Matt Fry and J.D. Greear

I had a great time this weekend in Raleigh Durham with Matt and J.D. Saturday night I had the opportunity to speak at C3 Church where Matt serves as pastor. On Sunday morning, I spoke over at the Summit Church where J.D. is pastor. I was very impressed with both men and their churches. We had a brief time in J.D.'s study and got a pic.

Preaching was great. Their churches are amazing. And, I will write about both churches tomorrow. However, I had some special fun with J.D. and his daugher Karis in a gokart race at Frankie's Fun Park (for the record, it was a tie). And, let's just say I have a picture of Matt in a stylish (a cat-in-the-hat-like) hat when we went to the Marbles Childern's museum with his son Caleb. Great fun with a couple of great guys.

Both Matt and J.D. blog, so be sure to see visit their blogs.

Cathy Grossman and USA Today

One of the most fascinating jobs in America must be covering religion. I recently had the chance to speak at the Religion Newswriters Association and learned more about this challenging job. As a conservative evangelical, most of my evangelical friends have a negative view of the media. Sometimes that perception is earned. However, I must say that I think that many of these writers try hard to understand us-- and we are not that easy to "get."

Cathy Grossman has worked hard to report well on evangelicals (and many others). And, I am glad to see her enter the blog world with her Faith and Reason Blog. I would encourage you to drop by and take a look. You can find the full religion page here and there is a link to a forum (usually on the left) where there are lots of topics to debate!

Chicago, My Kind of Town

I am excited that I am getting connected to Chicago. Charles Campbell, who helped organize the conference I spoke at last month while at Trinity, shared with me a pretty impressive undertaking.

Matt Willis is a church planter who is using the Wiki technology to create a prayerwalking map of the Chicago neighborhoods. He and others are seeking to mobilize large numbers of people to come to the city to pray and post their observations here.

Behind the Scenes with "Al"

You can enjoy the whole Al blog series here.

Latino Settlement in the U.S.

J. B. from the International Mission Board keeps a sharp eye out for helpful new reserach. She sent this on to me today.

Latino Settlement in the New Century [pdf]

The Pew Hispanic Center offers timely commentary and research on a wide range of issues related to the Hispanic population within the United States.
Over the past few years, they have put out working papers on immigration, economic forecasts, employment, and pending legislation. This report by their senior research associate Richard Fry was released in October 2008 and it offers a detailed demographic portrait of the growing Hispanic community in the United States. Throughout its 35-pages, visitors will find detailed statistical information on the transformation of the Hispanic population over the past decade, along with material on which counties are experiencing the greatest statistical increase in the number of Hispanics. Finally, the report is greatly enhanced by its use of tables, graphs, and county-level maps of the US.

Mark Driscoll and Acts 29

Mark Driscoll and I have been emailing back and forth about a new project. More on that as soon as possible. However, in the meantime, you should consider listening to this recording where Mark talks about the values and focus of Acts 29. Crazy idea-- if you have questions, it might be good to actually listen to the vision and values. But, what do I know? Have a listen here.

You can also listen to an interview I did with Mark a while back here.

I have not had much of a chance to be at many Acts 29 events lately, but I am excited about a forthcoming meeting that Mark, John Piper, Matt Chandler, I, and several others will be doing in June 2009 in Raleigh Durham. Should be a great week. I will be teaching a class at Southeastern and doing the conference in the evening, etc.

Well, when this is posted I will be in sunny San Diego at the National Outreach Convention. The annual convention is the largest gathering in the country for the purpose of outreach every year. I have been for the last several years and am glad to be back again.

Let me share some good things about some friends today... and then one bad thing about a very self-centered "Christian" leader, Al.

First, the good friends...

My schedule starts early with a church planting session at 7a.m. (Since that is 9a.m. my time it does not seem so early.) It will be a dialogue time with those interested in "Church Multiplication -- Planting & Daughtering New Churches." We meet in the Town and Country Boardroom.

After that I have a few meetings. One of them is with my friend Dan Kimball, who gives me hair advice. We have called our meeting here the "annual Kimball / Stetzer NOC meeting." I am hoping to get more info about their not-so-secret new emerging church network that is explicitly evangelical and intentionally missional. More on that later, I think. I will also ask Dan why he does not follow me on Twitter. I used to follow him, but I stopped because he was not reciprocating. Just sayin'.

I also will get a chance to hang with Greg Ligon, publishing guru of Leadership Network where I hope I will be offered a huge book contract to take back to LifeWay and B&H Publishing. Now, I would not sign with any publisher other than the one that has a book at #1 on the NY Times bestseller list (Love Dare) but I can use it as leverage for future negotiations. Think big, Greg, really big, because you won't have to pay it.

Now, the main reason I am going is my workshop. It is a "featured" workshop which means, "we want you to come to the conference but not be a keynote speaker so will this be enough?" It appears that I and several others got listed in that catagory, though I would come just because it is such a great conference. For that matter, I think the some of the "non-featured" workshps look better than mine. (But, you should come to mine anyway.)

My workshop is from 1-2pm and it is called, "Learning & Discerning from the 100 Fastest Growing Churches" in the Town & Country Golden Room. I will be presenting some information about the churches on the fastest growing church list. It will be practical and include some practical takeaways. Now, if you are an angry Calvinist recently graduated from seminary with grave concerns about, well, growing churches, then this seminar is not for you. (However, happy Calvinists are welcome.) Since this is right after lunch, it may be 5 people and me, but we will see. I will probably post my notes later here at the blog.

Finally, Ron Forseth and I will hang out. Ron is a friend and has been for a while. I am a hotel guy, but I have actually spent the night at Ron's house. I can only say that for about 3 people. Ron is the King of all things Sermon Central. I have written about them before in what become a much debated post about plagiarism. Anyway, we are doing some preaching research in partnership with them and we will talk about that and catch up a bit.

And, lastly, there is a book signing. Book signings are very lonely when you are a D list celebrity like me, so please come by the Atlas lobby at 2:30pm and ask me to sign a book.

In between meetings, I will walk around a bit and lament the fact that all the world does not have San Diego's weather.

Then the former friend...

It appears that my simmering conflict with Al has now gone public. The video is below. I am not quite sure what to say, but I think it points out just how confused the missional conversation has become. Seems like everyone wants to be missional but what when they say "missional" they really mean "edgy," "innovative," or "contemporary."

But, Al wants to take ownership of the word. He thinks there is no mission without him.

This is not the first time that has happened. I have seen several key missional leaders get offended at how others use the word and Al seems to be one of them. But, I think I there are important issues here and you will see the dialogue played out over several episodes. If seeing my misery makes you happy, feel free to post on your site as well.

Many people asked who Al was when I twittered about his misunderstanding of missional, his ego, and his attitude. Actually, many suggested who he might be. Now, the truth must be told...watch here for the first of three episodes:

You can also embed the widget on the right sidebar that will stream all the videos.

This could get ugly.

Here are a few updates from friends along the way:

Politics with Land and McLaren
I could be wrong, but I am guessing that I might be the only person who has the cell phone of both Brian McLaren and Richard Land (for the right price, I will share).

I have also talked a little politics with both of them. So, when I see them together, it is must see TV. Click here to watch two guys you just don't see together much! (It may be the only time I have ever seen Richard not wearing a suit.) They are both among Time magazine's 25 most influential evangelicals. And, most remarkably, they have a pretty good conversation. Why? Because they care for many of the same things. They just come to some different conclusions on how best to address the challenges of our world today. Kudos to both for having the conversation.

Old People and Church Health
My New Jersey friend, Randy Smith, Lead pastor of Discovery Church, says too many believe the elderly have "cooties", and that this belief is damaging our churches. He is a church planting and in many plants, we don't see a good diversity of age. Randy explains,

We are missing out on something when we ignore the older generation. There I've said it. I like old people! When it comes to church, I don't like their music, I don't like their formality, and I don't like a lot of their traditions but I like the people.

...I think we hurt ourselves when we exclude the oldsters. They have wisdom, they have time, they have energy (for short periods of time!) and for all you pastors, they usually are good stewards! I'm not advocating that you haphazardly appoint five or six AARP members to your Executive Leadership Team. Actually, I'd warn you not to do such a thing with any age group. But I am saying that we need to find ways to marry the wisdom and years of spiritual growth of the old with the energy and adventuresome spirit of the new. How that's done is your job to figure out - you're the leader...lead!

Ticking Twitter Bombs
As I continue my (lame) quest to get people to Twitter, I mocked Jonathan Falwell until he started. I'd like to think I influenced Thom Rainer to twitter as well. However, in hindsight, is that really a good idea? Thom is, after all, my direct supervisor. He is now following me on Twitter. Why did I not think of that beforehand?

Another guy I called out for not Twittering started on Thursday... he is Matt Fry, pastor of C3 Church. Nice job, Matt... good to see you at Liberty.

Taylor Field Knows Squat
A couple of weeks ago I had lunch with Taylor Field, pastor of Graffiti Church in NYC. I am always humbled to be around guys that are engaged in ministry to the urban poor. That is where I started, but I don't serve in an urban setting anymore... and guys like Taylor make me want to.

He wrote a book that I really enjoyed. I asked him to tell me why he wrote it. He sent me this:

When I started out to write the novel Squat, I thought I was writing about the people I saw around me in my work--a guy begging on the streets wearing a blanket and reading copiously, a disturbed runaway living in an abandoned building, a do-gooder short-term volunteer who comes for a few months to help out and then returns to his normal life with some good stories, and an idiot with a baby squirrel in his pocket. Of course, in the end, each of them were really a part of me, and their feelings were my feelings. I think this realization has helped me as I continue to work in the Lower East Side with people in deep trouble, sharing nothing too theoretical-- a sandwich, a pair of socks, a word of encouragement wrapped in Christ's great news.

You can order the book here. Pick it up.

The Power of the Gospel - Translated
My friend Steve Childers sent me an email this week about his new book. The new book entitled Living in the Power of the Gospel by John Piper, Jerry Bridges, Steven Childers & Tim Keller (edited by Jerry Cross) was recently published in Spanish (as Vivir en el poder del Evangelio) by Lighthouse Publications' Harmony Books division in Mexico City .

Book Description: Learn how God's grace found in the power of the gospel brings transformation of individuals, churches and society.

To learn more about the book and purchase a copy: Click Here

I wanted to add a couple of more things to "Friday is for Friends" from yesterday (click here to review what you might have missed). But, this is the "Baptist" version, so you Lutherans, Pentecostals, and Wesleyans might not enjoy it as much!

Johnny Hunt's Article in SBCLife

First, Johnny Hunt brings it, and brings it straight, when he writes:

Jesus prayed that His followers would be unified so that the world may know You sent Me (John 17:23). That prayer is desperately needed for our Convention today...

I, for one, am ready for a change -- a positive change that calls us to build on our Conservative Resurgence and focus on building great churches, evangelizing the unsaved, reclaiming the wayward, taking the Gospel to the lost and the least, starting new churches, and sending several thousand new missionaries to the unengaged, unreached people groups of the world. And, if I can read the Convention messengers, they felt the same way in Indianapolis...

I want us to bring the next generation of young leaders into an active participation in our Convention. We have lost much of a generation of pastors, and if we lose the younger generation, we have no future.

We have tried to "tell" them to come back, but to no avail. However, we need a new plan. Simply put, it is not working to "welcome" them and not "affirm" them. We have to acknowledge that many people are doing church differently in many contexts right here -- we must acknowledge that you do not have to travel to Africa to find a different culture. North America is full of people who think differently, worship differently, and lead differently than my own generation. Paul would value this as diversity. We, as a Convention, are blessed with a wonderful group of godly, young pastors coming along behind us. And, if they share our confession and want to be in this partnership, it is high time we affirmed them and welcomed the diversity of scripturally sound ways that they do church in their context...

This is a big task, and trends are not good -- the Convention annual meeting is getting older and smaller every year...

Do you really believe that we can turn the tide? No! And neither do I. But God can!...

I believe we stand at a crossroads. We can continue to fuss over minor issues or, as Dr. Rogers gave us the charge, we can unite with a common mission. The expectation of the Conservative Resurgence was that we would agree on enough doctrinally that we could focus on the nations -- let's begin now, and let's do it together.

Read the whole article here.

Baptist21.com

And speaking of young leaders, some young pastors recently created a new site called "Baptist21.com." A few observations:

1. I know some of these guys and am very impressed with their desire to learn from the past and press to the future. From their web page:

Baptist 21 is grateful for a Southern Baptist heritage where the Gospel has been faithfully passed down and effective Great Commission ministry has been undertaken. Many believe there is a crisis ahead for Baptists, particularly Southern Baptists, in the 21st century. Our commitment is to work diligently in the present by honoring the Gospel faithfulness of the past, contending for the Gospel, engaging current cultures with the Gospel, and cooperating toward future Kingdom effectiveness among Southern Baptists in the 21st century and beyond.

2. The blog has thus far been pretty insightful, dealing with preaching the gospel, young leaders, and universalism.

3. I think it is the first blog (other than the my own) where I am in the header. However, two problems with that. First, it has my old picture with the big Baptist bouffant hairdo (rather than the new version here). Second, is Paige Patterson pointing at me or James Merritt?

Go check out the blog.

Emir Caner to Truett McConnell

Finally, Ergun Caner sent me an email that his brother, Emir, is going to be president of Truett-McConnell College in Georgia.

Congrats to Emir and to the school.

I like Lutherans.

In one of my first blog posts (about one year ago now), I wrote about my time speaking with their leadership at Concordia University. I talked about what I learned from one of their bishops and how they rebuked me.

I am excited about speaking to the Missouri Synod Lutherans North American Mission Executives in St. Louis in April 2009.

Also, I will be with another tribe of Lutherans in 2009. In this case, I will be with some Wisconsin Synod leaders at a meeting hosted in Milwaukee by a group called WELS Church and Change in November 2009.

(I am sure that someone will tell me the differences along the way, and it may include a famous episode of the T.V. show Cheers, where Woody and his fiancé discover they are from different Lutheran denomination.)

My favorite Cheers / Lutheran exchange:

Woody - "Ask her why she thinks the Book of Concord is not in line with the Scriptures!"

Kelly - "Because it's not."

Woody - "HERETIC !!!"

Good people, those Lutherans.

And, they (the Missouri Synod) have a plan for planting 2000 churches by 2017, the anniversary of something in Europe.

So, I received the email below and answered with some ideas from Planting Missional Churches. However, I think it would be helpful to hear from you on some of the job descriptions you would want for a core team. I will probably use them for an article as well, so be sure to put your name a church if you have any insights.

Here is the email. Please take a look and let's give a little blog help to some Lutherans who love Jesus and want to plant churches.

My name is Dick Evers, and I am part of The 72-Partners on the Road (formerly Harvesters for Christ) a ministry of LCMS World Mission.

It is our understanding that you have considerable expertise in church planting.
The 72 teams provide training to existing congregations to begin, enhance or revitalize their outreach activities. You can check out our website: www.lcms.org/The72. There are about 70 of us, located in various areas of the country.

Our ministry was recently asked by the LCMS to get involved with our congregations who want to sponsor a church plant. We are trying to establish a training program for The 72 teams who will work with the congregation and the church planters. As you will note from the attached "Areas of Training" information which discusses what we do, we believe we can be of real help to the church planting teams and the church planter.

We understand that the congregation is to provide a "core" group (40 members or more) and a launch team to work with the church planter. However, we are not exactly sure of the responsibilities of the core group and the launch team. We want to gear our training to help both groups be better prepared, as well as the church planter. We will be only acting in a "helping equip" role, not doing any supervising.

Can you give me any direction as to how we might find the basic "job descriptions" of the "core" group and the launch team? By knowing more about what the core group and launch team are supposed to do (or what additional help they could be to the church plant with more training), we can modify our existing modules, or create new ones, to help equip them.

Any information or direction you can provide us on how to find the "job descriptions" or any other comments you have that might be helpful to us would be greatly appreciated.

May God continue to bless your ministry,

Dick Evers
The 72-Partners on the Road

I missed my Friday is for Friends, so let me share a bit here.

Foursquare Church, Jack Hayford, and Glenn Burris

Today, I am with Glenn Burris and some of the Foursquare Church leadership in Los Angeles. A couple years ago, Glenn Burris and Jack Hayford asked me to enter into a coaching relationship with their movement to help them through their recent reorganization, and I was greatly blessed that they would have me to help.

For those of you who do not know the Foursquare, it is a fascinating movement with a colorful beginning. The movement was founded by Aimee Semple McPherson. Her Wikipedia article is worth a read. Jack Hayford currently leads the denomination. Christianity Today has called him "The Pentecostal Gold Standard" and they are correct. He is called "Pastor Jack" around the building.

A couple of years ago, Pastor Jack and I spent the day training their district leaders, key pastors, and national staff. I spoke in the morning and talked about how effective movements and how they grow and reach their context. Jack took the afternoon and talked about issues of the heart. By the time he was done, I was praying for a deeper walk and more evident holiness.

Glenn Burris is the general supervisor of the U.S. national church. He and I have met with different groups over the last few years as we have worked through how to focus a movement on God's agenda. I am honored to work with these great folks and will spend the day at their Los Angeles headquarters.

Adrian Warnock

Uberblogger Adrian Warnock has interviewed me on a device called a "Mac," using something called Ichat. Like all uses of the "Mac," he speaks of its superiority way too much. Adrian seems to be the Larry King of the reformed movement (or whatever the Larry King equivalent is across the pond). Most fascinating, he is a psychiatrist in the real world and an uberblogger by night. (Knowing he is a psychiatrist makes me a bit nervous answering questions).

Anyway, you can see our video interview here in four parts:
Part 1 What Does Missional Mean?

Part 2 Church Planting

Part 3 Is Missional and Apostolic the Same Thing?

Part 4 How Can We All Be Missional?

Adrian also awarded me a "warnie," which I am guessing sounds a lot more manly in Britain than it does here in the states.

Regardless, we had a great talk and I am glad to do the interview.

Michael Duduit

I have been talking to Michael Duduit recently. We did lunch and he told me about Anderson University's new graduate school of religion. Michael is moving to Anderson, SC and was packing last week when I called. Now, Anderson is not the typical place that people move. It is in the upstate of South Carolina and probably the only thing most readers know from there is the memorable Perry Noble.

Michael is the editor of Preaching Magazine and we have become friends. This week he asked me to be one of the keynote speakers at the National Preaching Conference in Tampa. I will be talking about preaching that produces life change.

Pray for Michael and Anderson University as they begin this journey to raise up God-called men and women through their new school.

Troy Gramling

It was good to catch up with Troy at the SBC. Troy interviewed me for a podcast that will be coming out here. Troy is probably most famous for his "Naked Pastor" campaign. Having met Troy, I find the whole idea a bit creepy, but I think his point was to show part of the real life of a pastor. What most people in the church never see. I greatly enjoyed dinner with Troy and his staff (who all seemed much younger than Troy and me...)

The Blog Tour

The blog tour hit two more stops last week while I was in Indianapolis at the Baptist-a-palooza called the SBC. The first stop was on Alan Hirsch's blog, then Tall Skinny Kiwi. Last week, the blog tour went from Australians to Brits to Canadians, staying focused on the Queen's commonwealth. We stopped by the blog of Darryl Dash, whose blog has been in my google reader for a while now. Then, the next stop was on the blog of Micah Fries, who has quickly becoming a leading voice for young leaders in my denomination. The other stop was at the blog of Marty Duren. Marty's new blog is called iemissional. I will post more on the blog tour later, but I do appreciate these friends letting me drop by on the blog tour.

Eric Welch, Paul Cedar, Dave Olson and the Mission American Coalition

The leaders of the Mission American Coalition are a great group. They are an evangelical partnership of sorts, helping facilitate networks where denominations can learn from each other. Such partnerships are always tricky since there are many issues where even evangelicals disagree, but the work together with grace and sensitively on these issues. So, when they wanted to talk about some ways to learn from each other, I was glad to participate.

Their annual meeting is in Minneapolis this year in partnership with the National Association of Evangelicals. If you are a denominational leader, it would be good to check it out. And, in the coming days, I will be sharing some new things in relationship to Mission America.

Richard Land

Richard and I had a great lunch a couple of weeks ago, which largely means we accomplished nothing. We were supposed to plan our SBC report, but instead we talked, gave opinions, and argued a bit. But, it was good. It led to a fascinating dialogue at the Ethics and Religions Liberty Commission booth in Indianapolis. At that booth, I tried to get Richard to come out and endorse something that would get him in trouble, but it did not work. He seems to have been around the block before on the interviews... such is life. Meet the Press is a little harder than Meet Ed Stetzer. I kept trying to say, "Let's make some news here..." but he never wanted to.

Now, some would say that Richard is the personification of what some call the Religious Right. We disagreed on some things... and even did so on the stage (in regards to engaging culture, for example). However, I think people miss Richard when all they see is the picture on T.V. He reminds me a bit of Jerry Falwell, who was not afraid of a fight. But, the Jerry I knew cared for the hurting in ways that few appreciate. The same seems ot be true for Richard.

Yes, I probably would not say some of the things he says (and I am guessing the feeling is mutual), but the presentation they did on ministry to persons with same-sex attraction two years ago was remarkable and noteworthy for its discernment and grace. And, even his concerns about the global warming crowd are driven by the (often overlooked) fact that some who call for an end to global warming really want an end to industrialization-- and industrialization (along with the ever unpopular outsourcing) is lifting much of the two-thirds world out of poverty.

So, we mixed it up a bit in our presentations (which is, I assume, why they asked me to do it).

If you have not read his book, The Divided States of America, it is a good read and worth your time.

Now, if I could just convince him on a few cultural issues and on those bowling shoes he wore on Tuesday...

Bob Smietana

Bob and I got a chance to visit at the Noshville Deli. Bob is the new religion reporter for the Tennessean, the local Nashville paper. I read his most recent book, Good Intentions, which is something like a look at economics (and other issues) from a Christian perspective. I found it very interesting and a compelling read (and, published by Moody, no less-- "the name you trust").

From the book:

Most of us turn to the Bible for decision making, but since the Bible deals in morality and value, it's difficult to apply its principles to the economic choices we make each day. However, by measuring the outcome of these choices with the use of economic theory, we can determine long-range implications and more easily evaluate them according to biblical criteria.

Interesting stuff...

Fundamentalists and Mark Dever

Just this week, the "Mark and Ed" show has passed 4000 views on Youtube.

I saw Mark in Indianapolis and we joke about becoming Internet sensations. Like that Free Hugs video... without all the hugging. Ok, it is not that big, but is interesting to me that thousands of people would watch a discussion about the gospel, the Kingdom, partnerships, etc. If you have not seen the video, you can see parts 1 and 2 here.

I bring this up because it looks like it got Mark in a little hot water with some fundamentalists. You can see the comments in the 9Marks thread where Mark posts on "separation." It's an interesting conversation and worth a read (be sure to read down into the comments).

It seems that his speaking in Chicago (with Acts 29) and in Reston (at Whiteboard) are the main issues that some have brought up. Having been one of the keynote speakers at both of those meetings, I take a unique interest in the subject.

Mark has done a good job explaining his views. In a forthcoming post, I will also explain why I speak to who asks, as long as I can clearly preach the gospel and my training will not advance a non-Chrstian agenda. For example, this week I accepted speaking engagements for the Missouri Synod Lutherans, The Assemblies of God, and my own denomination.

I share the Apostle Paul's desire and hope, that Christ will be preached, even if we disagree in some areas.

Enough for now... off to Los Angeles for the day. It's kinda' like Nashville, with a tan...

I am in Lynchburg, VA today spending time with the leadership of Thomas Road Baptist Church, so I won't be around to comment much. But, here are an unusually long Friday is for Friends update.

Dave Ramsey

Michael Edwards, a friend and my most recent commenter here on the blog, invited me to come speak to the staff of the Financial Peace University folks. I was surprised at just how many people they employ. I guess I knew Dave Ramsey was famous, but I did not know they had such a large ministry. I had the chance to talk with Dave and was impressed with his (and their) focus on using finances as a "bridge" to share the gospel. I think they are onto something-- and appreciate their ministry.

Mark Dever

I interviewed each of the speakers at the recent Whiteboard Conference. It was a good group with some interesting dialogue.

However, I have been (pleasantly) surprised by the response to my interview with Mark Dever. As of now, almost 2500 people have downloaded the video, more than all the other interviews from Whiteboard combined.

The video shot up when the king-of-all-Reformed-bloggers, Justin Taylor posts it with commentary including:

This is a great interview of Mark Dever by Ed Stetzer, who asks great questions. They cover worship (Capitol Hill and Sovereign Grace), contextualization (MacArthur, Driscoll, Mahaney), the seeker-sensitive movement, partnership with those you disagree with, whether the gospel is too big (Dever admits he was being provocative at T4G, that some qualifications are needed, and that euangelion is semantically larger than the God-man-Christ-response scheme), and whether working for Habitat for Humanity is necessarily kingdom work.

In the spirit of keeping my humble, you will notice that Justin does not know how to spell my name (in the title). :-)

You can watch the interview in two parts: part one // part two

Let me also encourage you Reformed folks that it is OK to watch (and even glean some nuggets of wisdom from) the other interviews as well. Dever did not come to the conference just to talk, he also stayed and listed to the other speakers. And, watching his kind interaction and learning spirit with the other speakers would be a good example and something many could emulate. (Click here for the conference channel videos.)

And, one more thought. As one who speaks in a lot of different settings, I believe that conversations like these are essential. There is much we can learn from each other. There is only one body of Christ... and we need each other.

Michael Kelley and The Tough Sayings of Jesus II

Check out the interview with Michael Kelly, the author of a new curriculum through Lifeway called, The Tough Sayings of Jesus II. In the interview Kelly explains why he wrote the material.

We like a picture of Jesus where among other things, He's "nice.�? So we gravitate towards those passages. But that leaves us with an incomplete and mishapen view of Jesus and doesn't allow us to examine the fullness of what He taught and lived. So I wanted to write something that engaged people at a lot of levels - emotionally, intellectually, as well as spiritually.

Be sure to stop by the website to see all you get with the Leader's Kit and download a sample. Michael has become a friend at LifeWay and I think he has much to say.

OneMission.tv

A few years ago I was privileged to plant a new church north of Atlanta with some very good friends. One of those was Doug Keesey, a media guy I had worked with in the past. Doug and his team have just launched a new website that offers a unique variety of video resources for the local church. The website, www.OneMission.tv, is almost a "one-stop video shop�? for nearly every church video need. They have a growing library of high quality videos for worship, including a number of creative video sermon illustrations, countdowns and motion backgrounds. They also offer 55 downloadable TV & radio spots, something I've not seen anywhere else on the web. All of the spots are customizable and very affordable. And finally, the guys at OneMission.tv have partnered with several Southern Baptist entities to deliver downloadable missions videos free to the local church. Although the site is less than a month old, it's worth a bookmark to watch as the list of video resources grows.

Paul Chitwood and the International Mission Board

My friend Paul Chitwood is the Chairman of Trustees at the International Mission Board (the largest Protestant mission board in the history of the world with over 5000 missionaries). In a great article he recently reminded me and my fellow denominationalists that God is at work around the world. Yes, we may have slipped into decline in the states, but there is powerful news from around the world.

Paul shares:

The work of the IMB is the primary thing that brings us together. While the statistical analysis -- and the analysis of the analysis -- of the current state of the Southern Baptist Convention continues, I fear the most important statistics are escaping.

Is there any good news to tell concerning the work that brought us, and yet holds us, together? Indeed there is.

The number of Southern Baptist missionaries serving overseas is 5,359. Our most recent statistical analysis reveals overseas baptism totals at an all-time high of 609,968. The number of new believers being discipled overseas totaled 567,413, another all-time high. Last year's new churches overseas totaled 25,497. You guessed it -- an all-time high.

When it comes to missions, the sky is not falling. It is exploding -- with opportunity.

So get on a plane, take to the skies and help spread the Gospel among the nations. It's still a good day to be a Southern Baptist. In fact, analyzing the statistics, it's the best day to be a Southern Baptist.

Please note his important comment, "The work of the IMB is the primary thing that brings us together."

Let us not forget that our convention was once defined by missions... and I believe it is a uniting around missions and evangelism that will unite us again. I am Southern Baptist because of missions-- starting as a Home Mission Board Mission Service Corp church planter in the inner city of Buffalo. NY to today working part-time for the IMB.

Paul and I dialogued a bit about the article and he reminded me that the first thing the SBC did was found what is now called the International Mission Board. What a great idea. Perhaps the first thing we need to do this year at the SBC in Indy is to get excited about God's global mission.

Thanks, Paul, for that reminder.

David Dockery and The Future of the SBC

Over the last few years, David Dockery has become a friend. I have blogged on him before (link) and look forward to preaching in Union University's chapel this Fall.

David has a new and thoughtful book out with some solutions to get Southern Baptists to the "other side" of our denominational challenges. I read the book on the plane yesterday on my way to Lynchburg.

The book is a good read and points to a bright potential future for our convention. You might want to check out an interview with David via the InSight Podcast of the North Carolina Baptist State Association.

Denny Burk also gives a brief word about the book here.

David shared this with me via email:

My new book, SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONSENSUS AND RENEWAL: A BIBLICAL, HISTORICAL, AND THEOLOGICAL PROPOSAL, will be released by B&H Publishing Group in May (2008). I am grateful that B&H will initially make the book available for $9.99 to help provide a wide circulation for the book. I am hopeful that the book might help move us forward as a Convention in our work, witness, as well as in our cooperative efforts.

SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONSENSUS AND RENEWAL does not attempt to deal with every issue or wrestle with every intramural squabble that can be named among us as Southern Baptists at this time. Instead, by reflecting on our history and our heritage, particularly our theological heritage, we call for renewed commitments to our shared cooperation around the truthfulness of Holy Scripture and the uniqueness of the Gospel message. We then look for avenues that point us toward a new consensus, with a focus on overarching issues like missions, worship, education, and leadership. Other key theological and ethical issues are addressed along the way, together with a reminder of our Baptist distinctives and identity. The proposal for a consensus is grounded in a biblical, historical, and theological framework.

Outline for SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONSENSUS AND RENEWAL

INTRODUCTION: Southern Baptists: Past, Present, and Future

CHAPTER ONE: Renewing Markers of Southern Baptist Identity: Scripture, Global Missions, and Cooperation

CHAPTER TWO: Focusing on the Gospel: Toward a Southern Baptist Consensus

CHAPTER THREE: Giving Glory to God: Baptist Worship Then and Now

CHAPTER FOUR: Serving Church and Society: A Vision for Baptist Education

CHAPTER FIVE: Rediscovering Our Theological Heritage: Learning from the Past as We Look to the Future

CHAPTER SIX: Praying for Church and Convention Leaders: Character, Conviction, and Cooperation

Just about everyone seems to have endorsed the book:

This morning I spoke at New Life Christian Church. You probably have never heard of the church, but I think it is probably one of the five most influential churches in North American church planting. It was number 13 on our "Top 25 Multiplying Churches" list (see the article here).

New Life Christian is an Independent Christian Church. I have blogged about their group before after a lunch with a key leader from the movement.

They have three campuses, Mclean, Haymarket, and Centreville. The church was founded in 1993 and the Centreville congretation meets weekly for two services in the Westfield High School auditorium. I spoke in Centreville on Psalm 1 looking at God's definition of prosperity and success.

The pastor, Brett Andrews, is just a great guy with a great passion for church and church multiplication. The church so influential in church planting partly because it is the sponsor of Passion for Planting. (This is the organzation that runs my website www.newchurches.com.) And, Passtion for Planting is the main force behind the National New Church Conference.

I got to know Passion for Planting while I was working at NAMB. (NAMB recommends them here along with some other helpful service providers.) Todd Wilson is the leader of Passion for Planting and a person I have learned to appreciate and trust.

Todd has become a good friend. (We grilled out on Saturday night.) Although Todd may be the most significant church planting leader in America today, he works hard to stay behind the scenes... and I could not find a picture of him. His heart is church planting, but he is one of the least ego-driven people I know. (Since I cannot find a picture you will have to trust me that he looks just like George Costanza from Seinfeld--even his mother sometimes gets them confused on the television.)

I always enjoy being in a new church setting. First, they tend to meet in places that are a challenge to set up... like a high school. Here is a photo of me and the girls about to go into the high school being transformed into a church.

You can usually spot them by the trailer. (It is in that trailer that everything gets stored and transported.)

Everything is portable. From the equipment:

To the children's registration:

To the worship equipment (in this case, including a harp):

And it has to be hauled in...

Then hauled out every week...

New Life does a great job being a portable church... which is not an easy task. I wrote about the challenge of "rental fatigue" in a past book. When you think of new churches, pray that God will use their extra efforts to keep people engage in God's mission.

Here is what I wrote on rental fatigue:

Rental fatigue

New churches normally rent facilities for a limited period of time. At first, they usually rent for Sunday morning worship only. These rented facilities are dramatically different from traditional church buildings whose furnishings remain in place from service to service. When renting space, "rental fatigue�? develops. This describes the weariness experienced by the core group from having to set up and tear down week in and week out over a long period of time. This challenge may not sound ominous, but finding volunteers willing to get up at 5:00 or 6:00 every Sunday morning for two to three hours of setup wears people out quickly. Unless specific church members sense such activity as their calling and receive great satisfaction from doing it, fatigue can erode enthusiasm quickly.

Value of portability. Overcoming rental fatigue is challenging but not impossible. The planter's first step might be to commend portability by various means of communication--from the pulpit, through newsletters, and if possible, by the testimony of laypersons who have experienced its value personally. The planter may want to underscore the importance of portability because the church is still in formation. Bill Easum and Pete Theodore's new book, The Nomadic Church, provides helpful direction on how to cast a compelling vision for building-less churches. In the same way that Israel utilized a portable tabernacle during the forty wilderness years and well after, so the new congregation can be a portable church.

Good stewardship. The planter can help church members understand portability as good stewardship. Many people benefit from pastoral reminders to invest money in church staff members and in efforts to reach the unchurched, rather than in building or buying a facility. Refocusing members on priorities for reaching the community through stewardship of resources will help members center on such priorities for many years to come. By the time the church does build, members will have matured to the point where they view the building as a tool for ministry.

Call out workers. Many people cannot teach or lead in worship, but they can set up chairs or the audio system--and will enjoy doing so. Involving them in set-up efforts is important not only to make everything ready for worship, but also to cultivate their participation and their faithfulness in service. Although the pastors or core group leaders could perform the task, involving others who have no other church job enables them to feel that they are making a valuable contribution. Leaders should praise these people publicly and privately for their faithfulness in this important ministry. Such persons are "body parts�? in Christ who, though seemingly of lesser value, actually become more valuable through their service to the kingdom.

Nomad churches

Although the thought surprises our building-centered values, some congregations actually find a "nomadic�? existence--moving to new meeting sites as needs change--a way of life. This approach to church planting has become increasingly popular, particularly in expensive urban settings. The reasons for such developments are understandable.

No available acreage. Land in some urban settings is prohibitively expensive. In other areas, churches find that purchasing land on which to build is legally impossible because very old--occasionally even dilapidated--buildings have received civil protection as historic landmarks. This most frequently occurs in the northeastern United States, where many communities guard their colonial heritage. Some open land in urban areas is off-limits to development for houses and churches as a matter of wildlife protection. In still other places, religious, political, or social pressures may prevent a new congregation from purchasing land or from putting up a building.

Available but insufficient. Even if land is available, it may not be large enough to meet needs. Generally, since churches need one acre for every 150 persons, a projected congregation of fifteen hundred will need ten acres of land. Manhattan Island, in the heart of New York City, contains no available tracts that size. (Redeemer Presbyterian meets on the campus of Hunter College in Manhattan.) Northern Virginia offers virtually no land for purchase today. Even if available, land costs may soar to a price of millions of dollars for one acre.

New paradigms for new times. If evangelicals are to be successful in reaching North American urban centers in church planting, we must abandon the thinking that ten acres of land and a brick building are essential in order to be successful. A true New Testament church can meet on the sixteenth floor of a high-rise building just as surely as any First Presbyterian Church can meet on the county seat town square. With the birth of the twenty-first century and the changes it has ushered in, we must redefine good stewardship in the context of land purchase and buildings. We need new paradigms for new times. For those who are not called or convinced by a house church model, we still have to abandon a building centered model if we are to reach this new reality.

And, one last picture.

Since today is the annual "Rolling Thunder" parade, I jumped on my Harley and joined the fray (and if you look closely, there is no key, I did not lift the kickstand, and I am not sure it was even a Harley... grin).

It was great to be with friends at New Life... I am grateful for their work and ministry... and honored they would have me share in their church today.

Facebook for Pastors

My friend Chris Forbes from MinistryMarketingCoach.com has put together a handy guide to "Facebook for Pastors" you might like to check out. Download the pdf (E-book page, direct link here). The 31 page e-book makes a case for why pastors should consider using the social networking site in their ministry and has tips and ideas for making the most of having a profile on Facebook. Chris is a ministry media strategist and marketing consultant based in Oklahoma who works globally with missionaries, churches, and ministries in reaching people of all kinds.

Robert Morgan and The Promise

Robert J. Morgan is pastor of The Donelson Fellowship in Nashville where the stated goal is simply "to become disciples." His new book from my friends at B&H Publishing Group is called The Promise, and its goal is to show readers how God guarantees goodness to come from even the toughest situations. If you, or someone you know, need a reminder of God's good intentions for his people this book could be a great resource. You can download it for free here.

Piper and Negative Calvinism

Does becoming a Calvinist make you angry? John Piper recently shared his thoughts concerning the negative tone among many Calvinists.

So the intellectual appeal of the system of Calvinism draws a certain kind of intellectual person, and that type of person doesn't tend to be the most warm, fuzzy, and tender. Therefore this type of person has a greater danger of being hostile, gruff, abrupt, insensitive or intellectualistic.

I'll just confess that. It's a sad and terrible thing that that's the case. Some of this type aren't even Christians, I think. You can embrace a system of theology and not even be born again.

Sobering words. John gives a two more reasons Calvinists have, or are perceived as having, a negative tone. Be sure to check it out.

ABWE

I enjoyed my time with the people at ABWE, and this photographer can follow me around anywhere if he can always make me look this cool. (I have no idea how me made the halo appear around "ABWE.")

Alvin Reid Wins an Award

Congratulations to my friend Alvin Reid whose new book was recently honored. Kregel announced:

Outreach Magazine announced the finalists for their Outreach Resource Awards in February of this year... and this year's finalists included... Join the Movement: God Is Calling You to Change the World by Alvin L. Reid (Kregel 2007) in the Youth Outreach category.

Congrats to Alvin.

Joe Thorn Needs to Learn Boundaries

I am on my way to New York City as I write this (plane delayed as usual).

It will be a busy week, assuming Al Sharpton does not succeed in his promise to shut down the city.

From Drudge:

Monday, I meet all day with the leaders of a denomination called the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Canada.

Monday night, it is off to dinner with Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, and our wives. It should be a good time. (And, I always enjoy it when Donna can join me on trips.)

Tuesday, I speak on the "Mission and the Kingdom of God�? at dwell. I will also be staying around to hear some of the other speakers. The lineup is pretty impressive: Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, CJ Mahaney, Darrin Patrick, and Eric Mason.

Wednesday, I will be speaking to the staff of The Journey. Nelson Searcy planted the church several years ago and has recently written a new church planting book, called Launch.

In between, I plan to have a great time with my wife and will be far from my computer. However, I will post another SBC related blog on Monday.

I know it would be alliterated if it said, "Friday is for Friends." However, I am always behind a couple of days. Here are a few friends, new and old, from the last week.

David Dockery and Union University

I heard from David this week. He is president of Union University. I have written before about Union and its recent tornado damage.

With updates on Coast Guard, Steve Lemke, Rodney Hammer, and Jack Allen.

Today I drove back and forth to Atlanta and visted with the leadership of the North American Mission Board in Georgia. It was good to see some old friends, but it was really not necessary for them to "throw" a fire alarm in my honor. I'd wager $50 that the person who burned the popcorn had a bad rest of the day.

When I take long car drives, I like catch up with appointments and phone calls. Here are a few updates from "Friday is for Friends."

Junias Venugopal, Dean of Columbia International University

Junias Venugopal, Dean at Columbia Biblical Seminary, called today. Columbia is one of my favorite seminaries. They model discipleship, sacrifice, and missions. I have had the privilege to teach there twice and am always amazed at their students and faculty.

Today, Junias told me about some exciting new training. I will share more in the coming days, but there are exciting things coming up from CIU in church planting. Particularly exciting is their new extension in Atlanta.

Ron Krandall, Dean of Asbury Seminary

Ron called today and we talked about church revitalization. Ron is about to add a new resource to the church revitalization field. He wrote a book over a decade ago called Turnaround Strategies for the Small Church. Well, by the end of the year they will republish the book having revisited the same churches 10 years later. Such longitudinal research is incredibly helpful and I look forward to seeing this new research. Well done.

David Platt

Had a great talk with David Platt today, one of the youngest megachurch pastors in the country. (He is 29, though I am guessing he is tired of people point that out.) Christianity Today has a write up on David here.

The church has an amazing and growing global vision. Take a look at their global ministry page here. I believe 1600 of their people were engaged in a global mission project this year.

SBC Voices

The guys who ripped and posted a portion of my SBC sermon on YouTube, making it the 14th most downloaded video on YouTube for one day, have now added me a a "March Madness" contest. I must confess that I am incredibly ignorant to how these kind of contests work (knowing nothing of basketball), but I was told today that I am winning. (I'd like to thank the academy.)

You can correct that lead by voting here. I voted.

The Infinity Alliance is off and running.

Todd Milby, Mission Leader and Teaching Pastor at the Summit Church, shared some exciting news about the launching of the Infinity Alliance.

He wrote:

What does God want for America? Imagine what God could do in your neighborhood, town, city or state if every man, woman, and child who lived there was given the repeated opportunity to see and hear the transformational Gospel of Jesus Christ. We believe God wants His church to come together for this mission to reduce lostness in given geographies across America and transform communities with His Gospel. The Infinity Alliance exists to unveil God's Kingdom by reaching every man, woman and child throughout the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ by starting and partnering with missional churches. We believe that God not only wants to start new missional churches in our communities but also see the existing expressions of His church mobilized for this mission.

In 2008 Infinity Alliance desires to:
-Establish 5 city movements in US cities where church leaders come together around the mission to reach every man, woman, and child with the Gospel in their geography. (i.e. Mission Columbia, Mission SWFL, Mission Buffalo, etc.)
-Start and/or partner with 300 missional churches in America.
-Establish Renovation Centers in 10 cities in the US with 10-20 projects each (Existing churches or church plants)
-Embrace 5 international joint venture projects around the world where God is initiating national movements to reach every man, woman, and child.

The Strategy

Envisioning

Through relationships and envisioning events, recruit catalytic leaders that will identify a city or region and have the capacity to take responsibility for delivering the gospel to every man, woman, and child as well as participate in international joint venture projects to invest people and resources in saturating another region with the transforming message of Jesus Christ.

Training

Provide resources and personnel to establish Renovation Centers to equip church leaders with missional thinking and practices that reflect a biblical understanding on church and leadership.

Resources

Resource these leaders with the connections, accountability, and strategies needed to fully evangelize their designated geography. (10 Session Manual & DVD Series Releasing March 2008)

For More Info: www.theinfinityalliance.com

Have a great Lord's Day on Sunday!

Explore Ministry Opportunities in Western Europe at "The Gatherings"

As I have mentioned before, LifeWay shares part of my time with the International Mission Board.

I will be going to Spain in February to meet with the leadership and do some teaching. The IMB leadership will be doing some events in the states as well. Please connect with them if you can...

Here is the info:

The Western Europe region of the International Mission Board invites you to participate in The Gatherings, a two-day event designed to connect you and your church to the work God is doing in Western Europe.

Join IMB workers and other stateside church leaders/members at one of two locations in 2008: Stafford, Va. (March 3-4), or Atlanta, Ga. (March 6-7). During The Gatherings, we'll dialog about ministry among postmoderns and fast-growing immigrant groups in Paris, Barcelona, Zurich, Rome and other places in Western Europe.

Find out more information and register online: www.telleurope.org.

We hope to see you soon at The Gatherings!

Upcoming Church Planting Events

On January 28th, I will be leading a one day conference at the Global Church Advancement seminar in Orlando. (Drew Goodmanson throws me under the bus here, telling people to go to his seminar instead. Drew is probably right... he will do a great job.)

I usually do two days with the folks at Global Church Advancement, but my friend Steve Childers let me off a day early so I could speak at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School for the Acts 29 Bootcamp on Tuesday, the 29th. I usually do two days at such bootcamps, but my friend Scott Thomas let me off a day early so I could go speak at Liberty University on Wednesday, the 30th. (We will be working with Liberty and Thomas Road on Thursday to talk about their church planting plans.)

Thanks to Ergun Caner for sharing his speaking platform. If I understand it correctly, I am speaking at the young adult ministry on Wednesday night. It is at this meeting where Ergun was "tazed for Jesus" (my description, not his). You can see it on YouTube here. (Promises have been made that no harm will come to this guest speaker.)

Coming up at Dallas Theological Seminary

The folks at Dallas Seminary sent this along for me to share about an upcoming conference.

On March 31 - April 1, 2008, the Center for Christian Leadership at Dallas Theological Seminary is hosting Beyond the Church Doors.

This conference is about more than programs and strategies; it's about igniting passion in your congregation to see God transform their community.

On Day 1, you will hear from Drs. Ed Stetzer and Alan Roxburgh as they discuss the theology and practices of a missional church and prepare you to lead your church toward a missional focus.

On Day 2, your ministry team will interact with Drs. Alan Roxburgh, Eric Swanson, and Bob Roberts and engage in group process time to formulate practical steps for developing a missional culture within your congregation.

For more information and to register online, please visit www.dts.edu/ccl.

Jonathan Edwards Looks at the Emerging Church

My friend Bill Henard raises Edwards from the dead to evaluate the emerging church movement. He presented the paper at the Academy for Evangelism in Theological Education and graciously allowed me to post it here. It is an interesting read... it has to be with a title like "Sinners in the Hand of the Emergent Church: Jonathan Edwards Join the Conversation."

Can Michael Vick Be Forgiven?

Jon Walker asks and answers the question here and in a new e-book. It is a good and timely question.

Warren Bird Takes the Cake (and writes the books)

My friend Warren Bird recently had a celebration that included a cake. The cake looked remarkably similar to a book we had recently co-authored with Elmer Towns. The book, as the cake "clearly" shows, is 11 Innovations in the Local Church.

Warren is a freak of nature. He has written more books than any one man should (at his age, at least, since Elmer Towns has written many more). Warren now coordinates the reseach for Leadership Network in addition to co-authoring every other book in the universe.

Brandon Park studied 11 Innovations along with his church staff and made a great summary that you can download here.

Enjoy the book, even though you can't have any of the cake.

Dan Kimball

I spent several hours this morning with Dan Kimball and his hair. I like Dan. He has a great heart for those far from Christ.

We talked theology, missiology, and the future of the emerging church. (Dan wrote the first major book on the subject, called, not suprisingly, The Emerging Church.)

His new book is called, They Like Jesus, but Not the Church. He shared some video interviews from the unchurched that I thought were powerful and telling-- how the church is alienating a generation that desperately needs Christ.

Ronnie Floyd

A few weeks ago I participated in a "Night of Worship" at First Baptist of Springdale Arkansas. The pastor there is Ronnie Floyd. I had never had a chance to spend some time with Ronnie so I was glad to catch some time at a local Mexican restaurant and learn more about him, his vision, and his church.

Earl Creps

Earl and I had a chance to visit on Friday and Saturday. Earl posts a nice list of 13 things that he likes about my denomination.

Twelve of them are true and I appreciate each of them!