Here is the final installment, looking back to the start of the blog from October through December 2007.

For the other sections, see parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

October

• Explained our methdology for doing the largest and fastest growing list in Outreach Magazine.
• Did a podcast on preaching with my friend Michael Duduit from Preaching Magazine.
• Asked opinions on a book cover, and received a lot of helpful comments.
• Shared some important new research I did for Leadership Network.

November

• Responded to Dan Kimball's suggestion I get a new haircut.
• Reflected on guidelines for missiological contextualization.
• Linked and posted the presentations at the Building Bridges Calvinism conference. I was one of the most clicked pages on the blog.
• While speaking at the Assemblies national church planting summit, created a list of Assemblies of God fun facts (which, I have been told, was subsequently read aloud at the Springfield, MO headquarters).

December

• Announced that I was named the "Interim Teaching Pastor" at FBC Hendersonville. I had been preaching already a couple of months and I am still there today. A great church and I love teaching there.
• Was publicly accused of plagiarism and responded here. (The author of that post, David Wayne, is struggling with cancer. Pray for him and follow his blog here.)
• Talked about my time in Philadelphia and discussed "third place" churches.
• Corrected an erroneous report on The Trinity Broadcasting Network which they later clarified.
• Posted new research on the decline of younger leader involvement in the SBC.

I received some nice comments about the blog "look back" (see parts 1, 2, 3, 4) and some encouragement to summarize the whole blog. So, here is another installment, looking back to the start of the blog from July through September 2007.

July 2007

• After an intro post, the blog began while speaking after John Piper at his church in Minneapolis. He made some challenging statements, particularly at a church planting conference (good comments-- but also a bit surprising in that context). That led to more comments from my friend Kenny Stokes and the video of Piper's comments finally being posted.
• Spoke at Concordia University in Irvine and shared some helpful insights from a Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Bishop.
• Posted on the future of mission agencies.
• Questioned whether there really is a "call to preach."
• Posted new data from LifeWay Research reported in USAToday on youth dropouts. Guest bloggers included Mark Lydecker, Jim Johnston, Scott Stevens, and Jeff Schadt.
I gave my own thoughts in an interview.

August 2007

• Reflected on my 30th spiritual birthday.
• Started my "Meanings of Missional" series (full series listed here) that are still the most commonly read posts on the blog.
• Called for more civil discourse in denominations (particularly mine).
• Talked some about my time with some Anglicans and what was happening in their movement.
• Reported on an article in Christanity Today by Collin Hansen that included an irritating reference to my friendship with Mark Driscoll. Collin and I talked later and he had a great line: "how could I not include that?!" So, I (sort of) moved on. ;-)

September 2007

• Talked about racism in the 9 Marks journal.
• Posted my SBC sermon (reprinted in SBC Life) and provided the full length video of the message that some loved... and some, not so much...
• Posted the Evangelical Press Awards. I judged the biblical exposition and listed my choices.
• Became a columnist for Catalyst Monthly and posted my first article here. It received many good comments, but many objected to my defense of the church.
• Rejoiced concerning a commitment to end the sniping between SBC agencies. Still rejoicing while I wait for that to be fully implemented.
• Talked about the Emerging Church and shared some upcoming conferences and publications related to it.

And the last installment of the blog "look back" covers October through December.

October

• Shared my notes from my talk at the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta.
• Most of the month was taken up with posts from Krakow, Poland and Rome, Italy. Near the end, I opined on "When the Mission Gets Lost in the System" and listed the posts at the end of that entry. A final wrap up and summary came a bit later.
• Launched the B&H Leadership Book interviews with Thom and Sam Rainer.
• LifeWay Research released new research on the voting plans of Protestant pastors (and they did not reflect how the general public voted).
• Ended the month with some seasonally appropriate research on haunted houses.

• One of the more widely linked posts was "Speaking of Jesus and Justice," which was an expanstion of my comments in USAToday.
• In the month of November, we started and ended a conflict with a self-centered missional thinker named Al.
• Discussed the house church movement and how widespread it really is.

December

• A series on cooperation (still to be finished) overlapped November and December and included posts on cooperation, the SBC, denominations, and networks. The Next-Wave e-zine will be reprinting the post on denominations as an article. More on that later...
• Published a post responding to a critique of our research.
• Shared a series of videos about Comeback Churches with the Assemblies of God.
• Posted a humorous (but pointed) post on Social Networking.
• One of the more commneted-upon posts was from Penn Jillette, an atheist, talking about proselytizing.
• My response to some criticism of my comments from Michael Medved.
• A blog post on the problem with lying among many Christian leaders.

The blog "look back" rolls ahead. Be sure to see part 1 and part 2.

Below are some blog highlights from July through September 2008.

July

July was a busy month here at the blog. Some of the posts came from presentation, others from articles written in print publications, and others just started here at the blog.

• I posted my notes from a conference. I had spoken to the Founders Conference, a group of SBC Calvinists. I had cautioned them against being "functional hyper-Calvinists," borrowing the term from Bill Ascol. Well, some latched on to the comment and I found it best to post my notes so that people could get the context of what I said.
• Mixed it up a bit about Bill Hybels, Willow Creek, and their Reveal study. One guy got mad, but I think we ended as friends.
• LifeWay Research released another research project, this time dealing with the ongoing loss of young leaders at the SB convention. Some responded by burrowing their heads deeper in the ground. Others saw the trend. Many proposed differencing solutions.
• Got a bit nostalgic (my wife said "sappy") about how I miss being a pastor.
• World Magazine picked up on the earlier conversation on the blog and quoted Geoff Surratt and me in their story about multi-site churches.
• Continued a blog tour throughout the month that ended several weeks later in the Dallas Morning News (full tour details are in the final blog).
• One of the more widely read posts was when I wrote about "apostles" and their place in the church today. That also lead to a follow-up post here.
• Shared my presentation (which I will expand in a future book) about what a movement of multiplying churches would look like in North America.

August was a mix of topics, but some of the posts I thought would garner discussion did not--and at least one that I thought was an obvious conclusion brought much discussion.

• The second most "commented" blog of the year was my non-meeting with now President-Elect Obama. It turned into quite a debate. Recent stats show my prediction was (mostly) right.
• Commented upon the gullability of evangelicals and asked, "does anyone still have a Bible and some common sense?" Lots of long comments on this one.
• Visited and blogged about Community Christian Church where the Ferguson brothers serve. My favorite part of the comments was comparing Tom Petty's "Learn to Fly" and the Foo Fighters "Learn to Fly." To my great relief, I could tell them apart-- unlike a certain intern at CCC :-).
• Gave some Twitter advice.
• Talked about how the "theologically preoccupied" and the "evangelistically fixated" can learn from one another.

September

September generated much interest in the Emerging Church and megachurches (an odd combination, I know).

• Visited the Rolling Road Show with some folks from Emergent. I reviewed the show here and it was nice to see Tony Jones and Doug Pagitt come by and comment. I also released my 40+ page paper on the Emerging Church that I started while speaking for the Evangelical Free Church Mid-Winter Ministerial. The paper will be edited as part of a new book on the Emerging Church Movement coming out later this year.
• LifeWay Reserach released new data on the church and politics. It has been reported in multiple sources.
• Shared the presentation I gave at The Washington Post to the Religion Newswriters Assocation.
• Started megachurch week (which grew, ironicalyl, to two weeks) including interviews with Perry Noble, Kerry Shook, Joel Hunter, and others.

One final note: It seems that the "look back" drew some attention to a long dead conversation on this blog. Thanks to those who added their insights yesterday to the discussion or different-sex relationships.

Continued from part 1.

Here are some blog highlights from April through June, 2008.

April

• Our research about church architecture was reported in a dozen different places. We first released it here.
• Made a trip to rural Missouri, ate frog legs (pics included), and talked about the history of the Second Great Awakening. It bought out a few folks concerned about heresy in the movements.
• My most recent book (with Philip Nation), Compelled by Love, was released.
• Tim Keller and I discussed research and his new book in a podcast here.
• My most commented upon post was this one explaining and opining upon the decline in the SBC. It brought Danny Akin out of blog-comment exile and prompted many other responses. The strangest thing-- the Associated Press and other media outlets quoted the blog and I decided I needed to be careful.
• A follow up to the SBC decline post explained why this decline will probably continue in the future.
• The month ended as I spoke at the Dwell Conference in NYC and "slow blogged" the experience.

May

• Shared some rules I follow about interaction between married men and women and I was surprised that some people found them controversial.
• Listed some historic and current accountability questions that some have used to keep themselves in accountable relationships.
• Listed the candidates for SBC president and Johnny Hunt allowed me to list him as a candidate here, making it public on the blog that night.
• Mixed it up with Neil Cole and Alan Hirsch about the challenges caused by the professionization of the clergy.
• USAToday reported on our politics research and it ended up getting involved in the conversation about the Evangelical Manifesto. It led to several other posts involving the Evangelical Manifesto.
• Joined the faculty at Southeastern Seminary.
• Was glad to see 11 Innovations in the Local Church (my book with Elmer Towns and Warren Bird) be a finalist for Outreach book of the year.
• Opined on what plagarism in preaching really is.

June

• Mixed it up on multi-site churches with Geoff Surratt. First, my article, "Questions for McChurch" from my monthly Outreach Magazine column. Then, Geoff's response. World Magazine picked up on the debate and Geoff and I were interviewed in the story-- with Geoff on the cover. (He says he is going to buy me dinner.)
• Updates from the SBC annual meeting on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. I then penned my analysis and hope for the SBC.
• Kristen and I went on her 10th birthday trip to Yosemite.
• The Pew Forum released some research and we shared some additional research which asked a similar quesiton but with different wording. The comparison of the data became a national story. (I actually will post again about this next week-- Pew has updated the data.)

And I forgot this from February:

• Tim Keller clarifies some issues from a Newsweek story.

Part 3 coming tomorrow...

I thought I would start the new year with a look back at 2008.

The blog was still young in January 2008 (having started 5 months before). Now, the blog seems a bit older as this post is the 438th.

Here is a tour of what happened this year at the blog.

I pulled out those posts that had significant traffic and I thought were most helpful. You can find the full list here in the blog archives.

January

January had some big downs and then ups, including:

• Blogging my own car accident (with a picture!).
• Joining the faculty at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
• Talking research on CNN. (That clip has a glitch so I uploaded a clearer version here.)

February

February started with a trip to Europe and ended with a bit of fun. It was a heavy travel month and the posts reflected that.

• In Barcelona. I spoke to missionaries and brought some pastors along to create partnerships. Those posts are here, here, and here.
• LifeWay Research asked for, and received, a clarification from Trinity Broadcasting Network.
• Dealt with some race issues related to the SBC.
• An ER clip related to some of our recent reserach.
• Had my most Pentecostal week ever.
• And, one of the most visited posts, was a humorous post I wrote about a meeting planned by my new friend Ben Arment called the "Whiteboard Sessions"

March

March had some time off, some trips, and some thoughts, including:

• A trip to Disney World and a pic we love at our house.
• Three posts (all linked in the last one) about my time speaking at Highlands Fellowship.
• Comeback Churches in Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox.
• Comeback Churches and what the Landmark movement is.
• A bit on my visit to Criswell College.

More soon...

Something is wrong with the comments on my blog. Our IT people are working on it. We are hopeful that all the lost comments will be restored. More soon...

Update: My sincere aplogies. The majority of my blog comments were being filtered out. We have found most of them and restored them.

Thanks to those of you who emailed to let me know your comment did not make it through. It appears that many of you are passionate about the SBC Cooperative Program reserach we posted yesterday and a discussion is taking place there (at least now that the comments are working).

We restored over 75 lost comments that dating back about a week. I know of more comments that were not recovered, but I do not know how many. My sincere apologies.

A blog is not a blog unless it has comments... and they should now be restored.

I guess I am relatively integrated into the online community: You can find my articles, preaching and lectures around the internet at various websites, I have my own youtube channel, of course I have a blog, and I have found the value of social networking tools like Facebook, Twitter. And for the record, I'm not even thinking about using Myspace (does anyone still do that?), tumblr (which is pretty cool), or anything else out there. At least for now.

But now that I've been at it for a while now, I can honestly say there are a number of things I really enjoy about social networking.

* It's great for re-connecting with people with whom I've lost contact.
Honestly, this is a huge plus and has made staying in touch with people much easier - especially for those of us who find ourselves busy and pressed for time.

* It allows for immediate reaction and response to ideas and issues.
Social networking has worked well at informal polling and pulling advice and ideas from my online "friends."

* It provides a way for sharing both the serious and the superficial aspects of life.
Simply put, this is both helpful and enjoyable! Most people get that social networking can be enjoyable, but I also find it inspiring to read what God is teaching others and what risks some are taking for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Of course, such insights are not gleaned from everyone so you have to know who to watch/read.

* It is an immediate call for prayer that crosses the globe.
Just last night I got word that Donna had been in an accident and quickly posted, "Donna's been in a car accident. She says she is fine. I am on my way there now." I am very thankful for those who prayed and wrote back.

But like all things in life there are things in life there are negatives.

Many of my friends say they want to be less connected via the Internet, not more. They say they can't spend their days responding to Twitter direct messages and Facebook messages. Sometimes that is because they say they are too busy. Sometimes it is because they say such interactions are superficial. I must admit, I understand at times. However, I am of the opinion that it is better to be connected using social media, recognizing the limitations, than to be disconnected. As a rule, I respond to all my Facebook messages as that seems people are really writing me (like they do on email). I try to respond to as many Twitter messages as I can, but responding to all gets very tedious to those who follow you since your responses go to all your Twitterfriends (and many are just comments, not really part of a conversation). I try to respond to all direct messages, though sometimes I fall behind.

I think I like Facebook better than Twitter, though I use Twitter to "feed" into Facebook. On Facebook, you can actually see the interactions below a comment. On Twitter, you cannot. It is interesting to me that people are much more likely to respond on Facebook than on the blog. I have probably had over 100 Facebook conversations this week and a much lower number on the blog (though this has been a slow blog week).

There are some disadvantages, but I like the value of being connected in this way. So, for now, I am still "in."

However, just for fun, there are some things about social networking that drive me just a wee bit crazy. For example:

* When Twitter friends ask me to promote their product on my blog or Twitter.
Stop it.

* When conferences ask me to promote their conference on my blog.
Stop it.

* When people want to argue with me through Twitter.
Here's how it goes down: "Do you really think it is right for LifeWay to not sell this or that product?" Yes, let me think, could I have the privilege of debating you about this while 2000 people watch and we put our thoughts into 140 character Tweets? Genius.

* When people do drive by questions.
For example, I tweet, "Going to be in Chicago for a week teaching at TEDS." My next tweet is, "Just landed in snowy Chicago." Then, I get two replies, "Ed, how long will you be in Chicago?" Three words people: READ THE FEED. It's not as violent as a drive-by shooting, but it's just as impolite.

* When people try to discuss blog posts via direct message on Twitter.
Look, if I wanted to have a private chat about it I would not have posted it on the blog.

* When people ask me random questions via Twitter.
"Ed, we have 300 people in our church. How many students should we have in our youth group?" My name is Ed, not "google." And, that has a lot to do with your community, by the way.

* When Facebook friends ask me my email address.
Look-- if we are friends, it is right there. This is almost like someone calling me up on my cellphone to ask what my area code is. *sigh*

* When Facebook friends invite me to an "event" they should know I cannot attend.
If it's not a real event, I don't want to "attend." If it is a real event and it's out of state-- it's irrelevant to me.

* When people invite me to join their "cause." I am not joining your crusade for or against the "new facebook," the "reason for the season," or anything else.
I do not believe you are going to change hearts and minds and overcome the evil one with what amounts to an electronic petition that no one cares about.

* When people invite me to play some kind of a Facebook game.
Look-- you may enjoy Dungeons and Dragons but I don't want to play it with you at this stage in my life. I'm not networking here to see your magic castle, become your squire, or fight your mob war. Just sayin'

Alright... enough fun.

Those are my thoughts about social networking. What are yours?

I am interested in a couple of things:

1. What are you thoughts about social networking? Do you use some of these tools? Why or why not? Give me your thoughts.

2. What suggestions would you have for me? I have been intentionally adding more video content at the suggestion of some friends, but what other suggestions would you have for the blog, Twitter, and Facebook. For example, I am thinking of creating a regular on-line (live) video conference to answers questions that people might want to ask. (Let me know if you think that would be a good idea, if you don't mind.)

To me, the question I struggle with is this: how can these tools be used to advance the Kingdom? My goal is to help pastors and church leaders. I don't think short interactions do that (and I wonder about the narcissism it may promote). So, I write longer blog posts than most do in the hopes they might provide some helpful content. I see Twitter as more relational fun with folks who are interested in what you do. I see Facebook as a community of acquaintances and friends in discussion. And, I see the blog as a place to put deeper thoughts or ideas that require more space.

So, I would love to hear from you and let's do a little social networking here.

I am open to your ideas, suggestions, requests, or criticisms.

--------------------------------------------------------
And, these are the responses I got from some friends when I tweeted about this post. As you can see, only Larry is really a Christian. Grin.

The Compelled by Love blog tour took a stop at the Dallas Morning News. Philip Nation wrote a few thoughts on our book, Compelled by Love: The Most Excellent Way to Missional Living (New Hope, 2008), in the Dallas Morning News religion blog.

He wrote ten things... I excerpted a few here:

1. Understand the Gospel. The mission of God is consumed with the person & work of Christ. As you understand Christ, you can accurately participate in God's work of redemption. So read the Gospels - a lot...

4. Watch for a chance to serve. People give away all of their energy on family, work, and menial chores. Look for ways that you can care for your neighbors - even if it is just cooking a simple dinner for them...

6. Love like Jesus. He lived a robust life of caring for the lost. In elevating sacrificial love far beyond any previous thinking, he gave an example for us...

10. Do it for one reason - the glory of God. The only reason for be missional is to make Christ more widely known. God is worthy of being honored by all of creation and it should be the main reason why we participate in his mission.

You can read all ten here.

The blog tour so far:

PhoenixPreacher.com,
Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox,
Alan Hirsch's blog,
Andrew Jones's Tall Skinny Kiwi,
Darryl Dash,
Micah Fries,
Marty Duren's Iemissional, and
David Fitch at Reclaiming the Mission.

Well, as of this week, I've been blogging at edstetzer.com for 1 year. It has been enjoyable, rewarding, and (at times) challenging.

We have released and discussed a lot of research. In addition, it has allowed me to share parts of my life (like moving and rolling my car,) my thoughts on the church and her mission (like the meanings of "missional"), and encourage dialog on issues I believe are important to the Kingdom of God.

The blog has included:

• Talking about movements, history, and race.


• Having edifying dialogue even when you disagree,


• Telling the truth about my denominational situation even when people don't want to hear it,


• Sharing family traditions, and


• Responding to public accusations of plagiarism.

And, surprisingly, the blog itself has been quoted in AP, UPI, USAToday, and World Magazine (reminding me to be careful in what I say!).

It is my hope that the 330 post have helped to facilitate thinking and conversations that can be beneficial to all who participate. I look forward to the next year of blogging and hope you will help to make this blog better by jumping into the conversations.

As you can tell, the blog has undergone a major redesign. When LifeWay upgraded our blogging platform to the most recent version of Movable Type, I decided it was time to give the blog an overhaul and knew Tim Challies was a guy I wanted to talk to. Tim is an uber blogger, an author and a professional web designer.

I wanted a unique, professional look that is easy to navigate and Tim really delivered. We are still building a few pages, but everything else is complete. I am very pleased with what Tim has done here and I hope it makes your visit more enjoyable. For those who need a little help understanding the "interweb" and the features of this blog, I've put together a brief guide to the blog that may be of help.

Navigation

The navigation at the top of the blog of the page will take you to general information concerning:

• Lifeway Research (primarily a link to the actual LifeWay Research site and a list of national news stories including of LWR),


• the Lifeway Research Team,


• my speaking schedule, and


• the blog archives.

You can find all my blog series in the sidebar, as well as a link to the books I have written.

Recent Comments

The "Recent Comments" section in the sidebar lists the six most recent comments left by blog readers on various posts. It's a quick and easy way to see where the conversation on the blog is taking place. If you leave a comment it will show up here. For comment guidelines please see the end of this post.

Twitter

What is Twitter? Think of it as a way to peek into my world, see where I am, what I am doing and what I am thinking as it happens. You can see the most recent "tweets" (brief posts, typically written from my cell phone) in my sidebar, but it's even more fun to sign up and follow on Twitter. You can follow me or subscribe to my Twitter at www.twitter.com/edstetzer.

The example to the right is a little tame, but today's twittering of the ICRS is here with about a dozen pictures and "commentary" here.

Article Series

Important topics that receive a number of posts are collected together in one place for easy reference. You can find them listed by topic in the sidebar. Click the topic link and you'll be directed to a page containing links to all the relevant posts on that topic.

Facebook

I'm on Facebook as well. Facebook is a social networking site that connects people all over the world, allowing for varying levels of interaction. If you are on Facebook, look me up here.

Noteworthy Items

You'll notice in the sidebar a section titled "Noteworthy Items." These are blog posts and articles around the web that are interesting, thought provoking, and worth a read. I am not endorsing everything linked, but consider worth thinking through and potentially discussing. You can find of my Noteworthy Items here.

Comment Guidelines

You will see this at the bottom of the articles now:

You are welcome (and encouraged) to comment on the blog, but be sure your comment relates to the post. Feel free to discuss the topic, but do not denigrate individuals. You may use HTML to style your comment. Comments are moderated and usually appear within 15 minutes of being posted. Regrettably, Ed cannot personally respond to most comments and questions.

I would love to hear any feedback from you and suggestions are welcome (perhaps for version 2.1!). Thanks for being a reader!

We are making some changes to the look of the blog. Please pardon our mess as we move things around the site. Regular posting till resume again soon...

The folks at Red Cowboy Designs are going to be tweaking the site tonight... Text and comments should still be working, but we are working on a redesign and some of the side column links are not yet active. Feel free to share your thoughts on the look. (The Monday is for Missiology graphic is the first graphic with more to come.)