Todd Hunter (bishop)

Todd Dean Hunter (born 1956) is an American author, church planter, and bishop in the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). He was the founding pastor of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Costa Mesa, California (2009-2019). Prior to being received into Anglicanism in 2009, Hunter was a leader in the charismatic Vineyard movement. He has also been affiliated with a number of evangelical movements and organizations during his career, including the Jesus Movement, Calvary Chapel, and Alpha.

Hunter is the author of Christianity Beyond Belief: Following Jesus for the Sake of Others, Giving Church Another Chance, The Outsider Interviews, The Accidental Anglican, Our Favorite Sins, and Our Character at Work.

Early career and the Vineyard[]

Hunter was converted to Christianity in 1976 as part of the Jesus Movement.^[1] He completed his B.S. in business administration from Cal Poly Pomona^[2] and in 1979 moved to Wheeling, West Virginia, with his wife, Debbie Hunter, to plant a Calvary Chapel-affiliated church.^[1]

The Wheeling church later became affiliated with the Vineyard, and Hunter was hired by John Wimber in 1987 as a Senior Associate pastor at Anaheim Vineyard Christian Fellowship and to help start the Association of Vineyard Churches.^[1] In 1991, Hunter moved to Virginia Beach, to oversee Vineyard churches in the Southeast. While there, he completed an M.A. in Biblical studies at Regent University.^[2] He returned to Southern California in 1994 as national coordinator of the Vineyard, and after Wimber's death in 1997, served for four years as president of the Vineyard.^[1]

Church planting[]

Hunter continued to remain interested in church planting, and from 2001 to 2004, he worked with Allelon, a church-planter coaching ministry. From 2004 to 2008, Hunter was executive director of Alpha USA, the U.S.-based affiliate of the Alpha course, developed by Anglican vicar Nicky Gumbel in London. He also completed a D.Min. from George Fox Evangelical Seminary, and taught as an adjunct at Fuller Theological Seminary, Western Seminary, Vanguard University, Wheaton College,^[2] George Fox University, Azusa Pacific University, Tabor College, Biblical Seminary, and Northern Seminary.

In 2008, Hunter founded a church-planting initiative called Churches for the Sake of Others (C4SO), seeking to "engag[e] the post-modern, post-Christian culture and [draw] the unchurched and dechurched to Christ by going where they are."^[3] During his years with Alpha, Hunter was influenced by John R. W. Stott, J. I. Packer, and Sandy Millar to consider Anglicanism. He launched C4SO as the West Coast church-planting initiative of the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA), then affiliated with the Anglican Church of Rwanda. As Hunter simultaneously planted churches in Costa Mesa, California, and Eagle, Idaho, he was also ordained as an Anglican deacon and priest in 2008 and 2009, respectively.^[1]

In 2009, at the urging of AMiA chair Chuck Murphy and in recognition of his role as an overseer of churches in the West, Hunter was consecrated as a bishop in AMiA. Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini of Rwanda was the chief consecrator, and Rick Warren preached at the consecration service.^[4]

Transition to ACNA[]

In late 2011, Hunter was one of nine AMiA bishops to resign from the Rwandan House of Bishops after a controversy between Murphy and new Rwandan archbishop Onesphore Rwaje over AMiA oversight.^[5] In 2012, Hunter expressed regret over his actions, reporting "that he had asked for and had received forgiveness from... Rwaje for 'my part in actions, attitudes or communications that were hurtful to him or to my brother bishops in Rwanda.'"^[6]

Hunter was then received into ACNA where he continued to support church planters by transitioning his church-planting initiative into the Diocese of C4SO, admitted as a full member diocese at ACNA's General Convention in June 2013. C4SO is a community of churches and leaders committed to nurturing existing congregations as well as planting new churches, and it often works in partnership with other diocesan jurisdictions to plant churches. Through all its endeavors, C4SO seeks to announce, embody and demonstrate the Kingdom of God.

In 2016, Bishop Hunter started the Telos Collective, an initiative of the Anglican Church in North America. The Telos Collective seeks to form leaders at the intersection of gospel and culture who will then lead churches in faithful and fruitful Gospel engagement with culture. The Telos Collective forms this group of leaders through an annual event—the Intersection Conference—blogs, podcasts, coaching and other resources. Bishop Hunter’s desire is to serve the whole province by equipping leaders to graciously, peacefully, and confidently engage 21st century culture for Christ.

Notes[]

Bibliography[]

• Giving Church Another Chance: Finding New Meaning in Spiritual Practices (InterVarsity Press, 2010) (ISBN 978-0830837489)
• Christianity Beyond Belief: Following Jesus for the Sake of Others (InterVarsity Press, 2010) (ISBN 978-0830832569)
• The Accidental Anglican: The Surprising Appeal of the Liturgical Church (InterVarsity Press, 2010) (ISBN 978-0830838394)
• Our Favorite Sins: The Sins We Commit and How You Can Quit (Thomas Nelson, 2012) (ISBN 978-1595554444)
• Our Character at Work: Success from the Heart of Servant Leadership (Wheatmark, 2016) (ISBN 978-1627872935)