Ed Stetzer
Encyclopedia
Ed Stetzer is an author, speaker, researcher, pastor, church planter, and Christian missiologist. Stetzer is a contributor to the North American discussion on missional church
and church planting
.
and grew up in Levittown, New York
, outside New York City
.
Stetzer is President of LifeWay Research, a division of LifeWay Christian Resources
and LifeWay’s Missiologist in Residence. For five years before that, Stetzer served as Director of Research and Missiologist-In-Residence for the North American Mission Board
.
Stetzer currently serves as Affiliate Professor of Research and Missional Ministry at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
and Visiting Research Professor of Missional Research at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
.
Stetzer is a contributing editor for Christianity Today
, a columnist for Outreach magazine,
and Catalyst Monthly, serves on the advisory council of SermonCentral.com, and Christianity Today's Building Church Leaders , and has been cited or interviewed in national news outlets such as USA Today and CNN. He has also been featured speaker at numerous national conferences and churches including the Catalyst Conference, the National Outreach Convention, Saddleback Church
, and Mars Hill Church
(Seattle). TheResurgence.com has stated that, "He is one of the leading thinkers on the earth in the areas of evangelism
, church planting
, and movements." Stetzer has been critical of the Emerging Church
movement.
He holds a bachelor’s degree at Shorter University, two master’s degrees (from Liberty Theological Seminary and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
), and two earned doctorates (a Doctor of Ministry from Samford University
and a Doctor of Philosophy from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
). He currently resides in Hendersonville, Tennessee
.
has stated that Stetzer is "one of the greatest missional church researchers." Rick Warren
has said that Stetzer is "a successful pastor, church planter, researcher, and adviser to thousands of churches, Ed Stetzer speaks from a wealth of experience with all kinds of churches” (from the foreword to Comeback Churches).
Two of Stetzer's recent research books, Lost and Found and Transformational Church, have been named to the Golden Canon Book Awards from Leadership Journal, a publication of Christianity Today
.
Missional living
"Missional living" is a Christian term that describes a missionary lifestyle; adopting the posture, thinking, behaviors, and practices of a missionary in order to engage others with the gospel message. The missional church movement is a church renewal movement predicated on the necessity of...
and church planting
Church planting
Church planting is a process that results in a new Christian church being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, new worship centre or fresh expression is created that is integrated into an already established congregation...
.
Background
Stetzer was born on Long IslandLong Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
and grew up in Levittown, New York
Levittown, New York
Levittown is a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead located on Long Island in Nassau County, New York. Levittown is midway between the villages of Hempstead and Farmingdale. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a total population of 51,881....
, outside New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Stetzer is President of LifeWay Research, a division of LifeWay Christian Resources
LifeWay Christian Resources
LifeWay Christian Resources, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the largest providers of Christian resources in the world. LifeWay has been recognized as one of the "Best Employers in Tennessee" by BusinessTN magazine.-Background:...
and LifeWay’s Missiologist in Residence. For five years before that, Stetzer served as Director of Research and Missiologist-In-Residence for the North American Mission Board
North American Mission Board
The North American Mission Board is the domestic missions agency of the Southern Baptist Convention. It exists to assist Southern Baptists in their task of fulfilling the Great Commission in the United States, Canada, and their territories through a national strategy for sharing Christ, starting...
.
Stetzer currently serves as Affiliate Professor of Research and Missional Ministry at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School is an evangelical Christian seminary located in Deerfield, Illinois. TEDS is one of the largest seminaries in the world, enrolling more than 1,200 graduate students in professional and academic programs, including more than 150 in its PhD programs...
and Visiting Research Professor of Missional Research at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary is a seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention , created to meet a need in the SBC's East Coast region. It was voted into existence on May 19, 1950 at the SBC annual meeting and began offering classes in the fall of 1951 on the original campus of Wake...
.
Stetzer is a contributing editor for Christianity Today
Christianity Today
Christianity Today is an Evangelical Christian periodical based in Carol Stream, Illinois. It is the flagship publication of its parent company Christianity Today International, claiming circulation figures of 140,000 and readership of 290,000...
, a columnist for Outreach magazine,
and Catalyst Monthly, serves on the advisory council of SermonCentral.com, and Christianity Today's Building Church Leaders , and has been cited or interviewed in national news outlets such as USA Today and CNN. He has also been featured speaker at numerous national conferences and churches including the Catalyst Conference, the National Outreach Convention, Saddleback Church
Saddleback Church
Saddleback Church is an evangelical Christian megachurch located in Lake Forest, California, situated in southern Orange County, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The church was founded in 1980 by pastor Rick Warren...
, and Mars Hill Church
Mars Hill Church
Mars Hill Church is a Reformed Christian megachurch located in Seattle, Washington. Services are offered at multiple locations in the city; the church podcasts content of weekend services, as well as conferences on the Internet with more than 100,000 downloads every week...
(Seattle). TheResurgence.com has stated that, "He is one of the leading thinkers on the earth in the areas of evangelism
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
, church planting
Church planting
Church planting is a process that results in a new Christian church being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, new worship centre or fresh expression is created that is integrated into an already established congregation...
, and movements." Stetzer has been critical of the Emerging Church
Emerging Church
The emerging church is a Christian movement of the late 20th and early 21st century that crosses a number of theological boundaries: participants can be described as evangelical, Protestant, Catholic, post-evangelical, anabaptist, adventist, liberal, post-liberal, reformed, charismatic,...
movement.
He holds a bachelor’s degree at Shorter University, two master’s degrees (from Liberty Theological Seminary and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary , located in Louisville, Kentucky, is the oldest of the six seminaries affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention . The seminary was founded in 1859, at Greenville, South Carolina. After being closed during the Civil War, it moved in 1877 to Louisville...
), and two earned doctorates (a Doctor of Ministry from Samford University
Samford University
Samford University, founded as Howard College is a private, coeducational, Alabama Baptist Convention-affiliated university located in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It includes the , Cumberland School of Law, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Brock School of Business, Ida V....
and a Doctor of Philosophy from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary , located in Louisville, Kentucky, is the oldest of the six seminaries affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention . The seminary was founded in 1859, at Greenville, South Carolina. After being closed during the Civil War, it moved in 1877 to Louisville...
). He currently resides in Hendersonville, Tennessee
Hendersonville, Tennessee
Hendersonville is a city in Sumner County, Tennessee, United States, on Old Hickory Lake. The population was 51,372 at the 2010 census. Hendersonville is part of the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located 18 miles northeast of downtown Nashville. The city was settled around 1784 by...
.
Missions Consultant
Dr. Ed Stetzer is known around the world for his expertise in church planting and missiology. He has planted multiple churches and helped revitalize declining churches. Dr. Stetzer spends much of his time traveling and speaking at conferences and churches about church growth, church planting, and missiology. Mark DriscollMark Driscoll
Mark A. Driscoll is an American pastor and author. He is the founder and preaching pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington, he co-founded the Acts 29 Network and Churches Helping Churches, and has contributed to the "Faith and Values" section of the Seattle Times and the "On Faith"...
has stated that Stetzer is "one of the greatest missional church researchers." Rick Warren
Rick Warren
Richard Duane "Rick" Warren is an American evangelical Christian minister and author. He is the founder and senior pastor of Saddleback Church, an evangelical megachurch located in Lake Forest, California, currently the eighth-largest church in the United States...
has said that Stetzer is "a successful pastor, church planter, researcher, and adviser to thousands of churches, Ed Stetzer speaks from a wealth of experience with all kinds of churches” (from the foreword to Comeback Churches).
Two of Stetzer's recent research books, Lost and Found and Transformational Church, have been named to the Golden Canon Book Awards from Leadership Journal, a publication of Christianity Today
Christianity Today
Christianity Today is an Evangelical Christian periodical based in Carol Stream, Illinois. It is the flagship publication of its parent company Christianity Today International, claiming circulation figures of 140,000 and readership of 290,000...
.
Published Books
Stetzer's book publications include:- Planting New Churches in a Postmodern Age (B&H Publishing GroupB&H Publishing GroupB&H Publishing Group, once known as Broadman & Holman, is a division of Lifeway Christian Resources. Specializing in Christianity pertaining to fiction, homeschool, youth, history, and other interests...
, 2003). - Perimeters of Light: Biblical Boundaries for the Emerging Church (with Elmer Towns, Moody Publishing, 2004)
- Breaking the Missional Code (with David Putman; B&H Publishers, 2006)
- Planting Missional Churches (B&H Publishers, 2006)
- Comeback Churches (with Mike Dodson; B&H Publishing Group, 2007)
- 11 Innovations in the Local Church (with Elmer Towns and Warren Bird; Regal Publishing, 2007)
- Compelled by Love: The Most Excellent Way to Missional Living (with Philip Nation; New Hope Publishers, 2008)
- Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them (with Richie Stanley and Jason Hayes; B&H Publishers, 2009)
- MissionShift: Global Mission Issues in the Third Millennium (with David Hesselgrave; B&H Publishing Group, 2010)
- Viral Churches: Helping Church Planters Become Movement Makers (with Warren Bird; Jossey-Bass, 2010)
- Transformational Church: Creating a New Scorecard for Congregations (with Thom S. RainerThom S. RainerThom S. Rainer is an American author, researcher, speaker, and current president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville, Tenn...
, B&H Publishing Group, 2010)
About Ed Stetzer
- Lost and Found: An Interview with Ed Stetzer Preaching Magazine, posted April 2008
- Ed Stetzer interview with Bible Study Magazine, posted at ChurchLeaders.com, March 29, 2011
- Ed Stetzer Releases New Research on Pastors Out of Ur, the online community of Leadership Magazine, by Kevin Miller, posted October 9, 2009
By Ed Stetzer
- Cover Story: Proselytizing in a Multi-Faith World Christianity Today, posted April 1, 2011
- Future Trends in Evangelicalism Patheos, August 2, 2010
- The Blessings of New Media TableTalk Magazine, Spring 2010
- How Christian Consumers Ruin Pastors and Cheat the Mission of God Q Ideas
- FIRST-PERSON: Understanding the emerging church Baptist Press, posted January 6, 2006
- Curing Christians' Stats Abuse ChristianityToday.com posted 1/15/2010 09:44AM