My name is Ross Lester, and I am a Resident Alien.

That is the legal title of my immigration status, but it is also a helpful lens through which I try to view my life as a follower of Jesus. As a resident alien of the USA, I am constantly aware of my rights and responsibilities as a resident of this nation. I am called to love and serve the place where I live and to help the people around me to flourish. But, I am also an alien. I am not from here, and so there are many things that I see differently and many areas where I find myself swimming upstream against cultural norms.

This - as it turns out - is also a great Christian posture.

That we would be people who understand the world around us and who live for the joy and flourishing of the people that God has placed in our spheres of influence. But also, that we might be alien to many aspects of the culture of our surrounding world, as people who ultimately are not from around here, and won’t live here forever.

The Scriptures call us to be aliens when it comes to our surrounding cultures. (1 Pet 2:11; Heb 11:13)
And the Scriptures call us to no longer live as aliens from each other in our communities of faith. (Eph 2:19)

This is the tension of being both resident and alien.

This site is a place of CREATION and COLLATION of content about that tension. I hope to contribute thoughts I have as I attempt to wrestle through what it means to be a faithful resident alien pastor in and amongst a congregation of people who are trying to live peculiar Christian lives. I also hope to feature some guest content from thinkers and fellow sojourners who I find interesting and helpful.

Welcome to all my fellow resident aliens. May we serve each other well as press towards the celestial shore of our real and true home.

I am married to my high-school sweetheart, Sue, and we have two wonderful children. We are from South Africa, but we now live in Austin, TX, where I have the privilege of serving as one of the pastors at The Austin Stone Community Church.