The video of our Advance09 panel is up. Take a look.

Interestingly, John Piper's first answer led to this clarification. The clarification is well worth your read just to get a take on how we might view modern culture.

Also, several people have asked me about my comments about missions cooperation being the doorway to theological compromise. (I think that surprised some people.)

However, there is little question that this is an historic pattern. I wrote a bit about it a few years ago here. My answer in the video gives more details.

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.")

I recently wrote two blogs (here and here) concerning John Piper's moving exhortation to church planters at the Global Church Advancement conference.

Now you can see the actual video here.

This once again demonstates that John Piper is bad.

Thanks to Kenny Stokes who left a note in the "Piper on Planting" blog post. We just talked on the phone. He is a great and gracious guy. I am excited that their church is getting even more engaged in church planting.

Here is some more of what Piper said. It is hard to hear the tone of voice through such things, but it was very pastoral.

And, remember, this was at a church planting conference led by what the web site calls "Today's Top Church Planting Experts," with a big thick book (Gospel Centered Church Planting) by the great Steve Childers on the table, and lots of resources. Context is important here.

Hear Piper's heart... It is powerful and we should listen. We can "do it all" in our own strength, but only God can build a church.

You might also want to check out their church planting residency program.

It is a blessing to learn and be challenged!

-------------------

Ed,

Thanks for your teaching at the GCA seminar here at Bethlehem Baptist. As I mentioned yesterday, I hope to invite you to come to Bethlehem to work with our church planters again sometime in the near future. Rest assured, Piper's message was NOT a call for you to quit what you are doing, rather it was a call to all of us who (1) teach church planters and (2) all church planters themselves to go about our work in utter dependence upon the Lord who alone builds the church.

For the record, I took the time to transcript a larger chunk of John Piper's closing admonition to the church planters on the first evening of the Global Church Advancement Seminar (http://www.gca.cc/). Piper closed his message which reflected on Christ's words in Matthew 16:18 as follows:

"'...I will build my church.' (Matthew 16:18).

Jesus never said, I will build my social service agency. He never said I will build my parachurch ministry. He never said I will build my university or my Christian college or my Christian school. He said, "I will build my church." One institution in all the universe is given this promise. 'I will build my church.' So, brothers, be encouraged that you are about something extraordinarily important.

Let me just give one last counsel or piece of advice. This comes right off of my devotions from this morning. I was reading in Mark 4 (vs. 26-27), where it says, 'The kingdom of heaven is as if a man should sow seed on the ground. And then he sleeps and wakes, night and day. And the seed grows and sprouts. He knows not how.'

And my closing exhortation negatively is you don't know how to grow the kingdom of God. Beware of conferences. Beware of books. Beware of seminars that tell you how to plant the church. You don't know how to plant the church. The bible says you cannot know this. This is God's doing. It is mysterious, it is deep, it is awesome. You go to bed at night. You get up in the morning. You sow your seed. And it sprouts. You know not how.

Watch out for know-alls. They don't know how to grow the church. If they think they know, it isn't the church they're growing. This is a work of the sovereign God. It is a profound and supernatural mystery to open the heart of Lydia (Acts 16:14), to liberate the servant girl (Acts 16:18), to shatter the prison and the heart of the jailer (Acts 16:32-33).

So, my counsel is, brothers, give your life to sowing. Take this glorious Word of God and preach it. Preach Christ. Preach the scriptures. Preach the cross. Most of the people in the world don't know what is in this book. And faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

'I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.' (Matthew 16:18).
And I will do the decisive building, says the Lord. Conferences and seminars and books that tell you YOU can do this, should not be listened to. They should direct you to Christ and to his word. And to the fact that we don't know anything about how God saves sinners at the depth of their being.

This is a mystery. This is a glory. And amazingly he uses us. He won't do it without the faithful proclamation of the word of God. Be faithful to the word and God will use you to build his church.

God bless you. I love what you are doing. I love you. May he make his name great in this conference."

(END OF PIPER QUOTE)

John Piper is speaking on church planting. Interesting comments. As always, God-centered and theologically driven. But, in this case, it had a surprising ending.

Piper takes the month of July off. (Sign me up for that.) Thus, he is speaking via video.

His focus is, "I will build my church."

I = A Risen Christ, worthy of eternal worship, is the one who plants the church.

Will build = Christ builds His church through "ripping the gates of hell off of the human heart... so they can see."

My = The church belongs to Jesus Christ and Jesus is already at work in the city where you are planting. "For I have many people in this city" (Acts 18:10)

Church = Only one institution in the entire universe is given the promise that Jesus will build it.

Then... John speaks of his morning devotions from Mark 4.

Surprising quote for a church planting seminar: "You don't know how to grow the Kingdom of God... beware of books, beware of conferences, and beware of seminars that tell you how to plant the church."

Hmmmmm...

Today I shared on planting biblically faithful churches in emerging culture and on developing core values. I am heading out of town to Irvine, CA for a different conference. The Global Church Advancement Seminar conference will go on till Friday. Be sure to follow updates from Drew Goodmanson and David Wayne.

By the way, it was encouraging to see an ad from the Minnesota / Wisconsin Baptist Convention and the North American Mission Board advertising on the program. It was great to see Leo Endel and Steve Melvin there and get to brag on them in front of the group when I led my session.

Ed