It is our 21st anniversary and we are celebrating like it was our 20th.

Last year, we were unpacking boxes on August 15th, have just moved to Nashville to work at LifeWay. So, instead of celebrating, we were organizing. Needless to say, I promised my wife a better time this anniversary.

So, I am in Chicago. We are staying in a nice hotel on the Magnificent Mile. We are sleeping late, going to movies, seeing shows, and just enjoying each other. On Sunday, we will be at Community Christian Church and grab lunch with my friend Dave Ferguson. I will stay over till Tuesday to shoot a television program with the Assemblies of God (which gave me the excuse to come to Chicago this weekend).

Donna and I started dating in High School. Donna was the first (and only) girl I dated seriously. We went to the prom, then off to college together. When we were 20 years old, she was crazy enough to marry me. So, between our Junior and Senior years of college, we got married.

She is a wonderful friend and an amazing wife.

She loves Jesus. We first met when she came to a Bible Study I was leading in high school. She had led about 6 of her friends to Christ that year.

She is not afraid of difficult things. She supported us as I planted our first church while going to seminary on the weekends... and earned a Masters degree while I was earning mine. We have planted multiple churches, worked to revitalize a few, and not chosen the easy paths in life.

I have dragged this woman to the inner city of Buffalo, NY to plant a church among the urban poor. Then, off to a blue collar community of Erie to plant again. Four months after Kristen was born, she came with me to Louisville where I taught at seminary (which was much more challenging than Buffalo!).

Once she was pregnant again, of course I dragged her to Georgia to work at NAMB and then to evantually plant a church in our free time . And, now we live in Nashville where I travel too much.

She has never complained and she had every right to. We have literally grown up together and now we are raising kids together. I look forward to growing old together.

Now, I watch her continue to grow and I see her life poured into our 3 daughters. And I am grateful every day.

So, today is her day. And, I am honored that she would call me her husband!

Well, as of this week, I've been blogging at edstetzer.com for 1 year. It has been enjoyable, rewarding, and (at times) challenging.

We have released and discussed a lot of research. In addition, it has allowed me to share parts of my life (like moving and rolling my car,) my thoughts on the church and her mission (like the meanings of "missional"), and encourage dialog on issues I believe are important to the Kingdom of God.

The blog has included:

• Talking about movements, history, and race.


• Having edifying dialogue even when you disagree,


• Telling the truth about my denominational situation even when people don't want to hear it,


• Sharing family traditions, and


• Responding to public accusations of plagiarism.

And, surprisingly, the blog itself has been quoted in AP, UPI, USAToday, and World Magazine (reminding me to be careful in what I say!).

It is my hope that the 330 post have helped to facilitate thinking and conversations that can be beneficial to all who participate. I look forward to the next year of blogging and hope you will help to make this blog better by jumping into the conversations.

Today is my 20th wedding anniversary. Donna has been the love of my life since high school. We started dating when we were 16 and never dated anyone else.