Due to my recent Technorati fame, some of the wizards of the blogosphere seem to imply that I’m the master of the publicity stunt.
Not so much.

But I am a man on a mission.
And since a few thousand new friends have stopped by over the last few days, we’d like to take the opportunity to introduce ourselves.

My name is Steven Furtick, and I pastor the most wonderful people in America.
And we’re drop dead serious about this thing called the Church.

8 families sold our houses and quit our jobs and moved to Charlotte, NC just over a year ago. Not for better pay or a more pleasant climate.
To start a revolutionary church in a city of strategic and increasing national influence.

You may think we’re looney tunes, but we think the local church is the best thing going. When it’s done right.
Our church has grown from those 19 folks just over a year ago to a current weekly attendance of over 1600 people.
God is blowing our freaking minds. We’re having a blast. And we’re not slowing down.
We’re recklessly passionate about presenting the Gospel of Christ with boldness and clarity in every pocket of the Charlotte region and beyond.

That’s who we are.

We’re not sitting around forming carpet color committees or mobilizing to picket video poker.
We’d rather be known for what we love than what we hate.
We’d rather focus on what we’re for than what we’re against.

That’s who we are.

We’re don’t feed turkey to the homeless on Thanksgiving and flip them the bird the rest of the year.

But our generous people will invest over $100,000 back into our community this year through established partnerships with the top 5 organizations in metro Charlotte that serve the underserved.

That’s who we are.

We believe that since our God is the author of all things creative, the Church of Jesus Christ should be the most creative entity on the planet. Our worship experiences should overflow and ooze with life and passion.
And they should represent the epitome of excellence, more than MTV, VH1 or American Idol.

That’s who we are.

We love our city.
We’re on a mission to dominate. To manifest the Kingdom of God in every sphere of our influence.

We are not content to live in the confines of the ghetto that is sub-cultural Christianity.
We are image bearers of God, determined to represent Christ in all things: educational, medical, legal, industrial, financial… we proclaim Christ in all things.

That’s who we are.

And we’re not alone.

There are thousands of other pastors and churches all across this country who are rejecting meaningless methodologies and refusing to back down in the face of a changing culture.
We embrace, harness, and ultimately shape culture.
And we are building the Kingdom of God together.
Our message, the message of forgiveness and grace in Jesus Christ, is the most relevant message in the history of the world, and we won’t be silent about it.

This new generation of pastors is not a bunch of bumbling backwoods barely literate inbred rednecks, despite what you’ve seen on the news.

We know what we believe, why we believe it, and we’re determined to live it out with all of our hearts. We’re not perfect, but our passion is sincere to the bone.
We’re not here to merely survive or condemn the world, but to transform it for the glory of God.
And we’re here to stay.
We’re the living, breathing, forcefully advancing Church of Jesus Christ.

That’s who we are.

Thanks for asking. Pleased to meet you.