It’s the end of an era for the Unfiltered podcast. We explain why and share what’s next.

00:32 Lee lets listeners know this surreal episode to say good-bye is the last for Unfiltered.

01:28 Lee explains a couple different reasons why Danny and Lee are hanging up the microphones. 

03:19 Danny thanks Lee for his impact and investment in Converge’s church planting movement.

05:10 Lee shares what the Lord has been laying on his heart when it comes to the connection between academia and pastoring.

06:49 Even though the podcast is ending, it will still be available online. Danny asks Lee the best way future listeners can contact him.

09:31 Danny asks Lee one last question. 

12:19 Lee shares one last piece of advice for church planters.

12:47 Lee thanks Danny and listeners for the Unfiltered experience. And with that, he signs off the podcast for the last time!

Lee Stephenson: Welcome, everyone to the Unfiltered podcast. Lee Stephenson here. Vice president of Church Planting with Converge and local church planter in Orlando.

Danny Parmelee: I'm Danny Parmelee. And I oversee Church Planting for Converge MidAmerica.

Lee Stephenson: And we're coming to you from two different locations. I'm recording today from Orlando. Danny's hanging out in his Nashville location. And this is kind of a surreal podcast, Danny. That this is like the closing ceremony of the Unfiltered podcast. And I personally just say thank you to all of our listeners out there that listened to us for quite a long time. But we want to wrap it up, put a nice bow on it. But this is the tail end of our Unfiltered podcast.

Danny Parmelee: Oh my gosh, Lee, what did you do? Did we get kicked off the interwebs for just being too raw and too real? Or did we crash the internet because of too many downloads? And Apple was like, "Hey, you guys can't keep streaming this for free."

Lee Stephenson: I think it was a combination of the two. You know, we were so edgy, that Apple's like, "Okay, you're done." But we were getting downloads. So, you know. We are competing with the top podcasts in the world on Spotify and stuff. No, no. I wish that was true. But it isn't true. But no, part of it is just there's change coming in our personal family's life in this season. Where over the last couple of months, we've just felt like there's a nudge of the Lord just kind of leading us in a new direction of church leadership. And the culmination of that honestly came down to some health things for me. That I was wrestling with. And had a sit-down conversation with my doctor even back in March. And he said, "Lee, you've got to make some changes." And so, when you put all the... I tell people personally, like we've had four things that have kind of come together at once. And the final piece of the puzzle that was kind of the missing piece that I think really grabbed my attention and realize, Okay, I think Lord, you are doing something and leading us to change with the health component. And so, we just felt in this season... I've got still three young kids at home. My oldest being 14, my youngest is six. That the travel schedule, and the combination of leading both local church and national level ministry that it was just the stress of that was starting to take a toll on my body. And you got to pay attention to those things. And so, it's been over seven years, I've been able to serve in this role. And it's been a privilege. And there are a lot of things, honestly, Danny that I'm gonna miss, about what I had the opportunity to do. But I just tell people like I feel like the Lord is asking us to lead from a different chair. It's not that we're going to be uninvolved in church planting, uninvolved in church ministry. Not at all. We're still going to be fully engaged, looking at how can we continue to move the church forward and help church planters. But it's just going to have to look a little different. And be from a different chair.

Danny Parmelee: Yeah. Well, thank you. And I know speaking on behalf of tons of people, not only just listeners here, we're really thankful for your investment and impact that you've made in our church planting movement. And we hope that that will have a long-lasting effect. And I know that we'll keep the podcast even though we might not be recording new episodes, we'll keep it up and running so people can continue to listen to it and share, you know, with friends and others that are kind of just joining the church planting journey. I'd love for you to share just a little bit more. What does that shift mean for you? So, you'll be stepping down then from your role with Converge. But even in your intro, you always intro yourself as not only overseeing nationally the church planting movement, but also your church plant. So, what will shift and change there? And then will you be able to maximize and do some other things on the side? Or how will you stay engaged with the church planting world?

Lee Stephenson: Yeah. So, we're not moving. I'm not getting out of ministry. We are just refocusing. And so yes, I'll be stepping down officially at the end of May, from my role here with Converge as a national leader. But we're going to focus more energy in a movement towards more of a full-time position with our local church plant. We're about three and a half years old at this point. And so that will, in a way, give me a more normal rhythm to the week. Which I think will be a beneficial thing. I know it's funny because some people are like, you know, you're going to de-stress your life by working more hours at the local church and they're like, “Yes, I am.” But on the flip side... One of the things that I feel like the Lord has put on my heart for like the last 18 months is in combination with academia. And thinking through how can we strategically align with universities and Christian colleges out there to actually serve those that are moving into ministry more effectively and more efficiently? Recognizing at this point in my life, you know, and you're in the same stage. Like I've been in vocational ministry, come October will be the end of my 24th year of vocational ministry. And I still just see so many gaps between the academic world and how it actually gets played out in the real world, when it comes to the local church leadership and church planting and even missions work. That I've got some dreams and some ideas of how we may be able to close that gap. And I just feel like God's asked me to spend some time working on that. Now, that's not a fast thing. That is a long-term kind of a slow play, for sure. But on the side as well, I plan to just do some virtual coaching and recording some classes and stuff of that sort to kind of make available to pastors and church planters or people that are flirting with the idea of, "Is God calling me to plant a church?" To make myself more available to serve not just within our network but broaden to serve kind of across what God is doing here in the US and even beyond. And in order to be able to do those things, I just feel like there's got to be a different type of margin that's created than what I have right now.

Danny Parmelee: And because this podcast will kind of be living on the internet. Let's say someone does listen to this, and they're like, "Man, that's intriguing to me," or, "Hey, I don't have a formal coach," or are looking for some extra stuff. How would people be able to get a hold of you? Or are you going to be kind of posting some of your own personal content somewhere?

Lee Stephenson: Combination of both. So, the easiest "right now" quickest way to just engage and connect with me would be through social media. So, find me either on Facebook or on Instagram. And we can begin a conversation there. I'm working on a couple projects right now, even as we speak. One is creating an app for our church planters out there, and even pastors out there to just be able to download all kinds of resources. So, I'm developing content. Specific to things like how do you raise money? Basics to church planting. To developing a board. All kinds of components. Diving deep and making that content available. And so, people can download that app once that goes live. Hoping that that will go live by the end of June. And then we'll be creating... I'm going to be creating some cohort coaching models as well through utilizing social media. And then I've got a personal website. And so that website will go live come June. And it's basically TheChurchGuru.org. And so, people could find me there. Or you can email me directly at Lee@TheChurchGuru.org as well.

Danny Parmelee: Alright, you better say that email address again, because I think you mixed your email addresses.

Lee Stephenson: I did! I have too many email addresses. That's the problem. So, the basic email addresses Lee@TheChurchGuru.org.

Danny Parmelee: And it's unfiltered. So, we can't overdub your voice and you know just put something sorta funny. Lee at...

Lee Stephenson: But even for my Converge family, like I'll be around. I'm not going to be a stranger. We're going to stay involved at district events. And once I get a little bit of rest and stuff like that we'll show up and be around at some of the national things as well. And so, I look forward to being able to continue to connect, continue to partner, continue to coach and be a resource to those that are out there.

Danny Parmelee: That's great. Okay, so one last question if you're willing to and I know I'm kind of just springing this on you.

Lee Stephenson: It depends on your question, Danny. Because I know who you are and how you act.

Danny Parmelee: What's your kind of final advice or whatever that you would give to church planters? Again, thinking of our audience. Some are pre-launch, maybe some are just a year or two in. But thinking back even a bit on this podcast, and then as you're a church planter now. You're a church planter that's done it twice. You're in a position where you're talking to church planters all the time. So, just kind of some maybe final words of wisdom if you can for church planters as they're kind of find themselves on this journey and listening to this.

Lee Stephenson: Two real clear thoughts come to mind. First is you want to be wise and surround yourself with wise people that you can seek good Godly counsel and direction for your lives. That you know are invested in you. That want what is best for you. Listen to that. I constantly come back to the fact that in Proverbs, it talks about there's wisdom in the counsel of many. And that's just has kind of become a self-motto for me in the way that I've learned to live. And in even decisions that I make is I want to seek counsel. It doesn't mean I'm going to always do exactly what they say. But there's truth that is told. And you want to listen to those things and capture kind of what is God doing and how other people see this. The second thing is, you've got to continue to press forward and be courageous when it comes to your leadership. God is going to continue to ask you to take a leap of faith. It's not... That never goes away. As long as you walk with Christ, as much as you're leading in the local church, as much as you think that, hey, I think we're getting to a place of comfortability and stability in our church plant, God is going to continue to press and move you to take steps of faith. And I found that over the years, like those steps of faith get harder in a way. That the jump seem to be bigger than they were previously. And this is a similar situation for us. You know, we're a three-and-a-half-year-old church. I've got a staff team that does majority of the stuff. But we knew that a change had to be made. The church wasn't ready for it. And so even financially, the church has taken a risk. We're taking a risk. We're stepping out of a secure income. You know, we've got insurances and all kinds of different things. Things were well taken care of from that standpoint. And stepping out kind of going, "God, we're trusting you in this. We know you've never disappointed us. But you've got to continue to do the miraculous. You've got to continue to provide." And so, I think that's just another example. Like, God will continue to press you to do stuff that makes you uncomfortable. Trusting that he's leading you and guiding you. And you got to stay courageous in that when it comes to conversations that you need to have with your church, conversations you need to have with your church plant. Now there's, again, that's where wisdom also has to come in play. If you may feel something, you want to be wise in the way that you handle it. Wise in the way that you engage the conversation. But sometimes God's gonna ask you to do big things and trust the fact that he's there and going to provide for you.

Danny Parmelee: Awesome, that's perfect.

Lee Stephenson: But, Danny, it's been a joy. I appreciate your friendship and the friendship we've had over the years. And this has just been fun for us to be able to do together, to put out resources. Danny and I are cool. If anybody else is questioning that. And we'll continue to be great friends as we move over the future. But I want to thank again, everybody for listening and being a part of our Unfiltered family. It is a privilege to be able to walk with each and every one of you over the years. And to share from our stories, our experiences, our mistakes. And we continue to love to stay in touch. And so, find us on social media. Connect with us personally. And we'd love to be a resource to you. So, blessings, everyone. And I'd say our normal tag, but not this time. Just keep it real and trust God.