EdStetzer.com

Moving to Health, Part 3

2009-11-06T15:38:58Z

I've shared a bit about my journey toward health here on the blog (here and here), mostly because many of you asked me to. Even since then I am frequently asked to post more on the subject. I've been slow to do this, but as I came across a recent study that showed a link between obesity and brain shrinkage, I thought I would jump in again.

Many of you already know that obesity (excess body fat that creates a significant health hazzard) is on the increase in our country. The Center for Disease Control explains,

During the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States. In 2008, only one state (Colorado) had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%. Thirty-two states had a prevalence equal to or greater than 25%; six of these states (Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia ) had a prevalence of obesity equal to or greater than 30%.

The health hazards associated obesity are:

Diabetes
Heart Disease
Stroke
Hypertension
Some types of Cancer
Sleep Apnea
Osteoarthritis
Gallbladder Disease

But a new study claims that among the aged, "clinically obese people had 8 percent less brain tissue, while the overweight had 4 percent less brain tissue compared to normal-weight individuals."

So, 125 lbs ago I decided to finally take care of myself - physically. This was no easy task since I had been 150 lbs overweight for 15 years, travel frequently, and had grown accustomed to eating what was easiest-- and that meant lots of fat, sugar and calories. In some ways I was, like many others, the victim of our fast paced, quick fix culture. But in another way, this was something I needed to repent of, because in the end much of it came down to choices. Some of the issues at the center of all this were thankfulness, temperance, self control, and stewardship. In short, when a man is thankful for the life, body and the food God provides, his gratitude produces self control and leads to the good stewardship of those gifts while neither abusing or misusing them.

Still, when it comes to something like weight loss, exercise and healthier living it requires a plan. I was done with trendy diets, didn't have time (or interest) for a personal trainer, so I went the old school route. I am a simple man so my plan was simple: 1. I decided to eat healthier, and 2. I got on the elliptical 5 days a week (I unpack the details here).

A few new wardrobes later, I feel great, am less likely to experience the diseases above and an more likely to hold on to more of my brain.

Look, I know people are uncomfortable talking about the obesity problem in our country. We're afraid of coming off insensitive, judgmental, or looking hypocritical. So if I may, as a man who had to learn the hard way to take care of himself and the body that belongs to the Lord, let me encourage you to take care of what God has entrusted to you. I'm not encouraging anyone looking the same, or conform to the world's standard of beauty. But I am encouraging you to let the world see fruit of the gospel in us by living temperate, thankful lives.

I'm still learning but I thought I would share it with you. There will be one more post on the health topic before I am all done.

Book Interview: Church Still Works

2009-11-05T14:30:59Z

As I recently mentioned, I am intrigued by the Independent Baptist Movement. It is often caricatured and frequently misunderstood, but definitely worth understanding. With that in mind, when I see research on this movement, it catches my attention.

Paul Chappell and Clay Reed have written a book based upon an independent, nationwide survey of independent Baptist churches, and the result is Church Still Works, an insightful read that will prove surprising to some and encouraging to all.

Paul is the senior pastor of Lancaster Baptist Church and president of West Coast Baptist College in Lancaster, California. Clayton is the founder and director of Global Church Planters, which has worked with American missionaries and national pastors to help start more than three hundred churches around the world.

I was happy to talk to Clayton about the new book, and think you'll find the interview and the book helpful.

What prompted you to write Church Still Works?
I grew up in the Independent Baptist world. While we've seen a lot of professional research done on many aspects of contemporary Christianity, I had never seen a large-scale study of the Independent Baptist movement. Independent Baptists really have had nothing more than anecdotal evidence about the scope and effectiveness of our movement. I was curious to find out what our churches are really doing that makes a difference.

What is an "Independent Baptist Church"?

It's a Baptist church that isn't associated with a national convention or an outside controlling organization. Wikipedia describes our movement here.

What trends did you identify in this movement?

There's a chapter in the book called "The Fruit Factors," where we took a look at Fields (where churches are located), Farmers (the pastors who lead our churches), and Farms (our congregations). What we found was insightful, and some of it was a real eye-opener for us.

For instance, the research confirmed, as we expected, that there are a higher number of Independent Baptists in the South and Midwest. Churches in those areas experience a significantly higher growth rate as well. The vast majority of our churches are located in rural areas and small towns of less than 100,000 people. We also found that the West and Northeast are wide-open doors where new roots can be established.

Independent Baptist Churches led by younger pastors, for example, grew at a faster rate in a three-year period. In both size and percentage, the prime time for church growth is when pastors are between ages 40 and 49. This age group saw a 27% growth rate in their churches during 2005-2008, compared to pastors ages 50-59, who saw a 19% growth rate in the same period.

However, just as a successful farmer can, over time, enlarge his acreage, the largest churches in our movement are pastored by leaders who stay put. Over time, those congregations do not grow as fast, but they continue to grow. Steadfast, consistent leadership contributes greatly to local church health.

Newer churches also register a much higher growth rate than older congregations. The findings in our study correlate well with a nationwide survey of churches of all denominations. Churches started since 1990 experienced a 47% growth rate in a three-year period, compared to an 18% growth rate for churches started between 1970-1989.

What are some strengths you noted in your research about the churches in this movement?

We found some very good growth trends in segments of our movement. We are growing about 6% a year as a whole. From 2005 to 2008, Independent Baptists experienced a 20% growth rate in their average Sunday morning worship attendance.

We also found a strong commitment to doctrinal integrity and saw a great emphasis on worldwide missions. Independent Baptist churches give an average of 19% of their income to world missions. Many give more.

What were some areas of concern you found in your research?

As a whole, Independent Baptists congregations are seeing an average of 74 people come to Christ every year. However, only 27% of our converts are being baptized, and only 18% of them are remaining faithful to church.

We also found that our church planting efforts have greatly decreased over the past 20 years. We are planting at a 1% rate, meaning we are just maintaining our present number of churches. Independent Baptists are planting 130 to 140 churches a year, but to keep up with the population growth of our nation, we need to be planting about 500 churches per year.

What are some traits of the churches in your movement that were identified as "healthy" and "growing"?

One section in the book is called "Seven Practices of Healthy Churches." We found that healthy, growing churches focus on all or most of these seven practices:

- Generate guests through effective outreach.

- Create positive first impressions

- Connect God's Word with people's hearts

- Follow up biblically and strategically

- Use effective tools and technologies

- Compel spiritual commitments

- Develop devoted disciples.

Alright, you can order the book here, follow Clayton Reed on Twitter here, and follow Paul Chappell on Twitter here. Now jump into the comments and hit up Clayton with your questions. He's hanging around today to interact.

Planting / Pastoring in Your Head or Your Community?

2009-11-03T16:09:23Z

Do you remember the playground game Red Rover? You know, where school kids stand in two lines facing each other and take turns yelling out, "Red Rover, Red Rover, send Suzy right over!" Then little Suzy would have to leave her line and run as fast and hard as she could to break through the other line of kids holding hands. If successful, she would take one member from the other team back with her to her line. If unsuccessful, Suzy had to remain in the opposing team's line and then another child would be called to come over.

The game has seemed to lose some steam in the last few years. Maybe it's due to the development of "cooler" games. Perhaps it's due to the number of kids with neck injuries from nearly being strangled trying to break through. Whatever the case, it seems for the most part that Red Rover has gone to the playground cemetery along with King of the Hill. We'll have to hope for a resurrection.

It has occurred to me that we often to adopt a kind of Red Rover Strategy in church planting and pastoring. Like Paul in Acts 16, we hear the call, "Come over and help us!" and we react with a violent attempt to just break through the line. We have a dream in our heart to plant or pastor a church and we become so consumed with this vision that we barrel right into a new town looking for the weakest link in the chain before ever getting an honest and clear picture of the people that live there. We start plowing into a community with strategy, plans, and really great books written by "cool" church planters and pastors without ever considering the group of people into which we're being sent. And before we know it, we find ourselves strangled, trying to break into a community that is not ready or able to receive the church we have planned.

So, let me say this; before planting or pastoring a church, it's vital that we have a vision of the people to whom God has sent us. This was the crucial step that happened in Acts 16.

Paul and his companions are setting out to minister to people and they're running up against barriers along the way. The Bible says, "Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia, went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, come over to Macedonia and help us!" The "Come over and help us" ends with a little dative case pronoun: "us." And, it matters.

Here was Paul, sure of where he wanted to go, never stopping for directions, but being stopped at every turn. Until he received God's vision for ministry. And in the vision, he met a person, the man from Macedonia. We can learn a clear lesson from this story. Do not go plant or pastor a church if all you have is a vision for a particular kind of church, or because you think a particular city is "cool." You can only plant or pastor a church when you have a vision for the people. Part of being missional is to recognize that we are to go into a culture, engage the people of that culture, and plant a Biblically faithful church for those people, all the while acknowledging that culture matters in the way we do ministry. In many ways, the how of church ministry is determined by the who, when, and where of culture.

So, when we "come over," it's important to remember that we are going into our own community, not someone else's. It's so easy to hear an incredible speaker at a conference and say, "I'm going to be just like that pastor!" That is not the right goal, nor is it what God is calling you to be. Too often, we get so excited by someone else's church that we get a vision for their church before we get a vision for our people.

My challenge is, don't plant or pastor a church in your head. Plant or pastor a church in your community. When you are there, that's when the Gospel transforms real people who are living real lives. When we are in love with someone else's community, we fall prey to community lust and demographic envy. We begin thinking, "If I could just be in this part of California, or this part of Seattle, or this part of Manhattan... then, my church would be incredible." Know and live in your culture, not someone else's. Don't just bring a model, bring the Gospel. Create a church. Don't create a plan.

Most importantly, we must bring Christ, not just a church, particularly a way of doing church. Sometimes, I think we get too excited about the fact that we're leading a church. That's great, as long as we remember that we're planting the Gospel that creates a church, not a church that's known for being the best church or the most trendy or the most relevant. We're planting the Gospel and so we bring Christ and not just the church. Being missional has to be tied into the mission of Jesus, which is to seek and save the lost.

Unlike the in the game Red Rover, we win when we get to stay with our new "team" and begin leading it in a new direction. Planters and pastors must first take the time to listen to the Spirit, responding appropriately His call to the particular people He assigns to us. Then, we can best respond to the call to "Come over" and win them for the kingdom of God.

Fighting Twitter Spam

2009-11-02T16:33:40Z

O.K, I just went over the edge dealing with Twitter spam. Today, I am getting a bunch of Direct Messages from all the folks who got "phished" and did not protect their password. Then, there are the inappropriate followers. Today, I was going through my "followers" for the week and trying to eliminate inappropriate ones.

Some people ask why I care. Well, I have my twitter account set up to follow everyone back. Why? Because too many people ask, "Why don't you follow me?" I could only follow the people I know, but just because I don't know you does not mean I find you unimportant. Most of my Twitter-friends I never meet in person.

Since I have over 18,000 followers, there is no way I can check them all. Of course, that is what some people suggest, but basically that means I need to spend way too much time or pay someone to do it. I am not willing to do either. So, what I do is I watch the names when I get the email notification of new followers. For the vast majority of time, they are just names, and I don't worry about it. Sometimes the twitter avatar is obvious--and you block it.

Sometimes, they are questionable though--they might be something inappropriate or it might just be a name.

Let me give you an example. These folks followed me:

www.twitter.com/thebabesproject.

OK. Do I block or not?

I look at their avatar, and can't tell by that. But I'm not feeling too optimistic. So, I click the link and it works out fine. Turns out they are all about "coming alongside women, facing crisis pregnancy and offering positive alternatives to abortion, through adoption or parenting." Whew. They followed me because I was speaking somewhere on adoption.

But, I could give examples that, upon opening, were quire embarrassing (including once sorting through the names in public), but you get the point. So, I have to check, but I have made a covenant with my eyes, know that I should flee certain things, and am trying to figure out how to do it. It seems there is only one way to do that and that is to look at the profile. And, therein lies the problem--some background pictures are pretty graphic.

So, I tweeted and asked how others handle it.

I received this article. Good stuff.

Here is the advice I have received thus far:

Stop using Twitter.
OK. That was helpful. ;-)

Create a private profile.
Hard to do that when you have a lot of followers and have to approve them all. That is just not realistic for me, but it might be helpful for some.

Use Truetwit.
Truetwit is pretty irritating and everyone has to sign up for it to be validated. It is like those irritating email messages I get sometimes from people who want me to validate my identity--I don't do it so they never get my email, I guess.

Turn on email notifications and block the inappropriate ones from the email.
Yes, I do that. And, it works great 90% of the time. That is how I normally do it. I try to read every email just to be sure it is not obviously inappropriate.

Use one of the handheld options, they don't show the background.
Another good idea, but you can't always tell from the avatar and the username. It is similar to the email option. If avatar and username are offensive, you can block them.

Get your wife to go delete the inappropriate ones.
That one is problematic when you have 18,000 followers and don't know who they are. My wife is patient, but not that patient.

Tweetie, Twitterriffic, and apps like that do not open the full profile with the background pic.
Helpful, and a step in the right direction. But, it is the 10% that do not have an obvious pic or name.

Use Twitter Karma.
It does not seem to be able to load users with as many friends as my account. It timed out every time and eventually just said "error." It may work if you have fewer followers.

Install PowerTwitter for Firefox.
Just did that. Nice add on. But still no solution. Glad I added it though--I like it.

So, what did I do? Well, the suggestion that seems to work for me is TwitBlock. I ran its "search engine" on my followers and, whala, found dozens of inappropriate followers.
It said, "339 accounts worth examining, but please think before you block."

As best I can tell, it found ALL the spam (and a lot of non-spam) but I could tell from the description. It's free and easy to use.

So, for now, that's my plan. But I'd love to hear if you have any additional ideas! Leave your feedback in the comments.

Saturday is for Seminars, part 2 (posted Monday!)

2009-11-02T11:22:49Z

Here is my travel for the next couple of weeks. Thanks for praying for me and I hope to see you on the road.

______________________________________

The National Outreach Convention is this Wednesday - Friday in San Diego, CA. This isn't just a big conference (but it is crazy big), it also features a very diverse line up with some very solid guys. I know I'll see a number of you there.

______________________________________

On the 8th I'm preaching at Harpeth Community Church in Franklin.

______________________________________

On the 9th I'm joining some brothers at the TN Baptist Pastors Conference where we'll focus on the Kingdom of God.

______________________________________

On the 10th I'm with friends at the Acts 29 Bootcamp/Conference "Ambition" at Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY.

______________________________________

On the 11th I'm speaking at the Great Commission Research Network Conference

On the 12th, I will also be preaching at the NOBTS Chapel and doing a dialogue after with the students.

______________________________________

...and then I'm off to Seattle (See part 1)

Saturday is for Seminars, part 1 (you supply the caption)

2009-10-31T18:36:54Z

I am going to post more conference info later, including information about my trip to preach for my friend Bob Roberts at Northwood Church tomorrow and the National Outreach Convention next week, but this picture will be part 1.

I will be teach at ReTrain, speaking to the leadership of Mars Hill Church, preaching to all the campuses at Mars Hill on Sunday, and then speaking at the Calibrate Conference (with the Assemblies of God) in Seattle, all over 4 days.

Well, all that is good and fine, but this picture above made me laugh. I appears this is what happens when your tongue gets stung by a bee right before you speak. Not sure how that happened, but there it is... and thanks Mike Anderson for that fun picture! (And, to the rest of your, sorry about making you suffer through a close-up.)

Enjoy. Perhaps you have a better caption than mine-- share it below, but be nice. ;-)

Pray 4 Your Block

2009-10-29T19:33:56Z

While I'm here in Chicagoland, I wanted to take time to point you to a helpful website. Bill Yaccino shared this with me and I thought it was worth your time. Bill is the Executive Director of Catalyst, a network of congregations in Lake County, IL that collaborate towards greater Kingdom impact. (www.Catalystweb.org)

The site is a tool for organizing people to pray for their neighborhoods here in Chicago. You can also sign up and join others who are also praying for their block-- and you don't have to live here in Chicago. Take a minute to see how many people are praying for their neighbors all across northern Chicago at Pray4YourBlock.org

The guys behind it all want to encourage you to sign up at the website and...

1. Plant a virtual flag in your neighborhood.

2. Start a movement in your corner of the world by inviting dozens of others to do the same.

3. Use their attached bulletin insert to encourage your church or organization.

4. Finally, write about it and tell others.

Check it out here.

Missional Leadership

2009-10-29T04:16:42Z

As I mentioned and shared details on Saturday, I'm doing a conference tomorrow in Chicago. Whenever I come to Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, I do a one-day seminar for pastors as part of my class.

In this case, I will be focusing on "missional leadership." I recently taught on the subject in Oklahoma. Here is the video:

Missional Leadership from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

You can get more information about this training at the One Day web page.

Here is the outline that I used in the video and I will be using tomorrow:

Missional Leadership

1) Reconsideration of Leadership

a) From superman to everyone
b) From church to kingdom
c) From me to we
d) From personal power to people empowerment

2) Rejection of Clergification

a) From three tiers to one mission
b) From "called to the ministry" to "called to ministry"
c) From "called to missions" to "sent on mission"
d) From exceptional to ordinary
e) From "priests" to a "priesthood of believers"

3) Renewed focus on mission

a) From "full service" to "simple mission"
b) From "pay, pray, and get out of the way" to "join God on His mission"
c) From decisionism to disciple making
d) From "mission statement" to "Jesus mission"
Luke 4
Luke 19:10

4) Realignment of priorities

a) God is a missionary God
b) I personally join Him on mission - modeling
c) I lead others to join Him on mission - leadership
d) I equip others - multiplication

I hope that is helpful. Be sure to watch the video to get the context.

Another Twist on Global Proclamation

2009-10-28T02:11:32Z

A friend recently pointed me to an interesting approach to communicating the gospel in multiple languages.

Hollywood veteran Bruce Marchiano (who played Jesus in "Matthew") is developing a film on the life of Christ and scripted word-for-word from the Gospel of John.

Funding wont be coming from a major movie studio, but from millions of Christians around the world. Specifically, the goal is 10 dollars each from 4.5 million folks, most of it raised online from their web site. Each contributor is considered a "producer" and can provide filming input to Bruce. I don't think that's ever been done, Christian or secular.

"A movie for the next generation" is how it is being billed. Using the latest in movie technology and techniques, the film is expected to be used around the world (read: translated into many languages) to impact millions for Christ.

I though it worth passing on.

Here's the movie promo. Go to www.newjesusmovie.com if you'd like to be a part.

Parenting Research

2009-10-27T07:43:21Z

We recently contracted to do an analysis of successful parenting from a biblical perspective. As a researcher, this interests me. As a father, this has my full attention.

With the overwhelming amount of information and advice out there relating to raising children parents don't always know who's offering real wisdom. And as Christian parents we want to to raise children to become gospel-believing, Christ-centered, mission-focused, young adults. But, to whom do we listen?

Well, what we decided to do was to ask parents who have reared children who meet those characteristics. As such, we plan to survey 1000 parents of young adults who are following Christ. And, we want to ask them one simple question: what did you do?

In other words, we want to ask the parents of young adults who are following Jesus how they reared their children.

It is our plan to do these surveys over the next year. Our client will then write a book on the research and I will present the data first at the D6 Conference in Dallas next fall.

Here are some of the categories / questions we are planning to address.

Education: Homeschooled / Public / Private / Christian (open or closed)
Educational Performance: Grades
Father and Mother employment situation
Church Attendance habits
Denominational affiliation / type of church
Sunday school / small group attendance
Family Devotions/frequency
Marital status
Family habits (vacations / time with each parent)
View of parental authority
Gender roles in marriage
Discipline Habit (spanking/grounding/loss of privileges)
Allowance
Education level of parents
Means of parents
Devotional life of parents
Mission habits of the family
Sports of children
Jobs/work training of children
Attitude of the home
Parents work habits (how many hours per week)

So, my question for you, my blog readers, what would you want to ask?

There can be a FEW open ended questions, but most of them need to be multiple choice, scales, or yes/no.

Please note: if you leave it here we will consider this your permission to use it without attribution and for the glory of God and the betterment of Christian parenting.

How to Test Your Music

2009-10-26T10:20:36Z

Oh so many moons ago, I wrote a book with Elmer Towns called Perimeters of Light. In that book, we talked about how to choose your music. In light of my comments last week about, "Ending the Worship War Without a Truce," I thought you might find this helpful.

The ideas are a bit of me and a bit of Dr. Towns. Here is the excerpt:

We must test everything by the Word of God. All of us are responsible to interpret the Bible and apply it to our life but this is where disagreement comes because we interpret differently. Music is a form that is used to convey meaning. It may be the most challenging of all forms because it involves preference, emotions, vocalization, etc.

The following seven test statements each relate to biblical principles that we should apply to our music to determine if it is Christian. Examine these seven test statements to determine if the music you prefer is Christian.

]]> The first test is the message test. This test examines the words of the song to consider its message. Does this song express the Word of God? Does the message lift us, i.e., appeal to our higher nature, or do the words appeal to our lower nature? If we seek to glorify God, it is important that the message of the songs be consistent with the known and revealed will of God.

The second test to apply to our music is the purpose test. All music was written with a purpose in mind or heart. Determine whether the music is sad, joyful, uplifting or soothing. And again some music is designed to tempt you to sin, because it stirs your lust. Some "protest songs" of the "Hippies" were designed to get you to rebel against your government. Music that may be appropriate at one time, may not be appropriate at another time. When we apply the purpose test to our music, we choose songs that reflect our emotions or are likely to produce the emotion we wish to feel.

Third, we need to apply the association test. No music exists in a vacuum. The association test asks the question, "Does the song unnecessarily identify with things, actions, or people that are contrary to Christianity?" An otherwise good song may be rejected because of its associations with ungodly people, or worldliness, etc.

The churches that I (Ed) have pastored have generally used contemporary music. I remember coming into the worship team's rehearsal. They were rehearsing "Amazing Grace." This was not a song we sang frequently-- and they were putting it to a new tune. That was the problem. Nothing was wrong with the song. However, the tune they chose was from another song: "The Rising Sun" or "There is a House in New Orleans." Various artists have recorded it. If you know the tune, you will see that it fits nicely.

I explained to them that the association of the song would be unavoidable-- the original song would impact the meaning today. The original song was from the drug culture.

I (Ed) was reminded of this when speaking to a group of pastors, some of whom were Jamaican. I was challenging them to consider that there is no such thing as Christian music, only Christian lyrics. I asked if God could use jazz; they said yes. I asked if God could use country/western, they said yes. I asked a few others; then I asked if God could use reggae. They were shocked and clearly expressed that it was not appropriate. Reggae music was about drugs and there would be no reason to sing about drugs in church. They had a point.

I then asked if it would be OK to use reggae music in my church where we have no concept of the drug connection. They agreed. The music was not the problem, the association was. The key question for the association test is this, "What does the music bring to mind in the heart of the worshipper?" Note, not what does it inspire in my heart-- but what does it inspire in the heart of the worshipper.

For example, for me and for many others, rap music is about violence and misogyny (women hating). However, to some, it is about raging against something. Therefore, if the worshipper finds that the music helps him or her to rage against sin and the world, such a music can be associated with angst and struggle, but against something that matters. For example, one group sings:

Man is nothing, but you think that you're bad 

Fool if it wasn't for my God, I would have already had you
 
Deny His name are you willing to admit it 

And if so, are you willing to die for it
 
Cuz I am, He is my life and I don't fear death 

Cuz he already paid the Price.

What P.O.D. has done in their song "Preach" is to take a form and to use it for a different meaning. The form of rap is no less godly that the form of 4/4 time in most of our hymns. It is a canvas waiting for a picture. It does convey and associate--angst against something. P.O.D. has followed the pattern mentioned earlier.

The fourth test is the memory test. We tend to associate our memories and experiences with significant songs in our past. This can be positive or negative. The memory test asks, "Does the music bring back things in your past that you have left?" Remember, repentance is a significant step in conversion. If you have left the darkness, don't sing those songs that make you want to return to the darkness. A song that may be enjoyed by some Christians should not be used by others who struggle with past memories.

This does not mean that we need to abuse the notion of "offending our brother." It seems that many churches have adopted a "don't-offend-anyone policy." That is not what the scripture teaches. Scripture teaches that if what we do causes people to sin, we ought not to undertake a particular practice. Listening to contemporary music does not cause the senior adult to sin though it does offend--there is a distinct difference. The association test says, "Don't use music that will lead people to sin." It does not say, "Don't use music that some will find distasteful."

The next test is the emotions test. Music stirs our emotions. Both negative and positive emotions can be stirred by music. The emotions test asks, "Does the music stir our negative or lustful feelings?" Christian music should stir our passion for godliness, prayer and righteous living. If music stirs your lust and makes you idolize or crave sin, it is wrong; no matter how innocent it may appear. This test causes us to evaluate how music affects us emotionally.

The understanding test seeks to determine the meaning of the song. Should we use music that we don't understand or have a difficult time finding the melody? Some people enjoy and understand classical music. Other people can't tolerate it or hate it. Others enjoy and understand country/western. Again, other people can't tolerate it or hate it. Applying the understanding test, those who appreciate classical music would find it easier to worship God listening to a recording of Handel's Messiah than a southern gospel quartet.

The final test may be described as the music test. This, like many of the others, is a "cultural" test that will differ from place to place. It asks, is there a "song within the song?" The music test looks at the song to determine its merits based on hymnology. It seeks to determine if the song is singable, if it flows comfortable from one line to another. Does it make your heart join in the song? A song may have Christian words and is sung by a dedicated follower of Jesus Christ, but the music is flat and leaves the audience empty. That particular song will probably pass out of existence because it fails the music test.

The history of church music suggests that every generation has its own music. Today, many older Christians reject the contemporary music of the younger believers, while the younger don't understand or use the music of past generations.

These tests lead us to one simple conclusion: God can use ANY form of music. God has no musical style or preference. Therefore, with the exception of the message and purpose test, the only tests that we have provided are cultural. The question is asked, "What impact does this music have on the culture via association, memory, emotions, understanding, and music?" These are not easy questions--but they are essential.

When a worship team is choosing music, it needs to think through some important issues. They may have the freedom to choose, but discernment calls them to choose wisely.

(Photo by Ann-Izzle)

Saturday is for Seminars in Chicago and San Diego

2009-10-24T12:53:44Z

Tomorrow I'm back preaching at Two Rivers Church in Nashville, TN. Then on Monday, on October 26th, I'll be up in Chicago teaching a course on Becoming a Missional Church at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (my class syllabus from the same class last year is here). My wife will be coming along which makes it an even better week!

On Thursday of my class week, the Wesleyan, Evangelical Free, and Illinois SBC folks are hosting me for a day on "missional leadership" while I am teaching my class at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Actually, I will be meeting with local E.Free. pastors for lunch, leading a conference for all three groups from 1:00-6:45p.m., and then having dinner with the Wesleyan pastors after the conference. Should be a great day. If you want to come, information is here, but note that the Wesleyans are having a two-day meeting of which I am only a part. But, if you want to come Thursday afternoon with me, the email is in that pdf file. (The venue is small so we can't take more than 75 people-- you will need to email if you want to come.)

Looking a bit ahead, I'm speaking at the National Outreach Convention in November. The conference is November 4th-6th in San Diego, CA. I'm looking forward to seeing many of you there!

Baptists Come in 32,235 Flavors-- Part 3, BGC

2009-10-23T01:49:58Z

Yes, there are a lot of different kinds of Baptists. Not really 32,235, but a bunch.

So, using my week as a guide, I have been talking about three groups. First, I spoke to two Southern Baptist state conventions. Second, I "almost" spoke to a fine group of Independent Baptists. And, finally, I just returned from a meeting the Baptist General Conference (BGC) in Indianapolis.

The folks in Indianapolis had such an amazing screen for data presentation, I had to share it with you:

Why can't I get that screen whenever I am on the road?

Anyway, as I mentioned, I spoke earlier today in Indianapolis at the biennial meeting of Converge MidAmerica. They asked me to speak three times on three subjects: church planting, church revitalization, and then on reaching the younger unchurched from my new co-authored book, Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and Churches that Reach Them.

So, who are these folks?

Well, first, they are not really the Baptist General Conference. But, it lined up so well: SBC, IFB, BGC. The denomination changed its name recently to Converge Worldwide-- dropping "Baptist," "General," and "Conference" from their official name. Wow. And, this is not the first time they changed their name. The denomination was originally the Swedish Baptists.

Here is some history from Wikipedia:

The Baptist General Conference (BGC) is a national evangelical Baptist body with roots in Pietism in Sweden and inroads among evangelical Scandinavian-Americans, particularly in the American Upper Midwest. From its beginning among Scandinavian immigrants, the BGC has grown to a nationwide association of autonomous churches with at least 17 ethnic groups and missions in 19 nations. The current president of the BGC is Dr. Jerry Sheveland. In 2008 the Baptist General Conference adopted the new movement name of Converge Worldwide.

So, they are no longer the BGC, but many people still make that mistake (like I did, on purpose, just so it would fit with the others!).

But, they have been making other changes, recently reorganizing the denomination, moving the national headquarters to Orlando, and retooling the way their foreign / home boards relate. (I was privileged to work with them on that move to "one mission" as a consultant to their leadership.)

But, what I find uniquely interesting is that Converge Worldwide was originally a regional Swedish denomination that has remade itself though a strong focus on church planting and missions. Here's some more history from Wikipedia:

The Baptist General Conference grew out of the great revival of the 19th century, but its roots can be traced back to Swedish Pietism. In 1852, Gustaf Palmquist emigrated from Sweden to the United States. Forty-seven days after his arrival, he and three others organized a Swedish Baptist church in Rock Island, Illinois. Frederick Nilsson, who was instrumental in leading Palmquist to Baptist views, arrived in America the next year with 21 immigrants. Some of these united with the Rock Island church, while others organized a church at Houston, Minnesota. Nilsson traveled widely, founding and strengthening churches. Anders Wiberg was another pioneer among these churches from 1852 until 1855, when he returned to Sweden as a missionary.

Christian experience was a major emphasis among these Swedish Baptists, and they prospered from the awakenings in the 19th century. Immigration, aggressive evangelism and conversion through revivals brought rapid growth to the denomination. John Alexis Edgren founded the Swedish Baptist Seminary in Chicago, Illinois in 1871.

In 1879, when the Swedish churches had grown to 65 in number, they formed a General Conference. The members of these churches assimilated into American society and gradually lost their separate ethnic identity. By 1940, most churches were English-speaking. In 1945, the Swedish Baptist General Conference dropped "Swedish" from its name and became the Baptist General Conference of America. Swedish Baptists had maintained an alliance with the American Baptist Publication Society, American Baptist home and foreign missions, etc., and later the Northern Baptist Convention. Some Swedish Baptists expected to merge with that body, but the groups moved toward different developments of theological emphasis. The conservative Swedish Baptists pulled back from growing liberalism of the Northern Baptists, and in 1944 formed their own Board of Foreign Missions. This moved them toward independent existence, which they have maintained to the present.

I have written before that I believe that Converge Worldwide is the leading mid-size church planting denomination in America today. Just a few months ago, I was in California training their church planters. Today, it seemed like most of the attendees at the meeting had planted the churches they pastored. They ooze church planting-- and it has changed their denomination for the better.

In denominational life, as in so many areas of life, what you celebrate, you become. Meetings in some denominations are "celebrating" everything BUT church planting. But, by celebrating church planting, the folks at Converge Worldwide have created a momentum that has transformed their movement.

Baptists Come in 32,235 Flavors-- Part 2, IFB

2009-10-21T21:41:05Z

This is part 2 in my "Baptists come in 32,234 flavors series." For part 1, click here. Fear not, there will probably only be a total of three parts.

Wednesday: Southwide Baptist Fellowship and Independent Fundamental Baptists

Yesterday, I was supposed to be in Pensacola speaking at Southwide Baptist Fellowship. You can see the whole program here. In fact, I was supposed to be the entire morning program and they graciously sent a plane so I could make it from Nevada to Pensacola, but we hit severe weather and were forced to land in Albuquerque. (And, yes, it was as scary as it sounds.)

Southwide is part of a whole different stream of Baptist from the SBC-related state conventions I discussed yesterday. There are not three types of partnership (association, state, national) as in the SBC world. Southwide is part of the Independent Baptist movement. Wikiepedia explains:

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Baptist churches were awakened to the advancement of modernism and liberalism into national Baptist denominations and conventions in both the United States and the U.K.. Many local Baptist churches began to feel that the core elements and doctrines of the Christian faith, such as the nature of God, the infallibility of the Bible, the literal person of Jesus Christ as both God and man, the nature of the Trinity, the literal resurrection of Christ, and the need for Christians to be separate from worldliness were being watered down and abandoned. Although during the same time period mainline denominations were struggling with the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy, many within these local Baptist churches felt that any association with Liberalism/Modernism even in the forum of debate was tantamount to compromise and was therefore unscriptural. As a result, many of these local Baptist churches separated from their former denominations and conventions and reestablished themselves as independent churches. Often within these Denominational churches more conservative elements would set about establishing new Independent Baptist churches instead of remaining within the denominational churches.

The movement is probably larger than you think-- around 14,000 churches. If it were a denomination, it would be about the size of the Assemblies of God.

Southwide is one of several "orbits" in the movement. There is no denominational connection among Independent Baptists, but there are certain "orbits," or points of connection. A friend of mine in the movement described it this way (indicating there was overlap between all the categories):

20% Independent Independents (might attend conferences, but not really connected to anyone)
20% Fellowship Independents (Baptist Bible Fellowship, Southwide, GARB)
30% College Independents (BBC, PCC, Hyles-Anderson, West Coast)
20% Conference Independents (Pastors School Hammond / Leadership Conference-- Paul Chappell)
20% Cause Independents (King James Bible, Conservative Music, Standards, Sunday School)

Southwide is in one of these orbits, but generally considered part of the "fellowship" orbit. The Wikipedia article has some issues, but contains some helpful information:

The Southwide Baptist Fellowship is made up of about a thousand churches. It is a member of the International Baptist Network.

Southwide is in a unique space in the Independent Baptist movement. Again, from Wikipedia:

Considered a conservative and "Fundamentalist" association of Baptist churches, the Southwide Baptist Fellowship is not as staunchly devoted as other Baptist Fundamentalist Fellowships to the concept of absolute autonomy (local church independence) or the essential requirement of the King James Version (KJV). Certainly, most member churches of the Southwide Baptist Fellowship are Independent Baptist and remain "KJV-only".
When it originated, the Southwide Baptist Fellowship was almost identical in teaching and outlook as the core of Independent Baptist Fundamentalism. It was heavily influenced by Lee Roberson and John R. Rice. Its hallmark code of behaviors (short hair on men, dresses on women, no mixed bathing, no movies, no contemporary music) and its theology of Dispensationalism were standard for Baptist Fundamentalism. Many of its members were openly antagonistic towards the Southern Baptist Convention and were outposken critics of SBC policies which, two decades ago, permitted a certain degree of liberal theology.

The Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) movement is, as you can tell from the article, in a bit of flux. Some are more open to working with different groups, but they still tend to be very conservative. It is highly unlikely that an IFB would have had me to speak at their meeting just twenty years ago. However, recently, I have spoken at Baptist Bible College and Seminary in Springfield and at Tennessee Temple. So, there is an increasing openness to different voices while still maintaining a conservative Baptist stance.

Most observers in and out of the movement would acknowledge that the IFB movement was much more influential in the 1970s than it is today. As an outside observer, I have been intrigued about how some are still thriving while maintaining traditional IFB beliefs and practices while others believe change is needed to engage contemporary culture more intentionally. In the next couple of weeks, I will interview a leader of the IFB movement and talk more about the its future.

Tomorrow, we look at Converge Worldwide / The Baptist General Conference / the old Swedish Baptists.

Baptists Come in 32,235 Flavors-- Part 1, SBC

2009-10-21T20:57:19Z

This is a very Baptist week.

I was scheduled to speak to four Baptist groups in four days. Regrettably, it turned out to only be three. My little plane could not get over the big thunderstorms in the middle of the country, and we were forced to land in Albuquerque. Now, I am flying from Albuquerque to Indianapolis to lead one more conference to one more group of Baptists.

So, it seems to me that this week might be a good opportunity to talk about Baptists and give some history and context. I have move by denomination specific blogging to the SEBTS Between the Times blog (click here for my articles). So, this is a history and analysis, rather than an opinion piece, in the same spirit I have done with other groups here at the blog including:

Lutherans
The Foursquare Church
The New Apostolic Movement
The Restoration Movement and General Baptists
The Landmark Baptist Movement
The Grace Brethren

As you will see, I tend to talk about these movements as I interact with them, so I plan to do the same here.

Let me start by explaining that there are many "types" of Baptist churches. Some are historically tied to an ethnicity, race, or country of origin, others are birthed by doctrinal issues and controversies, and still others are birthed because of geography. For a helpful list, check out this Wikipedia article, but if you are Baptist, you might be a little embarrassed that there are so many.

]]> So, when someone says they go to a Baptist church, you don't know if they are Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists (though that is a long shot since there are only four of those churches left) or Southern Baptist, the largest non-Catholic denomination in America.

So, let my week be a guide to all my non-Baptist readers (and many of my Baptist readers as well) about how the Baptist world works.

First, I start with the Southern Baptist world.

Monday: The Colorado Baptist General Convention

On Monday, I spoke at the pastors conference of the Colorado Baptist General Convention. I was honored that they would have me be the entire pastors conference-- and a little intimidated as well.

I spent the day teaching on church revitalization. I thought it was a great meeting and am excited that they asked me to come back next year and do it again on my new book with Thom Rainer, Transformational Church (out summer 2010).

But, first a few details, I did not actually speak at the Colorado "convention." The "convention" is a technical term of a meeting that takes place once a year. In other words, the Colorado Baptist General Convention really only exists when the convention is in session. I spoke the day before the convention at the pastors conference. But, most people refer to the "convention" in an informal way that refers to the group of churches or even the state convention offices.

The convention describes itself as follows:

The Colorado Baptist General Convention is made up of more than 400 Southern Baptist churches and missions across Colorado. We're a diverse bunch -- worshipping in traditional campus-based church buildings, in homes, in the workplace, on ski slopes, in barns, and many other locations. As part of the Southern Baptist Convention, Colorado's Southern Baptists support about 5,000 missionaries serving the United States, Canada, Guam and the Caribbean, and more than 5,000 more missionaries in 153 nations of the world. Southern Baptists share a common bond of basic Biblical beliefs and a commitment to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the entire world. Colorado's Southern Baptists are specifically intentional in penetrating all pockets of lostness within our state.

Now, it is important to note that the Colorado Baptist General Convention is actually not a "district" of a larger church body. It is an autonomous body of churches on the state level. Inside the confines of Colorado, there will also be a groups of smaller autonomous groups of churches called associations. There is also a national autonomous body of churches called the Southern Baptist Convention. They are not levels (like in a diocese structure) but all independent bodies of churches that work together.

The SBC is the largest Protestant denomination in America (though there are Southern Baptists who say that it is neither "Protestant" or a "denomination," but people generally use those terms to describe it). But, many Baptists object (with good reasons) to both those descriptors. This post from SBCToday deals with the "not a denomination" and "not Protestant" issue pretty well. For further information, the name of the website says it all: http://nonprotestantbaptists.com/. But, not everyone agrees (for example this Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma website explains "Why a denomination?") and the founding documents of the SBC refer to it as a denomination. But, there is an argument to be made that the SBC is not a denomination since it has no ecclesiastical hierarchy even most call it a denomination. The Protestant issue is a bigger one and it has to do with which group you see as the predecessor to today's Baptists and what makes a Protestant a Protestant in the first place.

Wikipedia has a pretty accurate description of the SBC (although there are 50,000 congregations-- not the same as churches as it includes missions, etc.-- and I think that is a better way to count). Wikipedia explains:

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a United States-based, mostly conservative Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the US with over 16 million members and more than 42,000 churches.

The word Southern in Southern Baptist Convention stems from its having been founded and rooted in the Southern United States. The SBC became a separate denomination in 1845 in Augusta, Georgia, following a regional split with northern Baptists over the issues of slavery and missions. Since the 1940s, the SBC has lost some of its regional identity. While still heavily concentrated in the US South, the SBC has member churches across America and has 42 state conventions.

Southern Baptists put a heavy emphasis on the individual conversion experience including a public immersion in water for baptism and a corresponding rejection of infant baptism. SBC churches are evangelical in doctrine and practice. Specific beliefs based on biblical interpretation can vary somewhat due to the congregational governance system that gives autonomy to individual local Baptist churches.

One note from that description: there are no Southern Baptist Churches in Canada, Ghana, or South America. The SBC is a national denomination and, unlike the Assemblies of God, there are not SBC churches in other countries. They form their own conventions and the SBC partners with them.

Tuesday: The Nevada Baptist Convention

On Tuesday, I spoke (along with my friend Jeff Iorg) at the Nevada Baptist Convention. In this case, I spoke twice at the convention. In other words, there was business being done between my two messages, including a debate on a by-law change regarding nepotism that was voted down from the floor after robust discussion. (These meetings can get very exciting!)

The Nevada convention is structured the same way as the Colorado convention within the SBC structure. Again, a great time talking about engaging culture and unity.

I love going to state convention meetings in the west because I see lots of generational and ethnic diversity, much more than I see at the SBC national meeting (but that is for another post).

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Next up, the Independent Fundamental Baptist movement followed by the (formerly-named) Baptist General Conference.