About Us
Meet the team at Recentered Group.
ABOUT
The Recentered Story
In 2015, God led Ed Underwood to transition from leading the historic Church of the Open Door— where he handed off the ministry to healthy and capable leaders. `Without knowing what came next. God asked Ed to leverage his leadership experience to serve the Body of Christ at large by ministering directly to their leaders.
What had been incubating in his heart as he increasingly encountered hurting, underequipped pastors and church leaders was the need to recenter the church on Jesus’ two priorities—making disciples and loving one another. And it always starts with healthy leadership.
In 2016, Recentered Group was born from the church’s growing need to recenter on Jesus’ two priorities—making disciples and loving one another. Since then, we have helped, encouraged, equipped, and inspired numerous pastors, missionaries, church leaders and boards, and individual believers with a message focused on the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.
Today, the need is greater than ever. While tragic stories of abuse make headlines (rightfully so) thousands more believers have been deeply wounded by church leaders who were not evil abusers, or even ill-intentioned, but simply ill-equipped, lonely, overburdened, and without support. Even capable leaders become unable to meet the needs of their bodies as they face the constant pressures of ministry in the 21st century. When their failures pile up in shame and sorrow, they give up and abandon their calling. Congregations are left devastated, and many give up on church entirely. Church leaders desperately need help.
We’re confident in our calling to help churches build and maintain healthy, disciple-making cultures rooted in grace. Our team is expanding, and we’re more passionate than ever about helping pastors and church leaders so their congregations can thrive.
Our Mission
By focusing on the great commandment to love one another, we aim to encourage and equip Christian leaders to build and maintain high trust cultures rooted in grace where discipleship thrives.
Our Vision
Recentered Group is a non-profit ministry that seeks to equip Christian leaders to build high trust cultures where discipleship thrives. We do this by drawing them back to what matters most to Jesus–loving one another and making disciples. We believe that grace changes everything, and leaders do not have to live lonely and weary lives. We aim to demonstrate in practical ways how trusting God with their ministry by living counter culturally to the pressures that distract from Jesus' priorities will bring sustainable spiritual growth.
MEET
Ed’s been blessed to be married to Judy for 52 years. They have three adult children and nine grandchildren. They reside in Southern California.
Ed Underwood
Pastor, Author, and a shepherd to shepherds
Ed’s experience ranges from fighting California wildfires with the Fulton Hotshots as a young man to his time in Germany as an Army Officer during the Cold War and finally as a Lead Pastor for over 40 years. He has a ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary and spent twenty-one years as Pastor of the historic Church of the Open Door in Los Angeles. These roles and a twenty-year battle with leukemia have uniquely equipped him to be a “Shepherd to Shepherds.”
When Ed handed off leadership of the Church of the Open Door, he asked God what was next. After prayer and counsel, it became clear that God was calling him to serve the Body of Christ by ministering to its leadership. He developed workshops and materials to address our churches' growing need for health. Since that time has come alongside, taught, and mentored numerous pastors and leadership teams, helping and equipping them to lead healthy communities of grace where the gospel is proclaimed and discipleship thrives.
A gifted author, Ed has written several books and discipleship materials. Notably, his discipleship manual Beginning in Grace has been used worldwide to equip followers of Jesus to live out the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. When God Breaks Your Heart about his near-death experience as he battled cancer as a young pastor, has encouraged countless believers through tragedies and trials.
Having benefited from godly mentors, Ed loves to provide space for pastors to be seen, heard, safe, and soothed and to give them tools to minister well.
Brenda Konoske
Brenda and her husband Charlie serve in several volunteer capacities at Church of the Open Door where they became members in 2005 while Ed was lead pastor. It was here that they experienced the transforming power of grace released in a healthy community. She brings administrative skills from her experience in corporate, government, and nonprofit settings. As a former missionary kid whose heart is still dedicated to the great commission, she is passionate about our mission.
Executive Assistant
The Konoskes have four children and a few precious babies they stay in touch with from their time as foster parents.
Meet the Recentered Board
Dave & Joni Burchett
Dave Burchett started his career as a disc jockey in Ohio and later moved into sports broadcasting. An Emmy Award-winning television sports director, he directed events ranging from baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan’s sixth no-hit game to the Summer Olympics before retiring in 2019. He is the author of Grunt the Runt Finds His Purpose, Between the White Lines, Stay: Lessons My Dogs Taught Me about Life, Loss, and Grace, When Bad Christians Happen to Good People, and Bring ’Em Back Alive. Dave writes honestly and authentically out of his personal experience. His wife Joni balanced raising three boys, working in Special Education, and getting a Masters in Educational Administration from Texas A&M. She had a 25-year career as a Special Ed Coordinator in Garland, Texas before retiring to enjoy her grandkids. Dave and Joni live in Murphy, Texas and have three adult sons, six grandchildren and a rescued Labrador.
Mike & Heidi Mitchell
Before Mike retired he accumulated 35 years of experience in the footwear and apparel industries most recently as the Senior Sales Director of ASICS America. He started two companies both of which service the retail trade with an assortment of sporting goods products. Mike and Heidi have been married for over four decades and have served on leadership teams and as disciple-makers in several churches. They have three boys and five grandchildren. Our board is divided because Mike is a passionate USC Trojan supporter and played football on the National Championship 1972 team. Mike and Heidi live in Newport Beach, California, and enjoy travelling and being active in sports.
Lee Ann Jackson
Lee Ann has served for three decades at Ambassador Advertising as a Senior Marketing Strategist, also heading up the social media team. Before coming to Ambassador, Lee Ann served Focus on the Family on their marketing team. A mom of three adult children, Lee Ann and her family are very much a part of the ministry outreach at Church of the Open Door in Glendora. Lee Ann is an avid UCLA Bruin fan (her alma mater) and recently received her Mini-MBA in Social Media Marketing from Rutgers Business School.