Check out his post on Transforming Cities.

Ron Sylvia

Ron Sylvia and I talked on Wednesday. Ron just took a month off to refocus his ministry... and he deserves it. We did a Purpose Driven Church Planting Conference at Liberty University in June and I could tell God was doing some stirring in his heart. Ron is one of the hardest working people I know... but his focus is on others in his work. Right now, they are looking for a teaching pastor at The Church at the Springs so Ron can dedicate half his time to coaching pastors. You can find more about Ron's coaching strategy here.

Steve Camp

Steve Camp emailed me a few weeks ago about getting together for breakfast. We finally were able to do so this week. Honestly, I was a bit apprehensive. His blog has been a bit frightening as I been thrown under the bus a few times there in the comment section. :-)

But, there was no reason for apprehension... we had a great meeting and I appreciate his passion for the gospel. (One of my favorite features of his blog is "Your Weekly Dose of the Gospel.") Steve's music was very influential in my spiritual journey and you can find more of it here.

During breakfast, we talked some about Joel Osteen. And, Steve told me about this. I am impressed with the character of both men as evidenced by the initiative, exchange, and apology.

Philip Nation

My former co-pastor tells me I blog too much... not giving people a chance to think and comment upon things before I post the next. I think he is nuts, but I am open to your input. Of course, it is probably better than my former blogging practice-- posting once every three months.

Rob Plummer's New Book

Mark Driscoll emailed and Daniel Montgomery called about Rob Plummer's new book, Paul's Understanding of the Church's Mission: Did the Apostle Paul Expect the Early Christian Communities to Evangelize? I knew Rob from my time as a professor at Southern Seminary and he is now on faculty there and also an elder at Sojourn Church.

JETS has a review that explains:

Did the apostle Paul expect the early Christian communities to evangelize? This is the subtitle of the book and also the central question that Plummer seeks to answer. Framed in another way, did Paul command the churches that he addresses in his epistles to imitate him in centrifugal missionary outreach? His answer, supported by lexical, exegetical, and logical argumentation, is a resounding affirmative. To some, Plummer's conclusion may seem obvious and thus the question hardly worth asking. However, the history of interpretation on this issue has been divided, and therefore a fresh look at the evidence is justified. Plummer makes the disturbing observation from his survey of the research that few books written by missiologists are informed by sound methods of biblical theology and, conversely, biblical scholars rarely interact with insights from missiologists. Surely this is a call to both groups for better integration of their respective disciplines.

HT: Kevin Cawley

Thanks Mark and Daniel, sounds great... BUT I CAN'T get a copy at Amazon. Ugh. Who can help a brother out?

New Friends from First Baptist of Hendersonville, TN

Starting September 9th, I will be preaching a new series at First Baptist Church of Hendersonville, TN while their pastor recovers. The series will be called "Church Inside Out: Joining God in His Mission." I am exicted to be with these folks-- they have a great passion for their community. My family has already visited the church and greatly enjoyed it-- I am looking forward to the same.

We met at my house today for lunch and to plan the creative elements of the series. Almost everyone was helpful in the planning except a certain staff member...

...who has an iPhone that he used to take this picture, but none of that Mac creativity. :-)