Erwin McManus

Erwin McManus
Born	Irving Rafael Mesa-Cardona (1958-08-28) August 28, 1958 Republic of El Salvador, Central America
Nationality	Salvadoran, Naturalized American
Occupation(s)	Pastor, Author, Public Speaker
Spouse	Kim McManus
Children	Aaron, Mariah Foster daughter Paty C
Website	Erwin Raphael McManus

Erwin Raphael McManus (August 28, 1958) is an American author, lecturer, and pastor of Salvadorean descent.

McManus is the lead pastor of Mosaic Church, a Christian community in Los Angeles, California which has been named one of the most influential and innovative churches in America. He made his name first by becoming a popular speaker on issues related to postmodernism and postmodern Christianity, but also writes and lectures on topics such as culture, change, creativity, and leadership. McManus was named by Church Report in January 2007 as one of the "50 Most Influential Christians in America."

Biography

Born Irving Rafael Mesa-Cardona, McManus is a native of El Salvador. His family immigrated to the United States when he was very young and he was raised in Florida. Little public information is available about McManus' upbringing, his move from El Salvador, or the intervening years until his late teen years. Regarding the name McManus, the minister reported that "it is not an adopted name, it was my step-father's name and I made it legal ... My mom married someone here in the United States ... that’s how we ended up being called McManus."

McManus earned his B.A. from the University of North Carolina and his M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He and his wife Kim have two children, Aaron and Mariah, and a foster daughter, Paty. Aaron is currently engaged to actress and model Analeigh Tipton.

Christian Minister

Serving as a church planter in Dallas, McManus began two congregations where he worked among the urban poor. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, along with brother Alex, he was employed to replace what were described as "outdated and stagnant" church leadership teams with "younger and fresher thinkers." He moved to Los Angeles in 1993 where he eventually took the role of pastor at Mosaic. Since the 1990's, McManus has been associated with the Leadership Network. In addition, he partners with Bethel Seminary as a lecturer and futurist.

As Lead Pastor of Mosaic, McManus speaks at four Sunday services (all considered one church) in Pasadena, Hollywood, Pomona and downtown Los Angeles. He headed up the creation of the Mosaic Alliance, a loose association of like-minded churches. He also presides over the "Origins" conference held yearly at Mosaic. McManus was instrumental in organizing the "Rethink" conference saying "We need to know where things are going so we can get there first." He catalyzed The Barbarian Project internship saying "The greatest enemy to the movement of Jesus Christ is Christianity."

McManus has introduced various psychological personality metrics to his church. Techniques include the Myers-Briggs type indicator and Gallup's Strengths Finder. In recent years he has also founded Awaken, a collection of poets, artists, film makers and humanitarians whose stated goal is "maximizing the divine potential" in every human being.

Public Speaker

Paid speaking engagements have taken McManus to over 30 countries and his work is featured in films, articles, and magazines worldwide. In 2011, he spoke at The Global Leadership Summit, which is put on by Willow Creek Association and founded by Bill Hybels.

Author

• An Unstoppable Force: Daring to Become the Church God Had in Mind (ISBN 0764423061) (June 1, 2001)
• Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul (ISBN 0785264310) (September 4, 2003)
• The Church in Emerging Culture: Five Perspectives (ISBN 0310254876) (October 1, 2003)
• The Barbarian Way: Unleash the Untamed Faith Within (ISBN 0785264329) (February 10, 2005)
• Chasing Daylight: Seize the Power of Every Moment (ISBN 0785281134) (January 10, 2006)
• Stand Against the Wind: Fuel for the Revolution of Your Soul (ISBN 1404102965) (February 14, 2006)
• Seizing Your Divine Moment (ISBN 0785263160) (June 30, 2006)
• Soul Cravings (ISBN 0785214941) (November 14, 2006)
• Wide Awake (ISBN 078521495X) (July 1, 2008)
• The Artisan Soul: Crafting Your Life Into A Work Of Art (ISBN 0062270273) (February 25, 2014

Filmmaker

In 2004, McManus entered into filmmaking. He earned credits as a producer, writer, actor, and director. In a 2014 interview, McManus reported that (until 2013) he owned both a fashion company and a film company.

Selected Filmography

• Wide Awake: Short Film Series (actor, writer, director, producer) -- 2008
• Crave: The Documentary (writer) -- 2010
• A Day Without Rain (producer, writer, director) -- 2011

External links

• Erwin Raphael McManus Official Site
• Official Mosaic Site
• Official Soul Cravings Website
• Official Wide Awake Website
• Erwin Raphael McManus at IMDB