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)

In the next week I'm speaking to people about a variety of subjects at gatherings that are pretty different from one another. Here's the rundown.

This morning, I spoke at the Together for Adoption conference in Franklin, TN at Christ Community Church. It was a great conference... very convicting. I spoke on "The Gospel and Social Justice." That talk should be up on line soon.

On Sunday I'm preaching at Grace Nazarene church in Nashville. Ken Dove is the pastor (and, you have to admit, that is a pretty great name for a pastor).

Then on Tuesday the 6th I'll participate at the Southern Baptists, Evangelicals and the Future of Denominationalism at Union University, Jackson, TN. This is an issue I have addressed before from various angles (here and here for example) and am looking forward to this dialog. I will be presenting a paper that is, as of now, 37 pages. I will probably need to trim that down! My understanding is that they will be live streaming my talk and will tweet that when I have details.

The week will wrap up in Duluth, GA at Catalyst 2009. This is always a great event with a diverse group of speakers and thousands in attendance. And they have a pretty snappy website. Check it out.

I will be speaking in the church planting track on Wednesday, being interviewed at the VERY early "Red Carpet Experience" on Thursday, and speaking from the main stage on Friday.

Hope to see you this week. Please be praying that I might make much of Jesus and his mission.

Earlier today, I was one of 70 leaders who shared an idea or ideas (in 9 short minutes!) at The NINES. I streamed the presentations here at my blog and there was a robust discussion in the blog comments. As I hoped, there was good discussion around theology, mission, and ministry.

Now that the program has ended, I am sharing my presentation here at the blog.

Ed Stetzer - The 9s from LifeWay on Vimeo.

Here is my outline:

Mission, Self, and God's Mission

Mission is the opposite of self. We have to remember to make it about God and not about us.

Even pastors struggle with the reality that the heart is an idol factory. Your heart is an "Idol Factory" constantly creating things other than God to worship.

We must resist the pull of idols and live the mission-- to make it about God's Glory and His agenda.

We pastors too often consider ourselves as "religious professionals who can put on a show" rather than people transformed and sent on mission.

1. Those on mission focus on God's glory and His agenda
(Isaiah 6:1-8).

2. Those on mission reflect being with God
(2 Corinthans 3:16-18).

Trying to get people on mission who haven't been transformed by the gospel is a fool's errand.

3. Those on mission no longer live for themselves
(2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

It's not about thinking less of you; it's about thinking of you less.

I hope it is an encouragement to you.

The broadcast has ended, but you can still read through the comments.

I have written about the upcoming broadcast of "The NINES." The event has generated significant interest, prompting the Christian Post to headline, "Church Leaders Abuzz About Virtual Conference." I am one of the 75 presenters, but the mix of speakers should make for some interesting dialogue and, I am guessing, some debate.

Here is the promo video:

I will be streaming the event live at the blog. I (and others at other blogs) will be dialoging about what we see and hear-- so watch the comments.

I am guessing that there will be much with which you/we agree, but there will be open conversation here about what we disagree as well. in other words, the blog will be an "open mike" around the ideas presented. And, I would love to hear your voice.

So, here's what to do:

1. Register.
2. Come by tomorrow at 9/9/09 9a.m. central time to watch the live webcast.
3. Let's talk about it in the comment stream. I'll be here.

See you tomorrow.

Just one event this week... but it is BIG.

It is called "The Nines."

9/9/09 at... well... you guessed it, 9:09:09.

Every speaker in the world will be there as well as 6 billion attendees. (Actually, it is 70 speakers and over 6000 registrants so far, but that seems like a lot to me!)

It's on-line and free, but you have to register. And, they promise me the web streaming will work-- but we will see. ;-)

This fall, I will be again presenting research at the Catalyst Conference main stage. The theme of Catalyst this year is built around the idea of "making a mark" and is tied in to the 10-year anniversary of Catalyst.

I would like to get your feedback about the questions we should ask in a survey of 1000 Protestant pastors. Here are some ideas we have-- help us to think of more or to make these questions better. If you could ask 5-10 questions of 1000 pastors that would help understand their views of leadership, the future, and making their mark, what would they be?

Here are some of our thoughts. As you can tell from the numbering they are part of a larger survey.

Here is the video from my discussion with Mike Harland about worship, relevance, and reverence. Thanks to the folks at LifeWayWorship.com for inviting me.

Reverence vs Relevance from LifeWay Productions on Vimeo.

Feel free to interact in the comments and give us your thoughts.

I hope to see you on the web today at 2p.m. CDT for a live event.

Over 1000 people have signed up-- and you need to register to participate.

Yesterday, we finished up a meeting in Nashville with denominational leaders from over 20 denominations. More than half of the churches planted in the U.S. each year were affiliated with the denominations represented in the room.

You might find my opening words of some interest. In some ways, they relate to comments I made at the Advance09 panel.

It is a bad idea theologically, with bad results historically, for us to partner and jointly plant churches. But, it is a bad stewardship and irresponsible missiology for us not to find ways to learn from each other.

When it comes to church planting, it is not really the same as evangelism. In church planting, we need to plant our own gardens. But, we will consider this an agricultural co-op where we learn to do it better by learning from one another.

So, that is why we are here: to learn and share best practices with other Christian denominational leaders committed to plant churches.

We had a great meeting with much helpful interaction.

Here are the presentations that each of the speakers shared:

Ed Stetzer (LifeWay Research), The State of Church Multiplication and the Causes that Hinder It (no PowerPoint)
Thom Rainer (LifeWay Christian Resources), Twelve Axioms for Leading a Christian Organization
Ron Sylvia (Next Coaching Networks), Church Planting Coaching Networks
Larry McCrary (The Upstream Collective), Creating Church Planting Recruitment Systems for Denominations
Steve Pike (Assemblies of God), Influencing Your Denomination for Church Planting
Bob Harrington (Church Coaching Solutions), Understanding and Harnessing Networks: Part 1, Part 2
Chris Conrad (Wesleyan), Church Planting Assessment (no PowerPoint)

We are also undertaking two research projects with different denominations participating in each. One will focus on urban church planting and the other is on church planting assessment. Drop a comment below if you are interested in being a part of either one.

This meeting is the beginning of our leaders fellowship that will meet three times a year: November 18-19 is the next meeting. This is not an open meeting, but if you are the denominational head of church planting, you can leave a comment here and we will send you a network application. (Feel free to email this page to others who you think might be interested.)

Here is a pic from our first meeting (courtesy of Ron Sylvia).

We look forward to more to come.

In May, I put together three videos with my friends from the Oklahoma convention on the topic of missional communities. The convention is using these videos as part of a training strategy for small group leaders. It's called the "One Day Initiative." For most churches, the health of small groups determines the health of the church as a whole.

Here is the video the churches are using for this initiative:

Missional Small Communities from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

So far 273 churches in Oklahoma signed on. Bob Mayfield developed Oklahoma's plan to de-centralize the training process for small group leaders and put missional leadership materials directly into the hands of the local church. They believe that a church can equip more of its members locally than by taking them to big events that are long distances away. Bob sent me some comments they are already receiving, even though the initiative is less than a week old. Here's one example:

The general session began with hearing Ed Stetzer on video sharing about Missional Leadership. It really fired-up our people in attendance and for some I believe it was a life-changing message... Ed brought a fresh perspective about what a class could be and our folks loved it. The support materials that you (Bob) and your team put together are great, and we needed the breakout times after the video to digest what we heard and explore the materials. Scott Badgett, Associate Pastor at Chisholm Heights Church in Mustang, OK

Badgett also noted that they typically take about 6 people to an annual regional training event, but had 93 attend the One Day seminar in their church. Check here for some blogs that have been made about One Day.

That BGCO has made all three of the One Day videos available at their cost on a two disc DVD set (which also includes 3 music videos and 4 promo videos) for only $10.00. You can order them at www.bgco.org/oneday.

My "Saturday is for Seminars" is late, so we will rename and post it now!

This Thursday I'm speaking in Charleston, SC at another Connect Conference (I blogged about it earlier). Check out the website for more information and to register. I hope to see you Sunday!

Looking a bit farther down the road in September I'm participating in THE NINES, a very exciting one day event for church staff members who are looking to develop their leadership skills. Why "The Nines?" It's going down on 9/9/09 and... well let me pull it from the website.

Hit the website for the rest of the details.

Here is one more "Saturday is for Seminars" that is posted on Sunday.

Take a look at this video:

Connect Conferences: Reaching and Keeping Young Adults

This fall I will be participating in a series of Connect Conferences around the country. These unique gatherings provide a focused discussion about reaching and keeping young adults. Our hope is to provide an intimate opportunity for key leaders to:

• learn more about young adults


• understand some of the many reasons why they leave the church


• network with other leaders in your area


• walk away with practical, promising next steps for ministry

Thom Rainer, Sam Rainer, Jason Hayes, and I will be speaking at the majority of these events. In addition, other speakers include Mark Batterson, Michael Kelley, Heather Zempel, Tim Miller, Jen Hatmaker, Adam Thomason, and more.

Go HERE to learn more about these gatherings and to see who will be in a city near you.

Atlanta, GA - August 13-14, 2009
Nashville, TN - August 20-21, 2009
Charleston, SC - August 27-28, 2009
Washington, DC - September 17-18, 2009
Shreveport, LA - September 24-25, 2009

Hope to see you at one of the Connect Conferences.

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

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

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

Is your church in need of a comeback?

Process Goals

• To provide good information to church leaders


• To help them with application of the principles


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

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

1. Leadership

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

3. Meaningful and active ministries for laypeople

4. Intentional evangelistic efforts

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

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

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

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

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

Part A: Introduction

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

Part 1: Visional Leadership

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

Part 2: Intentional Evangelism

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

Part 3: Lay Mobilization

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

Part 4: Celebrative Worship

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

Part 5: Renewed Focus on Jesus and His Mission

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

Thanks to the KBC for making these available.

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

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

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

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

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

I have included all the videos below.

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

The Bridge to What God Desires, The Keys to Change

The First 100 Days of Change

The Role of Leadership/Teamwork

Mistakes to Avoid

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

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

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

Surprised? Concerned? Pleased?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here is the email we sent out earlier this week.

Dear Fellow Church Planting Champions,

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

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

So far we have two meetings scheduled:

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

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

• Recruitment
• Assessing
• Training
• Networking
• Multiplying

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

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

Thanking God for you,

Ed Stetzer and Chris Conrad

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

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

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

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

I believe that those who have a real concern for communicating the gospel to the people God has sent them to will find great value in research that explores and exposes cultural and religious trends. So, of course, I want to share a few things with you that are worth noting.

The ARDA Archives have been updated
I've blogged about The Association of Religion Data Archives before (some great stuff there). Well, the website has recently been updated with several new improvements and features.

ARDA's GIS Maps now have an improved interface that is much easier to use. It provides one-button access to a report for the displayed error and changing areas is as easy as enter a zip code and clicking a button. Try it out at here.

Our U.S. Congregational Membership feature now includes advanced reports. View membership reports for any selection of counties, metro areas or states that you want! Our advanced state reports provide quick links for maps of census divisions. Try it out here.

ARDA's National Profiles have been updated. The Adherents page for each country and region has been updated to include agnostics. The Socio-Economic page includes education measures such as the adult literacy rate and gross enrollment rate.

Check out the Census 2000 Foreign-Born Population Map Series by Selected Countries of Birth

These state level maps show percent distributions and some detailed socio-economic characteristics from Census 2000 for the foreign-born population in the United States and Puerto Rico for selected countries of birth, such as Mexico, China, the Philippines, India and El Salvador. Comparative maps for the native and total foreign-born populations are also provided. The socioeconomic characteristics include poverty rate, public assistance income, labor force participation rate, language ability and year of entry for noncitizens. Internet address. (Check it out)

Getting Current: Recent Demographic Trends in Metropolitan America
The Brookings Institution has released some helpful stats in their March 2009 report on recent demographic trends across the United States. It's a 28 page report that breaks down trends concerning migration, immigration, aging, educational attainment, and poverty in the United States. The report reveals:

Migration across states and metro areas has slowed considerably in the past two years due to the housing crisis and looming recession.

Racial and ethnic minorities are driving the nation's population growth and increasing diversity among its younger residents.

The next decade promises massive growth of the senior population, especially in suburbs unaccustomed to housing older people.

Even before the onset of the current recession, poverty rose during the 2000s, and spread rapidly to suburban locations.

There's a lot more. Download the report here (PDF)