Tim Keller and I talked about his new book, The Reason for God, and some recently released research (see here).

You can listen to the podcast here and read the story here. Here are some excerpts from the story released today:

I just landed in San Antonio and am getting ready to talk about missional church issues all day tomorrow with a couple hundred younger pastors in San Antonio. I will blog more on that tomorrow, but I just received Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox for the week.

Some interesting things this week:

Scott McKnight, professor and leading emerging church blogger, has an insightful article on evangelism and the importance of connecting the Great Commission to the Great Commandment. You can read it here.

Tim Keller is also quoted in the Toolbox:

"The theory that there is a God who made all of the world accounts for the evidence we see better than the theory that there is no God. Those who argue against the existence of God go right on using induction, language, and their cognitive faculties, all of which makes far more sense in a universe in which a God has created and supports them all by his power.�? - Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (Dutton Adult, 2008)

Prediction: tomorrow, this newsletter will be cited on certain blogs as proof that Purpose Driven (Warren), Emerging (McKnight), and Missional (Keller) are really all the same heresy. Grin.
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Anyway, there is also an article there (in the fine print) by Mike Dodson and me (primarily Mike, truth be told). You can read it here or I have included it below.

The article comes from a conversation Rick and I had a few months ago. Mike and I found it remarkable that 50% of the 324 pastors we surveyed mentioned a Warren resource in their survey response. The graph tells the story-- click here to open in a new window.

So, we wrote this article which you might find helpful. We wrote:

Cathy Grossman writes:

[Keller on sin:] "Around here it means self-centeredness, the acorn from which it all grows. Individually, that means 'I live for myself, for my own glory and happiness, and I'll work for your happiness if it helps me.' Communally, self-centeredness is destroying peace and justice in the world, tearing the net of interwovenness, the fabric of humanity."

...[Driscoll] defines sin as "anything contrary to God's will. People assume the way they are is normal, not that something has gone terribly wrong, and this world is abnormal." Although his primary audience is newbie Christians, Driscoll is sharply clear: "Without an idea of sin, Easter is meaningless."

Here I sit in the airport in Nashville missing my lunch conference in Florida.

So, don't go to my conference here. Go to Thomas Hammond's instead.

I planned for a three hour time cushion, but, alas, Freedom Airlines (Delta's "problem child" partner) is slower than that. Check it out:

Update: The 6:50a.m. flight eventually departed at 1:30p.m., or almost 7 hours late

Sigh.

So, the bad news is that I won't make it for the pre-conference session. The good news is that I will make it to bring a main message tonight and I can post a very late "Friday is for Friends" here at the blog.

Here are some updates on some friends, old and new:

Tim Keller

Tim Keller's new book, The Reason for God, made number 18 on the New York Times Bestseller list.

You can read an interview with Tim in First Things and his profile in Newsweek (be sure to see his clarification of the Newsweek article here on the blog).

Journeys with Todd and Marty

Although it is not selling as well as Keller's book NYT bestseller (grin), Todd Wright and Marty Duren's new book is off to a good start.

I had lunch with Todd and Marty last week and then spoke at the evengelism conference hosted at Todd's church. Good guys.

Many of you know Marty as the former proprietary of the blog SBCOutpost. A few years ago, Marty's blog became a focal point for much of the SBC debate. He now blogs here.

Last summer, Marty made a conscience decision to focus less on issues of the SBC and more on missional issues relating to his local church. One result is the newly released book, Journeys: Transitioning Churches To Relevance, co-authored with Todd.

I read the book a while back and you will see my endoresment on the cover.

It is not a book for you if you are content with the same old thing. It is not for you if you think culture is an enemy to your church. It is not for you if you think change is unbiblical. A narrative written from the lab of pastoral practice, not from theoretical wishfulness, Journeys chronicles how God changed the hearts of two pastors who then were burdened to lead their churches to transition to be more effective in engaging their host cultures with the gospel. I encourage you to read it, digest it and allow God to prepare you for the journey that He has for you, and possibly for your church, as you strive to bring the gospel to those around you.

You can buy the book here.

Philip Nation

My former co-pastor and soon-to-be co-author, Philip Nation (see the book here) got some nice press from the Atlanta Jounral Consitution.

The new message theme: What would you do if you only had 31 days to live? (See http://www.31daystolive.com.)

Philip says that the original inspiration came from a similar campaign done by Life Church led by Craig Groeschel. And, there are a number of books being written about this subject and churches pursuing similar campaigns, including Kerry Shook's book, One Month to Live.

Lake Ridge is being planted in the 13th wealthiest county in the nation according to Forbe's magazine. It is a place where the houses are large but the souls seem empty. So Philip decided to offer a question that simply could not be escaped - what would you do if you only had 31 days to live? And he has asked it everywhere. Postcards, email blast, business cards, yard signs, local magazine ad, and even a digital billboard in the area's busiest shopping center - all driving people to the website and posing the question: 31 Days to Live.com - what would you do?

One of the unique facets to Lake Ridge's outreach campaign is that he invited a friend planting a church in San Diego to join in the fun. So, together with Jeff Langley's plant Cloudbreak Church, they are preaching the same topics during March, driving metro Atlantians and Southern Californians to the same viral website, sharing stories about people's answers, and talking about the lives that are being changed.

During March, they will roll out new stories, messages, and articles each week. Already, some great stories are out there. But the ultimate goal is to get the unchurched into environments where honest questions can be asked and hope can be given. So, they are pointing all of this to discussion groups to be formed out of the Sunday messages and website topics.
It seems like a great catalyst to get far-from-God people to think about the brevity of life and the need for something greater than themselves -- namely the Gospel.

Philip & Jeff - We are praying for you guys.

Larry Norman died last week


Larry Norman

I had the privilege of getting to know Larry while working on Perimeters of Light. We quoted him:

1970s A.D.: Larry Norman sang, "I want the people to know, That He saved my soul, But I still like to listen to the radio...They say that rock and roll is wrong...I know what's right, I know what's wrong and I don't confuse it: Why should the devil have all the good music...'Cause Jesus is the Rock and He rolled my blues away.�? He founded what became known as Contemporary Christian Music... and it is still controversial today.

The day before he died he wrote, "I feel like a prize in a box of cracker jacks with God's hand reaching down to pick me up... I have been under medical care for months. My wounds are getting bigger. I have trouble breathing. I am ready to fly home..."

Larry was a pioneer for much of what became contemporary Christian music and greatly influenced what would become the contemporary church movement.

He stood for change and relevance, and like many who questioned what was alread settled, he was attacked by many who called themselves Christians.

He sang:

"I've been knocked down,
kick around,
some people scandalized my name...
But here I am... talking 'bout Jesus just the same.�?

Now he get's to meet the Jesus he loved.

He will be missed.

Update: The New York Times has an excellent obit on Larry posted this morning.

Shapevine

On Wednesday, I will be interviewed on ShapeVine by my friend Lance Ford.

Shapevine is billed as a "place for church planters, pastors, and leaders to bring their ideas, struggles, and experiences into a virtual online café for conversation and sharing."

It was started by former Globalnet Director, Lance Ford and Alan Hirsch, author of The Shaping of Things to Come and The Forgotten Ways.

They do on line training with a wide range of people like Leonard Sweet, Sally Morgenthaler, Michael Frost, Steve Sjogren, Neil Cole, Dan Kimball, Ron Martoia, etc.

The broadcasts are free (and they are live via video).

So come by for, "Lance Ford interviews Ed Stetzer, Wednesday, March 5, 2pm EST"

Church of God International Executive Committee

I have already written about my speaking engagement last week in Cleveland, TN. I was there to be a part of "Empowering 21st Century Pentecostal Leaders."

I was particularly blessed when the General Overseer of the Church of God, Dennis McGuire, and the International Executive Committee took me to dinner. These men are the elected leaders of an international body of seven million believers.

We talked about the challenges of connecting with young and innovative leaders, their church planting plans, and the future of the denomination. I was encouraged by their passion for the lost.

You can read some thoughts about the conference (from the attendees perspective) here.

Perry Noble

Perry and his glasses dropped by the blog to comment here. It appears I was not the only guy in the 1980s to own parachute pants.

Tim and I dialogued a bit last night and this morning about his Newsweek profile. (See my comments yesterday for context.)

Some have been discussing a few problems with the story, and a couple have mentioned the reference to evolution in the article.

Tim wrote (with permission for me to share).

We should be charitable to the writer on the issues mentioned. They are pretty minor.

Yes, it isn't my first book, but the last one was over 20 years ago. I don't preach at all 5 services--I preach 4 and every week someone from the preaching team preaches the fifth one.

I wouldn't in the least style myself a new C.S. Lewis (who would want a new one when the old one is still so great) but she got that from publicity copy written by well-meaning people at Penguin.

I wouldn't want to characterize myself as another Rick Warren but she likes Rick and wouldn't see that as a negative statement.

I believe in the historicity of Gen 1-11 and Adam and Eve and I don't believe in young earth-creation or six 24-hour day creation, but, as far as she's concerned, that means I believe somewhat in evolution. She's not used to the fine distinctions on these things we make inside the church.

Also, I've never lived anywhere near Georgia (but maybe I've spent so much time in the airport it's affected my accent!)

And even the statement that my book disappointed her in comparison to my preaching is actually true--I'm a better speaker than writer, and always will me. That was more a compliment to the preaching than a criticism of the book.

Despite this list of nits to pick, it was an overall positive, even warm article, especially considering it comes from someone whose beliefs are so different. The writer clearly likes the church and appreciates the ministry in many ways. So I'm glad for her efforts.

Remember, we should not assume that secular reporters get the distinction between 6-day creation and evolution. And, yes, there are some minor story details that are incorrect. But, as I told Tim, I thought it was a strong article that I believe will bring glory to God.

Finally, the (mild) criticism in the article is normal-- no reporter writes a nice piece without a few critical comments. And, Keller is a great speaker, so the book will have to be very good to keep up.

Thanks, Tim, for the update and for your humility.

Tim Keller is notoriously averse to publicity. I had to pull teeth to get him to agree to be profiled for this story. He does not speak at many conferences and has not written a book for a decade. So, for some of you who read the blog, his name may be unfamiliar.

This week many more will hear about Tim as he is featured in Newsweek. Click here for the article.

To many of us, Tim is a hero and a role model. I have even been publicaly accused of plagiarizing Tim. (OK, the accusation was a joke, but I did respond here.)

Here are some excerpts from the article and my thoughts:

Place: New York City... On a sun-splashed corner near Central Park a churchlike building is filled to the rafters with Christian worshipers. By 9:15, the room is at capacity. By 9:20, even the balcony is full. There's nothing sexy here. There's no rock band, no drop-down theater-size video screen, no 100-member gospel choir--just a few chamber musicians and a couple of prayer leaders to help the congregation along in its hymns. The crowd at Redeemer Presbyterian is overwhelmingly young, single, professional and--for lack of a better word--sober.

This is exactly my impression.

Last time I was in Manhattan I attended the church and spent some time with Tim on Monday.

I was most impressed with how, well, non-"hip" the service was. (The giveaway was the note in the program reminding you that you should not applaud.)

The "band" was four men in suits who played wind instruments accompanied by an organ.

Yet, most of the crowd was young and engaged... a reminder that contemporary is not always contextual.
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More from the article:

Standing at the microphone is a man more than six feet tall with a shiny bald head and wire-rim spectacles, looking more like a college professor than a megachurch pastor. This is the Rev. Tim Keller, a Manhattan institution, one of those open urban secrets, like your favorite dim sum place, with a following so ardent and so fast-growing that he has never thought to advertise. He rarely speaks to the press.

And, might I add, he never moved from an imaginary 4 foot box on the stage.

Yet, he keeps my interest (and that of thousands of others) every time he speaks. And, since Tim reads the blog (and comments), I need to not go to over the top in my praise! But, he has blessed many of us with his teaching and leadership.

Simply put-- people are looking for content and transformation. Tim brings the content and points to the cross for the transformation.
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The story of Redeemer is remarkable. From the article:

Keller started Redeemer 17 years ago in a small rented church on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Now he preaches five times on Sundays, shuttling between three different rented venues and reaching more than 5,000 people each week (5,000 also download his sermon online).

New York is not a bastion of growing evangelical churches... and Redeemer is growing and multiplying at an rapid pace.
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Here is my favorite part of the story:

He is helping other pastors use his "formula," if you can call it that--orthodox Christianity and challenging preaching, with an emphasis on social justice and community service--in cities like Amsterdam, São Paolo, Berlin and Paris. Keller believes that young urban people too often face an unsatisfactory choice: the dispassionate formality of the established churches or the fire and brimstone of the conservative evangelicals.

Orthodox Christianity and biblical preaching, eh? Who woulda' thought that would work?
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Be sure to order his new book The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism.

Thanks, Tim, for your faithful witness. See you in NY for the dwell conference!

Here is a little "Breaking News" for you...

You might enjoy coming to the Exponential Conference, where Rick Warren has just joined the line-up.

Thursday will now include sessions from Warren and Tim Keller... who woulda' guessed they would be sharing the same platform? I have the privilege of knowing both men, but it is unique to see them together at one conference.

(If you are looking for me, I will be in the green room watching the dialogue.)

The line-up at the conference is largely because of the hard world and church planting vision of Todd Wilson at Passion for Planting (who partners with me at www.newchurches.com) and Dave Ferguson, who in addition to helping spawn a movement of reproducing churches, is also a great guy.

The main sessions are as follows: