ABOUT CHRIS SEAY
Chris Seay takes every chance to celebrate and share his love of God with all who will listen. His many talents and leadership qualities allow this storyteller, pastor, writer, musician, husband, father, and son to compellingly convey the story of the absolute love of Jesus, the Liberating King to the church and culture.
In 1995, at the age of 23, Chris left his ministry as Pastor of a rural church in Central Texas to start a church that could reach his peers. His studies at Baylor University and the friends nurtured there, including a young and developing worship leader named David Crowder, became the core group of this new church; University Baptist Church became a place of authentic community, honest worship, and sound biblical teaching. As UBC exploded from a small group of friends to more than a thousand young people in its first year, it became clear that a generation whom many believed had rejected institutional Christianity were still captivated by the love story of Jesus Christ. UBC is still a thriving community, drawing students and young people into the story of Christianity.
In 1999 Chris and his wife Lisa moved to Houston’s Montrose district with brother Robbie Seay to start a missional church in the most challenging neighborhood in the city. Ecclesia is a unique community that is living out the gospel in compelling ways, not only in Houston but across the globe. 2115 Taft, the church’s home base, houses Taft Street Coffee (an all fair trade coffee shop rated as one of the top three coffee shops in the city by AOL Citysearch), a bookstore, an organic food market, a recording studio, an art gallery, a music venue, and score of other community events. This community center by week transitions to a place of worship on Sundays as 1400-1800 people cram themselves into this small urban space to celebrate the love of Christ.
Chris’ vision for a new translation of the bible, goes back 20 years to his early attempts to teach the Bible in the narrative as the story of God. As President of Ecclesia Bible Society, his vision has manifested into The Voice. As Western culture has moved into what is now referred to as postmodernism, Chris observed that the way a new generation processes ideas and information raises obstacles to traditional methods of teaching biblical content. His desire has grown to present the Bible in ways that overcome these obstacles to people coming to faith. Instead of propositional-based thought patterns, people today are more likely to interact with events and individuals through complex observations involving emotions, cognitive processes, tactile experiences, and spiritual awareness. Much as in the parables of Jesus and in the metaphors of the prophets, narrative communication touches the whole person.