Planting a church takes time—but it all starts with just being present.
David Fitch is a man of many titles: pastor, writer, seminary professor, theologian, podcast host—the list is almost too long to count. In his eyes, though, his most important work hasn’t taken place in a church, office, or lecture hall, but over countless cups of McDonald’s coffee or on a stool at a bar in his Chicagoland neighborhood of Westmont.
Fitch’s estimation of his work may strike some as strange, especially for a pastor. But as he makes clear in his 2016 book Faithful Presence: Seven Disciplines That Shape the Church for Mission, he’s all about championing the importance of just “being there.” According to him, few spiritual practices are as vital to successful ministry as that of setting aside time to be reliably present in the community one aims to serve—and sometimes, that means eating fast food or setting up shop in the local pub.
On today’s episode of The Calling, CT managing editor Richard Clark catches up with Fitch to find out more about his approach to church-planting, his commitment to his community, and why he thinks it’s sometimes okay to set sermon prep aside to listen to a neighbor’s latest conspiracy theory.... Listen Now
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