EdStetzer.com

A God-Imitating Life

2009-07-02T14:21:41Z

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

Join God's Global Mission in Taiwan

2009-07-01T06:53:54Z

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.

Panel at Advance09

2009-06-30T01:33:00Z

The video of our Advance09 panel is up. Take a look.

Interestingly, John Piper's first answer led to this clarification. The clarification is well worth your read just to get a take on how we might view modern culture.

Also, several people have asked me about my comments about missions cooperation being the doorway to theological compromise. (I think that surprised some people.)

However, there is little question that this is an historic pattern. I wrote a bit about it a few years ago here. My answer in the video gives more details.

A Little Education, A Little Advice

2009-06-29T00:38:07Z

This week, the pastor search committee of my church announced that they have a candidate. Assuming that goes ahead, I will be finishing up as "interim Teaching Pastor" there in early August. It is a great church and I will miss delivering my messages there. But, I am, after all, an "interim" and eventually that comes to an end.

Here are some pics of the church from a recent blog post (see that post here).

So, that leaves me one message before the new pastor comes "in view of a call."

I should probably explain what "in view of a call" means. It is a common expression in low church evangelical circles where churches vote on the man who may serve as their pastor. For some of you, this will make you a little nervous. You want some elders to make that appointment-- after all, they know better.

Well, let me explain how it works in low church evangelicalism.

First, before the church really starts looking for a pastor they establish a Pastor Search Committee. (At this church it is called a "Pastor Selection Committee," a term that makes it a little confusing since they don't actually "select" but rather "nominate.") The Pastor Search Committee is elected by the church and does the hard work of finding a pastoral candidate whose gifts and personality will best serve the body.

Second, the PSC starts working by consulting other leaders and pastors, listening to on-line messages, listening to the church family through surveys and listening sessions, visiting churches, and contacting potential pastors. In a church like ours (with about 8000 members) that takes a while. For example, the PSC had over 50 listening sessions with church members.

Third, the PSC prays a lot and seeks to discern whom to ask to be considered. Once they are in agreement they approach that person.

Fourth, that person, after much prayer and examining the church, eventually agrees to be nominated by the PSC to the church (which happened this week).

Fifth, If the church votes "yes," the pastor then comes "in view of a call." In other words, they come to preach with the intent ("in view of") being called as the pastor.

But, for you non-congregationalists out there (who need Bibles, grin), the church actually votes to call the pastor. After the vote (which usually has to be 75%) the candidate is then informed of the results and agrees to come (or not). Then, the nominee is no longer a nominee and informs his church that he is leaving to pastor another church.

Then, the interim packs up his books and gets out of the way. ;-)

That will leave me with three or four messages after he accepts that call but before he comes and starts as pastor. I need time to pack up those books, after all. ;-)

So, my question for you is this: what should I preach on for this Sunday and then for the next several? Any suggestions? I can work through a text or share a series of texts, but I am very open to suggestions and believe that in many counselors there is wisdom.

First, what should I speak on NEXT week, July 5-- the week before he comes in view of a call. (I am out on July 12th and my friend and co-author Philip Nation is speaking that day.)

Second, what should I preach on after (and assuming) the church calls and he accepts on July 19th. The congregation votes that evening and, assuming the vote is positive, he is then to start his transition and i will bring several more messages. So, what can I preach on pointing to the new pastor.

Jump into the comments and share your thoughts.

How Do You Handle the Word of God?

2009-06-26T07:14:03Z

My new article went up at Sermon Central. I have the privilege of serving on the advisory council for Sermon Central and am always appreciative when they publish our research or writings.

Check it out below and share your thoughts in the comments.

How Do You Handle the Word of God?

Recently I had the opportunity to travel to Europe to speak to pastors, missionaries, and church leaders. Europe is one of the most difficult and often discouraging ministry contexts in the world. Yet, the trip was incredible. Along the way, I met courageous men and women who were faithful to Jesus and his Great Commission within a culture that largely rejects their faith.

I visited worship services there and on four other continents. In every worship service I visited, no matter what country I was in, I had a simple expectation: the preacher would use the Bible in the sermon. God's Word is certainly (at least some) part of the vast majority of Christian sermons. If a Christian preacher doesn't use the Bible in the sermon, in fact, I'd be hard-pressed to call it Christian preaching.

But that's where the sermon similarities end. Pastors handle God's Word in many different ways depending upon their ministry context. In some ways, this variety can actually be good; after all, preachers are charged to preach the Word to a particular audience. Jesus himself taught in different ways at different times in his ministry. When he preached to the religious leaders of his day, he preached forcefully. In the Sermon on the Mount, he preached to his core group, the disciples, and he challenged them to go deeper. To the crowds, he preached differently still. So preachers who preach differently in different contexts should not surprise us.

At LifeWay Research, we recently studied the variety of ways pastors use the Bible by looking at 450 different sermons (all by different preachers). We gave our research team the audio files of these sermons and some objective questions about how the preacher handled God's Word.

Thus, let me share about the research and my views on preaching at the same time. Later, we will release a standard report; in the meantime, let me share some of the results.

First, a bit about our methodology. The sermons were randomly selected from two prominent online audio sermon sources. The dates the sermons were preached fell between August 31 and September 14, 2008. A percentage of sermons were even checked a second time to verify and confirm that the research team was accurately reviewing the material.

Our sample certainly impacted the results of our study (which is why we reveal the sample source). We know that those who upload their sermons to online sites are different than those who do not. Are they younger, more evangelical, better educated, and more computer literate? We do not know for sure. But this is not an analysis of ALL preachers, only of the sample described.

Sure enough, in these 450 sermons, the preachers handled God's Word differently. The way pastors organized their sermons varied widely. Half of pastors traveled verse-by-verse through a passage, and almost half organized their sermons around a theme. Almost one out of five pastors named and explained a Greek word in their sermon. More than half explained verses by using other verses in the Bible.

Even though different preachers handle the Word differently, I believe they're all obligated to teach it as authoritative, not merely as a scriptural footnote proving something they already wanted to say. Four things have to be true about a pastor's handling of the Bible if that pastor is to preach authoritatively.

1. The Word should be heard

Our central task as preachers is to present God's Word. Paul asked a series of questions that should haunt all of us who preach: "How can they call on him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher?" (Romans 10:14 HCSB) A preacher isn't a self-help guru. A preacher is not a political activist or an entertainer. Those who preach are truth-dispensers, proclaimers of the Word. If we don't do our job as preachers, people will not hear the good news and therefore can't respond to it. What we do is crucial.

At a surprisingly high level, most of the preachers we studied seemed to understand the need for the text. Four out of five of these sermons conveyed the correct meaning of the chosen text according to our research team's analysis (which was not denominationally specific). I'm encouraged by this. People will not really hear God's Word in our churches if we're not preaching it accurately.

Of course you can preach the Word accurately and still no one will really "hear" it; we must share God's Word in the way our hearers will understand it. No matter how accurately the Bible is preached, our message can get lost behind jargon and phrases that mean nothing to our congregations. This doesn't mean that we should gloss over difficult words within scripture. But we do need to explain the original language and "churchy" words we use. Words we only hear in church such as "holy," "righteousness," and "propitiation" can help hearers understand God's truth only if properly clarified.

Many of the preachers we studied did this. In fact, 41 percent explained at least one church or theological word during their sermon. Another 21 percent avoided such words altogether. This means more than half of the preachers we studied either avoided or at least explained some of the church or theological words they used. While this is notable, it still means that one out of three preachers are not speaking in the vernacular of their audience at least if the uninitiated or unchurched are in attendance.

Paul could have just asked, "How can they believe without a preacher?" But he didn't. Without people hearing really hearing what you say they will not believe the message.

2. The Word should be organized

If God is orderly, and the story of creation suggests he is, then the preaching of his Word should be, as well. Having a good sermon structure matters as listeners try to make sense of your message.

A good sermon structure simply allows your listeners to more easily grab upon truth. It's like a well-organized toolbox: If you know where everything in your toolbox is located, you can go find a tool even when your lights are out. Why? You know where everything is. A good sermon structure can do the same thing. If you've organized your sermon well, your listeners will be able to understand the Word more easily even when you're dealing with difficult subjects.

But different people and different cultures think differently and organize their thoughts differently. Not everyone looks for their tools in the same places. Your task as the preacher is to know how your listeners organize their thoughts and to organize your sermon likewise. (And you should note that our sample was in English, which limited the cultural diversity of our study group.) As we studied these 450 sermons, we saw three main categories of biblical preaching. Each category pointed to an important element in biblical sermons.

Half of these preachers focused their preaching around one block of scripture text, moving verse-by-verse through the passage. In truth, every sermon should strive to explain scripture. If the sermon fails to do so, it's hard to say the Word is central to it.

Another 46 percent of preachers focused their preaching around a main theme, question, or topic using multiple Scriptures to support it. Themes may address issues that listeners deal with throughout their life, or they might highlight a biblical principle or doctrine that should impact the listener's thinking. Again, this method effectively helps listeners apply the Word to their lives, no matter what organizational method they use.

Finally, the other 4 percent organized their message around one main biblical character using multiple Scriptures to support the theme. This demonstrates the necessity of personalizing biblical truth letting listeners see the truth lived out in someone else's life. (Wayne Cordeiro does a helpful job unpacking this approach to scripture in his book, The Divine Mentor.)

All of these examples are appropriate ways to structure a sermon depending upon your audience, and all point to essential elements in a good sermon.

3. The Word should be sufficient

Preachers today can be tempted to use all sorts of extra-biblical resources to make their sermons more interesting to the unchurched. Much of those efforts are good: For example, a movie clip may make a nice illustration. A quote from popular culture may show listeners the relevance of what you're teaching. What a commentator says about a verse may help explain the scripture better.

But, the best way to explain scripture is with scripture itself. Sometimes it isn't the most convenient place for us to go, but the Bible is simply far better equipped to explain itself than popular culture. More than half of the sermons we studied (56 percent) used cross-references to explain the Word.

I am not saying that cross-references are the only way to help us explain the Word. In many of the sermons we studied (just under half), the preacher gave contextual background information on the biblical book being studied to help listeners understand the text's meaning. About four out of ten preachers explained their text by talking about its context or what came immediately before and after the passage. Almost one in five preachers gave little to no background information to help explain the texts they preached upon.

4. The Word should be useful

God's Word should make a difference in the lives of our listeners. When God's Word is preached boldly and authoritatively, people change. Paul told Timothy, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16, HCSB)

Paul says God's Word is useful (or profitable) to equip us to do his work. In fact, he says all of God's Word is useful for this this includes Leviticus, Amos, and the lineage of Jesus. He doesn't give any exceptions.

The preachers we surveyed had a definite preference for the New Testament. Nearly three quarters (71 percent) of the main biblical texts were found in the New Testament. More than a third (37 percent) of the sermons came from the New Testament letters alone. A quarter came from the Gospels.

When preachers flipped through their New Testament looking for a passage to preach upon, they didn't flip far. Matthew was the most preached-upon and the most referenced book in the entire Bible. Genesis was the most preached-upon Old Testament book. Luke, John, Acts of the Apostles, and Romans all from the New Testament were the other most likely biblical books for preachers to use as a main text.

Every book, every page of the Bible is useful to make us more like Christ and prepare us for ministry, not just our favorite books or pages. In fact, an important part of authoritative, biblical preaching is helping listeners discover "the whole counsel of God." (Acts 20:27) This means we have to flip further into our Bibles if we're going to be completely obedient to our call.

How we handle the Word of God matters. As preachers, we have a limited time with our audience every week. The question is, how will we use that time? Will we handle the Word of God in a way that demonstrates its authority in our lives and over the lives of our listeners?

How important is this issue? God's Word is bread to a spiritually lost and hungry culture. The issue is urgent. Here is my challenge: Over the next 90 days, take action steps to make your sermons more biblically relevant. The following steps will help you get started:

Listen to one of your recent sermons and assess how you handled the Bible (start by listening for how your sermon addressed the four points in this article).

Have someone you trust (maybe from outside your church) listen to a different one of your sermons and do the same assessment.

Read some books on preaching, like Christ-Centered Preaching by Bryan Chappel or The Divine Mentor by Wayne Cordiero, to help your personal approach to God's Word.

Create a list of clear and measurable goals to strengthen the biblical content of your preaching.

My prayer is that God would do something new and deeper in all of us who have the honor of communicating his life-changing truth. May every man, woman, and child in every community truly see and hear his Word as a result. It's really the most important concern we can address as we prepare to preach.

Jump into the comments below and leave your thoughts.

Over the Grave-- My First Music Review

2009-06-24T13:54:00Z

When it comes to music, I tend to think, "if it ain't an 80s rock ballad, why bother?" As I tweeted this morning, some music never dies. (And, yes, my iPhone reflects my taste.)

My taste in music accounts for the low incidence of music related posts here at edstetzer.com (total thus far is zero). But a few weeks ago at Advance 09, I bumped into my friends from the music ministry at Sojourn Community Church (sojournmusic.com) who passed a copy of their new CD on to me. Then, I saw them again at the B21 panel and I thought that their new CD warranted a mention.

]]> I had the privilege or recruiting and then coaching Daniel Montgomery, the church's planter and pastor almost nine years ago. Since then, they've been missionally engaged in their city through a variety of initiatives including an arts center and an urban renewal initiative. Their work with creatives has resulted in a music ministry that's garnered attention from Christianity Today, a host of bloggers, and yours truly.

Their newest record is a collection of songs that were "inspired by and adapted from" the hymns of Isaac Watts. The result is an album that has contextualized the old English puritan's rich theology in a sound that is far from the typical fodder on Christian radio. The sound of the album is at times aggressive - much like the texts themselves, and this captures the spirit of the young urban crowd at Sojourn.

The record is well done. It's a vibrant work of art coming from an evangelical, reformed, theologically-driven church, it's a gospel-centered project that has been picked up by a major label, and it's a grass-roots project that comes straight from the church. Every person who contributed to the recording was a member at Sojourn.

I would have to wonder if some of the songs would fly well at most churches, and how folks might be able to sing along with some of the more wild melodies, but most of the songs seem accessible to a worship leader with a guitar and a little creative imagination. Some also might question the value in "messing" with Watts, who is considered by some to be one of the best English-speaking poets of all time.

The folks at Sojourn say that they're only continuing his work. Watts was inspired to write hymns when he became convicted that people didn't understand the words of the songs they sung, and it only makes sense to continue to take pains to help people understand the depths of the Gospel that gives us a reason to sing. Fair enough. I think their effort worked well.

If nothing else, it's a great listen - creative and wide-ranging music that celebrates the cross of Christ. The CD is available exclusively from their blog, sojournmusic.com and will be available through other outlets this fall.

SBC Report and Wrap

2009-06-24T01:19:29Z

Since my denominational annual meeting just ended, I thought I would stay up late and share what has happened the last few days. Or, perhaps more accurately, share my experiences along the way.

Let me say it was a good convention and I left encouraged. Here is a day-by-day report.

]]> Friday

On Friday, I was one of the keynote speakers and also did two breakout sessions for the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists.

Good people. I believe that the church has been gifted with Evangelists and many people have forgotten their role in the church. It was good to be with these faithful servants.

Sunday

I preached at my church which is the headquarters of the Southern Baptist Convention. Actually, every church is the "SBC headquarters," even though sometimes people forget.

Monday

First, the Pastors Conference was a clear call for unity and cooperation. All of the speakers called for such.

Baptist Press provided a helpful report on the Pastors Conference here.

Here was the info about my message from our communications people:

Preaching from Ephesians 4:1-6, Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research, urged Southern Baptists to share a love-driven unity. "God has already made us one ... we just have to live it out," he said. The decline in membership and baptisms in the SBC is "not a matter of debate; it's a matter of math," he noted, and Southern Baptists should set aside "tertiary" issues to join hands in ministry. "You cannot bury your head in the sand and have your heart in the mission."

Stetzer encouraged his fellow pastors to "walk worthy, display right attitudes, and live in the unity God has already created." Walking worthy, he said, means we have to walk in who we already are in Christ. "God is not honored when there are divisions and factions among us."

He said Southern Baptists often are guilty of wrong attitudes that undermine the work of the Gospel. If Southern Baptists followed the biblical mandate to consider others more important than ourselves, "we would not be engaged in debates" about worship styles, methodologies and other issues. "God is using all kinds of churches for His glory and honor and we cannot and must not look down our noses at each other," he said. "Angry preaching gets the 'amen' ... but the amen corner is getting older and smaller every day."

Southern Baptists can't create unity, but they can live it, he said. Lifting his Bible, Stetzer said, "I've read the end of the book. It doesn't mention Southern Baptists ... but it mentions people from every tribe, tongue and nation.... I want us as a family of churches to be a part of that great ingathering."

Citing past disagreements over a variety of non-essential issues, Stetzer closed with a call to repentance and renewed commitment to cooperate with others who share a common statement of faith. "Southern Baptists, has the pain of staying the same grown greater than the pain of changing?" Not change for change's sake, he said, but for the sake of the Gospel.

I will share with the videos here at the blog when they are available.

On Monday night, I spoke to the newspaper editors of the SBC state papers. I shared with them new data and analysis that I prepared at their request. That data has now been reported in many places but you can find that information here.

Tuesday

Here were my predictions. You be the judge. ;-)

First, I do believe it will be a good convention. That is not to say that foolish things won't happen. They will. You can't get that many people together (even when we're trying to unite around the gospel) and not have a little drama. Someone will want to use the SBC to make their point, embarrass someone, or hurt a brother in the name of Christ. And, the media will be the media and it will make the national news. But, all in all, it will be a convention focused on the gospel, the Great Commission and Christian love. All the noise will not distract from the focus that Johnny Hunt, the pastors conference, and the overwhelming majority of Southern Baptists believe: we need to end the sniping and unite around the gospel.

Second, the Great Commission Resurgence resolution will pass and Southern Baptists will be on record affirming methodological diversity (article 5). If only we will listen to that call...

Third, many people who love Jesus will be challenged that they are not reaching many for Him. (That is why I am SBC.)

Fourth, the location in Louisville will help with attendance and it will be a little better than usual.

Also, on Tuesday, Danny Akin, Mark Dever, Al Mohler, Daniel Montgomery, David Platt, and I talked about the future of the SBC with the Baptist 21 panel. I will post that video later, but there is a summary here.

After that, my friends over at the SBC Executive Committee released a new resource. We had a "tweet up" sponsored by SBCEC and talked honestly about convention issues-- even taking questions from the gathered crowd at the Executive Committee booth.

The resources are based on a message series I did at my church earlier this year. I hope they can help you and your church people be better financial stewards with God's money. You can get them free following the instructions here.

Tuesday night, I start my "co-facilitation" of NAMB's task force to help refocus on the Great Commission. Please be praying for our group as we seek to encourage our churches to think of North America as a mission field and discern how best to engage it.

Wednesday

Wednesday was a day for meetings and interviews. I won't bore you with the details of my meetings, but there were many excellent SBC agency reports and I even attended a few!

I also had a great lunch with my friends and fellow faculty members at the Southeastern Seminary luncheon.

Conclusion

The big news was that the Great Commission Resurgence resolution was overwhelmingly approved and the Task Force was named.

But, as always, the highlights were the mission board reports and I hope you were able to be a part of such events. I will post those videos when they are available.

I will be out of pocket tomorrow speaking to the Church of God, Cleveland, TN annual Camp Meeting and won't be around in the comments, but feel free to share your thoughts and feedback.

New SBC Data

2009-06-23T20:01:12Z

Last night, I presented data to the state convention newspaper editors of my denomination. (Over 1 million people subscribe to these papers across my denomination.) These editors are great people working hard to communicate truth in an often tumultuous denominational environment.

Thanks to some good work of our team, we put together this data and released it to them last night. LifeWay released the data this morning from our LifeWay news people. You can find the charts here.

Here is the story:

]]> Southern Baptists face further decline without renewed evangelism emphasis Written by Rob Phillips

LOUISVILLE, Ky., - Southern Baptist membership will fall nearly 50 percent by 2050 unless the aging and predominantly white denomination reverses a 50-year trend and does more to strengthen evangelism, reach immigrants, and develop a broader ethnic base, according to data just released by LifeWay Research.

Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research, told editors of the Association of State Baptist Papers on Monday that while SBC membership has risen most years - by as much as 4 percent in 1951 - the rate of increase has been declining by 0.06 percent per year, and the membership change trend line has now passed into negative territory.

"If the 50-year trend continues, projected membership of SBC churches would be 8.7 million in 2050, down from 16.2 million last year," said Stetzer. "Using U.S. Census projected population figures, SBC membership could fall from a peak of 6 percent of the American population in the late 1980s to 2 percent in 2050."

Stetzer quoted Cliff Tharp, formerly with LifeWay and an SBC statistician for 35 years, who said, "We have been slowing in our growth and have now passed into decline. We are right at the top of the arc and beginning to go down. But changes we make now can change that trend significantly. These stats are not new but it has never caught anyone's attention until now."

Stetzer said there are many factors that can contribute to such decline. One factor is that the mean age of the denomination's members is increasingly older than the general population, especially in the South, and Southern Baptists are reaching and baptizing fewer young adults. Second, Southern Baptists have failed to keep pace with the rising number of non-white and non-black citizens in the United States.

"The difference in the mean age of Southern Baptists versus the U.S. population shows SBC members older, especially since 1993," said Stetzer. "Prior to 2000, the difference in ages was not statistically significant, but we started to see a statistically significant divide in the age distribution of SBC members versus the general U.S. population after the turn of the century."

Meanwhile, the percentage of the non-white and non-black population is very different in the U.S. versus the SBC, said Stetzer, drawing from widely respected General Social Service data. Last year, for example "other" races made up 10 percent of the U.S. population but only 2 percent of SBC membership responding to the GSS.

At the same time, the portion of the U.S. population that is foreign-born is outpacing the segment of foreign-born Southern Baptists. In 2008, 14 percent of the U.S. population was foreign born while only 3 percent of SBC members hailed from other countries.

The gap is particularly evident in the South, where immigrants make up a growing portion of the population, especially since 2000. "The South is becoming increasingly multi-ethnic but the SBC is not keeping pace," said Stetzer. "Although Southern Baptists have done great work among immigrant and ethnic groups, they are still underrepresented in our denomination. Great opportunity exists for us to share the gospel and minister to people. Ironically, the world is coming to us more quickly than we are going to the world."

Stetzer also addressed the recent decline in baptisms in Southern Baptist churches, pointing out that while baptisms have fallen every year but one since 1999, the trend line since 1950 shows no discernable pattern. "Baptisms often have risen several years in a row, only to fall for several years following," he said. "The annual percentage change of total baptisms in the SBC since 1950 is essentially flat. That means total baptisms between now and 2050 are projected to remain roughly unchanged as well. We hope that the last few years of decline are not a trend but just a blip, but there is no way to tell."

Small Churches Can Thrive

2009-06-22T06:51:10Z

The July/August issue of Outreach Magazine features my article on small churches. Yep, small churches - I love 'em! Especially when they are thriving on gospel and mission.

]]>

As a speaker at a number of conferences each year, I continue to see pastors and leaders going from one workshop to another searching for "THE" answer. They show up and hear amazing stories about implausibly happy people who willingly follow a new vision for their lives and their church.

They have heard all the strategies and promises, but for many small-church leaders, the conferences, led by rock star celebrity pastors, are like "ministry pornography"-- an unrealistic depiction of an experience they'll never have that distracts them from the real and wonderful thing. In other words, the lust of the megachurch distracts them from the mission of their church. (I'm not anti-big church--I preach at a megachurch every week-- but I am also pro-small church.)

The reality is that smaller churches can thrive, too. More than 65 percent of the churches that participated in the research survey for Comeback Churches (B&H)--the book I co-wrote with Mike Dodson-- had under 200 regular attendees. Smaller churches are not always unhealthy churches; it depends largely on their mindset. In our research, we found that the small churches which experienced revitalization often did so around prayer and outreach.

Passionate, Persistent Prayer
Small churches need to stop looking at megachurches and their pastors as role models. They can learn from them, but they must not copy them. In a world that devalues the small, listening to God in prayer and stepping out in obedience are much more important than the latest magic bullet that often misfires in smaller churches.

That attitudinal change can and does happen through intentional prayer for renewal. As we looked a little deeper at survey results, it was interesting to note that the comeback leaders of smaller churches highlighted the need for prayer even more than those at larger churches. When asked, "To what degree did the following [areas] change during your church's comeback?" leaders of the churches under 200 rated prayer as the area most changed.

Smaller comeback churches are often praying churches. Comeback leaders of smaller churches believed even more strongly that real, intentional, strategic prayer made a significant difference in their revitalization process. God can change attitudes in your church through passionate, persistent prayer for renewal.

An Outward Focus
Small churches are not exempt from the call to reach people because they are small. Too many churches of all sizes spend too much time moaning about what they don't have that other churches do have or about what they can't do that other churches are doing. No, you may not be able to do everything that other churches are doing. But that doesn't mean your church can't do something of purpose.

If smaller churches are going to thrive, they must focus their attention on reaching the lost in their communities. Again, delving deeper into our survey results reveals another important point. When asked the same question above, the leaders of churches under 200 rated evangelism as the second area that changed the most during the comeback.

Where From Here?
Prayer and outreach are not exactly revolutionary ideas, but they do change our focus. When small-church leaders have set their hearts on being like the large church, often the results are not positive. However, when they set their attention on God through prayer and on their community through outreach, the right focus produces small churches on God's mission in their context. And that's worth celebrating.

Would love to hear your thoughts on small churches.

What are the challenges and what are the answers to those challenges?

How have you served at a small church and what were the results?

Saturday is for Seminars (including the SBC)

2009-06-20T11:50:51Z

Well, this "Saturday is for Seminars" includes my SBC predictions. It's all going down June 23-24 and is sure to be a crazy party!

I'm hoping. ;-)

]]> First, I do believe it will be a good convention. That is not to say that foolish things won't happen. They will. You can't get that many people together (even when we're trying to unite around the gospel) and not have a little drama. Someone will want to use the SBC to make their point, embarrass someone, or hurt a brother in the name of Christ. And, the media will be the media and it will make the national news. But, all in all, it will be a convention focused on the gospel, the Great Commission and Christian love. All the noise will not distract from the focus that Johnny Hunt, the pastors conference, and the overwhelming majority of Southern Baptist believe: we need to end the sniping and unite around the gospel.

Second, the Great Commission Resurgence resolution will pass and Southern Baptists will be on record affirming methodological diversity (article 5). If only we would will listen to that call...

Third, many people who love Jesus will be challenged that they are not reaching many for Him. (That is why I am SBC.)

Fourth, the location in Louisville will help with attendance and it will be a little better than usual.

Enough predictions. Here is my schedule if you want to connect:

Friday

Yesterday (yes, it started yesterday), I was one of the keynotes and also did breakout sessions for the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists. I spoke at the meeting two years ago so I was thrilled to be back. We share a common passion: the desire to see men and women come to faith in Jesus Christ. I will talk about cultural shifts and their impact on how we do evangelism.

I will be coming back to preach at my church on Sunday.

Monday

On Monday, I will be preaching on being "Compelled by Love" to the SBC pastors conference. I was talking to Francis Chan a couple of weeks ago and told him he was the token non-SBC guy, but he and I, as well as Tom Elliff and Mike Landry, are speaking that morning.

At 2p.m., I will be doing a book signing at the LifeWay store. Please come by so it is not just me and 2 purple-shirted LifeWay employees.

Monday night I will be speaking to the editors of our state convention newspapers. I will be presenting new data and analysis of trends that continue to display the convention's decline (to those who have eyes to see).

I will also be in and out of the booths of the three agencies that I am honored to represent. I probably WON'T wear all three name tags. ;-)

Tuesday

Tuesday around lunch time I will be part of a panel with Danny Akin, Mark Dever, Al Mohler, and others to talk about the future of the SBC. You can watch the video of that here. However, that meeting is already filled up.

Tuesday night, we will have a reception with NAMB leadership to talk about the Task Force that I am co-chairing. Geoff Hammond and I met a week ago. He asked Steve Reid and me to co-chair this task force and look at how to best help the SBC to focus on the Great Commission. We will be dealing with how to help our churches see and engage North America as the mission field it really is. Details TBA but we will have a reception that evening.

Let me add that this Task Force will be working in concert with our denominational partners and in conversation with Johnny Hunt, whose call for a Great Commission Resurgence helped inspire it. We will be looking at how NAMB, in its spheres of influence can be more effective (and help its partners do that same) as we work toward a resurgence in our convention.

Wednesday

I will begin the day questioning whether this SBC thing is a good thing or a bad thing. But, then, after a robust time alone with God and some exhortation from friends like Jerry Rankin, I will remember that we can do more together than we can alone, and I will press ahead believing that we can stop sniping and start cooperating around our common desire to focus on the Great Commission.

All in all it should be a good time to catch up with some friends. I might even visit the business meeting a time or two. ;-)

Tweetups

I will do one and probably two "tweet ups" at the SBC. One is already set for 2:45pm on Tuesday. So, if you are there and want to visit, you might want to enable text messages. The Tuesday Tweetup would be a great time to get the new Financial Freedom resource that the Executive Committee and I partnered to produce and give away to churches.

Of course, I will be posting my usual fun pictures. Here is one from last year. So be on the lookout - you may wind up on my twitter feed!

Thursday

Thursday I will be off to the Church of God, Tennessee camp meeting in Chattanooga where I will preach and tell my Pentecostal friends that Baptists are really great people.

The Ad in SBC Life

Almost forgot: I am prepared to be incessantly mocked for this over-the-top ad from our PR people.

For the record, it was not my idea. ;-) And I thought the "World Transforming" was going to be "Gospel-Centered." And they kept my smiling "fat" picture. Not complaining... just explaining. ;-)

Bring it on, people.

Free Financial Freedom Resource

2009-06-19T07:19:52Z

My friends over at the SBC Executive Committee are releasing a new resource and you can have a copy! The resources are based on a message series I did at my church earlier this year. I hope they can help you and your church people be better financial stewards with God's money.

If you are a church that loves the Word and wants to help people deal with their finances, they will send you a free copy (a gift from us to the Body of Christ). Go to the It's a New Day website and click on "contact us" to request one. (Please order only one per church, preferably from the pastor or someone who helps the church with stewardship issues.)

]]> Thanks go to Ashley Clayton (whose blog and twitter is always interesting on issues of stewardship) and the folks at the Executive Committee (particularly Bob Rodgers and Morris Chapman) for making this available to those who need it in this difficult financial time. And, if you are at the SBC meeting, go by the Executive Committee booth and you can pick one up in person.

Here is the info:

Sermon and Curriculum Kit

Getting Started:

Clearly, there has never been a better time for churches, than now, to have a conversation about money and give leadership in financial matters. The Bible is our greatest resource, containing over 2350 verses about money. In discovering what God has to say about money, we find instruction and practical guidelines on how to make money, save money, spend money, invest money and give money. The Executive Committee, Southern Baptist Convention, is pleased to offer this stewardship resource to you to use in your church.

It's a New Day for Financial Freedom, Sermon and Curriculum Kit, contains the following resources:

Sermon Video
Four week sermon series by Dr. Ed Stetzer, preached at FBC, Hendersonville, TN

Sermon Notes (complete sermon notes and preaching outline, by Dr Ed Stetzer)

Week One: God's Ownership

Week Two: Debt's Dangers

Week Three: Greed's Antidote

Week Four: God's Purpose - Money & Work

Sermon Listening Notes (handouts for congregation - fill in the blanks)

Power Point slides (Scripture references for use in preaching)

Bible Study Lessons (Teacher Guide for Adult, Youth, & Children)

Week One: God's Ownership

Week Two: Debt's Dangers

Week Three: Greed's Antidote

Week Four: God's Purpose - Money & Work

The Bible Study lessons for each age group all have a Purpose Statement or Objective, Key Scriptures, Lesson Plan and Discussion Questions. The Youth and Children lessons have handouts as well. You are permitted to print these lessons and handouts for Teachers and participants for use in your church.

Please feel free to use as much or as little of this material as needed in your lesson preparation. You might use these lessons as a guideline and offer your class some original content of your own.

Pastor Guideline:
Pastor, these sermons are perhaps a little different from traditional sermons on money. You will notice this series is not about getting more money from your people, rather, it is about giving something of value to your people. The average American spends $1.26 for every $1.00 they earn, and consequently most Americans, inside the church as well as outside the church, are struggling! This sermon and curriculum kit will help you present a healthy and focused approach to money. The Bible Study lessons are designed to promote healthy discussion in your Sunday School, and small groups.

Message on Ephesians 4:17-32, Living Life

2009-06-18T00:55:32Z

As I mentioned yesterday, we are adding more video here at the blog. Here is my last message from my church. I working through Ephesians 4:17-32 with a particular emphasis on the difference between the gospel and moralism:

Living Life - Ed Stetzer from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

If you are interested in listening to my weekly messages, you can do so here and they are also at iTunes.

One Day Emphasis for Small Groups / Classes

2009-06-18T00:07:09Z

I am excited to see my friends from the BGCO working hard to serve their churches. In a tumultuous time in my denomination, Anthony Jordon has led the BGCO to serve their congregations well. At a time when some are saying we don't need a change, Anthony has been urging his churches to become more missional. I appreciate his friendship over the last several years and, more importantly, his steady leadership.

Well, my friend Bob Mayfield is part of the team there and he asked me to come out and do a training event that will be used for 10,000 leaders this August. Now, this training is not for pastors, but for leaders of small communities-- small group leaders and Sunday School teachers. And, training 10,000 leaders is a pretty great opportunity to encourage some folks, so I was glad to do it... and the videos will be coming out soon.

Let me add that I think this kind of approach will be big part of the future. Last year, I did a similar thing with the Assemblies of God. We shot the video at a television station in Chicago and then then used it in meetings across their region. It takes such training to people and not just to pastors. You can see those videos here.

They have planned a "One Day" training for leaders of small groups and classes to help them live on mission. Below is a preview video and you can find more information about the "One Day" initiative here.

Video from Advance09

2009-06-17T20:20:04Z

One of the things you will see in the coming days is a concerted effort to add more video and audio content here at the blog.

To start, here is my message at the Advance09 conference in Durham, NC.

Here is the panel of which I was part.

You can download all of the messages here.

Leadership Book Interview: Unfashionable

2009-06-16T14:16:13Z

Tullian Tchividjian's new book, Unfashionable boldly addresses the issue of what it means to be the church in the world, while refusing to be of it. This is a theologically driven book that calls the church to "contextualize without compromise." Tullian's is a voice of reasoned, biblical sanity when many who are having this discussion are talking past one another with unhelpful and exaggerated rhetoric. I spoke with Tullian recently and asked him to talk to us about this new book.

]]> ES: Tullian Tchividjian. I hope I got the name right.

TT: You got it perfect. I'm actually very, very impressed. It's Tchividjian, which rhymes with "religion."

ES: Which rhymes with religion. That's how I learned it. I remember sitting in New York City, and you telling me that. So I never forget. Well, so glad to talk to you about Unfashionable. I really enjoyed the book, but if you remember, during our conversation you asked me to endorse it. I almost didn't. I was kind of reading, and it seemed very negative about engaging culture, but then I'm thinking I know Tullian, and he's very positive about engaging culture, and you have kind of blazed this trail between the two. There's this one quote in your book that says, "It's both sad and ironic that the shift is now putting the church in the wrong place at the right time. Just when our culture is yearning for something different, many churches are developing creative ways to be the same. Just as many in our culture are beginning to search back in time, many churches are pronouncing the irrelevance of the past." So tell what's the big idea here that's driving Unfashionable, Making a Difference in the World by Being Different when you're a pretty culturally relevant guy? What's your message here that you're trying to communicate?

TT: Well, about two and a half years ago I was asked by an interviewer what troubling trends do you see emerging in the evangelical world amongst young evangelicals, specifically in America? And I said, right away our fascination with fitting it. And I said to the interviewer that it seems that when you scan the landscape of evangelicalism across America, many churches and Christians have come to the conclusion that the best way to reach the world is to become just like the world, so we go out of our way to convince the world in a thousand different ways that there's really nothing different between us, between the church and the world, that we want to go out of our way to convince the world that we're really the same.

And so the overarching thesis of Unfashionable is this: Christians make a difference in this world by being different from this world. They don't make a difference by being the same. And over and over again in the book I borrow this line from sociologist Peter Berger where he said that the church is to live against the world for the sake of the world. And so there's this tension that exists between being in the world, but not of the world. What I seek to do in the book is really tease out what does it mean to be in the world, but not of the world; what does it mean to live against the world for the sake of the world; what does it really look like for Christians to make a difference in the world by being different from the world? My goal is to really spell that out theologically, to spell it out practically. I talk about the fact that according to Jesus, Christianity is not cool. Jesus says some pretty remarkably unfashionable things, like if you want to live you must die, that if you're eye or your hand causes you to sin, pluck it out or cut it off. He just - the way up is down, the way down is up. I mean everything in God's kingdom moves backwards according to the world's standards, so to speak. And so I try to tease out that tension so that the reader can understand what it really means to engage this world in an unfashionable way.

ES: And I think you do a wonderful job with those. Very encouraged and challenged by the book. It seems that right now, we're in the midst of a conversation on this. How do we engage culture? How are we in the world, but not of it? Your book stands out, I think, as a fresh voice in the midst of that, perhaps for me, because the ways in which you are calling people to be different than the world are not the ways that many of the; to be blunt, the angry voices of some parts of evangelicalism are saying, "Listen, put your suit and tie back on, cut your hair, don't listen to any music that was written in the last 100 years." and then you're godly. So in what ways are we talking about being different cause I mean I know your church plant does some progressive things. Now you're serving at Coral Ridge. In what ways, give me some examples what you are taking about and some ways that you're not talking about?

TT: Yeah, that's good. Well, obviously, by unfashionable I'm not talking about the clothes you wear, your hairstyle, the music you listen to. I'm talking about something much deeper, and I'll give you a couple of examples. There are some silly and there are some more serious mistakes that I think the church makes by trying too hard to fit in. A silly way would be, for instance, and I talk about these things in the book, walking into a Christian book store and seeing, instead of Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirts, a breadcrumb and fish t-shirts.

ES: Those Testamints.

TT: Yeah, Testamints. I walked into one Christian bookstore a while back and there was this comparison list between secular bands and Christian bands. So if you like Dave Matthews Band, you'll love such and such. If you like Counting Crows, you'll love such and such. If you love Beyonce, you'll love - . We're trying way way too hard to convince the world that we're really no different than they are. We've basically created a parallel universe, a copycat culture. And so that's kind of silly because, and it's somewhat frustrating because we think, are we really being creative in a pioneering way, or are we just looking around at what's cool in the world and then copying it with a little sprinkle of Jesus on top?

So those are silly ways, but there are some more serious ways, I think, in which we are capitulating to what's fashionable. For instance, it's very, very common in our culture today, as everybody knows, for there to be a tremendous amount of ambiguity regarding the notion of truth. I mean it is vogue to be vague, for instance, that the more uncertain we are, the more cool it is, that we don't want to fully embrace the fact, our culture I'm talking about, we don't want to embrace the fact that there is such thing as universal objective truth that is true for everyone everywhere all the time. I mean there are very, very few people in our culture today who would admit that that is true. They would say there is no absolute truth. We've heard it a thousand times.

Well, the church has always been the pack of people on this planet who have embraced Jesus' words in John 14:6, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the light. Nobody comes to the Father but by me. We have been that society in society. The church has been that society in society where truth is belief. We do believe there is objective universal knowable truth, that we cannot know truth exhaustively, but we can know truth truly because God has revealed it from outside of us. Well, these days there's so much pressure from the outside world to become ambiguous about the reality of truth that you find even many voices in the Christian church today shying away from their firm belief that universal objective outside of us truth exists for everyone, revealed by God to his people. And so that's a much more serious, much more dangerous way that we're trying to be fashionable, that we're trying to fit in the notion of truth, which is a big one, obviously.

So I'm not addressing what kind of music we should play in worship, because those things, to me, are just, they're unimportant. You can be too fashionable and be traditional. You can be too fashionable and be contemporary. You can be unfashionable and be traditional. You can be unfashionable and contemporary. That's not what I address at all. I'm addressing much more of this idea that we have adopted or absorbed a worldly mindset in the way that we think about money and relationships, truth, all of those things that I outline in the book. And I define worldly

ES: There's a lot of things in the book from the atonement to greed to loss of truth. The book covers some strong ground and kind of calling people back to an unapologetic, unfashionable view of life, church and ministry.

TT: Yeah, yeah. Yes, that is. This book was penned with tremendous passion. I say in the book that if I did not write it, I was going to explode because it was brewing, it had been brewing in me for about 15 years. And it really is my clarion call. I'm 36 years old. I'm a South Florida native. I am on the front lines of practical ministry as Pastor at Coral Ridge. And so this is my clarion call to young evangelicals to embrace the fact that we are odd, that we're never going to fit in. But the irony and the thing that I think we need to embrace, the paradox here, is that when you study church history, what you discover is that the church has always served the world best when it has been most counter cultural, when it has been most different from the world. I'm not talking about curling up in our holy huddles and sucking our thumbs and waiting for the rapture to come. I am talking about full blown cultural engagement. But it's the way we engage culture that I'm really, really addressing.

The book assumes the fact that we are to engage this world. In fact, I have a few chapters that talk about the absolute call from God to his people to engage this world to transform this world into the world to come because God is on a mission to do just that. But I'm talking more in the book about how do we do it? Do we do it by being the same, or do we do it by being different? And if we do it by being different, what does that really look like practically speaking? And so that's what the book seeks.

ES: The book has gotten widespread acclaim. You got a great list of endorsers. But at the same time, but people are still missing the point. There's the one side that says we've just got to engage culture, we've got to use every tool, we've got to be relevant and cutting edge, and they have all the cliché. Then you've got this other side that says unhelpful things like contextualization will be an anathema to the Apostles, we don't need to worry about those things. So you're trying to come in and bring a third way, and saying, we do need to be engaging, even relevant to culture, but we deeply oppose the culture where culture opposes the word and its teachings.

TT: Yeah. I identify in one of the chapters entitled Where in the World Are Christians, I talk about the fact that there are always two ways to fall off a tightrope. There are always two extremes we need to avoid in any given situation, and that is true when it comes to Christianity and culture of the church and the world. And the one extreme we need to avoid is to avoid being culturally removed, totally disengaged from the world. The other extreme we need to avoid is to avoid being culturally relaxed, so absorbed with the culture that we're really no different.

So there's a big section in the book on contextualization, and I wholeheartedly agree that contextualization is not only necessary, but is absolutely unavoidable. I mean we all live our lives within a particular context. I give some examples of, some simple examples even, of when I am trying to teach my three kids something about God, I'm going to teach my seven-year-old a little bit different. I'm going to use words and pictures and tone of voice and things like that that are different with her than I would with my 15-year-old. And I'm going to talk to my 15-year-old about those things in a different way than I'm going to talk to a 55-year-old. I mean every English translation of the bible is an effort to contextualize biblical truth translated from the original languages into a language that English-speaking people like me can understand. And so we have to be contextualizing. And so I make sure that the reader understands we're talking about full-blown engagement. I mean in fact, I've taken more hits actually as a result of writing this book because I talk so much about transforming culture.

There's a big debate going on these days regarding whether or not we should be engaging culture or whether or not we should just be the church. And I don't think that the bible allows us to build a dichotomy there. How do we transform this world? We transform this world by being the church. So it's not an either or. It's definitely a both and. It's making a difference by being different. It's making a difference in our community by being a different community.

ES: So it's a challenge to find that balance. What would you say to these young pastors who right now are really pursuing relevance? Would you tell them to stop? Would you tell them to add something to it? Would you tell them to reconsider? What would you say to them?

TT: I would say that to be truly relevant you have to say things that are timeless, not trendy. That's what I would say. I address this in the book, that in order to be truly relevant you have to be otherworldly. You have to operate according to a different ethic, that there is a deep relevance to being irrelevant, so to speak.

When we try too hard to fit in we actually become irrelevant because we're not saying anything different. I mean it's almost like we lose our voice. We lose our unique niche, the church does, when we're trying too hard to fit in. We become indistinguishable from a world that desperately wants something different.

If you just look around at the world today, and you read a quote which piggybacks on what I'm about to say, but if you look around at the world today, the world is desperately crying out for something otherworldly. I mean the fascination with sort of pop spirituality, angels, aliens, all those sorts of things indicate that there is a deep longing in the human soul that craves something beyond this world. Well, when Christians put their greatest tool up on the shelf in the name of being relevant, we end up becoming really, really irrelevant. And, I have to wonder sometimes about whether or not Christians and pastors who try so hard to fit in and be relevant are really doing it because they have a deep passion to reach the world or if they have a deep passion to be accepted. And I know that's a struggle that I find. I can try so hard to be fashionable and be cool and fit in and do it under the guise of I'm trying to reach the world, but I know what's going on in my heart. I know what's really going on. What's really going on is I just want the world to think I'm cool. I don't want people around me to think I'm odd and unfashionable and strange. I want them to think I'm like them. Like I can be cool, too. Christians can be cool, too.

ES: I've actually heard people say that, yeah. And that's a desire, I think, to communicate. I think for some people it's a desire to build a bridge, and I get that.

But I think ultimately it's, there always comes a point where there are things for which we stand, there's always the stumbling block of the cross, but even more so it's just there are places where we say, we differ. And if we don't have that then we lose the saltiness.

Ironically, we look at the, many mainline denominations chased after relevance in the 60's, and today nobody pays attention to them. In a great twist of historic irony, in a desire to engage the world they became like the world, and then the world didn't pay attention to them anymore.

TT: We're talking about timeless truth that has been relevant for generations and has been relevant throughout the centuries. And like I said before, I think if we want to be truly relevant we have to say things that are timeless and not trendy because if we spend our life as a church chasing the latest trend we'll always be behind the 8-ball. I'll never forget, and I mention this as an illustration in the book. I'll never forget the time that a Hollywood actor pulled my Granddad aside in the late 1950's when my Granddad was becoming a very, very famous preacher of the Gospel, and he said, "Billy, don't ever try to do Hollywood because Hollywood will always do it better than you. You give the world the one thing Hollywood can't, the timeless truth of the Gospel." That's relevant.

ES: Speak to the pastor who says, "We are unfashionable. We don't try to look like the world. We stand against that worldly music. We stand against worldly culture. We tell our people don't watch TV. We're separate." They're basically striving to be the new spiritual Amish, and they're doing it because they want to be unfashionable. What do you say to that person about culture?

TT: I would say that God is on a mission to make all things new, that God is on a mission to transform this present world into the world to come, that when Christ came the first time He inaugurated this process of universal transformation. When He comes back a second time, He will consummate or complete this process of universal transformation, making all things new, bring heaven to earth so to speak. But in between the times, in between Christ's first coming and His second coming, God has called His people, He's equipped His church to carry on what Christ began and will one day complete. And so, what I tell people like that is God has transformed us to become agents of transformation. He has, He has renewed us so that we would become agents of renewal. There is a reason why Jesus calls His disciples salt and light. We know that salt and light only make a difference when it makes contact. Salt can only preserve something that's rotting when it makes contact with what it is that it's rotting. You know, light can only shine in the darkness if it makes contact with the darkness.

Another line that I use in the book, which has really helped me over the years, is we need to "contextualize without compromise." We need to make contact with the world while colliding with the ways of the world. And so to the people who say well we are just going to set up big thick walls to protect us from those nasty pagans on the outside, and we're going to sing our songs and do our deal and just hope and pray every day that the rapture comes and rescues us from this nasty place, well they are just categorically failing to understand the overarching message of the bible, which is that God is on a mission to make all things news, and He's called His people and equipped His people to be his agents of renewal in between the times.

ES: Excellent. Thank you so much, Tullian, for taking the time to talk. This is a very helpful book. I'd recommend it to people to read. I've given it to many both contemporary church pastors and many maybe those who are not engaging culture. And I find it to be a good balanced look at these things.

If you don't have it, pick up Unfashionable today. It an excellent book on an issue that's hot right now (and always "relevant"). And check out the solid discussion questions in the back of the book.

Tullian will be on the blog today, interacting with all of you and your questions. So jump into the comments and join the discussion.