Today I’m at the Subtext Forum (meeting at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) where Ed Stetzer will speak to our second gathering about the church in the suburban context. Ed is a former professor of mine from seminary, has been a help to me over the years in numerous ways – and is a friend. If you can’t make it to the forum, be sure to pick up some of his books. To start I’d recommend Breaking the Missional Code, Compelled by Love: The Most Excellent Way to Missional Living, and his newest Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them.

Steve McCoy and I put this event together and we’ll probably be twittering some of the fun (here and here). You can also follow the subtext twitter feed.

The next subtext forum is going down March 12th at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and features Ed Stetzer. You probably know who Ed is, but just in case – here’s the official stuff.

Ed Stetzer is the Director of Lifeway Research and Lifeway’s Missiologist in Residence. He has planted churches in New York, Pennsylvania, and Georgia and transitioned declining churches in Indiana and Georgia. He has trained pastors and church planters on five continents, holds two masters degrees and two doctorates, and has written dozens of articles and books including Breaking the Missional Code, Comeback Churches, Compelled by Love: The Most Excellent Way to Missional Living and recently, Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them.

There’s more, but then this post would get too long and you might stop reading. Ed is a gift to the church and is sought out by numerous denominations and churches for his insight concerning church planting, revitalization and all things “missional.” We are excited to have him speak to us all.

This, our second subtext forum, is going to be a great time that’s available to everyone on the cheap (not free, but on the cheap). Here’s the breakdown.

Subtext Forum with Ed Stetzer:
The Missional Church in the Suburban Context

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
March 12th 10:00am – 3:00pm
Registration is $25 and includes lunch

10:00-10:15 Introductions
10:15-11:00 Session One: The Missional Church in Principle and Practice
11:00-11:15 Break A
11:15-12:00 Session Two: Breaking the Missional Code in Suburbia
12:00-1:00 Lunch (lunch provided)
1:00-2:00 Session Three: Challenges to Missional Thinking and How to Overcome Them
2:00-2:15 Break B
2:15-3:00 Q&A

We’ve been able to keep the cost for this incredibly low allowing for maximum participation, but seating is limited. You can register now and get all the details at subtext. $25 gets you hours with The Stet’, lunch, opportunity to network with other pastors and leaders, and it puts you in close proximity to Steve McCoy’s awesome beard.

Head over to subtext and register now!

Ed Stetzer offers some good commentary on the recently released stats on our denomination’s apparent decline. His are good words of warning and encouragement, and I hope people are listening. Chris Elrod has uploaded a great conversation with Ed to youtube. It’s all worth your time. Check out Ed’s post, and the conversation at Chris’s blog.