wealthy suburban congregation. And the majority of our volunteers were our homeless friends. And it was a beautiful day.

Our homeless friends, who spend the majority of their days with nothing to do, had a day full of activity. Instead of the shame of being homeless, they had the pride of doing good work. Instead of the dullness that comes from only receiving, they had the joy of giving to others who are in need. Instead of the subtle condescension that comes to them from various charities, they were brothers to us that day and fellow workers for the gospel. When I stopped in the camp a few days later, they were all raving about the day asking, “When is the next one?”

How do you serve the poor? Give them opportunities to give love and let them feel the goodness of God’s creation within themselves.

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Ecclesia Network Bloggers

The heart of Ecclesia is, of course, the people of Ecclesia. Here are some of the Ecclesia Network bloggers. If we missed you or someone you know, leave a comment and a link and we’ll add it to the list.

Again, we know we are probably missing some people. Who are they?

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As Pastors: Can We Be “down” on Christians?

By Adam Gustine

Recently, I have seen a slew of blog posts and twitter updates from pastors, both high and low profile, who have said something like, “I’m down on Christians who ____”, or “I can’t stand Christians who ______.”

This isn’t the, oftentimes, intense online dialogue between church leaders who hold differing views. Passionate critique and dialogue between ministry leaders can be helpful (although we cross a lot of lines here too).

These are pastors taking aim at ordinary Christians. Presumably, people in their community. I don’t know if you have noticed this trend or not, but it seems to be jumping out at me more and more. Sometimes it is explicit condemnation, other times it is a harsh, angry tone that seems to betray the same inner feeling.

This trend of pastors criticizing ordinary Christians raises questions about the role of leadership within the Christian community. Should leaders be focused on calling out the faults of their congregants, or should they be striving to serve and uplift them? Many Christian leaders are turning to the concept of servant leadership, which emphasizes humility, empathy, and a commitment to serving the needs of others. Resources that are available at https://kurtuhlir.com/definitive-guide-to-servant-leadership/ are becoming increasingly popular among Christian leaders who want to model a more compassionate and servant-hearted approach to leadership. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues and if more Christian leaders adopt a servant leadership approach in their ministry.

From what I can tell, the Christians these leaders are ‘down on’ are the ones who simply ‘don’t get it.’ The ones who have embraced legalism instead of grace, the ones who value tradition rather than the Spirit of God at work today, the ones whose character does not reflect the fruit of the Spirit.

But I have a few questions: What does it say about our character when we are willing to publicly insult or condemn someone, particularly someone who is part of the community of faith? How does this give evidence to the fruit of the Spirit in our lives? What is it doing to our souls as pastors when we publish the fact that we are ‘down’ on fellow believers?

Now, I am the first to admit that frustration seems to be part of the pastoral vocation. People who don’t see things the way you do, or have the same vision for the church, or who aren’t open to new or fresh approaches to being the church can create a lot of disappointment.

But it seems to me that if every Christian ‘got it’ there wouldn’t be much need for pastors. If we didn’t struggle with sinful self-centeredness, there wouldn’t be much need for grace either. So should the fact that people struggle to live faithfully surprise us?

The longer I reflect on this trend, and, quite frankly, my own heart, I find myself challenged by two insights that we should always keep in front of us as pastors.

  1. Community is not an ideal.

It seems to me that at the root of many of these public attacks (that is what they are, after all, subtle as they may, or may not, be) is disappointment in the unrealized ideal of Christian community. A particular pastor is passionate to see the community he/she is a leader within become more faithful, to see more people come to a deeper understanding of grace and love. This is honorable.

However, the fruit of such a passion oftentimes is not. To this end, I am reminded of the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer from Life Together.

He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial. God hates visionary dreaming; it makes the dreamer proud and pretentious. The man who fashions a visionary ideal of community demands that it be realized by God, by others and by himself. He enters the community of Christians with his demands, sets up his own law, and judges the brethren and God Himself accordingly. He stands adamant, a living reproach to all others in the circle of brethren.

I think this is an accurate diagnosis of the root problem. As pastors we tend to gravitate toward, and think highly of Christians who ‘get it’ like we do. Those who don’t get it, well it would be better if they weren’t around. Those are the Christians in the crosshairs of our venom. Bonhoeffer points out, that even our judgmental pretension can come from decent intentions. But at the core it is fatally flawed.

This leads me to the second insight; this time from Eugene Peterson.

  1. Our job as pastors isn’t to fix people, its to lead them to worship God.

Eugene Peterson reflects on his own experience in pastoral ministry, and the constant struggle pastors have in this regard.

I suddenly realized that I was gradually becoming more interested in dealing with my congregation…as problems to be fixed rather than as members of the household of God to be led in the worship and service of God….I was slipping into the habit of identifying and dealing with my congregation as problems, reducing them to problems that I might be able to do something about.

By reducing them to problems to be fixed, I omitted the biggest thing of all in their lives, God and their souls, and the biggest thing in my life, my vocation as pastor.

When we take to public criticism of our congregation, I think that we have reduced the people of God to problems for the fixing. Maybe the frustration that spills out into the blogsphere stems from our anger that we haven’t, as of yet, figured out how to find the solution to the ‘problem’ people in our community. Perhaps, we find the rant to be therapeutic for our fragile egos that so often feel as though we ought to be able to have an answer for everything; we ought to be able to solve every problem, and we have decided that problem is a person(s).

In doing so, we have utterly missed the point. God is wooing people to himself, we are driving them away. Unfortunate indeed.

I am struck by how often these pastor’s public statements invoke Jesus public statements against stale religion and legalistic ritual. It seems we use Jesus condemnation of the Pharisees, and pharisaical religiosity, to go after people in our church.

But, while it is true that Jesus was not a fan of ritual religiosity, isn’t it accurate to say that his public condemnation was for the religious leaders themselves; who used their expertise, authority and power to oppress the ordinary person; the leaders who had a very narrow definition of what true belief looked like in practice and used that narrow definition to control people and get them to submit to their religious agenda?

When we make public pronouncements about ordinary people and their faith and criticize them for their failures and create division by defining the people who get it and applauding them over against the people who don’t; aren’t we doing the same thing? Who is the Pharisee in this equation? I’ve come to think Jesus might have stronger words for us than for the people we are so fixated on.

There is a difference between calling people to faithfulness through the proclamation of God’s Kingdom from within a particular community…and taking potshots in the blogosphere.

I don’t speak as one who has conquered this in my own heart. The trends I’m seeing are at work in my life, the same way I’m sure that they are lurking just around the corner for most pastors. I’m sure I’ve transgressed in this area, and I’m sure I will again. In fact, the longer I have reflected on this, the more I see my need for repentance.

In times like this, I’m thankful for the reminders from men like Bonhoeffer and Peterson. I’m thankful that they saw/see it better than I do, that there are more charitable and grace-filled voices that call us into our true vocation as shepherds within the community of God.

And I’m REALLY thankful God doesn’t log every way in which I fail to ‘get it’ and write blog posts about it…

Adam Gustine is senior pastor at First EFC in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can follow Adam on Twitter here.