Episode 4
A Conversation with Emily Halverson: Leading with Purpose at HeavenEarth Church
This podcast episode centers on the profound exploration of community within Heaven Earth Church, particularly as it relates to meeting individuals where they are, akin to the compassionate approach of Jesus. I am Ross Stackhouse, the founding pastor, and I elucidate our mission of inclusivity for those who may not traditionally fit within conventional church paradigms. Our conversation features Emily Halverson, the executive pastor, who shares her personal journey and the transformative experiences she has witnessed within our congregation. We delve into the significance of storytelling and the authenticity that permeates our community, emphasizing the importance of healing and connection. Through our dialogue, we aim to illuminate how Heaven Earth Church endeavors to make a lasting impact in the lives of individuals and the broader community.
Heaven Earth Church is a community-oriented congregation that seeks to provide a welcoming environment for individuals who may feel marginalized or out of place in traditional church settings. Our founding pastor, Ross Stackhouse, articulates the church's mission to connect with people on a personal level, emphasizing the importance of understanding individual stories as a reflection of God's narrative. In the inaugural episode of our podcast, we delve into the foundational ethos of Heaven Earth Church, inviting listeners to explore the diverse experiences that shape our community. Through heartfelt discussions and personal testimonies, we illuminate the church's commitment to fostering relationships and building a supportive network that resonates with the teachings of Jesus. We invite you to engage with the rich tapestry of stories that define our congregation, as we embark on a shared journey of faith and connection.
This week's podcast features a conversation with Emily Halverson, the executive pastor at Heaven Earth Church, who shares her personal journey of faith and her role within the church. As a non-native Hoosier, Emily recounts her upbringing in Illinois, where her deep-rooted Christian faith was cultivated through her family's involvement in various church activities. She candidly reflects on pivotal moments in her spiritual journey, including a transformative mission trip that solidified her commitment to her faith. Emily's experiences underscore the importance of authenticity and vulnerability in ministry, as she navigates the complexities of church leadership while supporting a community that prioritizes inclusivity and healing. Her insights reveal a profound understanding of the challenges faced by many who seek a genuine connection with their faith and the church.
In this episode, we further explore the essence of Heaven Earth Church as a sanctuary for those seeking solace and belonging. Emily articulates the church's mission statement, emphasizing its dedication to making a lasting impact in the community. She elaborates on the church's partnerships with local organizations, illustrating how collective efforts can address pressing societal issues. The conversation highlights the church's ethos of authenticity, where individuals are encouraged to bring their true selves into the community without fear of judgment. Emily's reflections on her family's journey within the church serve as a testament to the healing power of community, reinforcing the belief that collective support can facilitate personal growth and transformation. Listeners are invited to join us in this exploration of faith, community, and the profound impact of shared stories at Heaven Earth Church.
Takeaways:
- Heaven Earth Church is dedicated to serving individuals who feel excluded from traditional church environments, exemplifying inclusivity and compassion.
- The podcast emphasizes the importance of community and personal stories in fostering deeper connections within the church and beyond.
- Through intentional partnerships with local organizations, Heaven Earth Church seeks to create a lasting impact in the Whiteland community.
- The journey of healing within the church is highlighted as a fundamental aspect of its mission and values.
- Emily Halverson discusses her transition from a guarded participant to an engaged leader in the church, illustrating personal growth.
- The church's focus on authenticity and openness allows individuals to explore their faith without the pressure of perfection.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Heaven Earth Church
- Greenville College
- Gonzaga University
- Upstream Prevention
- Resources of Hope
Transcript
What would it look like to start a community that was really, it's for the people like Jesus would be for?
Speaker A:Welcome to Heaven Earth Church.
Speaker A:I'm Ross Stackhouse, the founding pastor of Heaven Earth Church.
Speaker A:From the start, our heart has been to be a church for people who don't fit neatly into church.
Speaker A:We want to meet people where they are and know their stories.
Speaker A:Because in every story, there is God's story.
Speaker A:And this podcast is just about that.
Speaker A:It's about inviting you into the stories of the people of Heaven Earth Church.
Speaker A:So let's turn to the story.
Speaker B:Hello, good people, and welcome to the Heaven Earth Church podcast.
Speaker B:This is the podcast about a church that is looking to make a lasting impact in our community.
Speaker B:And our guest today is Emily Halverson.
Speaker B:She is the executive pastor of Heaven Earth Church.
Speaker B:And we'll talk more about what that's all about here in just a moment, but we want to find out more about you personally, Emily, welcome to our conversation here today.
Speaker C:Thanks, Brad.
Speaker C:It's so nice to be with you.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:Well, Emily, why don't you just.
Speaker B:Let's just kind of start.
Speaker B:Here we are.
Speaker B:The church is located in Whiteland, Indiana.
Speaker B:But tell us about where you come from, what's hometown for you, and then maybe a little bit about what home life was like for you.
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So I am not a native Hoosier.
Speaker C:I grew up in Illinois.
Speaker C:So close, but not, not, not here.
Speaker C:So I grew up in Batavia, Illinois, which is a suburb of Chicago.
Speaker C:It's a western suburb.
Speaker C:And that area is actually where my dad's family's originally from.
Speaker C:So we have some family history there.
Speaker C:But grew up.
Speaker C:Yeah, really, like my whole growing up was all in Batavia, all in one place.
Speaker C:I lived in two different houses, but all in Batavia.
Speaker C:And then after I went to college, I've now lived in a total of four different states.
Speaker C:So my kids have a little different experience than I did where I was in the same town and they've been in more than that.
Speaker C:But anyways.
Speaker C:But I grew up in a Christian home, have a long faith tradition in my family, on both sides of my family.
Speaker C:And so I grew up.
Speaker C:I grew up going to church.
Speaker C:I grew up singing all kinds of hymns and different songs.
Speaker C:I grew up going to Sunday school.
Speaker C:And just really, my parents spent some time in youth ministry.
Speaker C:My dad was a teacher and my mom was a banker, but she stayed home and did home daycare when we were younger.
Speaker C:And so faith was always just a big part of our family and our lives.
Speaker C:And we went to a Few different churches as I was growing up.
Speaker C:One of them is now a fairly large kind of mega church in that area.
Speaker C:But when I was in middle school, we wound up back at the church my dad had grown up in, which was a free Methodist church.
Speaker C:And that was a very small church comparatively.
Speaker C:But going back there, we really connected with people in a different way.
Speaker C:And it kind of, I would say that season of my life kind of really started my walk with the Lord in a different way.
Speaker B:We'll go a little deeper with that.
Speaker B:Tell us about how you kind of how that was a part of forming your faith, but maybe some kind of pivotal moment when faith became really real to you and you knew that, okay, this is going to be an important part of how I really just live life, even career wise or things like that.
Speaker B:Tell me a little bit about your coming to Faith story.
Speaker C:Yeah, so when I was about 14, I kind of had a season where I would say it was the antithesis.
Speaker C:Well, it wasn't the antithesis of my faith story because it was a pivotal part, but it was the first time I really realized that my faith was my parents faith and it wasn't my own faith.
Speaker C:And I kind of decided I can be a little bit stubborn sometimes.
Speaker C:And I decided I wasn't gonna sing any songs if I didn't mean them.
Speaker C:If I couldn't sing them and really mean them, I didn't want to sing them.
Speaker C:And so that was kind of my.
Speaker C:My journey in church for a little while.
Speaker C:And then the summer after my freshman year in high school, I went to.
Speaker C:I had the opportunity to do a mission trip that I don't exactly remember how I got on the mission trip.
Speaker C:I just remember going, that I was, I was gonna go.
Speaker C:And so we did some work in Rochester, New York.
Speaker C:We worked with an inner city church there and just worked with a lot of different kids.
Speaker C:We did a vacation Bible school and did kind of a puppet ministry kind of thing.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:And it was actually like there was a little.
Speaker C:There was a little girl there who kind of stuck with me all week.
Speaker C:And she came from just.
Speaker C:She had a really rough background and story and, and she at the end of the week, like she.
Speaker C:She said she wanted to know the Lord and kind of she came to know the Lord.
Speaker C:And I in that moment had this experience with the Lord where I felt like the Lord said to me, like, if she can believe in me, why can't you?
Speaker C:And that was really kind of, I think, the moment where things kind of got really, really, really real for me.
Speaker C:And kind of broke through some of my maybe cynicism and, and just my need to have everything answered.
Speaker B:Maybe kind of a journey, a process that kind of evolved over time.
Speaker C:Sure, yeah, yeah, I, I mean, when I like in.
Speaker C:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker C:And when like my very first memory of praying, I was five and I was sitting at the kitchen table with my parents and I was talking to Jesus.
Speaker C:And so I grew up very much appreciating faith in Jesus and I loved the community and I loved being part of all of that.
Speaker C:But as I kind of got into my teenage years, that was when I really kind of owned it.
Speaker C:And it meant different things to me.
Speaker C:And kind of directly after that trip, I went on a marine biology trip because that had been my plan.
Speaker C:I was going to be a marine biologist.
Speaker C:And so having those two experiences back to back, the mission trip and then the marine biology trip again, really felt the Lord was kind of calling me into a different path.
Speaker B:And so that path led you into your education and eventually you made a connection with your husband Adam.
Speaker B:And so I know we're kind of skipping ahead a little bit here in your story, but tell me about some maybe pivotal moments in those parts of your journey, whether it be educationally or career wise or getting together with your husband.
Speaker B:Any long things along the line were kind of pivotal, kind of in your face story.
Speaker C:Yeah, so.
Speaker C:So I decided I was going to go to Greenville College, which is now Greenville University, but to study ministry.
Speaker C:So that was really the shift in me.
Speaker C:I had been planning to go to study, go into the sciences and I shifted to going into ministry and so the program there and that's where I met my husband.
Speaker C:While I was at school, I really had a sense of a call into missions and like a really have always had since I just, I've really had a heart for the Middle east for a really long time.
Speaker C:And so there was a day that I was praying just over, over that.
Speaker C:And long story short was that that was kind of pivotal to my husband and I getting together in college.
Speaker C:But we started dating in college and then both really felt called into the ministry.
Speaker C:And so we've spent the last 20 plus years kind of working out what that looks like to do ministry and to have a family and do those things together and honor both calls.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker B:So I'm just curious, as you said, they had this particular call in the Middle East.
Speaker B:Have you been able to travel to the Middle East?
Speaker C: college and then when it was: Speaker C:It was actually right at the time that the tsunami hit India because I remember we didn't know about the tsunami.
Speaker C:We didn't hear about it because we'd been.
Speaker C:We were traveling right at that time.
Speaker C:And so we found out a few days after it had happened, but we were in Egypt.
Speaker C:And so we were there for two weeks on what we called a vision trip.
Speaker C:So we were really kind of praying over like, are we supposed to come here like now?
Speaker C:And really felt like what the Lord kind of spoke to us in that trip was not right now.
Speaker C:And so.
Speaker C:Which was kind of surprising.
Speaker C:We're like, okay, so we kind of came back home and I was youth pastoring at a church.
Speaker C:So we stayed at the church and kind of walked that journey for a little while.
Speaker C:And then we, a few years after that kind of started down a church planting road and so we moved to Wisconsin and we were there for 10 years doing church planting work.
Speaker C:And then we were planting a church.
Speaker B:As a couple kind of co pastors or something like that.
Speaker C:Okay, all right.
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker C:And then we wound up moving to Michigan to do some work with Middle Eastern populations in Michigan.
Speaker B:Okay, very good.
Speaker B:Well, what eventually led you then to land in, in Whiteland, Indiana and to eventually get connected with heaven or church?
Speaker B:What got you here in the first place?
Speaker C:Yeah, so when we kind of discerned that our season in Michigan was coming to an end, we were looking for what was next.
Speaker C:And my husband had.
Speaker C:We had a connection just through some different ministry channels with, with, with a gentleman down here.
Speaker C:And he offered my husband a job and so he took it and we moved.
Speaker C:So that's the short story.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Because you, you both, you and he were both involved with ministry situations.
Speaker B:And just to backtrack a little bit, it's my understanding that, you know, there were some, some experiences in that that were a little bit tough.
Speaker B:Is that right?
Speaker B:You know, absolutely.
Speaker B:Experiences that maybe you kind of put some perspective on ministry for you that you came to this community with.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:So we were, in one way or another.
Speaker C:We've been in ministry since both of us, since we were in high school, which is a little while ago now, so 20 plus years and kind of through that.
Speaker C:And we, and we've, you know, we both held different positions at conference level and so from local church levels to conference levels and involved in some national things with our denomination.
Speaker C:And so we've seen ministry like on lots of different sides from lots of different angles.
Speaker C:And so when we leaving, leaving Michigan was very difficult and happened in some Ways that just made us kind of rethink the organizational part of church.
Speaker B:And find yourself a little bit guarded, a little bit hurt?
Speaker C:Oh, absolutely.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:It was an incredibly difficult season leaving.
Speaker C:There's a lot of confusion.
Speaker C:There's a lot of frustration, there's a lot of hurt.
Speaker C:There's a lot of.
Speaker C:My mom heart felt very much like my family had been hurt by.
Speaker C:By individuals who were in charge of things.
Speaker C:And so we really decided by mom.
Speaker B:Hearts, you mean people actually hurting your own children or hurting other people or.
Speaker B:Go there a little bit with me for a minute.
Speaker B:What do you mean by mom heart?
Speaker C:Yeah, well, that's a good question.
Speaker C:I would say both ways.
Speaker C:So I very much saw interactions that hurt the local church from conference leadership.
Speaker C:And I also saw in my own family what.
Speaker C:The way that we were treated in that process, just the effect that it had on my kids and what felt like just blatant disregard for, like, the humanity of people.
Speaker C:And that all felt very contrary to leading in a way that Jesus leads to me.
Speaker C:And so we were.
Speaker C:I'd say it's pretty fair to say we were pretty jaded coming out of that.
Speaker B:Out of that experience.
Speaker B:You come to Johnson County, Indiana, Greenwood, Whiteland area.
Speaker B:So it seems to me, from what I'm picking up on here, Emily, that really ministry wasn't really the focus when you came here, or wasn't.
Speaker C:It was not.
Speaker B:Well, that wasn't really in your mindset at that time.
Speaker C:When we left, what we decided is that I was gonna go to grad school, and I was gon to do a degree in organizational leadership.
Speaker C:So I was starting a degree.
Speaker C:And we were going to take a break from.
Speaker C:From ministry and all of the different ways that means so.
Speaker C:And from the organization.
Speaker C:And so we took a leave of absence.
Speaker C:That was how the designation was with our denomination.
Speaker C:And so we took a leave of absence and I started school at Gonzaga.
Speaker C:And Adam, my husband, he started this job.
Speaker C:And part of coming here was we thought we were actually going to be involved with another church that's part of our denomination when we moved down here and then.
Speaker C:And it's a wonderful church, doing really great things, but just as we were here and kind of got settled, just realized that the healing that we needed to do, the hurt that we had, was pretty deep.
Speaker C:And the healing that we needed to do, we needed to be a little farther away.
Speaker B:And by farther away, you mean some distance from this denominational kind of structure type of thing.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:Our denomination is very, very, very connectional.
Speaker C:And so there were Just lots of reminders all the time of that.
Speaker C:So we needed to be farther away from that.
Speaker B:Sound like you didn't feel like you were quite fitting it?
Speaker C:No, for sure.
Speaker C:Definitely not.
Speaker C:And saw some things that we couldn't unsee.
Speaker C:That really just kind of.
Speaker C:You just made us reconsider a lot of things.
Speaker B:When you see things like that, they impact you and cause you pain and grief and loss and, you know, and your.
Speaker B:Whatever your higher vision was, has been.
Speaker B:Been diminished a bit.
Speaker B:So tell us a little bit.
Speaker B:So you moved to Johnson County, I don't know, two, three years ago.
Speaker B:I forget.
Speaker C:Yeah, we moved here in the fall of.
Speaker C:It was August.
Speaker C:Well, it was split because my husband and the girls moved down first.
Speaker C:I have three kids and we actually, we knew we needed to be in the Indy area, but we didn't know where.
Speaker C:And we had from the time my husband accepted the job until when school started down here.
Speaker C:It was two to three weeks, depending on which school district.
Speaker C:We had to move really fast and yeah, we had to move really fast.
Speaker C:And actually we.
Speaker C:We live in.
Speaker C:In Greenwood and we picked Greenwood really just because my girl.
Speaker C:My oldest is really into.
Speaker C:Both of my girls are now.
Speaker C:But my oldest at the time really wanted go someplace that offered First Robotics.
Speaker C:And my second oldest, she really wanted to go someplace that had an orchestra.
Speaker C:So that landed us in Center Grove because they started a week later than Perry.
Speaker C:And so we said, well, okay, so we.
Speaker B:You make decisions for all kinds of reasons.
Speaker C:That's right.
Speaker C:So that's where we landed.
Speaker C:And yeah.
Speaker C:And so then we.
Speaker C:For the next.
Speaker C:They came down here and started school and we kind of over the next month were.
Speaker C:It was a kind of progressive move when my son and I joined.
Speaker B:What I want to get.
Speaker B:You didn't move to Indiana from Michigan to somehow get connected with Heaven Earth Church?
Speaker C:Absolutely not.
Speaker B:This wasn't on your radar.
Speaker C:Not at all.
Speaker B:That type of thing.
Speaker B:So tell me how heaven or church did get on your radar.
Speaker B:How did you have an awareness of it in the first place and end up even checking it out?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So we.
Speaker C:I like to say we were casually dating in different church.
Speaker C:We did that for a little while in Indianapolis and after about six months, kind of.
Speaker C:That was actually our first.
Speaker C:After we decided we weren't going to be part of the church that we came down and thought would be a part of.
Speaker C:We spent just a lot of time kind of looking and trying to figure out that piece of our journey.
Speaker C:And so we kind of went casually dated this other church for a while and Kind of just decided there were some things that we just decided it wasn't the place where we needed to be.
Speaker C:But it did kind of open the door again to like being involved in church.
Speaker C:And so then anyways, fast forward about another six months and I was looking for volunteer opportunities in Johnson county and actually came across Resources of Hope on some list.
Speaker C:And so I was looking at what it was and through that process then found Heaven Earth Church and saw Ross's blog and saw some of the videos he did and talking with Upstream Prevention and just different things like that about the work in the community and kind of their beliefs.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker B:So it seems like the partnership having to do with community oriented organizations was attractive to you.
Speaker B:It kind of scratched an itch for you going back to a little bit of your, your socially awareness things with even the least and things like that.
Speaker B:Is that a fair thing to say?
Speaker C:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker C:Yeah, it definitely was.
Speaker C:We saw in Heaven Earth a place that had had similar theology to where we.
Speaker C:To kind of where we came from.
Speaker C:Being, being a.
Speaker C:Being a female pastor.
Speaker C:That kind of already narrows the.
Speaker C:Narrows the field for churches.
Speaker C:Not that everybody has to agree with everything, but it just already kind of limits your.
Speaker C:Limits your pool.
Speaker C:And so there was theology here that matched ours.
Speaker C:So there was like biblical theology, but then it was also practical theology and how the church was walking that out and how we saw them partnering with groups and making impact in the community.
Speaker C:And so, yeah, we absolutely wanted to.
Speaker B:So tell me about the first time you came to a worship experience, a conversation, as we, let's say, around heaven or a church.
Speaker B:Tell me about your experience kind of in.
Speaker B:As a church person, a church professional who had been a little hurt and jaded about coming into that experience.
Speaker B:What were you looking for?
Speaker B:What were you, what was your antenna up about on that first time?
Speaker B:And what did you just tell me a little bit about that experience the first time you came?
Speaker C:Yeah, I was extremely guarded, Extremely guarded.
Speaker C:I did not bring my children with me and we came in and sat in the back and just paid attention to a lot of different things.
Speaker C:And one of the things that struck me right away was so again, I was in a leader.
Speaker C:I was in a organizational development.
Speaker C:No, organizational leadership program.
Speaker C:So I, I'd spent about a year and a half at that point really studying like leadership and intentionality and all kinds of things around that.
Speaker C:And so one of the things I noticed right away was ways that Ross intentionally acted that like, reduced a power differential.
Speaker C:So one thing that can happen with professional clergy is there can sometimes be a distancing between clergy and non clergy people in a church and kind of almost like a hierarchy can develop.
Speaker C:And I sensed like none of that here, which was actually really comforting to me and stood out to me a lot.
Speaker C:And so, and there were, there were things actually about that day, I remember that kind of reminded us of the church that we had planted in Wisconsin when we were there.
Speaker C:So there was kind of almost a sense of familiarity that way.
Speaker C:And so it was.
Speaker C:But beyond that, I mean it was, it was friendly and people turned around and said hello to us right away and, but also kind of like gave us space.
Speaker C:It wasn't, it wasn't like overwhelming, but it was definitely welcoming.
Speaker C:And there was a lot of.
Speaker C:It felt like space to just be present and experience.
Speaker C:And then we kind of hung around afterwards.
Speaker C:I think I remember being.
Speaker C:I don't think we said anything in the conversation that day.
Speaker C:I don't think maybe we did.
Speaker C:I don't think so.
Speaker C:But that struck me just even that it was a conversation and that it actually was a conversation.
Speaker C:And we stuck around afterwards and spoke with Ashley.
Speaker C:She kind of.
Speaker C:We were talking to her for a while.
Speaker C:I think we were reading something on the back wall.
Speaker C:I don't remember what it was but.
Speaker C:And so we.
Speaker C:She came over and started talking to us and we talked to her and she's like, you might want to talk to Ross.
Speaker C:Like, let me introduce you.
Speaker C:And so then we met Ross and talked to him for a while and.
Speaker C:And then we've been here ever since.
Speaker B:So it sounded like you had first experience and your husband Adam was with you.
Speaker B:I presume that you and he both.
Speaker B:But I'll just particularly talk with.
Speaker B:You were checking it out on several levels.
Speaker B:There is kind of a personal spiritual level.
Speaker B:There was a kind of an emotional level, interpersonal with other people.
Speaker B:There was kind of a bit of the.
Speaker B:Kind of.
Speaker B:The academic kind of a thing.
Speaker B:You kind of check it out organizationally, see how it's working organizationally and then theological as well as well as this.
Speaker B:I'll just call it the.
Speaker B:It factor kind of the warmth factor that I think a lot of people are looking for.
Speaker B:Am I accurate at all in kind of how you saw what this was going on here?
Speaker C:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker C:I think all, all of those antenna were up.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So then you end up having a conversation with Ross.
Speaker B:You met him that day.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:So tell me about how that, that conversation with Ross when you were able to have a.
Speaker B:Either.
Speaker B:Either one on one or you and your husband and he together to have a Conversation.
Speaker B:Tell me.
Speaker B:Tell me about that.
Speaker C:I.
Speaker C:Yeah, I.
Speaker C:We.
Speaker C:We laugh about it sometimes.
Speaker C:Like, him and Ashley and I talked about it periodic last year, because what stands out in their mind and mind is how guarded I was, so.
Speaker C:But I think what, again, what struck me was just, like, the honesty and the authenticity.
Speaker C:Like, there's.
Speaker C:There's something very, very authentic about Heaven Earth, where it's not pretentious and it's not a show, and it's not.
Speaker C:It's not trying to be the next big thing.
Speaker C:Like, there's a.
Speaker C:Like a real authentic, like, man.
Speaker C:We're on this journey together, and we really do believe in Jesus, and we really do believe in the Holy Spirit, and he works, and we, like, want to leave room for him to work and acknowledge that.
Speaker C:And then.
Speaker C:But then.
Speaker C:So we just.
Speaker C:We kept.
Speaker C:We kept coming back, I think, because of that.
Speaker C:But also there's something about.
Speaker C:I want to say it's in the DNA, but I don't know if that's the right metaphor.
Speaker C:But there's something about Heaven Earth being here that allowed us to heal.
Speaker C:So, like, we had.
Speaker C:Sometimes I say we had done a level of healing on our own, like our family had, but it allowed us to heal in community, which allowed our healing to kind of go on another level.
Speaker B:So we're gonna talk in a minute here about your role now as executive pastor, but let's just kind of go a little deeper in what you're talking about right here.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Even if you weren't on staff here, would you still be going to church here?
Speaker B:And basically, what keeps you here?
Speaker C:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker C:I would.
Speaker C:Heaven.
Speaker C:I say this all the time, but Heaven Earth has really good soil.
Speaker C:And so what I mean by that is that there is a lot of things that are done very, very intentionally here, from, you know, the.
Speaker C:The way things are set up in the sanctuary to the partnerships that are pursued, to the.
Speaker C:The language that's chosen to.
Speaker C:Not that every word is, like, preplanned.
Speaker C:That's not what I mean.
Speaker C:But just, like, in terms of how we talk about things, it's very.
Speaker C:It's very intentional.
Speaker C:And all of that work, you know, we.
Speaker C:We came in.
Speaker C:I think the church had been in existence for, like, five years already, but we could see, like, the cultivation of all of that soil, and it just.
Speaker C:It was really fertile ground for healing and for growth and for life, really, like.
Speaker C:And so I think there's something about being authentic with your own story.
Speaker C:And sometimes when you're in leadership, at least we were kind of brought up in Leadership where you're.
Speaker C:You're not really allowed to fail as a leader, you're not really allowed to hurt as a leader.
Speaker C:You're supposed to kind of toe a line, and that can.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:And our.
Speaker C:Not that our intention was ever to be inauthentic, and I don't know that, you know, but there's something about that pressure that when it's removed and you're kind of allowed to just be a human, that's a good thing.
Speaker B:So you would stay here.
Speaker B:And so that kind of leads me, one of my key questions I'm looking to understand from people who connect with heaven or church, what keeps you here in the first place?
Speaker B:What keeps you here?
Speaker B:So that's kind of what we're there.
Speaker B:But you.
Speaker B:You've gone to a different level.
Speaker B:You've not only came, saw what, saw something, saw you liked it, decided to stay.
Speaker B:But the process evolved where you became one of the pastors here, the executive pastor.
Speaker B:So tell me how that situation played out, because it happened relatively.
Speaker B:I forget exactly.
Speaker B:You started in as about a year, a year or so after you started coming here, you joined the staff here.
Speaker B:So tell me how that part of things evolved.
Speaker C:Sir, I told Ross no.
Speaker C:First he asked me, and so we started in January.
Speaker C:He asked me in May if I would be interested in doing some work for the church, and I told him no.
Speaker C:And then in August, a few months later, so I had just finished my degree and was at a little different place, and.
Speaker C:And actually I was driving down 31 one day, and I was at 31 in Whiteland Road, and I, like, looked over, and I saw.
Speaker C:Because you can see the church from that intersection.
Speaker C:And I just was thinking, man, I really love that church.
Speaker C:Like, I just really love our church.
Speaker C:And was probably the first moment of, like, maybe I could be a little more involved.
Speaker C:Like, was where that first.
Speaker C:I don't know, that seed.
Speaker C:Whatever started to grow.
Speaker C:And so then I kind of said to Ross in August, I was like, hey, you remember when you asked me that question about, like, coming to work here?
Speaker C:He's like, are you still interested in that?
Speaker C:And he's like, yeah, yeah, I would be like, let's talk more.
Speaker C:Um, and then it was about a.
Speaker C:And then I didn't start until December, so it was a little bit of a process of.
Speaker C:Of that all moving.
Speaker C:But, yeah, I decided to come on staff, really, because I don't.
Speaker C:I don't know that I could work for another church right now.
Speaker C:Well, not right now, because right now I'm working here.
Speaker C:So I started work for another church.
Speaker C:But again, like, there's something about this place that that's just, it's just.
Speaker C:I just come back to it's good soil.
Speaker C:And so it's soil that I feel like I want to be a part of and I want to work in.
Speaker B:And yeah, want to be a part of is slightly different than being one of the pastors you have invest.
Speaker B:Invested.
Speaker B:You were invested in this church.
Speaker B:Not certainly kind of a spiritually and mission wise, but you know, you've invested into it and part of your life, your professional life, as it were.
Speaker B:I know we.
Speaker B:So tell us a little bit what it means.
Speaker B:So what, first of all, what in the world is an executive pastor and what do you do?
Speaker C:Yeah, it's a great question.
Speaker C:Basically I make things run.
Speaker C:That's pretty much what I do.
Speaker C:Um, so it's executive in, in that sense.
Speaker C:Like, so I, I do a lot of, really a lot of kind of organizational development work.
Speaker C:Like that's a piece of the work that I do.
Speaker C:That's more the executive part of my job is what are the systems that we have in place.
Speaker C:So when, when things grow, there comes a point where you go, what was working here at the, you know, when we were this size?
Speaker C:It's not.
Speaker C:We're going to have to like, how do we, how do we scale that?
Speaker C:And I mean that in a really healthy, like, natural way.
Speaker C:Like a tree has to get bigger roots if it's going to grow bigger.
Speaker C:It can't just have its little root system.
Speaker C:Its roots have to grow too.
Speaker C:Um, and so there, there was a connection with my, with my degree that I saw on that level.
Speaker C:Um, you know, the, my, my church answers.
Speaker C:I think it, there was, there was definitely a lot of work that like the Lord had do on my heart to make me willing.
Speaker C:I don't want to even say that because I don't think he made me willing.
Speaker C:But I very much felt like I had a choice and there was a choice before me and I felt like it could be a good choice and one that the Lord was gonna.
Speaker C:Was leading me to.
Speaker C:Not that I had to say yes, but I saw an opportunity where I could use my gifts in those ways to help the church.
Speaker C:And so that's what I've been trying to do.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:And it really, when I was hired, my, my job has really kind of morphed and shifted over the last, over the last year as it's developed and kind of things have crystallized a little more and exactly what that means.
Speaker C:So all that to say I do a lot of, A lot of that, like system building and I work with a board and I.
Speaker B:Think a fair amount of behind the scenes thing from what somebody might.
Speaker B:If when somebody gets to a Sunday morning worship conversation, they're more likely to see you in a music level or I know you also do writing and you do some other things of this, of this nature.
Speaker B:Tell us how these three areas of your life and the work kind of intersect to maybe be helpful to people.
Speaker B:The music, the writing, the leadership development.
Speaker B:Tell me about how a lot comes together if that person is coming into church, how that might be helpful to them.
Speaker C:That's a great question.
Speaker C:So my heart is to like, I, I think that what people would see is they'd see connections between things.
Speaker C:So songs and like flow and so whether it's the AV stuff or like the people on stage or, you know, we have a lot of conversations about hospitality and I don't, I don't run the hospitality team, but, but just we talk a lot about how do we be consistent and have a consistent presence in who we are and what we do here.
Speaker C:And part of that is doing team building.
Speaker C:So I don't lead worship, but I lead the worship team.
Speaker C:I don't lead worship every Sunday, but I lead the worship team.
Speaker C:So I'm working with leaders who are leading on a Sunday morning.
Speaker C:I'm working with.
Speaker B:So you have put together the music, you have put together the flow of worship, things of this nature, as well as some of the things as well.
Speaker B:So in the life of the church here, Emily, tell me about a time when you kind of had that aha moment.
Speaker B:That, okay, there is something here that I get it and I think other people get it, that the aha moment regarding the church and that this might work, this just might be, you know, there's something here.
Speaker B:You know what I mean by that?
Speaker B:Kind of an aha moment?
Speaker B:Kind of a, A moment when you said, okay, let's go.
Speaker C:Hmm.
Speaker C:That's a great question.
Speaker C:I have to.
Speaker C:I didn't prepare for that one, Brad.
Speaker C:My kids love Heaven Earth.
Speaker C:And so watching them feel comfortable here and welcome here and seeing how they respond here has been pretty profound for me.
Speaker C:Like I said, I was a youth pastor, so like connecting with teens was kind of.
Speaker C:Has always been a part of me.
Speaker C:It's different when they live in your house.
Speaker C:And so watching them engage I think is maybe my.
Speaker C:Has been my biggest like, okay, this is, this isn't just about me personal.
Speaker B:Didn't it?
Speaker C:Yeah, it's not just about me.
Speaker C:It's not just about Adam.
Speaker C:It's about like, it's a place our whole family can really be and engage.
Speaker C:And so that's a cool moment.
Speaker B:Tell me that about a lump of the throat moment when you thought either in this church experience, maybe in some other experience, a lump of throwing when you're thinking, man, this, you know, there's something going on here that just ain't right that I need to do something about.
Speaker C:I don't think I can say that.
Speaker C:No, you know, I don't, I don't.
Speaker C:Here's what I'm going to say.
Speaker C:I don't.
Speaker C:So, like, I can think of a couple times where I was like, whew, what just happened?
Speaker C:But, but what I actually want to say more is that I think what I saw, like, even in just like Ross and Ashley, like, I know the work and the commitment that it takes to do ministry work and it.
Speaker C:And I know the toll that it takes.
Speaker C:Um, and so I think there definitely were times where I saw just that I saw the toll and I kind of thought like, I, I think there's ways and I actually we, we started being involved with the music.
Speaker C:That was the first way that we, that we started being involved.
Speaker C:Um, because when you lead worship every Sunday, it's just, it, it's, it's tiring.
Speaker C:Like, it's beautiful and it's life giving, but it's also work and.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And so that was kind of the first way that I.
Speaker C:And I remember and I filled out our questionnaire on, on the website.
Speaker C:But again, I told you I was really guarded.
Speaker C:So like, I didn't put in all the information.
Speaker C:I like, I left lots of spots blank.
Speaker B:You mean you put in it right away, music leader or whatever?
Speaker C:Well, what I did put in, as I put it in kind of differently.
Speaker C:I said, I meant, I said something about like the piano and the gem bear have been my companions in worship for many years or something like that.
Speaker C:Like, I kind of like stuck it in there.
Speaker C:Yeah, but, but that was really like the first way we got involved.
Speaker C:And then there was actually for the harvest gathering.
Speaker C:Nope, nope, nope.
Speaker C:It was so summer Sunday, I think.
Speaker C:Well, it was one of them.
Speaker C:One or the others.
Speaker C:We just asked Ross.
Speaker C:We were like, hey, would you like some help with music on this on this Sunday?
Speaker C:And so that was kind of how it started.
Speaker B:Tell me then about a God moment that you've had here at Heaven Earth Church where you think, okay, there is just something.
Speaker B:There's a bit of the holy here.
Speaker B:There's something special here that is a holy moment that I see it not only for myself, but I see it happen kind of in the body.
Speaker C:Oh, there's.
Speaker C:I've had a lot of those, but normally they come in the conversation.
Speaker C:But there.
Speaker C:There have been so.
Speaker C:And I think what I would say with that was, is like, like the conversations are not always comfortable.
Speaker C:They have a way sometimes of pushing on spots that are maybe a little tender, especially like the first year that I was here.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:But they also, like.
Speaker C:But it was done in a way that was really, like, good to make me think and consider.
Speaker C:And so, you know, and I was think.
Speaker C:I'm thinking too.
Speaker C:Like, there was.
Speaker C:I, like, I think about, you know, a day that Ross came out with a cardboard side and wrote, you know, homeless on it and talked about homelessness.
Speaker C:I think about the day that he baked bread during the service and we had.
Speaker C:And like, we ate.
Speaker C:That was the bread we used for communion.
Speaker C:But there was an experiential nature to that.
Speaker C:I think about things that I thought about in terms of the Lord really being like, are you paying attention to that one?
Speaker C:Because you probably should.
Speaker C:Or.
Speaker C:And a lot of that came through, like, some of my stubbornness and.
Speaker C:But in my healing, but also, like, really challenging, encouraging good ways.
Speaker C:And there's something about processing journeys together that happen in that conversation and hearing other people's perspective and being reminded, like, okay, we're out.
Speaker C:Like, we really can be on this journey together.
Speaker C:We don't have to agree.
Speaker C:Ross says a lot.
Speaker C:He says, you know, you don't have to agree with me, but together we're seeking to be in unity with Jesus.
Speaker C:And I love that.
Speaker C:It's a.
Speaker C:It's not just a line, but it is a line.
Speaker C:But I love that saying, that phrase because it's like, we, like, there's an acknowledgement, like, we do our best to follow the Lord, like, faithfully, but there's also, like, we're not gonna get it right all the time, but we're.
Speaker C:We're trying to walk with Jesus and like, we don't have to be agree like a hundred percent on everything, but we can still be in fellowship and.
Speaker B:Follow him together in that agreement, in that fellowship.
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm.
Speaker B:I'm a real advocate for when life change happens, something cool happens.
Speaker B:Tell me a time when you witnessed some transformative change in somebody's life that's happened out of the result of the mission and ministry of Heaven Earth Church.
Speaker B:Were you seeing somebody transform?
Speaker C:So there.
Speaker C:So I.
Speaker C:So the.
Speaker C:The people that come to mind.
Speaker C:Like, we're in.
Speaker C:So we do these things called.
Speaker C:Things called get to Know yous.
Speaker C:And so we go and we have.
Speaker C:We have lunch after church, and the very first one that we went to.
Speaker C:So we'd only been at the church about a month.
Speaker C:Like, there was a group of us there who most of us are.
Speaker C:Are still here, I think all.
Speaker C:But maybe.
Speaker C:And in some ways he's still kind of here, but really, like, we're all still part of the church.
Speaker C:Everybody that was part of that group.
Speaker C:And what has been cool to see is the different ways and at different points, the transformations that have happened in each of those.
Speaker C:Each of those people.
Speaker C:And some of them, you know, some of them, it just.
Speaker C:A lot.
Speaker C:But a lot of it comes down to, like, different ways, like, people are coming, like, have come alive and.
Speaker C:And just getting to hear their stories.
Speaker C:A lot of it revolves around healing, but a lot of it also revolves around, like, finding purpose and meaning and walking that out and then seeing how.
Speaker B:You'Ve seen that happen in people.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And then, like, seeing their connections grow and just the way they're seeing the Lord move in their life and the way he's connecting them with other people.
Speaker C:And so it's just.
Speaker C:It's cool to kind of, like, be on that journey together.
Speaker B:Speaking of important people, I want to bring it around to this and the, like, in the last couple minutes we have together, tell me something about your family.
Speaker B:Just something cool about the people that you live with.
Speaker B:Your family, your.
Speaker B:Your husband and kids.
Speaker B:Tell me their names and then something cool about it.
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker C:So Adam is my husband.
Speaker C:Natalie is my oldest.
Speaker C:And then Kaylee and Jamon.
Speaker C:And we are all musical in one way or another.
Speaker C:So that's one thing sort of about just our family.
Speaker C:It's kind of a big part of our.
Speaker C:Our family.
Speaker C:But then Adam, I.
Speaker C:I say that everybody loves Adam, and he doesn't like it when I say that, but I say that.
Speaker C:But he's just, like, super personable, so, like, he'll make you laugh.
Speaker C:And, um, he just.
Speaker C:He brings a levity but, like an intentionality to.
Speaker C:To situations and.
Speaker C:And he can fix, like, pretty much anything that's broken.
Speaker C:If it's broken, he can fix it, probably, or he knows somebody who can.
Speaker C:Um, Natalie loves robotics, so she's.
Speaker C:She's part of Red Alert, and she is getting ready to finish up.
Speaker C:She's a senior, and so she's finishing her year and looking at colleges and is excited for that next step of her journey.
Speaker C:She's Also a lifeguard.
Speaker C:So she works as a lifeguard and teaches swim lessons.
Speaker C:Kayleigh is, she is a violinist and she also is a really amazing artist.
Speaker C:And so they do all kinds or she does all kinds of.
Speaker C:All kinds of creative endeavors.
Speaker C:And then Jamin is my seventh grader and he, he, he loves soccer, but he also just has the biggest imagination in the whole world.
Speaker C:And he's a really, really great chess player.
Speaker C:So if you want a game of chess, he will probably beat you.
Speaker B:He could take on the chess masters or whatever.
Speaker B:So I want to come back to Natalie just for a second.
Speaker B:You said she's in robotics.
Speaker B:I want to kind of put it couch it this way.
Speaker B:I know you're involved with the robotics family, parents and so on.
Speaker B:What I'm going to put into what I'm going to getting at here, Emily, is this.
Speaker B:If somebody you knew through robotics, parents stuff came to you and just got to know you a little bit and became.
Speaker B:You became friendly with that person.
Speaker B:And let's just say she's a person in similar age and similar situation with kids as you are, but had some issue in life, whatever it is, marital, financial, job, health related.
Speaker B:He came to you with just some need.
Speaker B:Would you feel comfortable inviting her to be.
Speaker B:To come to heaven or church kind of as a part of her of a journey of healing for her?
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, I would, I.
Speaker B:And what would you be the things you would say to her specifically to say here, here's how this might be a little help.
Speaker B:Mm.
Speaker C:I think what I would.
Speaker C:Obviously context would dictate it a little bit, but I think what I would say is, you know, you like it's heaven.
Speaker C:Earth is not about having everything together.
Speaker C:It's about taking a step to, to put yourself in a place where you can heal and that.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Like it's a.
Speaker C:It's a place where you can be who you are and be seen and be reminded that you're not alone and that the Lord loves you and that the Lord wants to meet you where you are and we want to meet people where they are and we want to walk with people and journey together.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker B:Very good.
Speaker B:I want to kind of bring this conversation home with two questions here.
Speaker B:They have to do with the pivotal to the life of the church.
Speaker B:Prominently displayed in the church is a mission statement that goes something like, we exist to make a lasting impact in this community.
Speaker B:What's that mean to you and is it real?
Speaker C:Yeah, I actually think it is real, what it means to me.
Speaker C:So I'm going to start with that Part of the question.
Speaker C:And then I'll get to the other part.
Speaker C:I think one of the things that we talk about here is our partnerships.
Speaker C:And so we talk about like, we don't.
Speaker C:Heaven, Earth doesn't try to do everything.
Speaker C:Like, we can't, we can't do all the things.
Speaker C:But what we can do is be connected with and help you connect with other organizations in the area that are like doing things.
Speaker C:So that's one thing.
Speaker C:But the other thing is part of, part of that partnerships is being a place that people trust.
Speaker C:So there's an element of being like, if we say, you know, we want to meet people where they are, are we doing that?
Speaker C:So we ask those kinds of questions all the time, like, how are we living into our mission statement?
Speaker C:Like, it doesn't just sit on our banner.
Speaker C:Like, we talk about it all the time.
Speaker C:You know, how are we living into our values?
Speaker C:Are we living, Are we missing?
Speaker C:Like, where are we missing?
Speaker C:And then like, how can we be more intentional about seeking that?
Speaker C:So there's that kind of mindset here of like, we don't want to just say things.
Speaker C:We want to actually like, tangibly do the things to help us do that.
Speaker C:So I think about like the, the housing coalition and different things that have kind of come out of the waters one way or another of this place.
Speaker C:And so when we say we want to make a lasting impact, that, that's a, that's a holistic meaning.
Speaker C:And so, um, I guess that's maybe getting into what it means to me.
Speaker B:Well, yeah, and the follow up is similar to it then kind of, I kind of take it as kind of a motto or a saint of the church is that if you don't fit in church, you fit in here.
Speaker B:Yeah, the same thing.
Speaker B:What is that real?
Speaker B:And if so, how is it real?
Speaker C:For me it's real.
Speaker C:And I think that's the heart that's, that's here.
Speaker C:I think there's a lot of people here who've been hurt by church.
Speaker C:I think there's a lot of people here who for various reasons feel like they didn't fit well in church.
Speaker C:Sometimes that's like, sometimes that's an intellectual level.
Speaker C:So sometimes it's.
Speaker C:I ask a lot of questions and my questions weren't welcomed in church.
Speaker C:You can ask your questions here.
Speaker C:You know, sometimes it's a emotional level.
Speaker C:Like I was in deep grief and I was told to get over it and just move on.
Speaker C:If my.
Speaker C:And that's what having faith look like.
Speaker C:It's not what you're gonna find here.
Speaker C:You know, sometimes it's what.
Speaker C:Whatever other thing it is, you know.
Speaker C:But so we have a lot of people who've had a lot of negative experience with church and a lot of hurt, a lot of trauma, whether it's from church or from other areas of life.
Speaker C:And so I think what we really strive to be is true to that.
Speaker C:Like, we're on this journey with Jesus and sometimes and it's up and down and back and forth, but we keep practicing.
Speaker C:And so it's an environment that just encourages that.
Speaker C:And we don't have to be all right.
Speaker C:Like, we don't have to be perfect.
Speaker C:We're not perfect, but we can keep practicing.
Speaker B:I love that imagery to keep practicing.
Speaker B:Well, any.
Speaker B:Just the words that you would want to share, just kind of a.
Speaker B:Kind of a concluding thought you may have to someone who might be able to see or hear what we've shared here today.
Speaker B:What would you share either to the Heaven Earth Church community or to others who may be checking.
Speaker B:Checking out the church.
Speaker C:Yeah, I would say, man, if you're thinking about.
Speaker C:If you're thinking about coming, like, we would love to have you, we'd love to meet you, we'd love to hear pieces of your story if you want to share those with us.
Speaker C:We try really hard not to force things at Heaven Earth.
Speaker C:And so I would just, I would encourage you, like, if you're looking for.
Speaker C:If I don't know if you're looking for a community, if you don't know what you're looking for, come by.
Speaker C:We just.
Speaker C:We'd love to have a cup of coffee with you and, and just, yeah, learn your name and just, yeah, just be present to you and to our Heaven Earth community.
Speaker C:I guess I would just say thank you.
Speaker C:Thank you for the opportunity to be part of this church.
Speaker C:Thank you for the opportunity to work at this church.
Speaker C:Thank you for helping me heal in my journey and for journeying with me.
Speaker C:So it's, it's.
Speaker C:It really is a.
Speaker C:It really is a joy to work here.
Speaker C:And that's something that I really didn't think I could say.
Speaker C:Four years ago, I wasn't looking to work at a church again.
Speaker C:And I'm really glad I said yes.
Speaker B:So love the way you put that.
Speaker B:Really glad I said yes.
Speaker B:So her name, Emily Falferson.
Speaker B:She is the executive pastor at Heaven Earth Church.
Speaker B:You need to get to know her.
Speaker B:We thank you for joining us here on the Heaven Earth Church podcast.
Speaker B:All about the church is looking to make a lasting impact in our community.
Speaker A:We want to thank you for spending time with us today.
Speaker A:My name is Ross Stackhouse, the pastor to Heaven Earth Church.
Speaker A:And you may think out there that your story is over, but in fact, your faith story may just be beginning.
Speaker A:If you want more information about our church or you're interested in the next step, you can go to heavenearthchurch.org Otherwise, we look forward to being with you next time at the Heaven Earth Church podcast.
