I will be moving my SBC-specific blogging to here. I am privileged to be a part of the faculty at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and am excited to be a contributor to their blog.

I posted my first blog entry there this morning. It is called "Looking Back to Louisville."

I have been serving as the guest host of the USAToday Faith & Reason blog. Cathy Lynn Grossman has written with USA Today for a decade and asked if I would fill in for her on the blog while she is in Europe on assignment.

I chose an easy topic to handle: the issue of exclusivity in terms of obtaining eternal life. You know me; I do not like controversy. No sir. Keeping it nice and light.

I started by discussing some recent research. Here is the wrap-up to my second comment that will give you a flavor of where the discussion is going:

To further the discussion, let's talk about the core issues of exclusivity of beliefs and how that affects culture, religion, and human interaction.
How do you view those who hold such exclusive beliefs? Why do you think that people increasingly seem to hold universalistic and pluralistic beliefs?
Let's make it personal, as well: Many faiths believe there is only one way to God, heaven, righteousness, etc. If you are a person of faith, does your faith teach that? If so, why does it matter?

Be nice. Engage the culture. Listen.

Some bloggers have already responded to The Tennessan article on SBC decline that I mentioned yesterday, including:

Michael Spencer (Internet Monk)

SBC Impact

Pat Hood (cited in the article)

I will add more if I see them. Feel free to link yours or suggest others below.

On Blogging.

I am not very good at it. As a matter of fact, I think I may be the worst blogger ever. But, today, I am turning over a new leaf.

I post regularly at The Resurgence website (www.theresuregence.com), if you define "regularly" as meaning once every quarter. And, I am even less consistent at the Missional Network website (www.missionalnetwork.org).

But, now I am in Nashville and I have a new 26 item job description. And, slipped in the middle of that fun list of things, is doing a blog. And, I'm in. This is the Lifeway Research Blog. You can get at it from www.lifewayresearch.com or from www.edstetzer.com.

This blog will be a mixture of several things. We will look at research and discuss it here. In just a couple of weeks we will release some groundbreaking research on the dropout rate for the transition years from high school to college. Several guest bloggers will both write and interact here. Whenever we release research, this will be the official forum for interacting with us. You can post questions, question our assumptions, or say we are the smartest people ever for doing the project (thanks, mom, for dropping by).

In between major projects, the blog will focus on other things. For example, I am about to create and interact a series of posts on the use of the word "missional," its origins, uses, and challenges. Missional is a true wiki-word, but my observations will not be "this is right and that is wrong." Instead, we will look at different views of the word and then I (and some friends) will share our opinions, cautions, and opportunities.

I will occasionally post on things "SBC" related, but that is not the focus of the blog. Yes, I will be my normal charming and honest self when posting about my denomination. Grin.

My first two posts on the denomination will be coming soon. The first is called, "Why I Stayed in Denominational Leadership." The second will be called, "Why I Was Thinking about Leaving." I plan to try and highlight some challenges, but also focus on much of the positive things going on--like Jerry Rankin's plan to "finish the Great Commission" in our lifetime.

Finally, I will share some thoughts on the everyday journey. I am not sure if that will be particularly exciting, but I find that God teaches me many times through interaction with others--so, I bought a camera and I am off to blog world.

My plan is to blog three or four times a week. And, occasionally, to say something worthwhile.

The really smart IT and communication guys here are Lifeway tell me that they will help and we will be improving the look and functionality. Soon we will post audio files, links to upcoming events, and some other nifty features.

Also, expect Thom Rainer and Brad Waggoner to post from time to time (they actually have full editing privileges, so you never know when they might just drop in.)

Finally, we are going to try to make this a "real" blog, not just a series of articles where we don't interact. Comments will be open (with some moderation if you post links since we do not want spammers here). When I write my columns for Catalyst Monthly and Outreach Magazine, and when I write articles elsewhere, they will be cross linked here so we can interact as well. I can't guarantee that I can interact like the best of the bloggers, but I will try to do so at least once a day.

So, that's it for now... more tomorrow. Today I am up at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis speaking at a church planting conference. My friend and "brother from another mother," Steve Childers is the head of Global Church Advancement and they are a great group.

The word is that John Piper has some interesting things to say "via video" and I will be blogging on it soon.

Ed