When I finished up my most recent interim, one of my friends at the church, Ken Henley, made me a caricature as a going-away gift. It is now my Twitter avatar.

Ken asked some great questions and incorporated some personal emphases into the avatar. For example, note the cell phone for Twitter, the books, and the office. Or, if you look very closely, note the title of the books to the lower left-- Ken has a theological persuasion. ;-)

Well, several of you have asked where you could get one made. You can contact Ken at kencreatesart@gmail.com and ask him. I am posting his email by permission.

Here is a commentary I wrote in a denominational publication on the second anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, six years ago:

As a child, I would visit the observation deck of the World Trade Center. My dad helped lay the iron in the basement of the buildings, and he loved to show us "his" work. My aunt's company had an office there. She was missing until the next morning after 9/11/01; she was fielding calls from the relatives of her coworkers. I had stayed in the destroyed Marriott several times as an adult. I was even in the city the week before the attacks, visiting and ministering for a church in Chinatown, just a few blocks from the World Trade Center.

I have always had a connection to New York. I was raised on the edge of the city and used to take the Long Island Railroad into Manhattan -- to Grand Central, to the Empire State Building and to that observation deck. My grandfather was a fire battalion chief and my uncle a NYC cop. So, for me, so much of that day was personal.

Most of us remember where we were. Yet, no one would know how it would end that day. When the second tower collapsed, Aaron Brown, new CNN anchor, summed it up by saying, "My Lord ... there are no words."

A few weeks ago I returned to the site of the World Trade Center. It is so different now. Everything is clean -- cleaner than before September 11. The new West Side Greenway has added a new sense of community. While there, I visited a new Southern Baptist church, Mosaic Manhattan, which meets in what would have been the shadow of the World Trade Center.

The school where Mosaic Manhattan meets, Public School 89 at the corner of Chambers and West, was an emergency triage on that fateful day. Today, the church that meets there provides spiritual healing to a lost community. Sitting there I thought about the city and its people.

On the second anniversary, we need to reflect on our response. Most of the initial unity has passed. Democrats and Republicans are not singing "God Bless America" on the capitol steps. Instead, we have moved on to Ten Commandment monuments and political campaigns.

So, how do we respond today? Like most Americans, I rejoice as we track down the bad guys. I want justice. But what the city needs most is not justice, but Jesus.

We need to take the Gospel to New York City. That may be difficult for most of us. As Southern Baptists, we tend to be a rural and southern people. Many of us say "y'all" and eat grits. Most New Yorkers don't do either -- but they still need Jesus.

In his first interview on September 11, Mayor Giuliani was asked how bad it was. He responded, "More than any of us can bear." He was right. But there is a greater tragedy. What if Southern Baptists were to minister only where they were comfortable -- in the Bible Belt?

Thousands died that day, but many more go into eternity every day without Christ. Many firemen died in the buildings, but my retired firefighter grandfather died without Christ years before. They are both tragedies.

When will we realize that it is "more then any of us can bear"? When will we be as shocked by the lostness of the world and act accordingly? When will our churches love the people of New York like we did on September 11? We sent so many work boots and water bottles that they said "no more." My prayer is that we will send as many Bibles as we did boots and as many witnesses as we did water bottles. Only then can we truly love New York.

Ed Stetzer Last Service Video from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

Here is a video that my church showed last Sunday to look back over the last two years. My kids loved it. And, to be honest, it got to me as well. Thanks, Chad Conger, for the hours it took to put it together.

Some of the references include "inside jokes," like the "Cheese It" reference in my Financial Freedom series.

The "Cheese It" illustration was based on the idea that my daughter, Jaclyn, was convinced that there was a limited amount of Cheese Its, but as her father, I owned the Cheese Its on a thousand hills. We often think that God can't meet our needs, so we fear and hoard. When you think about your "stuff" all day, it takes over (watch for the big box) and is eventually a prison (watch for the Cheese It prison).

By the way, you can get that Financial Freedom series for free. Click here for more information.

The "weight loss" vignette was pretty neat to watch and inspired me to take the next step and run a half marathon. More information about my weight loss journey is here.

I am thinking about writing an article about "Things I Learned While Preaching at a Traditional Megachurch." I learned much. And, I will miss being there. As a contemporary church planter and pastor, I was a little anxious at the beginning, but they welcomed me and l think we learned a lot together.

I don't own a suit anymore. It is way too big. So, I only have a blazer and an untucked shirt left. But, that's seemed to be OK as long as we studied the Word and focused on the Lord!

The International Mission Board is working on a project called The Last Letter. Mark Morris asked me to contribute and gave me permission to post mine here.

On his Mark Morris' blog (called MissionLeader and worth your time) he explains:

It's actually an ancient tradition of soldiers and missionaries who as they board a ship, write their family and friends a letter that they think might be their final communication! The resurrection of this ancient tradition is to inspire a new generation to think and pray through the reason for their life - and possibly the sacrifice of their life for a cause greater than themselves.

Mark gives the powerful example of Karen Watson, a missionary recently killed in Iraq. This letter was read by her pastor at her funeral:

Dear Pastor,

You should only be opening this letter in the event of my death.When God calls there are no regrets. I tried to share my heart with you as much as possible, my heart for the nations. I wasn't called to a place; I was called to Him. To obey was my objective, to suffer was expected, His glory my reward, His glory my reward...

The missionary heart:
Cares more than some think is wise
Risks more than some think is safe
Dreams more than some think is practical
Expects more than some think is possible

I was called not to comfort or to success but to obedience...

There is no Joy outside of knowing Jesus and serving Him. I love you and my church family.

In His care,

Salaam, Karen

The IMB asked me and the other speakers at the Catalyst Conference to write their letters and share them in a resource they will be publishing and having available at Catalyst.

Here is what I wrote (and have placed in a file for my family):

Dear Donna, Kristen, Jaclyn and Kaitlyn,

If you are reading this letter, I am with Jesus now. I know this will be a time of sadness for you, but I can say with confidence that no man has been blessed with a family as wonderful as you. Thanks, Donna, for being an incredible wife and partner. Thanks, girls, for letting me be a part of your lives. I look forward to what you will become as you grow into the young women God has called you to be.

I want to remind you of why I lived and why, though I know you will grieve, I also want you to have joy.

Christ has been exceedingly good to me through His death and resurrection. I have lived with God's joy and now happily enter His presence. My only hope is that on Earth, I left the same impression upon people that Christ made upon me. I hope people will say of me what was said of King David in Acts 13:36: "For David, after serving his own generation in God's plan, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and decayed" (HCSB).

On August 13, 1977, Jesus saved me and sent me. Though I have certainly stumbled, I have tried through my life and words to introduce others to the same grace that I came to know. I discovered that no price was too great to pay so that one more person could know the Gospel, one more pastor could be encouraged with the Gospel, one more church could be challenged by the Gospel.

I have labored to comfort those afflicted by sin and this world. I have also tried to afflict those who have become too comfortable with the Gospel and not cared about the world. My life passion has been Jesus and loving all of you. My life's ministry has been to help God's people to love others and engage in His mission as well.

The many days of family, work, travel, life and laughter were all the chance to discover how God could do exceedingly, abundantly more than I could ask or imagine. I am happy to have lived fully and been loved deeply.

I will miss you ... at least for a while. Live a full life, filled with the grace of God and the joy of each moment. Jesus will wipe the tears away -- yours and mine. Let's remember that we will see each other again one day. Love Jesus, live well, and I will see you soon.

Love,

Your husband and dad

Writing such a letter makes you think about what matters. Thanks to Mark Morris and the IMB for the invite to do so.

I've been with the family at Glorieta all week speaking, working, and spending the off-time with my family. Glorieta is beautiful and always a destination we enjoy. I have posted a few pics to Twitter including one right after we canoed on the lake.

Sure, my last post had audio from John Piper, but this one is "way better."

Here is my daughter singing in the 5th grade talent show. She nails it. Sorry for my screaming at the end, but... well... I am a big fan of my kids.

Feel free to tell Kristen how well she did in the comments... she will read every word. ;-)

[Please see Moving to Health Pt 1 before you read this-- it explains why I am a bad source of advice on weight loss.]

As I mentioned in my last post on the subject, I get a lot of questions about weight loss. Since I speak at conferences, people can often see you once a year and they notice a change. (Here is a pic of me speaking at a conference in North Carolina last year just before I started my plan to get healthy.) And, my last post received elicited many emails, comments, and Facebook messages. So, I am writing a bit more about weight loss. But, let me remind you that I am still moving toward health-- I have not achieved it.

One of the more interesting things about losing weight are the comments you receive. They revolve around several themes that I think might be helpful to consider. And, many of them are myths.

Here are three common comments that I believe are myths:

First, fat people are lazy and slothful. Of course, some fat people are lazy and slothful, but so are some skinny people. But, I was not (and am not) overweight because I was lazy. I don't feel it helpful to layout the "I work hard" evidence, but it is there. I was fat because I worked too much and used food as energy that I lacked because I did not get enough rest. And it's pretty simple. If you consume more calories than your body burns = you gain weight.

Second, overweight people can just stop being overweight. I have tried to lose weight one hundred times. I have started fad diets. They did not work. Most overweight people want to lose weight but find they can't. Part of it is genetic (My mother's side of the family are big people - and I take after them). I do not know a single fat person who is excited about being so.

Third, making comments about someone's weight will motivate people to lose weight. You cannot shame people into change. It does not work.

The most common question I am asked is how I lost the weight. Well, here is my strategy. I have lost 110 thus far and would like to lost about 50 more (though I am just planning to eat healthy until I get to a healthy weight... and then continue to eat healthy).

1) I saw a doctor. Before I did anything else, I saw my doctor, did a bunch of tests, and followed his advice.

2) I stopped dieting. That's right; I am not on a diet. I changed my lifestyle. If I was on a diet, I would go off it one day. Now, I just eat differently.

3) I started exercising. That is probably the most significant change. I exercise 5 days a week for an hour each time. Now, it took me a while to get to that point, but I am in the habit now. I will explain my exercise plan in the next post.

4) I created accountability systems. For me, those were public. I announced it at church (9000 members), on Twitter (about 4000 followers at the time), and on Facebook (about 3000 friends at the time). For me, having thousands cheer you on encouraged me-- and at times, fed my ego as I lost the weight and people noticed. But, I am O.K. with that-- I need the encouragement.

5) We worked as a family. When one person starts eating differently, it can be a real pain. So, we talked about it and all made some changes for the better.

6) We encouraged each other. Far too often, Donna and I were like two drunks-- when one was sober, the other would offer a drink. Instead, we decided to encourage one another. Now, Donna has lost over 70lbs and I have lost over 100, so we exhorting each other to health, rather than pulling one another down.

Now, both of us are not done. We have a ways to go, but we are doing it together.

I will write one more post in the coming days...

Feel free to comment below by sharing your ideas, suggestions, or thoughts... and I promise I won't make this into a fitness blog. ;-)

The most common question I get these days is not about culture, church, or mission. It is actually about weight loss. I am asked several times each week about how I have lost weight. So, while I am not an expert, I have decided to share a bit of the details of my thoughts and experience.

Let me say one thing first: taking weight loss advice from me is like taking parenting advice from Bill Gothard. It can be good, it might be right, but it is also theoretical. It boils down to this related to me-- you should not take advice from a person who has lost a bunch of weight but has not kept if off for any significant length of time. I've lost 110 lbs so far, and still have a way to go -- but, to answer everyone's questions, here is how I got started.

Donna (my beautiful wife) started us off about a year ago. She was continually tired and not feeling well so she decided to try a homeopathic physician. (I affectionately refer to her doctor as the "witch doctor.")

Well, the doctor (who is a believer and attends our church) put her through a bunch of tests and then recommended she avoid all wheat and processed sugar. There was much more to it than that, but she lost over 70lbs. That was inspirational. And inspiration and motivation continued to come.

Motivation came from several sources. First, over dinner with Junior Hill, he told me how he had lost so much weight through a physician-assisted plan. I decided I wanted to try that. In other words, I needed to hook up with a physician. I did that a couple of months later.

My friend Dino Senesi was also an inspiration. He had lost a bunch of weight leading me to say he looked like a crack addict (but only in a good & manly way). He offered to coach me and hold me accountable and explained how that helped him. Although I did not take him up on his offer becuase of my pride, I knew I needed accountability.

Additional motivation came from trouble sleeping. When I went to my doctor, he prescribed a sleep study (which I blogged about here for other reasons). I had sleep apnea and I had to sleep on this horrible device called a C-Pap machine. And, I could not handle some Alien-like face-hugger on me while I tried to sleep. My doctor said that losing weight might be a solution and I knew I needed sleep.

My final inspiration came at an amusement park on a trip with my daughter. We were getting on a ride after waiting in a long line and I could not fit-- the bar would not go down. Now, if you are big, you know that fitting into airline seats, booths at restaurants, and other tight places is a pain. For years, I sat at tables (not booths) and requested seat belt extensions on airplanes. (The world is not designed for big people.) But, it became more important when it involved my family and I know I needed to not limit activities with them.

In the end I knew I needed to lose weight for my own health. But, honestly, that was probably not the most important reason. I actually have consistently good physicals--healthy heart, good cholesterol and blood pressure, etc. But, I know that can't last so I decided to make a change. I knew I could not enter my 40's this overweight.

All of this worked together as motivation. It compelled me to do something. But, most importantly, I knew that God had a better plan for me and my physical health. And, I believed that making a change would be in line with His leadership in my life.

Soon, I will share some myths about fat people and weight loss. Then, I will share some about what I have done thus far. Finally, I will share a bit about future plans. Now, this is not the Richard SImmons blog, so I will only write on this occasionally becuase people ask and I know that many pastors struggle as I did and do.

Some of you may not find this very interesting, but I receive Twitter messages all the time from people thanking me and saying my journey was an encouragement. So, maybe this will help. But, it also is a help for me-- by writing this out, I am creating another venue to hold myself accountable.

More soon...

Well, it seems to be the season for videos.

If you have not already done so, you will DEFINITELY want to go to Friday's post and take a look at the conflict and resolution throughout. (Part two is my favorite.) It is good to see Al not make it all about himself for a change. Mission is good.

Well, we also had some wild parties this weekend. And, thankfully, there is video!

If you know anyone in the storm path or serving evacuees, feel free to link them below so we can follow them and pray together.

It is our 21st anniversary and we are celebrating like it was our 20th.

Last year, we were unpacking boxes on August 15th, have just moved to Nashville to work at LifeWay. So, instead of celebrating, we were organizing. Needless to say, I promised my wife a better time this anniversary.

So, I am in Chicago. We are staying in a nice hotel on the Magnificent Mile. We are sleeping late, going to movies, seeing shows, and just enjoying each other. On Sunday, we will be at Community Christian Church and grab lunch with my friend Dave Ferguson. I will stay over till Tuesday to shoot a television program with the Assemblies of God (which gave me the excuse to come to Chicago this weekend).

Donna and I started dating in High School. Donna was the first (and only) girl I dated seriously. We went to the prom, then off to college together. When we were 20 years old, she was crazy enough to marry me. So, between our Junior and Senior years of college, we got married.

She is a wonderful friend and an amazing wife.

She loves Jesus. We first met when she came to a Bible Study I was leading in high school. She had led about 6 of her friends to Christ that year.

She is not afraid of difficult things. She supported us as I planted our first church while going to seminary on the weekends... and earned a Masters degree while I was earning mine. We have planted multiple churches, worked to revitalize a few, and not chosen the easy paths in life.

I have dragged this woman to the inner city of Buffalo, NY to plant a church among the urban poor. Then, off to a blue collar community of Erie to plant again. Four months after Kristen was born, she came with me to Louisville where I taught at seminary (which was much more challenging than Buffalo!).

Once she was pregnant again, of course I dragged her to Georgia to work at NAMB and then to evantually plant a church in our free time . And, now we live in Nashville where I travel too much.

She has never complained and she had every right to. We have literally grown up together and now we are raising kids together. I look forward to growing old together.

Now, I watch her continue to grow and I see her life poured into our 3 daughters. And I am grateful every day.

So, today is her day. And, I am honored that she would call me her husband!

Whenever I come to Orlando, I end up thinking about life and ministry.

Today was a day like that. After I finished teaching class, my daughter and I did a little tour and I shared with her part of her dad's (and her mom's) journey. She seemed interested, but it might have been the promise of ice cream along the way.

I was born and reared in New York and list that as "home" on forms that ask. However, Orlando has a lot of memories for me. I lived here as a teenager and had some significant milestones during those years:

1. I came to Christ in Orlando.
2. I was discipled here (in a new church plant as a teenager).
3. I met my wife in High School. We were high school sweethearts and even went to the prom together.
4. My sister died here (in 1987).
5. I grew greatly in my faith through, and in some cases because of, those things.

So, today I went by my old house (which was just torn down), the restaurant where I had my first date with Donna, my sister's memorial garden, and some other meaningful places with my daughter.

Being in Orlando makes me wish it was a simpler time when I did not have to worry about books and research, the challenges of denominational structures, who has this-or-that agenda, what event I was speaking at next, or what I had to say (or not say) at the next place.

I miss those days when things were simpler and it seemed that the big concerns were loving God, growing in faith, and helping others do the same. I am sure it was not as simple as I remember, but coming to Orlando makes me wish it was.

Being here makes me want to go back in time, grab a guitar (yes, I play, though not well), and go start a church with nothing but God, a Bible, and a mission...

So, pardon my musings. It was just a good day. It reminded me of what really matters... and it prompts me to adjust some things in my own life today and over the next few months.