Brent, when did you start attending the Eastern Christian Conference?
I attended the Eastern Christian Conference for the first time in 1998. The ECC was held in Hershey that year. Frank Reynolds from Manchester Christian Church in New Hampshire was the President and the theme was “Partners in the Harvest.” That conference was particularly impactful and encouraging for me because I was preparing at that time to plant a church in Massachusetts. Manchester Christian Church was really setting a strong example for the churches in New England and was learning a lot from Frank and from John Cassetto, who led worship at the conference that year. There have been a lot of other memorable moments from the ECC for me over the past 18 years.
As a past president, can you share why you believe the ECC is an important gathering?
Every fall when I attend the ECC I hear a sermon or gain some insight from a workshop or have a conversation with a colleague in ministry that proves to be exactly what I needed at that moment. I attribute this to the work of God’s Spirit, but it wouldn’t happen if I didn’t show up! And it wouldn’t happen without the planning and execution of the Executive Committee to create a theme to address the most relevant topics of our time. It’s not a stretch to say that I am a better husband, father and leader because of specific things I have learned at the ECC along the way.
Could you speak to church leaders for a moment – what can they gain by making the ECC a priority?
There are a lot of conferences you can attend throughout the year. Many of them offer a chance to hear from dynamic speakers who lead large churches from a wide variety of cultural contexts and denominational backgrounds. Often what we hear doesn’t relate to our specific situation for one reason or another. What other conference allows you to learn from leaders who are serving in healthy churches in a similar cultural context and from a common heritage? I’m always amazed when I think about how many new churches and growing churches we have in our movement from the New England states all the way down through Virginia. That was not the case when I moved to the northeast 20 years ago. Through participation in the ECC, we can help each other now, maybe more than ever before!
You led the ECC through a redefining of vision and values 7 years ago. One of those values is a commitment to the Restoration Movement. Why is this important for a conference in the East?
God is working in obvious ways through lots of Bible-believing, gospel-centered churches in the Eastern United States. I am grateful for the friendship and encouragement I experience with brothers and sisters in various denominations. However, I wouldn’t trade what we have in the Restoration Movement for any other group. We are committed to unity around the essentials of our faith, even when we disagree about some things theologically. Our churches voluntarily cooperate with one another in order to support missions efforts and church planting and training for future leaders. The ECC reinforces the values at the core of our movement while recognizing that we are not the only Christians. In my opinion, both are critical for those of us who serve here in the east.
If you could give people a good reason to come to this year’s ECC – what would you say?
We appreciate Brent’s critical leadership in the East – and we look forward to seeing him, and you, at this Fall’s ECC.
