Earl Creps

Earl and I had a chance to visit on Friday and Saturday. Earl posts a nice list of 13 things that he likes about my denomination.

Twelve of them are true and I appreciate each of them!

See preface, part 1, and part 2.

Meanings of Missional- part 3

Semantics is the branch of linguistics that concerns meanings of words and their usage. One of the foremost semanticists of literary history is that eminent (but short-lived) philosopher, Humpty-Dumpty, who - while balancing precariously upon a wall - explained semantics to Alice (of Wonderland fame):

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in a rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less."

I can't say it was always my goal to be in Christianity Today, but I was hoping for a different introduction in the magazine!

My friend, Mark Driscoll, was featured in the print issue today. It is not yet online, but I will link when it is. I think it is a fair article. Mark is controversial and has made some mistakes. (Duh.) He is also doing a great job reaching a lot of people far from Christ in Seattle.

We are back in business... Monday is for Missiology-- Meanings of Missional, part 3 will be posted on Thursday due to technical problems.

I can't seem to upload my next post without my browser crashing.

Monday is for Missiology will be up soon.

Sorry.

Today, I visited a joint command center operated by the Coast Guard. You can find out more about what the Coast Guard does here.

I cannot blog on all the operations due to security reasons, but I do have permission to share a few things.

I am at First Baptist Norfolk today.

It seems that there are two "First" Baptist megachurches in Norfolk, one here and the one I am at here. Interestingly, according to pastor Eric Thomas, it was the predominantly African-American "First" Baptist that birthed the predominantly Anglo "First" Baptist.

I'm in Phoenix today at the Arizona Church Equipping Conference with, among many fine speakers, are two men who are way more spiritual than I.

Bob Roberts

Bob Roberts called me Monday night, too late like usual. (Bob does too much GlocalTrekking to sleep normal hours.) He told me some exciting things, but if I told you, people would die (those of you who know Bob will get the humor). Bob is doing a new book on church multiplication and he was reminding me to finish the foreword (and I AM working on it, Bob).

Bob has already shown us how to be a megachurch pastor that gives yourself away... and he is a church planting fiend. Now, in his free time, he wades into the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Bob was recently interviewed for Christianity Today's Church Vision Project.

Drew Goodmanson

One of my favorite bloggers, except when he blogs things I tell him not to, is Drew Goodmanson.

This weekend I spent a day with the Anglicans in Charlotte, NC.

A few years ago, Bishop Chuck Murphy asked me to come and speak at the Anglican Mission in Americas (AMiA) annual meeting in 2005 and 2006. I made some friends there and built some relationships and now I am occasionally invited to lend a hand.

While at the Winter Meeting, I was also privileged to meet Archbishop Kolini and to hear his passion for the church and the gospel.

This Sunday we attended Long Hollow Baptist Church. It's a huge church, about 4,000 people on Sundays. David Landrith, the pastor, is a great communicator.

We sung "They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love." It must have been "70's day," which is always a plus for a man my age, who became a Christian in the late 70's. (The song was written in 1966, but I did not hear it until the 70s.)

See the preface and part 1.

The Missional Rorschach Test

Based on some of the blogs, my series has spawned, or reignited, some thoughts on what it means to be "missional." That's a good thing, I think, as it will enable some cross conversations.

Here are a few:
• Brother Maynard
• Jamie Arpin-Ricci
• Bill Kinnon

But, I think that "missional" is like a Rorschach Test for many people. In a Rorschach Inkblot Test, a subject is asked to describe what he or she sees in random inkblots. It tells much about what a person is thinking and feeling. I think the same is true for all of us engaged in the missional conversation. To some degree how we define "missional" is determined by our pre-existing concerns about what is wrong, and what is right, with the church today.

So, before I reveal my own ideas (or perhaps as I do so), I think we need to look to history for the genesis of the ideas that have shaped "missional" today.

The folks at Sermon Central just released an article I wrote on contextual preaching. See it here and feel free to dialogue in the comments.

Last weekend, I was in Jackson, MS.

The people at Ridgecrest Baptist Church invited me to lead their church leadership retreat. I knew I was in trouble when Mike McCool picked me up and told me he had a sleeping bag for me. Turn out it really was a retreat, bunk beds and all!

We had a great retreat and they have a great church, seeking to engage their suburban community in fresh and mission-focused ways.

Two days before I arrived, my friend Stacey Andrews emailed a few of his friends and added another meeting to Saturday night. Between a camp and preaching at a blended SBC church Sunday morning, I spent the evening with some new friends talking Christ, culture, and transformation in the culturally diverse Fondren District of Jackson.

After I left, I thought to myself: why can't the church of Jesus Christ be like this weekend?... and like these churches? Both groups were seeking to reach their community for Jesus, both appreciated the distinctives of the other, and they were partners in the gospel.

The staff pages sure do look different: The Journey and Ridgecrest Baptist. But, Stacey is on both of them... and more importantly, both are seeking to engage their communities with the good news of Jesus Christ.

I wonder... could Jesus be at work in different kinds of scripturally sound churches? And, if He is, could God use us to build bridges across the divide?

Yes, I believe He could... on both counts.

I just finished a two hour conference call with a group of IMB leaders gathered in England. They came from five regions around the world to strategize about how to engage our churches in global mission. Great people. Great heart for God's mission.

Here is an example of some of the great things the IMB is doing to connect with what they call "multi-affinity churches" at Catalyst.

Be sure to introduce yourself to Mark Morris via his email at the end of the announcement.

And, while you are thinking about international missions, watch this and then do this!

I recently wrote two blogs (here and here) concerning John Piper's moving exhortation to church planters at the Global Church Advancement conference.

Now you can see the actual video here.

This once again demonstates that John Piper is bad.

Today is my 20th wedding anniversary. Donna has been the love of my life since high school. We started dating when we were 16 and never dated anyone else.

Missional.

Depending on your perspective, it brings warmth to your soul or a shiver down your spine. Yet, there is no question the word is gaining traction. Is this the case with the church word of the day or is it here to stay? And... oh yes... what does it mean anyway?

The answer to the last question depends on who you ask. Some words become so quickly enmeshed into our Christian subculture that the definition is an active, evolving target, that is being changed and defined on the move.

Tomorrow will be the formal beginning to my "Meanings of Missional" series. Every Monday, and on some other days as well, I will post on the meaning of the word "missional" until my formal paper is done.

I am hoping to receive some feedback, discussion, and even disagreement. The end results, I hope, will be a clearer understanding of what different groups and people mean when they use the term "missional."

I was originally planning to post "part 1" today, but I spent too much time on the phone with Francis Dubose. He was gracious enough to take the time to talk with me at length about all things missional.

Dubose is the first person I can find to use the word in the sense we use it today. Dubose, who is 85, wrote God Who Sends back in 1983.

He was a professor at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary where the Francis M. DuBose Award for Excellence in Kingdom Missions is given in his honor.

New beginnings.

First day of fourth grade--new school, new clothes, and the nervous hope for new friends to fill in for the ones she left behind in Georgia. This morning was my oldest daughter's first day of school. We were both nervous, she was brave, and I was proud. She marched in like a trooper and ready for the adventure. I'm not sure why--but moments before she got out of the car, she asked me the date. Then it hit me...

I committed my life to Christ 30 years ago today (a few years after this photo was taken!).

It was at a youth camp in Central Florida. While the band played "Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus," I did. And I threw my life and hopes "upon Jesus" too.

As I was getting my tires fixed after dropping off my daughter, I wrote a few of these thoughts out... they are not proofed well, but they are a few thoughts that came to mind on my spiritual birthday.

A few things surprised me on the journey:

1. I thought I would have been more holy by now--that I would have overcome the flesh, be more consistent in my spiritual walk, and just be a better Christian. But, I have learned that Paul was right in that "the very things I want to do I just don't do" (see Romans 7:15). Keith Green used to sign a song based on Romans 7 that I listened to as a new believer--I would passionately sing the part "Lord it seems so sad, why am I so bad, when in my heart I only want to be like you..." As I grew in understand of the scriptures I have learned that does not change until I am set free from the "body of this death" (Romans 7:24).

While doing this study, we found that many individuals, churches, and ministries are already actively engaging the Church Dropout problem. I think you will see many similarities between the Church Dropout Study LifeWay Research released this week and the experiences of Jeff Schadt from Youth Transition Network. We at LifeWay Research were encouraged to find so many diverse ministries working together to address the transition issue.

Meet Jeff and then visit the Youth Transition Network:

The folks at One News Now were gracious enough to write my next post for me...

_______________________________________

Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research, says the study shows that parents may not be passing on a vital Christian faith and commitment to church attendance to their children. The church, says Stetzer, must do a better job of stressing the importance of church attendance and involvement.

"I think we have a very casual approach to that covenant community called church," he suggests. "Ephesians 3:10 reminds us that God has chosen the church to make known His manifold wisdom in the world -- and I think we have to help people connect better to the church."

According to the Christian researcher, many young people today are simply reflecting a "church culture" created by modern-day believers -- a culture he says is very consumer-oriented and that encourages an attitude that says "if you don't meet my needs here, I'll go somewhere else."

"And when you do that," he adds, "you create a culture where people can say 'I love Jesus, but I don't love his wife'" -- which Stetzer points out is the bride of Christ, the church.

"I think we need to begin to see that this covenant community called church is not an option in the Christian life," he continues. "But to be fair, that's what we've made it in North America today -- and perhaps these young adults are reflecting to some degree the church culture in which they were grown and discipled."

Scott McConnell will participate in a live radio interview on the Church Dropout Study at 2:30 Central Time this afternoon on WMBI. Catch the stream here or tune in if you are within listening range of WMBI 90.1 FM (Chicago area and parts of Indiana and Wisconsin).

(Scott is the Director of Student Ministries at Lifeway.)

The issue of young adults dropping out of church has been a hot topic for several years. The long-term effectiveness of youth ministry has been called into question and there has been substantial concern raised about the future of the Christian church in America. In addition, there have been precious few accurate studies of this issue, with many leaders quoting anecdotal reports to bolster their personal opinions.

USA TODAY's Tuesday story on young adult dropouts drew interest in the print version (inside the Life section) and online in the News section.

You can see the story here.

At 11 a.m. on Wednesday, a full day after the story posted, it was #2 on most emailed and #7 on most commented on the news tracking at USA TODAY.com. On the home page tracking for the whole paper, it was #5 on most emailed and #9 on most commented.

We all know there is something to be concerned about here... but hopefully we will do more than just bemoan the current reality. I am always amazed by the propensity of Christians to revel in bad news and then do nothing to change the situation. Change is desperately needed.

I was impressed today that we needed to pray for our young adults-- but also our churches so that they can be the kind of churches that Mark Kelly describes here.

Speaking of needed change... tomorrow's guest commentary on the subject will be, "Why Young Adults Drop Out of Church and What Can Be Done to Stem the Tide," by Scott Stevens.

Today, I will be out of pocket as I am at the Assesmblies of God General Council 2007 Leadership Seminar.

Jim Johnston will be our guest blogger today. He will be interacting in the comments.

Updates:

Mark Kelly has added an article on what helps young adults stay in church.

The podcast is here.

The charts and powerpoints are here.

I have a 20-something friend who is a short-term missionary in Spain. Her mission is to plant house churches in the midst of a collegiate community, because in her words, "most of these people would never think about setting foot inside a church."

If you want to know the truth of it, very few set foot inside a church in Spain, period. For the most part, churches there are dusty museums that are a reminder of a world that existed in the distant past.

If Protestant churches in America don't take the results of the Church Dropout Study and the Young Adult Study seriously, this current reality in Europe is going to be our future.

There it was. My brand new Pontiac coupe. Shiny and spotless--except for the bubble in the factory paint. Ugh! I was so disappointed. But with my workmanship warrantee in hand, I was confident the dealer would fix it. Eighteen repair trips later I gave up. My view of "Mr. Goodwrench" was changed forever. From that time on, I vowed NEVER again to purchase a Pontiac. However, about 14 years later I did buy a 'pre-owned' GM product but only for two reasons. First, it was sold to me below market price. Who can resist a good deal! Second, any guess? It wasn't a Pontiac. Could there be any connection between their current marginal auto market share and the way they have responded to their customers understanding and desires? See here.

Unfortunately, the local church has been ignoring an unsightly blemish on the face of the church hoping the problem will just fix itself. No one is going to be shocked by the newest LifeWay research released on the dropout rate of 18- to 22-year-olds from church. If anything, I suspect that many will be surprised that the numbers are not higher than 70%! But do we really need numbers to tell us that we've had and do have a serious issue that desperately needs to be addressed? No, not really.

See the USA Today story here.

See the full version here.

We will have several guest bloggers this week here at the Lifeway Research Blog.

Scott McConnell from Lifeway Research will interact about the research itself. You can post your questions on any of the guest blogs.

Also, Mark Lydecker and Jim Johnston will be engaging in the conversation in the comments as will Chad Childress, Director of Student Evangelism at the North American Mission Board.

Here are the details:

Mark Lydecker
Tuesday, August 7
Collegiate Evangelism Director -- NAMB
"Lost in Transition"

Jim Johnston
Wednesday August 8
Director, Young Adult Ministry -- LifeWay
"Dropout Study Illustrates the Great Opportunity We Have"

Scott Stevens
Thursday August 9
Director, Student Ministry -- LifeWay
"Why Young Adults Drop Out of Church and What Can Be Done to Stem the Tide"

Jeff Schadt
Friday August 10
Executive Director, Youth Transition Network
Learn about the new initiative at http://www.liveabove.com

One more post before we turn to tomorrow's research.

Last week in class at Indiana Wesleyan University, Rick Champ, one of my students, presented a good summary of The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church by Alan Hirsch. You can find the PowerPoint here.

I believe Alan is a good thinker and has been challenging us all about the purpose and structure of the church, God's mission, and the gospel. We've developed a friendship-- and have even argued about a few things. But, we share similar passions-- and I know few Christian leaders as gracious and thoughtful as Alan.

I think his analysis of cultural distance and the western church is very helpful:

Starting tomorrow, we will shift the discussion here to research. We will have 4 guest bloggers who will comment and interact.

Let me encourage you to watch USA Today for the story and see the Lifeway Research site for the details, graphs, and other info.

Here is the description: Church Dropouts, August 7, 2007

This study is an in-depth look at the percentage of young adults who stay in church vs. drop out between the ages of 18 and 22. Insights will include reasons some leave the church and others stay, as well as what can be done to encourage more to stay in church.

After a week or so of discussion on dropouts, I will begin a series of posts looking at how people are groups use the word "missional" and why it matters.

Now that I am out of the pulpit, I must confess the whole "call to preach" thing is a bit confusing to me. I am not sure that there is a "call" to preaching-- although I both value preaching and see it as essential.

Instead, I see a call to the office of pastor / elder which often involves preaching.

Don Whitney almost persuades me that there is a "call to preach."

But, there are few places in scripture where there is a clear "call to preach" that is not either:
1) a general call to all believers involving evangelism, or
2) a part of the "setting apart" to a biblical office.

Now that I am no longer a teaching pastor/elder at Lake Ridge Church, I miss preaching. And, it has only been three weeks.

That is not a good sign for future marital bliss-- since Mrs. Stetzer wants to find a church to attend and join as soon as possible!

But, simply put. I already miss pastoring. It just seems right to be in fellowship with other believers and to serve by using your spiritual gifts in the context of community.

Thankfully, I will have the opportunity to share in some churches in the coming weeks. My friend and, until he went the way of all flesh, co-worker at LifeWay, Mark Marshall, has invited me to come preach at his church (Clearview Baptist Church) (near Nashville) this Sunday.

Then, I will have the honor to preach at Ridgecrest Baptist (August 12th) in Jackson, MS and then at First Baptist of Norfolk (August 26th).

I will preach on "doubt" at Clearview (following Thomas in John 14:1-5; John 20:19-31) and on missional issues at Ridgecrest and First Baptist Norfolk (both messages from Acts).

In January, I was blessed to preach at the Wesleyan National "Gathering" in Orlando, FL.

I made some new friends there and they invited me to teach at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, IN. The school is quite impressive. (They tell me it is the fastest growing Christian university in the country.) They call themselves "warm hearted evangelicals," and I have found them to be that very thing.

We have a good group of passionate leaders from 5 different denominations in class.

Below is the course description. It is very similar to the course I taught at Reformed Seminary earlier this month and somewhat similar to a course I co-taught at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in May.

Please be sure to note the use of the new boss' book, Simple Church. It is the greatest book ever written. (I am not sure he reads the blog, but better to be safe than sorry.)

And, of course, all biblical references will come from Lifeway's HCSB, my new favorite Bible translation.

:-)

The course lasts one week and ends on Friday.

When I am asked to answer questions for an interview, I am going to make a habit of posting the answers here at the Lifeway Research Blog.

Since I am speaking today at the North American Mission Board, this seemed a good time to share about the future of mission agencies.

This is from an interview by Ken Camp on the future of missions. Ken's story is here.

I found Ken Sorrell's interaction on the subject to be insightful.

For those of you who don't "speak SBC," click on Lottie and Annie to understand the references. And, when you feel led by the Spirit, click here. Grin.

Here is the interview:

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>> (1) What is the role of the large denominational missionary-sending agency at a time when denominational loyalty is low and many churches want a more personal connection to missions?

My co-author and long time friend, Mike Dodson, will be teaching today as I make a one day trip to fellowship with friends and speak at the NAMB State Summer Leadership Meeting in Atlanta. I hvae missed the blissful fellowship and fried chicken of my Baptist fellowship...

Mike was really the brains behind Comeback Churches so I think a good time will be had by all at Indiana Wesleyan University.

Ed