Remember that Bon Jovi song from the late 80s, "Living in Sin?"
Well, I'm guessing half of you do.
It's about "love" justifying living together as a married couple, without a marriage covenant.
The song shouts, "I call it love, they call it living in sin!"
Remember? Rock ballad, black and white video?
Anyway, people are still talking about it and more people are living together today than they were back in the 1980s. At LifeWay Research, we wanted to know more.
In our study, we found that 6% of all parents with children under 18 years of age in their home are living with a partner to whom they are not married.
To give this some context, we first determined that 69% of all parents are married and 31% are single. We asked these single parents the following questions:
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.
I have never been that guy who geeks out over Bible study software. I've always been old school. You know, I'd go with the hardcopy, printed editions of study helps and commentaries. These large, multi-volume works have taken up shelf space in my study/office for at least 20 years. And come on, who doesn't like shelves lined with books? It's a great aesthetic for a study.
Needless to say, heading out to study for my sermon at a coffee shop or a park was next to impossible. Well, unless I stuffed my bag so full of books that the zipper began to pray.
The Logos Scholar's Library: Gold has changed the way I study, where I study and the results of my studying. I am consistently impressed with it and thought I would share my review here at the blog.
While speaking at the Together for Adoption Conference, I visited a bit with my friend with Tony Merida. The Meridas have recently adopted four children from the Ukraine and have a passion for orphan care. I always appreciate his passion for the gospel and the mission of God.
Seeing him, reminded me that Tony's new book is out and I wanted to share a bit about it through the foreword I wrote for the book. It is a short foreword, but for some reason I manage to quote a Journey song, the Fireproof movie, and Lord of the Rings.
Not sure what got into me that day... but the book is worth your time, even if my foreword might not be!
Jim's new book, Deep Church is getting a lot of attention as he works to make sense of the conflict between the emerging and traditional ends of the church while offering a "third way." Read the interview and then jump into the comments below. Jim will be with us today and will interact with your questions.
I have shared a bit of my journey to healthier living and weight loss here on the blog, so the story of Todd Starnes' transformation and his new book naturally grabs my attention. And I imagine many of my readers would benefit to hear from his as well. Todd Starnes is a best-selling author and network news reporter for Fox News Radio, based in New York City. He is also an evangelical Christian and a member of the Journey Church in Manhattan. Todd is an award-winning journalist, earning one of his profession's highest honors, the Edward R. Murrow Award and the Associated Press Mark Twain Award for Storytelling. His work is heard on more than 750 radio stations around the nation. He also hosts a religion podcast called, "FOX on Faith."
Steve Addison is the Director of Church Resource Ministries (CRM) Australia, and the author of a new book, Movements That Change The World. Steve is called to encourage church planting movements around the world and is therefore a student of the history of movements that spread the gospel. His new book is a look at that history.
I asked Steve a few questions for the blog. It's short and packed with content - sort of like the Gospel of Mark, just without the divine inspiration. :) Steve is in Australia, so with the time difference he wont be able to check out your comments and questions until around 6pm. But he will make it to the blog to interact. So hit him up now and he'll respond later this evening.
Why did you write Movements that Change the World?
A number of reasons. As a church planter I remember hearing Peter Wagner say, "Starting new churches is the most effective form of evangelism under the sun." I thought if that's true, then starting church planting movements could be even more effective.
I dived in to some church history and discovered that God was continually raising up movements for the renewal and expansion of the Christian faith. I learned that those movements are always on the fringes.
I began looking at Jesus as the founder of a missionary/missional movement that now spans the globe. I read Acts and Paul that way, and the lights came on.
You've identified the characteristics of dynamic movements. Tell us about them.
The five characteristics are: white-hot faith, commitment to a cause, contagious relationships, rapid mobilization and adaptive methods.
White-hot faith is the engine room of a dynamic movement. The apostle Paul was not converted by clever arguments but through a powerful encounter with Christ on the Damascus Road. We would not have had the Reformation without Martin Luther's struggle with the question of, "How can a holy God forgive a sinner like me?"
The secret of Jesus' life and ministry was his relationship of loving obedience to the Father and dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit. He drew his disciples into the same relationship and sent them out with no other resources.
A white-hot faith provides the motivation, energy and legitimacy to go change the world.
Next is commitment to a cause. For good or for evil, history is made by people committed to a common purpose. Nothing changes unless people care deeply and are willing take action. Jesus had high expectations of his followers. So high, that some of them walked away.
John Wesley was the founder of the Methodist movement. On one occasion he visited Bristol. When he arrived there were 900 people in the local Society. When he left 143 of them had been removed for various reasons: among them wife-beating, smuggling, and drunkenness. Wesley led a disciplined movement that changed the world.
The third characteristic of movements is contagious relationships. We are all just six handshakes away from everyone on the planet. Ideas, like viruses, spread from person to person and from group to group. In the age of the internet, contagious relationships are still the most important form of communication.
The most responsive people to the gospel are those who have recently seen someone in their world come to faith.
Whenever we see the Christian faith expanding exponentially, it's traveling across networks of preexisting relationships. We tend to focus on building quality relationships with a few. Jesus focused on connecting broadly and then through one responsive person, reaching households and villages. That's how we see the gospel spreading in Acts.
The fourth characteristic is rapid mobilization. Movements don't abolish the clergy, they just ordain everyone for ministry. What did Jesus do? He went after ordinary people and trained them on-the-job. His lecture on the nature of faith was conducted on a sinking boat in the midst of a storm. There was theological content integrated with life and ministry. Jesus grew leaders and released them to go and change the world.
You don't get dramatic expansion of a movement if everyone is a paid professional. If anyone is paid, they are paid to pioneer new fields and mobilize others. Whether they are in New York or New Delhi, that's what missionaries do.
The last characteristic is adaptive methods. The best illustration of an adaptive method I can think of is the game of soccer. Soccer is the world's game played by hundreds of millions and watched by billions. Why? I think it's because you can drop a ball at the feet of a three year old and she can start playing. It may take a lifetime of practice to master the game, but only an instant to begin enjoying it. Try doing that with American or Australian football.
Adaptive methods are simple, flexible and transferable. That's one reason why Jesus taught by telling stories. A good story, like the prodigal son, can be told by anyone to anyone, even across the boundaries of culture and time.
Movements are unchanging when it comes to their core message and beliefs. At the same time they are willing to change everything else to get that message out and get the job done. Unfortunately we have churches that are unwilling to change their methods, but quite happy to change the heart of the gospel. They have the worst of both worlds and the fruit is clear to see.
Where are the current examples of dynamic movements today?
The exciting news is they are mostly in the developing world--Africa, Asia, Latin America. These are also the regions of greatest population growth. Today, over 90% of new Christians will come from these regions. Expect that trend to continue.
In the US I've been encouraged by leaders such as Neil Cole, Bob Roberts, Ralph Moore, Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, and Jimmy Seibert who emphasize multiplication of disciples, workers and churches rather than just growth. A growing band of leaders are seeing the church as a movement.
The whole missional/emerging discussion has helped unfreeze us all in our understanding of church. If that is combined with a commitment to the Gospel and a passion to multiply disciples it could be quite fruitful.
What are some contemporary examples of adaptive methods?
I think the Alpha program is a good example. The strategies that David Garrison and others have developed to fuel church planting movements around the world is another clear example.
Who do you want to reach with the message of this book?
As I wrote I thought of a number of actual people. A couple leading a home group who have led eighteen people to Christ in the last year, and are wondering if this is the beginning of a new church. I thought of the leader of a large church in Kenya that is growing leaders who plant churches in the suburbs and the slums. I thought of a young woman in China who has come to faith, and is now reaching her friends with the gospel. I thought of a church leader in New York with a vision to reach the cities of the world.
What difference do you hope the book will make?
I want people to discover Jesus as the leader of a movement that changes the world.
Jump into the comments to ask Steve all your questions. He'll show up tonight for the discussion.
Posted on August 14, 2009 at 8:00 AM ~ 13 Comments
Ralph Moore newest book, How to Multiply Your Church, comes out tomorrow. But, amazingly, as if it were in a time warp, it is on Amazon today. So, go buy it.
Ralph and I became friends during my consulting relationship with the Foursquare Church. As I have had the privilege to train Fourquare pastors and leadership, we had several opportunities to sit and talk about the remarkable church planting work they have facilitated in Hawaii and globally.
I had read (and used in as a textbook), his earlier book, Starting a New Church, so I was happy to write the foreword to the new book and have reproduced it here. (I am hoping that this will put me in good favor for that preaching invitation in Hawaii-- a place that I have, sadly, never been!)
Multiplication changes things.
In the cultural phenomenon called Star Trek, David Gerrold wrote one of the classic episodes: "The Trouble with Tribbles." On that voyage of the starship Enterprise, the crew encountered some lovable little fuzzballs called Tribbles. At first, the crew fell in love with these cute little creatures. That is, until overwhelmed the vessel through rapid multiplication. Tribbles multiplied faster than rabbits. Multiplication changes things.
Ralph Moore points out clearly and poignantly that the North American church needs some church planting "trouble with tribbles." We need to "fall in love" with multiplication and abandon our addiction to addition. He brings us out of the darkness of church-as-usual, addition thinking, into the light of a new reproductive paradigm. Churches in North America desperately need Moore's message and practical experience.. Hopefully, this work will help spark the kind of movement we so desperately need.
Ralph's book is rich in historical insight, filled with biblical acumen, and applicable to the current realities of church planting. His discussion of fourth generation disciple making, saturation church planting, benefits of multiplying, and New Testament models are
invaluable. His book is practical, challenging, and insightful. Leaders who hunger for reaching another level of ministry impact will want to read and apply the principles found in How to Multiply Your Church.
He observes that because we count individual converts we have a hard advancing from an addition mentality. Think about it this way. When children learn their ABC's and how to count, it's exciting for parents. Then children learn how to combine letters to make words and learn how to add and subtract numbers--that can be a frustrating time for children and parents. Both can wonder if all the sounding out words and counting is really going to lead anywhere. Maybe that's why so many churches and pastors never move on to multiplication--it's difficult. Multiplication is even more difficult to do once it is
embraced. And it's hard to figure out how to do it. Simple addition is easier.
But, most people don't stop with learning their ABC's and learning to add and subtract. Somewhere in the middle of sounding out words and counting, something happens. Words explode into phrases, sentences, paragraphs, books, and writing. Numbers explode into the world of multiplication and division. When that happens, a new world begins to take shape for children and parents.
For too long, the Church in North America has been stuck in the comfortable ABC and simple counting phase of church. We do not have to stay there. Don't get me wrong; I am not against practicing the ABC and counting things (basic spiritual disciplines and measuring who we reach). But, God wants us to build on that foundation and let Him take
things to a new world--a world where disciples and churches are multiplying. That new world, as Ralph Moore points out, will require changing the way we think about and do church. An attitude of increase will be required.
So, what will this new world of multiplication look like? What will it take to change worlds from addition to multiplication, then from multiplication to rapid multiplication or movement? First, we must get ourselves, our egos, and our puny ideas out of the way. Second, we must ask God to increase in our lives and our churches. We need to ask
God for . . .
1. Bigger Faith--When is the last time you asked God to do something in your life or the life of your church that makes His name and fame great. That's what the disciples asked of Jesus, "Increase our faith!" (Luke 17:5). For some, just thinking about reproduction and
multiplication is like asking them to think about giving extreme skiing or bungee jumping a try. Much less actually doing anything about it. We need to ask for bigger faith. The new question is, "What does God want?"
2. Greater Focus on Jesus--John the Baptizer said, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). Think about it, John had a pretty good thing going. I mean, aside from a weird diet and slightly unfashionable dress. He had all these people coming to him, he had his own followers, and he got to put the smack down on the religious leaders. What a gig! But, once Jesus arrived on the scene, John pointed people solely in Jesus' direction. John even encouraged those following him to follow Jesus. John and John's kingdom was no longer the issue.. Jesus and Jesus' Kingdom was the issue. The new question is, "Who is this all about?"
3. Fresh Boldness in Sharing His Word-- throughout the book of Acts it happened. In fact, at one point, Luke reported, "But the word of God continued to increase and spread" (Acts 12:24). When Paul was in prison, he asked the church at Ephesus to pray that he would share the God's message with boldness. The word of God is increasing and spreading in other parts of the world right now. The new question is, "Why not in North America, again?"
4. Overflowing and Expanding Love--Multiplying disciples and churches requires a special kind of love for Jesus, His Church, and the lost peoples around the world. Paul prayed that the church at Thessalonica would direct God's love to those in their world. I like the way The Message words it, "And may the Master pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over on everyone around you, just as it does from us to you. May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers" (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13). The new question is, "How are you praying?"
In its recent history, the CGM (Church Growth Movement) in North America has been more about a GMCM (Grow My Church Movement). What Ralph describes so well is that we need a DMCM (Disciples Multiplying Churches Movement). If God would graciously give us a fresh outpouring of those four things described above, we might see that kind of
multiplicative movement. Ralph Moore has challenged us to think about it and seek it. He has called those who are willing to "step out in faith" and do it.
If you believe that God is nudging you to respond to that call, this is my prayer for you, "May the LORD make you increase, both you and your children" (Psalm 115:14).
May WE change so multiplication can change even more things for God's glory in the world.
I am always calling the church to think of herself and live out her calling as God's missionary people. And while there is much being written on all things "missional" these days, a lot of it is theoretical and theological. We need that, but we also need practical resources, advice and tools to share with others that will encourage missional living.
All of these are very helpful, but I would love to hear from all of you. What are your favorite practical resources that encourage missional living? Books, blog posts, articles - anything. Share in the comments.
Posted on August 10, 2009 at 7:01 AM ~ 12 Comments
John Avant is not just a friend of mine (which is almost enough of an introduction), but he is also the Senior Pastor at First West, and author of Authentic Power and The Passion Promise. His new book, If God Were Real: A Journey Into A Faith That Matters, asks what it might look like if we lived as if our God was actually, you know - real! In pointing out some of the ways we disconnect for the God who is truly there he encourages believers to live life on mission with God. I had the chance to ask John a few questions relating to the book. He's hanging around on the blog today to interact with all of us here. So be sure to jump into the comments and hit John up with your questions.
What does the title "If God Were Real" mean and what inspired the title?
I have become increasingly concerned over the last several years that most Christians and most churches have actually stopped believing in God! Think about the audacious things we say we believe: God becoming a baby, the Creator's rebellious creation creates an instrument of death on which the Creator dies and yet won't stay dead. The gospel is revolutionary! So why do we live such timid, unchanged lives? Seems to me we may be practical atheists. I wanted to explore with the readers what it might be like if we actually lived like we believe what we say we do.
I also wrote this in the hopes that atheists and seekers, some of whom are friends, would take a look at God from a different perspective and without the "battle mode" Christians and atheists are normally in. After all if atheists don't believe in God and we live like we don't, we may have more in common than we thought!
You say that you have given up on Christianity and so should everyone else. What do you mean by that?
The word "Christian" is a good word - a biblical word. When you add "ity" to it you get something I don't see in the New Testament. I think this has become our problem. In the first century there was a Jesus Movement that changed the world. In the western world today there are lots of Jesus monuments that don't change much of anything.
I am not giving up on the church. I don't think we have actually tried being the church very often yet! I am sure not giving up on the Scriptures. I believe them to be the very Word of God. So some have asked what does it practically mean then to give up on Christianity. 3 things for me: I have given up on the Christianity that has become defined by institutions, opposition, and isolation. I have given up on any institution that is not visibly a part of a Jesus movement. I have given up on the thought that if we just oppose enough evil people, we will usher in the kingdom. I have given up on the isolation that has resulted in most churches becoming religious clubs for its members, divorcing us from the very mission in the world to which Jesus called us.
You talk a lot about "transformation." What should that look like in the Church and what does it look like in yours?
As evangelicals when we read the Bible we get very excited about the Philippian jailer getting saved. But we forget that Philippi itself was transformed! Think of how much of the New Testament is about what God was doing in the cities of their day. I am as committed as ever to the salvation of every soul. But it bothers me that even in the case of many of our largest churches, there is not a lot of evidence that the community around them is being transformed.
I have only been at my church, First West in West Monroe, La for a few years but I believe we are going to be a lab for what it would look like if the churches of a community lived together like God is real. We already have over 100 churches committed to the same vision: "to see the spiritual, cultural and physical transformation of our community so visible it can't be missed." We are working together with city leaders, business leaders, education leaders, and churches to bring the transformative power of the Gospel into the real issues of our community. I could write forever about this. We are committed together to break down barriers that have divided us and see with our eyes what a city can become. We are changing the metrics of the way we measure success as a church to reflect this vision. If we have more butts in the seats but more drugs on the streets we have failed.
I don't know. I think one of the mistakes of many of those who love and pray for revival has been to expect God to do what He has done before. He is a Creator, thus unlikely to repeat Himself. The Great Awakenings brought so much change that many traditional Christians rejected them. If we want revival we better begin to pray for God to change everything. Normally we just want Him to change things back to the way we were most comfortable with. I do believe that revival always requires a movement of prayer. At our church we have determined to meet and pray like we believe in God. We call our prayer service "Destiny." I told our people that we were going to ask God to do more than we could imagine and if he didn't we could all become atheists and play a lot more golf! That may sound presumptuous but since God told us in Ephesians 3:20 that He would do that, we have decided to believe Him! And we are seeing Him do things we have never dreamed of! I long to see the next Great Awakening. What happened in Brownwood, Texas in 1995and 1996 changed me forever - and continues to bear fruit all over the world.
My guess would be that if God moves powerfully in our day it will be in the marketplace and schools, likely among young people and young adults, and very possibly apart from most of our established churches.
You address both believers and unbelievers in this book. So what impact do you hope the book has on believers and unbelievers?
I hope unbelievers would hear me as a friend, or at least a potential friend, and consider if they have rejected the wrong God - the God of hatred, anger, isolation and institutionalism that they think we want them to believe in. I am an atheist too when it comes to that God!
I hope believers will revolt against what we have made of Christianity and move together into the awesome, passionate, scary-but-worth-it journey of living like God is real. That's my hope!
Hit John with your questions in the comments. And don't bother with those softball questions. :)
Posted on August 3, 2009 at 11:21 AM ~ 21 Comments
I need a home-run title and subtitle for a book I'm writing with Warren Bird (for release in April 2010 at the Exponential Conference). If the publisher uses your title, we'll give you a double award:
(1) we will name you in the "acknowledgements" page, AND
(2) we'll mail you your choice of 3 books from a list of 30 title options we'll supply.
Standards: Title/subtitle need to be:
1. Distinctive, unique and compelling.
2. Clearly forecast what the book is about
3. Use the phrase "church multiplication movement" (probably in the subtitle)
Audience: Big-picture church planters, especially network leaders, who want to move from "addition" to "multiplication." If you attend Exponential, that's the core audience.
Gist -- what the book is about:
The book can be summarized in two words: multiply everything. That means to build environments where leaders spend most of their time reproducing themselves, and to use structures that readily lend to being replicated. That perspective also involves a huge commitment to permission giving, empowerment, risk taking and innovation. To maintain something is far easier than to train someone else to do it, and also to instill in that person the heart and skill to train yet others.
The book will include as-of-yet unreleased research in addition to examples and guidance on how to foster Church Multiplication Movements.
Our hope and prayer is that this book will inspire you to form not just a network, but to help develop a church multiplication movement - an explosive pace of birthing of new churches, all of which engage lost people and replicate themselves through planting even more new churches.
Our best ideas so far (but none of them clear winners):
1. Viral Churches: From Church Planting to Movement Making
2. Viral Churches: Fueling a Church Multiplication Movement in This Generation
3. Orchards: The Move from Church Planting to Church Multiplication Movements
4. Orchards: Not How to Plant a Tree, But How to Grow a Field Full of Orchards
5. The Blue Ocean Book: Creating Uncontested Space for a Church Multiplication Movement
This is enough to give you the idea. What do you think?
Posted on August 3, 2009 at 1:33 AM ~ 154 Comments
Yesterday, I found out that 218 churches got our small group study kit, "Compelled by Love: A Journey to Missional Living" in one week. That's pretty exciting and intimidating-- in one week, 281 churches started using our resources to help their people live missional lives. We are glad to hear that churches are studying missional living and honored they would use our resource.
Go to lifeway.com/compelled to see the kit. The webpage has a promo trailer and you can watch the first session to get a feel for the study. Go here to see the work book and download a preview of the first chapter.
Do you have a blog? Do people actually read your blog? If the answer to both of these questions is yes, New Hope Publishers would like to send you free books.
Jared Wilson is a pastor, writer and blogger whose first book Your Jesus is Too Safe, was just released from Kregel. As the subtitle says the book aims to help us outgrowing "a drive-thru, feel-good savior."
I was glad to write the foreword for the book, and recently had the chance to ask Jared a few questions about the book. Read the interview and jump into the comments below. Jared will be around today answering questions on the blog.
Ed Stetzer: There's inspirational stuff in the book, some devotional stuff, some academic stuff, some apologetics stuff, some discipleship type stuff, lots of humor and sarcasm, and lots of gospel. Who is Your Jesus is Too Safe for? Who's your intended reader?
JW: It's for people who need to hear about Jesus and the gospel, which I think is everyone, Christian and non. But I know you're not supposed to market a book that broadly.
The book does assume a certain working level of Christianity, and it does sort of assume that the reader is interested in deepening his or her understanding of what Jesus said and did. It assumes the reader has "a Jesus" that may or may not need clarifying.
And, yeah, given the pop cultural references, the humorous footnotes and the sarcasm and what-not, it is probably most in the language of Christians 18-40 or so.
ES: You cite N.T. Wright and John Piper pretty much equally. There has obviously been tension there. Fill us in.
JW: I know, I know. I'm supposed to pick a team.
And honestly, if I'm picking a team for the atonement wars, I'm probably with Piper. I talk about that a bit in the book, but I am a fan of a symphonic view of the different biblical emphases on the atonement with penal substitution as sort of the sharp, leading edge of gospel understanding and proclamation.
I love both men and their work. They are the two most formative influences on my understanding of Jesus. And the book is sort of a literary mashup of Wright's (and others') historical Jesus scholarship and Piper's (and others') passionate proclamation of the glories of Christ.
ES: I know Element bills itself a missional community, and I know you've blogged extensively on the missional church. How does the book fit in or apply to the missional conversation? Or does it?
JW: I think it's human nature to favor one extreme over another. We like life on the pendulum. So in the missional church movement, if we can call it that, we find big bold preachers of Jesus' awesomeness who are very little action and we find folks who are big on action but downplay gospel proclamation. (And there's great folks who do both.) This isn't new and it isn't limited to missional Christianity. It's fundamentalist reductionism versus social gospel all over again.
I think what the book could do - and I don't talk about the missional church in the book; it's just not in the book's view - is push us to ponder if maybe we have a Preacher Jesus on one hand or a Activist Jesus on the other, and the corrective is not to trade one for the other but to look at who Jesus was and what he did. He preached and taught that the kingdom revolved around himself, and he healed, fed, clothed, raised, exorcised, etc. as if that were true. The closer we get to the biblical Jesus, the better our missiology and ecclesiology will be. I think that's a fairly obvious point nobody really needs me to point out. But the book, I hope, will help people get closer to the biblical Jesus.
ES: You survey quite a few false Jesuses from contemporary culture in the Introduction--Grammy Award Speech Jesus, Hippie Jesus, ATM Jesus, etc. Which one do you think is most prevalent in the church right now? And what is the book's response to it?
JW: I don't have the research resources that you do, so I can't put a figure on this, but I can tell you that my biggest concern is actually about an Invisible Jesus. Jesus, the Best Supporting Actor. Cameo Appearance Jesus. The "Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain" Jesus.
In way too many churches - just one would be too many, but I know this is a larger problem than that because I have experienced it myself and I hear from many others across the country who have as well - Jesus barely or rarely shows up. He may make an appearance in an illustration or something, but he is not the point of the message. Sometimes his name is never mentioned. Perusing church websites or pastor's blogs or Twitter feeds, they hardly ever mention him.
It's bizarre. It's distressing. But it makes sense given the current state of evangelicalism.
ES: Run with that and explain your title. How is evangelicalism's Jesus is too safe?
JW: It's this weird thing we do -- that we've got to wake up to - where Jesus cares about the exact same things we do, Jesus wants the same things we do, Jesus gives his stamp of approval on all our hopes and dreams. Who was it that said "God made man in his own image and ever since man has tried to return the favor"?
Our Jesus is too safe when it turns out he likes and dislikes the same people and things we do. For our church culture, it's things like success at work, prospering in our finances, achieving our dreams, etc. But every time I read the Sermon on the Mount, for instance, I am immediately comforted and challenged at the same time. It totally freaks me out. If Jesus in the Gospels doesn't challenge your idols, your worship of them is more entrenched than you realize.
My friend Ray Ortlund says making Jesus the chaplain of the American dream is blasphemous. I think he's touched on the prevailing sin of Western evangelical culture.
ES: What's the takeaway? What one idea or thought do you want to resonate with people when they close the book at the end of their reading?
JW: Well, I hope we don't make it sound as if the book is constantly critical, constantly corrective. Michael Spencer did me a favor in pointing that out in his review, when he says the title sort of belies the real thrust of the book. I sort of set up the problems with some critical surveys in the Introduction, just as you sort of do in the Foreword, but the text of the book is overwhelmingly pro-Christ, not anti- anything. There are corrections as necessary and plenty of arguments for certain things, but the book is more "for" Jesus than it is "against" anything else. I think anyone who's read it can testify to that.
But the takeaway I hope it offers is what I like to call the all-surpassing awesomeness of Jesus.
If it renews or deepens or even just helps someone's relationship with the risen Lord, I'm happy.
Jared will be around to interact with us right here on the blog. So jump into the comments if you have any questions or issues you want to discuss.
In this case, my friend of many years, Alan Witham, asked if I would present our findings in several short videos to be used in their state convention. They created a "Comeback Process" described as follows:
To see transformation in that results in church health and growth.
Process Details
Leaders of churches who commit to the Comeback Church process will be guided in growth in five key areas:
1. Leadership
2. Vibrant faith (renewed beliefs in Jesus Christ and the mission of the church, servanthood and strategic prayer)
3. Meaningful and active ministries for laypeople
4. Intentional evangelistic efforts
5. "Celebrative" and "orderly" mood of worship
Opportunities for growth include individual consultations, seminars, evaluations, networking, coaching and strategic planning.
For More Information
If your church is interested in the Comeback Church Process, please contact our Church Development Team Office at 502-489-3571 or 866-489-3571 (toll free in KY), or e-mail us at churchdevelopment@kybaptist.org.
Each of the five areas above included the video segments I recorded on each topic. They are included below.
We shot the videos in the library at LifeWay, but somehow copies of my books were mistakenly placed in the background. ;-)
Here are some videos about church revitalization. I will be posting more soon.
Back in August, I was invited to record a television program and shoot some video for the Assemblies of God. Both programs were videotaped at the Total Living Network in Aurora, IL.
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.)
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.
Building Church Leaders is sharing some information from my newest book, Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them, pointing the nine traits common to churches who are effectively reaching young adults. I am a contributor to the site, but it turns out I don't contribute as much as I should. So, when they use what I have already written, I say, "Thanks."
Creating Deeper Community
Churches that are effective at attracting and developing young adults place a high value on moving people into a healthy small group system. Young adults are trying to connect and will make a lasting connection wherever they can find belonging.
Making a Difference through Service
Churches that are transforming young adults value leading people to serve through volunteerism. More than being pampered, young adults want to be part of something bigger than themselves and are looking to be part of an organization where they can make a difference through acts of service.
Experiencing Worship
Churches that are engaging young adults are providing worship environments that reflect their culture while also revering and revealing God. More than looking for a good performance, young adults desire to connect with a vertical experience of worship.
Leveraging Technology
Churches that are reaching young adults are willing to communicate in a language of technology familiar to young adults. Young adults sense that these churches are welcoming churches that value and understand them, engaging them where they are.
Building Cross-Generational Relationships
Churches that are linking young adults with older, mature adults are challenging young adults to move on to maturity through friendship, wisdom, and support. Young adults are drawn to churches that believe in them enough to challenge them.
Moving Toward Authenticity
Churches that are engaging young adults are reaching them not only by their excellence but by their honesty. Young adults are looking for and connecting to churches where they see leaders that are authentic, transparent, and on a learning journey.
Leading by Transparency
Churches that are influencing young adults highly value an incarnational approach to ministry and leadership. This incarnational approach doesn't require revealing one's personal sin list so much as it does require that those in leadership must be willing to express a personal sense of humanity and vulnerability.
Leading by Team
Increasingly churches reaching young adults seem to be taking a team approach to ministry. They see ministry not as a solo venture but as a team sport--and the broader participation it creates increases the impact of ministry.
Is your church reaching young adults? If so, are any of these traits proving to me more instrumental than the others in your context?
