By now, the rumor mill (and gossip, perhaps?) is getting pretty crowded and I thought I’d spend a couple seconds detailing out a little more about what I know, what I don’t know, what’s been said by others (and the people that matter!), and finally my own personal feelings of the matter in the guise of an encouragement to us all.

When I first posted about Chris Tomlin leaving Austin Stone to begin his trek back to Atlanta my intent was to inform.

My wife (who was on staff with Passion a little while back) and I have discussed this countless times already and I wanted to make sure that I say that I apologize if the first post caused any restless nights for anyone directly or indirectly involved.  I understand the importance of timing.  And so, again, my intent below as the original, is to inform:

What I Knew

Sitting in the Partnership Meeting back in May I heard from Chris’ own lips his intent to move.  Thus, I was absolutely certain that he wouldn’t be with The Austin Stone Community Church in the coming months.  This has been oft-confirmed by Matt Carter during his sermons and/or anecdotal asides during Partner Meetings.

In addition, specifically stated, he said that it would be in partnership with Louie Giglio, in Atlanta.  These specifics were also addressed during the same meeting.  But, other than that, nothing else, at the time, was verbally “committed” to from their perspective.

And who really knew, right?  God’s plans could change (and still could change) dramatically.  We’ve seen Him do it time in and time out in His Word.  As my Professor of OT @ DTS has said, Dr. Allman:

“What God has done in the past is a model and promise of what He will do in the future… but He’s too creative to do the same thing the same way twice.”

So, who knew, right?

What I Know Now

This section is easy.

That’s because Louie has himself addressed this particular issue on one of his podcasts.  I’ve posted the Full Version and a Shorter Version (both of which I’ve edited for size).  The Shorter Version begins right before his engagement about the Church Plant.

I’d recommend hearing the Full Version because I believe the content prior helps set the context of what is essentially in Louie’s and Shelley’s heart:  Reach the Nations with the Gospel of Christ.  Period.  Let’s all try to remember that!

• Full Version - Download and Listen
• Short Version – Download and Listen

I’ve posted a couple of important quotes from Louie, Shelley, and Chris from his podcast below as well:

“We’ve been praying about this decision for a long time, in fact our board has been praying and talking about it well over a year and a half now.”

“The primary heart of all this decision is just that myself personally, and Shelley and I as a couple just really sensing that this is the next step in the chapter of our lives, and we love the church, Passion loves the church, we’ve always said that, but we believe that the church is the thing that Crist died for and we want to give our lives to that.”

“It just means that there is going to be a localized expression, a community that carries the DNA of Passion, locally, in Atlanta.”

“We’re not recruiting people and haven’t recruited people but God has put it in the hearts of people that have heard this vision and they’ve said they want to come along side you and we’ve said yes to that.”

“We don’t have a staff… we don’t know where it’s going to be…  we don’t know when it’s going to start, we don’t know when the first service is going to be, we don’t know any of that, all we know is that we want to be obedient to God, and we keep saying to the generation that we serve that we want them to say “Yes Lord” to whatever God says to them and let God fill in all the blanks and I don’t want to be any different than that.  We’re saying Yes Lord.”

“We want people to be where God wants them to be.”

“It just has amazed me though how many people have formed such strong opinions about something that doesn’t even exist yet…  He’ll [God] do what He wants to do.”

“I think the coolest part of it is is that there isn’t really a plan, and I know that a lot of people like plans, but I don’t know, something about knowing that God has always led people without a plan and where he leads is really a beautiful thing.”

“Matt [Redman] and Beth are moving to Atlanta, our friends Nathan and Christy Nockels… it’s family.”

Tomlin: “It says, in 2020, there will 2 million more people in atlanta, which is the largest population growth of any city in the united states.  and so something filled up in my heart and more confirmation that I think this is a pretty good place to put a church…  we’re going to be part of that where the opportunity is massive, the opportunity to reach new people.”

Wow.  Some great stuff.  Praise God.

A side note… I would like to know who the “live radio” guy that told america about the Church (as mentioned by Louie in his podcast) was…?  Anyone?

So… What’s Been Said

I suppose the question really is “Does this matter now?”  And I believe it does, to a point.  It’s good to listen to the body and see what their responses are.  Silence is certainly not the best answer.  You can certainly feel free to browse a number of the comments and pingbacks that occured on the first post.

What’s been so surprising, as Louie had mentioned himself, was the amount of “strong opinions about something that doesn’t even exist yet.”

Finally, My Thoughts

I had thought that this particular section would be much longer, but after reviewing, deleting, and some careful thought, I think there’s not much more to say other than what Louie and Shelley has already explicitly stated.

Pray for them.  Pray that God will do something big in the city of Atlanta.  Pray that Christ’s Name and His precious Gospel Message be preached courageously.  Pray that, despite our inability to understand His Will in regards to the “when,” the “why,” and the “how,” that God will still be Glorified through it all, and that Louie and the team will seek Him first in all things.

Finally, Pray for the World Tour.  That’s what’s going on right now and should be the focus of our current prayer-efforts.

We’ll be watching and waiting expectantly Lord.

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Thanks to Brad Cooper inspired me to write this entry because of his desire for more info.  Hope this helps bud.