Between Two Worlds includes quotes from my time on the radio yesterday. The full details are here.

Robbie Sagers wrote:

Why do so many people say that they like Jesus, but not the church? And how can Christians go about changing that perception?

Dan Kimball, Kevin DeYoung, and Ed Stetzer joined guest-host Russell Moore yesterday on the Albert Mohler Program to talk about how unbelievers view the church, and how the people of Christ can reach lost men and women--those at the coffee shop, or sitting next to you on the bus, or those working in the cubicle adjacent to yours right now--with the only gospel that saves.

DeYoung and Kimball are both quoted. Dan and I have been friends for years and I appreciate his perspective. Kevin and I have not yet met, but we are speaking together and a forthcoming Reformed Church in American "classis" in Grand Rapids, so I look forward to meeting him. I have enjoyed his writings.

Robbie quotes my comments about authenticity here:

I think that authenticity is basically a simultaneous admission that I'm imperfect, in need of the work of Christ and the cross, but at the same time sharing that struggle in that journey along the way... I think that authenticity is built from pastors and leaders, but also from everyday people who say, 'Here's what Christ has done, how he's changed me, how the gospel shapes me, but I'm also the one who's filled with faults and failures--struggling, but trusting in the power of Christ.

You can listen to the whole program at the Albert Mohler show radio show site. Who knew that Russ Moore would have such a smooth radio voice?

And, in another post, Robbie also quoted me bringing some stats:

We asked a total of 1,000 twenty-something unchurched people; 900 American, 100 Canadian. And we compared them to a sample of 500 older unchurched (30 or above). ... And what we found is that yes, there are negative views of the church, two-thirds saying the church is full of hypocrites, people who do one thing and say another. But there was also great openness that's there. One of the questions that we asked them to agree or disagree with was: "I would be willing to study the Bible if a friend asked me to?" Among twenty-somethings, 61-percent said, "Yes." Among their older counterparts of 30 and above, 42-percent said, "Yes." That was a statistically significant difference saying there is something going on, there is an openness that's there. So we're seeing that as an opportunity that in the midst of some negative views of the church there is also some openness to the things of God.

This data comes from Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them (B&H 2009).

Thanks to Russ and Robbie for the invitation.

The B21 panel, presented by Baptist 21 and hosted by Sojourn Community Church went down during the Southern Baptist Convention last month. I am probably the last person to post it on his blog (considering the thousands of video views), but I need to in case you are the only person who has not yet watched it.

The panel examined reasons for young pastors to involve themselves with the Southern Baptist Convention, the place for seminaries in training up the next generation, dual involvement with the SBC and Acts 29, and more provocative topics. You can watch it in two parts below.

Of course, I was live-twittering the event, as you will see on the video. The picture I took is here.

Yesterday, I found out that 218 churches got our small group study kit, "Compelled by Love: A Journey to Missional Living" in one week. That's pretty exciting and intimidating-- in one week, 281 churches started using our resources to help their people live missional lives. We are glad to hear that churches are studying missional living and honored they would use our resource.

Go to lifeway.com/compelled to see the kit. The webpage has a promo trailer and you can watch the first session to get a feel for the study. Go here to see the work book and download a preview of the first chapter.

Many of my readers already know who Geoff Surratt is. He's the Pastor of Ministries at Seacoast Church (a growing multi-site church), an author, a blogger, he's on Facebook and yep - he's on Twitter too. This guy is everywhere! His new book, Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches from Growing: How Leaders Can Overcome Costly Mistakes, came out last May and is a helpful word to those seeking to lead the church to be effective in reaching the unchurched.

I had a chance to ask Geoff a few questions about the book. He'll be around on the blog today to answer any follow up questions you may have.

I am always encouraged when I see research into non-Anglos. Now, don't misunderstand, I am not anti-Anglo. I married one (and she was Canadian, which sounds more Anglo to me) and my three children are Anglo. Oh, I am too.

However, there is a lack of good religious research on non-Anglos and I want to point it out and affirm it when it does come out.

The Barna Group recently released a study that profiles the religious/spiritual thought and practices of gay and lesbian individuals. Head on over to The Barna Group and read the entire article. Here are a few things I wanted to point to from the research.

Well, it's official. By an overwhelming vote (over 99%), my church has called Bruce Chesser to be its new pastor. Yes, most people knew that last week, but I did not want to put it on my blog until Bruce had the opportunity to share it with his church.

The Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches in Columbus, OH

Tomorrow, I am flying to Columbus, Ohio to speak there on Monday. I'll be speaking at the national meeting of The Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. The meeting is called "Equip 09." My focus will be what it takes to see Church Planting Movements in North America.

The Grace Brethren are spiritual decedents of the Schwarzenau Brethren. Their history is here.

Wikipedia explains:

The Schwarzenau (German Baptist) Brethren, originated in Germany, the outcome of the Radical Pietist ferment of the late 17th and early 18th century. Hopeful of the imminent return of Christ, the founding Brethren abandoned the established Reformed and Lutheran churches, forming a new church in 1708 when their apocalyptic hopes were still unfulfilled. They thereby attempted to translate "the Philadelphian idea of love into concrete congregational ordinances obligatory for all the members." Unlike the Philadelphians, Brethren rejected Leade's embrace of direct revelation and emphasized early ("Apostolic" or "primitive") Christianity as the binding standard for congregational practices. The founding Brethren were also in conversation with Mennonites and influenced by Anabaptist writings.

In Germany the Brethren became known as Neue Täufer (New Baptists), in distinction from the older Anabaptist groups. In the United States they became popularly known as Dunkers, Dunkards or Tunkers, corruptions of the German verb tunken, to dip. Other religious groups related historically to the same Radical Pietist ferment as the Brethren are the Community of True Inspiration and the Moravians.

NAMB in Atlanta

On Tuesday, I will be speaking at the North American Mission Board State Summer Leadership Meeting in Atlanta, GA. I will be present the preliminary report on the spiritual receptivity of first generational immigrant groups. On Wednesday, I will be meeting with and co-facilitation NAMB's task force focus on how we might advance the work of the Great Commission.

Together for Adoption in Nashville

Later this fall I'll be speaking at the Together for Adoption Conference October 2-3.

I shared this message July 5th at my church (weekly audio is here). This was the week before the church considered a new pastor. (He preached on Sunday and I will share his name in a few days.)

My focus was helping the church to consider both the qualifications and call of a pastor. That certainly could take weeks, but I wanted to share an overview that I hoped would be helpful at this crucial time in the church's life.

Here is the video:

What's a Pastor to Do? from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

Here are my notes:

I've been with the family at Glorieta all week speaking, working, and spending the off-time with my family. Glorieta is beautiful and always a destination we enjoy. I have posted a few pics to Twitter including one right after we canoed on the lake.

Lots of good info and discussion in yesterday's post (you can still join in the discussion there).

From a missionary serving in Taiwan:

I have been asked to speak a little about Taiwan and Taipei. Taiwan is a Tobacco Leaf shaped island 60 kilometers off the coast of China. 22 million people call the island home. There are over 6 million people who make the city of Taipei home. The city of Taipei is a safe and comfortable city where people of all ages can move about and be involved in all sorts of activities to share the gospel. Though there have been missionaries and churches here for many years many people have never heard the gospel in a way that is easy for them to accept.

Continue reading Taiwan Recap.

As many of you know, I have a "shared" role at the International Mission Board. I am particularly focused on helping pastors and churches in my sphere of influence to become involved in global missions and church planting. Regrettably, many new and innovative churches are less involved in global work than more traditional churches. We have a team at the International Mission Board that is working to change that.

My friends at New Hope Publishers want to give away some books to bloggers:

Do you have a blog? Do people actually read your blog? If the answer to both of these questions is yes, New Hope Publishers would like to send you free books.

Continue reading Who Wants Free Books?.

Jared Wilson is a pastor, writer and blogger whose first book Your Jesus is Too Safe, was just released from Kregel. As the subtitle says the book aims to help us outgrowing "a drive-thru, feel-good savior."

I was glad to write the foreword for the book, and recently had the chance to ask Jared a few questions about the book. Read the interview and jump into the comments below. Jared will be around today answering questions on the blog.

Ed Stetzer: There's inspirational stuff in the book, some devotional stuff, some academic stuff, some apologetics stuff, some discipleship type stuff, lots of humor and sarcasm, and lots of gospel. Who is Your Jesus is Too Safe for? Who's your intended reader?

JW: It's for people who need to hear about Jesus and the gospel, which I think is everyone, Christian and non. But I know you're not supposed to market a book that broadly.

The book does assume a certain working level of Christianity, and it does sort of assume that the reader is interested in deepening his or her understanding of what Jesus said and did. It assumes the reader has "a Jesus" that may or may not need clarifying.

And, yeah, given the pop cultural references, the humorous footnotes and the sarcasm and what-not, it is probably most in the language of Christians 18-40 or so.

ES: You cite N.T. Wright and John Piper pretty much equally. There has obviously been tension there. Fill us in.

JW: I know, I know. I'm supposed to pick a team.

And honestly, if I'm picking a team for the atonement wars, I'm probably with Piper. I talk about that a bit in the book, but I am a fan of a symphonic view of the different biblical emphases on the atonement with penal substitution as sort of the sharp, leading edge of gospel understanding and proclamation.

I love both men and their work. They are the two most formative influences on my understanding of Jesus. And the book is sort of a literary mashup of Wright's (and others') historical Jesus scholarship and Piper's (and others') passionate proclamation of the glories of Christ.

ES: I know Element bills itself a missional community, and I know you've blogged extensively on the missional church. How does the book fit in or apply to the missional conversation? Or does it?

JW: I think it's human nature to favor one extreme over another. We like life on the pendulum. So in the missional church movement, if we can call it that, we find big bold preachers of Jesus' awesomeness who are very little action and we find folks who are big on action but downplay gospel proclamation. (And there's great folks who do both.) This isn't new and it isn't limited to missional Christianity. It's fundamentalist reductionism versus social gospel all over again.

I think what the book could do - and I don't talk about the missional church in the book; it's just not in the book's view - is push us to ponder if maybe we have a Preacher Jesus on one hand or a Activist Jesus on the other, and the corrective is not to trade one for the other but to look at who Jesus was and what he did. He preached and taught that the kingdom revolved around himself, and he healed, fed, clothed, raised, exorcised, etc. as if that were true. The closer we get to the biblical Jesus, the better our missiology and ecclesiology will be. I think that's a fairly obvious point nobody really needs me to point out. But the book, I hope, will help people get closer to the biblical Jesus.

ES: You survey quite a few false Jesuses from contemporary culture in the Introduction--Grammy Award Speech Jesus, Hippie Jesus, ATM Jesus, etc. Which one do you think is most prevalent in the church right now? And what is the book's response to it?

JW: I don't have the research resources that you do, so I can't put a figure on this, but I can tell you that my biggest concern is actually about an Invisible Jesus. Jesus, the Best Supporting Actor. Cameo Appearance Jesus. The "Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain" Jesus.

In way too many churches - just one would be too many, but I know this is a larger problem than that because I have experienced it myself and I hear from many others across the country who have as well - Jesus barely or rarely shows up. He may make an appearance in an illustration or something, but he is not the point of the message. Sometimes his name is never mentioned. Perusing church websites or pastor's blogs or Twitter feeds, they hardly ever mention him.

It's bizarre. It's distressing. But it makes sense given the current state of evangelicalism.

ES: Run with that and explain your title. How is evangelicalism's Jesus is too safe?

JW: It's this weird thing we do -- that we've got to wake up to - where Jesus cares about the exact same things we do, Jesus wants the same things we do, Jesus gives his stamp of approval on all our hopes and dreams. Who was it that said "God made man in his own image and ever since man has tried to return the favor"?

Our Jesus is too safe when it turns out he likes and dislikes the same people and things we do. For our church culture, it's things like success at work, prospering in our finances, achieving our dreams, etc. But every time I read the Sermon on the Mount, for instance, I am immediately comforted and challenged at the same time. It totally freaks me out. If Jesus in the Gospels doesn't challenge your idols, your worship of them is more entrenched than you realize.

My friend Ray Ortlund says making Jesus the chaplain of the American dream is blasphemous. I think he's touched on the prevailing sin of Western evangelical culture.

ES: What's the takeaway? What one idea or thought do you want to resonate with people when they close the book at the end of their reading?

JW: Well, I hope we don't make it sound as if the book is constantly critical, constantly corrective. Michael Spencer did me a favor in pointing that out in his review, when he says the title sort of belies the real thrust of the book. I sort of set up the problems with some critical surveys in the Introduction, just as you sort of do in the Foreword, but the text of the book is overwhelmingly pro-Christ, not anti- anything. There are corrections as necessary and plenty of arguments for certain things, but the book is more "for" Jesus than it is "against" anything else. I think anyone who's read it can testify to that.

But the takeaway I hope it offers is what I like to call the all-surpassing awesomeness of Jesus.

If it renews or deepens or even just helps someone's relationship with the risen Lord, I'm happy.

Jared will be around to interact with us right here on the blog. So jump into the comments if you have any questions or issues you want to discuss.

Last week, I posted video from the Assemblies of God on church revitalization. Today, I have some video from the Kentucky Baptist Convention on the same subject (but with a different format).

In this case, my friend of many years, Alan Witham, asked if I would present our findings in several short videos to be used in their state convention. They created a "Comeback Process" described as follows:

Based on the book, Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can Too by Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson, the Kentucky Baptist Convention has developed a Comeback Church Process to give direction to weakened churches seeking to make a comeback.

Is your church in need of a comeback?

Process Goals

• To provide good information to church leaders


• To help them with application of the principles


• To see transformation in that results in church health and growth.

Process Details
Leaders of churches who commit to the Comeback Church process will be guided in growth in five key areas:

1. Leadership

2. Vibrant faith (renewed beliefs in Jesus Christ and the mission of the church, servanthood and strategic prayer)

3. Meaningful and active ministries for laypeople

4. Intentional evangelistic efforts

5. "Celebrative" and "orderly" mood of worship

Opportunities for growth include individual consultations, seminars, evaluations, networking, coaching and strategic planning.

For More Information
If your church is interested in the Comeback Church Process, please contact our Church Development Team Office at 502-489-3571 or 866-489-3571 (toll free in KY), or e-mail us at churchdevelopment@kybaptist.org.

Each of the five areas above included the video segments I recorded on each topic. They are included below.

We shot the videos in the library at LifeWay, but somehow copies of my books were mistakenly placed in the background. ;-)

Part A: Introduction

Comeback Church part A- Introduction from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

Part 1: Visional Leadership

Comeback Church part 2- Visional Leadership from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

Part 2: Intentional Evangelism

Comeback Church part 2- Intentional Evangelism from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

Part 3: Lay Mobilization

Comeback Church part 3- Lay Mobilization from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

Part 4: Celebrative Worship

Comeback Church part 4- Celebrative Worship from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

Part 5: Renewed Focus on Jesus and His Mission

Comeback Church part 5- Renewed Focus on Jesus and His Mission from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

Thanks to the KBC for making these available.

Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary, has a solid article at Christianity Today responding to - and somewhat sympathizing with - Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori's remarks about "the Great western heresy." And what is the "great western heresy" the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in America wants to warn us of? Individualism. Mouw writes,

In her opening address to the Episcopal Church's recent General Convention, the Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori... made a special point of denouncing what she labeled "the great Western heresy"--the teaching, in her words, "that we can be saved as individuals, that any of us alone can be in right relationship with God." This "individualist focus," she declared, "is a form of idolatry."

Dr. Mouw rightly agrees that there are dangerous forms of individualism that had plagued the church, and points out that Christianity Today has articles reflecting a call back to a more corporate understanding and experience of the Christian faith.

It is certainly true that God is saving a people (corporate) for himself, and with them all of creation so that in the end his redemptive work through the death and resurrection of Jesus is truly cosmic in scope. Yet this does not take anything away from the reality that God saves individuals. Mouw explains,

We evangelicals never downplay the importance of individuals--as individuals--coming to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. We never say that an individual's very personal relationship to God is not important. What we do say is that individual salvation is not enough.

Some who are talking through this very issue are simply talking past one another - some wanting to talk about bricks (individuals) while others wants to talk about the building (the community of faith). Yet others are clearly talking about another gospel altogether.

Dr. Mouw's article is a good, short read, as is R. Scott Clark's response to Schori (via Justin Taylor). Wes Kenney agrees with the Presiding Bishop here (something I am sure was difficult for him). You can also download Katharine Jefferts Schori's address here.

What do you think? What are the dangers at play here? How is the Presding Bishop right, how is she wrong? Why does it even matter to us?

I am sitting on my back patio looking at my wife.  Great view!

But, she is working on her calendar and some trips we are planning this fall.  So, it inspired me to finish this week's "Saturday is for Seminars."

Here are a few updates, with some extra info thrown in (using my typical ADD writing approach for a Saturday morning). 

Santa Fe, NM

As I mentioned last week, I am at Glorieta (near Santa Fe, NM) this week.  And, it is GREAT to have my family along with me.  More info about that here.  I will be preaching each night, Monday through Thursday, if you want to come and visit.

Decatur, AL

Becoming a Missional Church
Date: Thursday, August 06, 2009
Time: 08:30 AM - 03:00 PM
Location: Westmeade Baptist Church, Decatur

This conference is designed for church staff members to dialogue with a national leader in research and church development. A church staff will have the opportunity to hear the latest research, interact with the leader, and plan an effective response/strategy for the local church. An opportunity is provided through the host church for those who would like to make the event a staff retreat.

Click here to view the Becoming a Missional Church brochure.

For more information contact Ministry Assistant Charlotte Burgos by email at cburgos@alsbom.org or by phone at 1-800-264-1225, ext. 307.

Hope to see you in Alabama.

New Orleans

Let me also add something to last week's post about New Orleans.  I will also be preaching in chapel at New Orleans Seminary and planning a dialgue with the students after chapel.  More details on the dialogue, but my friend Steve Lemke will be hosting it through the Baptist Center and it will be a "bring your brown bag" kind of thing.  More on that soon.

In the meantime, you might want to read Chuck Kelley's report on how the SBC has become "The New Methodists."  You can find it here.  It has not received the attention that I think it should in the SBC and it is worth your time.  (And, my Methodist readers, take a look at what he says before you get offended.  I think it will make sense.)

Chuck sees the challenge as what it is, a spiritual problem among many of our churches.  Here is a quote from his message:

The conversion of a soul to Christ is the work of the Holy Spirit. The stirring of a church and community in revival and awakening is a work of the Holy Spirit. Neither of these works of the Spirit is typical in SBC churches today. We are not anointed. That ‘we' would be you, me and all of us at work in places with little evidence of the activity of the Holy Spirit. We are so not anointed we have come to accept not being anointed as normal.

Read the full story here.

See you on the road...

Cathy Grossman and USAToday writes about christian accountability groups. You can read the whole article here.

It begins with:

Does the Capitol Hill house on C Street -- home to several congressmen although it eludes property taxes by being listed as a church -- give prayer "accountability" groups a bad name? Should elected officials seek God in secrecy while hiding sins from public scrutiny?

The fact that such a group exists in Washington, D.C., combined with recent news about participants, makes it national news.

She explains what these groups are all about:

But millions of men and women belong to small prayer and accountability groups where they read and discuss Scripture together and hold each other to truthful living in God's name. Remember Promise Keepers, the men's group that hit a popularity peak in the 90's? It stressed accountability groups heavily and even if PK no longer packs stadiums for rallies, many of those small groups continue to enriching lives.

The question that Cathy address deals with secrecy in such groups and the honesty required. I explained, "Accountability groups are only as good as the truthfulness of their participants."

Cathy linked to my blog on accountability groups and questions. That blog is here. The USAToday story is here.

Here is the blog to which the story refers:

Here are some videos about church revitalization. I will be posting more soon.

Back in August, I was invited to record a television program and shoot some video for the Assemblies of God. Both programs were videotaped at the Total Living Network in Aurora, IL.

Larry Griswold and Gary Blanchard from the Illinois District of the Assemblies of God interviewed me for the video. They then took the videos as part of a bigger program and showed it to over a thousand leaders in different meetings throughout the region.

To load them on YouTube, I combined them based on length so each video (after the introductory one) is between 5-10 minutes.

Thanks, Larry and Gary, for the chance to serve your churches and permission to share these videos with my blog readers.

I have included all the videos below.

Introductions, The State of the Church in the U.S, Re-Focusing on the Lost

The Bridge to What God Desires, The Keys to Change

The First 100 Days of Change

The Role of Leadership/Teamwork

Mistakes to Avoid

A Word to Denominational Leaders - Making it About the Mission, Not the Machine

My friends at Leadership Network surveyed 232 pastors of churches with an average weekend worship attendance of at least 2,000. Here are 10 things you might not know about megachurch pastors. Read the whole thing here, with some explanation, and then come back to discuss.

1. They think of themselves more as teachers and directional leaders than as pastors.
2. Preaching tops the list of things they do best.
3. They haven't always worked in churches.
4. Being an extrovert isn't mandatory.
5. Family stays at the top of mind when it comes to prayers.
6. They usually like the people they work with.
7. They believe their top gift is leadership.
8. They are actively involved in sports.
9. They find worship at their church helpful for personal spiritual growth.
10. They're not thinking about quitting.

Surprised? Concerned? Pleased?

Recently I have the privilege of speaking at the Innovate Conference, sponsored by Thomas Road and hosted by my friend Jonathan Falwell. I shared a message that was a modified version of a message I gave at my church. Since this was to pastors and church leaders, it is written and communicated that way.

The video and notes are below. If it is helpful to you, feel free to use it in any way that advances the work of the Kingdom.

"Secret Sin and Spiritual Power" from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

My outline:

Thanks to all who came to my presentation at the International Christian Retail Show. As I promised, here is the data I presented on trends in the church and culture.

Also, here is a link to the economy data I presented as well.

I have been a little tied up and weekends and have not done my "Saturday is for Seminars." I will try to get back into the swing of doing so.

Thanks again for those of you who pray for me while I am on the road.

Here is where I am now and/or will be going soon:

Ridgecrest, NC
Right now, and for the next 16 hours, I am in beautiful Western North Carolina at Ridgecrest Conference Center. I preached last night and will do so again in about 4 hours at the Sunday School Weekend/Week at Ridgecrest in Ridgecrest, NC.

Glorieta, NM
I'll be doing this again at Glorieta, NM later this month. But, I get to have my family with me in Glorieta, so that makes it even better.

Originally, my family was going with me to Ridgecrest. We love the camp and kids programs each year. However, the folks at B&H Publishing asked me to make a change to respond to a request from the International Christian Retail show... which is where I am heading early tomorrow.

The International Christian Retail Show
Early tomorrow, I fly to Denver for the International Christian Retail Show, Christian Booksellers Association on July 12th. (Is Colorado close to North Carolina?) I went last year and had a little too much fun with Twitter, so I have to be on my best behavior this year.

The folks at ICRS have asked me to speak on church and culture research in the Sunday afternoon main session. It's also good to meet new and old friends and talk to people about the research we do at LifeWay Research. I will also be doing a book signing Monday morning, so if you are there-- drop on by and say hello.

Looking Ahead
On Nov. 10-12, 2009 I'll be speaking at the Great Commission Research Network which is planning a joint meeting with the Society for Church Consulting Summit 2009. This is a big three-day conference (or two conferences in one location) that will go down at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Here's some info from the website.

Conferences At a Glance

Nov. 10: Church Consulting Summit 2009
The first day of this historic joint event is the Society's inaugural summit. This year's theme, "Battling Ministry Giants," will feature a practical array of workshops, case studies, and discussions led by SCC board members and sponsors. Topics include conflict management, church visioning, conducting community research, and many more practical areas of church consulting.

Nov. 11-12: GCRN's Annual Conference
The second conference is focused on how churches can reach out in times of calamity and recession. GCRN (formerly the American Society for Church Growth) will present topics like:

• Transformational Churches: Who They Are and How They Do It - Ed Stetzer
• An old Strategy Revisited: Prayer Ministry in Times of Crisis - Chuck Lawless
• Building Bridges of God During Calamity - Gary McIntosh
• Future Trends in Church Consulting - Tom Harper

Joint Conference Schedule

Day One (Tue., Nov. 10) - Society for Church Consulting

• Case study breakouts
• Expert panel discussion
• Practical workshops
• Exhibit area
• Member meeting
• Networking receptions

Days Two and Three (Wed. & Thur., Nov. 11-12) - Great Commission Research Network

• Lectures
• Research presentations
• Exhibit area (same for both conferences)
• Bus tour of local churches damaged by Katrina
• The prestigious Donald McGavran Award
• President's banquet

You can download the brochure here, and register here.

New Orleans

While I am at New Orleans, I will be planning a "Tweet-up" with friends (and potential new ones). My friend Steve Lemke, has promised to buy me lunch and, if I time it correctly, I am pretty sure I can get him to come to his first-ever TweetUp.

Watch Twitter and the blog for more details.

Hope to see you on the road!

My friend Ray Wickam passed this article on to me after reading my post from yesterday mentioning Michael Jackson's funeral.

My twitter-friend Tim Wade has written a thought-provoking article on what the Michael Jackson funeral should say to the church. Here are some excerpts. You can find the full article here in the Raleigh News Examiner.

Several members of the media commented that Jackson's memorial service contained a spiritual tone- the gospel choir, the golden casket, the cross of light...

While the theme of Michael Jackson's memorial service was indeed spiritual, it certainly could in no way be mistaken for a Christian funeral. During the performance of We are the World which was sung by a Who's Who of musical icons, symbols of every major religion were displayed on a giant screen behind the stage including a larger than life picture of Jesus. The message could not have been clearer...

Clearly it is time for the Protestant Church to wake up and realize that the world is finding faith apart from the fulfillment of the Great Commission...

I admire the work of Michael Jackson and mourn his passing. Truly the legacy he leaves behind is immeasurable. But holding hands and singing to the glory of a dead pop star will never replace the spiritual needs of the human condition. The world needs to hear the truth of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ for only under the blood of Jesus will we be part of God's great big family.

While 31 million people were watching Michael Jackson's memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on July 7th, I joined a few hundred people at Life Point Church in Smyrna, TN for the funeral of 17-year-old Gabe Brewer, the son of Chris Brewer, my friend of many years. Chris and his friend Tim Miles helped me write my first book. Chris and I have traveled to Romania to teach church planting. And, I know how much Chris and Judy loved Gabe.

Many have shared their thoughts on the passing of a pop culture icon, and the spectacle that was his very public memorial service. I don't want to rehash what others have said so well about our culture's habit of deifying and worshiping men whose talents and gifts should point us to the giver of all good things, but I was so struck by these two different services I am compelled to talk about it.

Michael Jackson was one of the most famous men of his lifetime, selling over 300 million records, earning hundreds of millions of dollars, and was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-- twice. And if you're over 30 and under 70 you owned the Thriller album. Don't lie, you know you did. Everyone had it.

Gabe Brewer was entering his senior year at Lancaster Christian Academy. He loved the Lord and his family. He was a leader among his peers, a good student, and played football and soccer. Chris told some wonderful stories in our time together and at the funeral. Gabe's faith and passion were clear.

Only one of these men was famous before men, but both were precious to God and stood before Jesus when they died. And, I saw both services the same day.

Against the advice of many, Chris preached his own son's funeral. I am glad he did.

He called men and women to faith in Christ... and then asked them to come forward to counselors waiting at the front. The song they sang was "Give Me Jesus," which was the song that they sang together a few days before as Gabe left this earth and came into the loving arms of Jesus.

Listen to the words. You can see Chris at the front inviting people to Christ, Gabe's picture is on the screen, and the people responding are at the front. I originally made this short and grainy video to send to Chris later on, but he encouraged me to post it here so that others might be blessed by Gabe's life and his faith.

Gabe Brewer Funeral Clip from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

Millions tuned in to watch Jackson's memorial service where the King of Pop was remembered, and his work was lifted up. Everyone looked back, and it seemed there was nothing to look forward to. The golden casket seemed, at least to me, a sad reminder that not even a Pharaoh could take wealth into eternity.

A few hundred gathered at Gabe Brewer's funeral where the young man was remembered. But while we all looked back at the life Gabe lived, Chris also called us to look back to the One who gave his life that we might find ours; to Him who was raised from the dead victorious over death. And he called everyone there to look forward-- to the rest of our lives and called everyone there to repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ.

Gabe didn't have a golden casket, but he is walking on streets of gold.

This was quite the contrast.

Thanks, Gabe, for your life. Thanks Chris for your witness. And, I pray for Chris and Judy in their pain and loss.

I remember the day I watched my teenage sister die of cancer. There are few things as painful. And, contrary to all the platitudes of well-meaning Christians, there are often few answers this side of eternity. But, I know this: Gabe, and his parents, are in the love and care of a loving Father.

In August, I will be hosting the first meeting of a Church Planting Leadership Fellowship. This meeting will include time with Bob Harrington (Stadia) on church networks, Hutz Hertzberg (Moody Church) on assessment research, Thom Rainer (LifeWay) on organization leadership, and Steve Pike (Assemblies of God) on influencing your denomination. In addition, we will have peer-to-peer interaction among church planting leaders from different denominations. The first meeting is in Nashville, August 24-25th and the focus of this, and subsequent, meetings is how denominations can be more effective in church planting by sharing ideas and best practices.

The Mission America Coalition had asked me to convene a Church Planting Leadership Fellowship to help denominational leaders connect and collaborate around church planting learning. There seems to be a need for a place for peer learning and I am glad to help facilitate the group.

Chris Conrad (Director of Church Planting for the Wesleyans) and I will be working on this leadership community for people in denominational church planting leadership. It will meet three times per year: one in summer, once in fall, and once in spring (in partnership with the Exponential Conference). The group will be limited to those in similar church planting leadership roles. The focus will not be planting together, but rather learning from one another.

There may be an additional group that helps networks and network leaders connect together, but we have not decided on that quite yet. If you would be interested in that group, please let me know in the comments. (We won't post them but will contact you.) Also, feel free to email this information to your denominational church planting leadership if you think they might be interested in participating.

Here is the email we sent out earlier this week.

Dear Fellow Church Planting Champions,

I pray this finds you doing well as you continue to roll up your sleeves and give your best efforts to serve, support and celebrate church planting and church planters in your context.

Each of you receiving this e-mail have indicated an interest in being part of the Church Planting Leadership Network as we discuss best practices and work together to increase the number and effectiveness of church plants being launched.

So far we have two meetings scheduled:

August 24-25 (Nashville)
November 18-19 (Location TBD)

Our August meeting will include presentations and discussions about the following subjects all of us in the church planting world face:

• Recruitment
• Assessing
• Training
• Networking
• Multiplying

Attached you will find flyer that will give you more information as well as an application. To join the Church Planting Leadership Network, simply fill out the application and send it in, along with the membership fee, to the address on the application.

We look forward to having you with us in this "Best Practices" community.

Thanking God for you,

Ed Stetzer and Chris Conrad

Earlier this Spring I was preaching through a series called, "Lies We Believe." This is Part 6, and the lie is, "All the church needs is programs."

Lies We Believe: Pt. 6 from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

I sat down with Darrin Patrick, Lead Pastor of The Journey in St. Louis, to be interviewed concerning church, ministry, younger generations, and the future. Check it out below and join the conversation in the comments.

Barna found many similarities with the general American public, but also points out the differences in the faith of American Hispanics. From the Barna report:

How did the two populations differ spiritually? Based on the questions asked, gaps were discovered in just a handful of areas, including:

• Hispanics remained somewhat more likely to believe that a good person can earn his or her way into Heaven
• Americans, overall, were significantly more likely to claim that they are "absolutely committed" to Christianity (58% vs. 46%, respectively)
• Hispanics are twice as likely as the aggregate adult base to be aligned with the Catholic church (44% vs. 22%, respectively)
• Americans at-large were slightly more likely to be born again Christians (46% vs. 40%), based on their theological views

There is much more at the Barna site. Read the full story here.

And now for a bit of history from a great source for learning such things...

And my personal favorite:

Happy Independence Day!

Here is a sermon I preached a couple of weeks ago at my church on living a "God-imitating life."

I want to tell you about a mission / vision trip that I am putting together with the Upstream Collective and the International Mission Board to Taiwan this Fall. We will depart from the states on September 19, arrive the next day on the 20th, and will complete the trip on September 26th.

Each day we will be taking a look at various ministry venues for church planting in that part of the world. I will be leading a session each morning with the group. We will also hear from some of the leaders of the Upstream Collective network each day as we talk about missional living in an urban and cross cultural context. We have some slots left for this trip. If you have an interest in going you need to fill out an application on theupstreamcollective.org and they will be in touch with you.

Hope to see you in Taiwan.