Cathy Grossman and USAToday writes about christian accountability groups. You can read the whole article here.

It begins with:

Does the Capitol Hill house on C Street -- home to several congressmen although it eludes property taxes by being listed as a church -- give prayer "accountability" groups a bad name? Should elected officials seek God in secrecy while hiding sins from public scrutiny?

The fact that such a group exists in Washington, D.C., combined with recent news about participants, makes it national news.

She explains what these groups are all about:

But millions of men and women belong to small prayer and accountability groups where they read and discuss Scripture together and hold each other to truthful living in God's name. Remember Promise Keepers, the men's group that hit a popularity peak in the 90's? It stressed accountability groups heavily and even if PK no longer packs stadiums for rallies, many of those small groups continue to enriching lives.

The question that Cathy address deals with secrecy in such groups and the honesty required. I explained, "Accountability groups are only as good as the truthfulness of their participants."

Cathy linked to my blog on accountability groups and questions. That blog is here. The USAToday story is here.

Here is the blog to which the story refers:

A recent survey conducted by the Barna Group demonstrated some important differences between "liberals" and "conservatives" concerning faith, religion and spirituality.

Last fall, Dan Cox, Roger Finke, and I spoke at the Religion Newswriters Association at the Washington Post in D.C. Our topic was "Surveying Surveys," focused on how to tell the good religious research from the bad. We each presented and then served on a panel. Dan shared about the relatively new research organization, Public Religion Research.

While there, Dan mentioned several research projects, including the one that came out last week on mainline denominational clergy. I thought I would share a bit with you.

The 2008 Mainline Protestant Clergy Voices Survey is the largest survey of its kind in seven years, and covers more ground than any that has ever come before it. Mainline Protestants have received little attention due to declining numbers and a waning cultural influence, but the survey is important because even now Mainline Protestants "make up 18 percent of all Americans and nearly a quarter of all voters." Here are just a few of the results from the survey (quoted from the study):

Mainline Clergy are much more likely to identify as liberal and Democratic than conservative or Republican. Almost half (48%) of all mainline clergy identify as liberal, compared to about one-third (34%) who say they are conservative. A majority (56%) of mainline clergy identify with or lean towards the Democratic Party, compared to roughly one-third (34%) who claim a Republican affiliation, a 22-point gap.

Mainline Protestant clergy are broadly supportive of government's role in addressing social problems such as unemployment, poverty and poor housing. More than three-quarters (78%) agree that the federal government should do more to solve social problems, and more than 4-in-10 strongly agree.

Mainline clergy are strongly supportive of government action in the areas of health care and the environment. More than two-thirds (67%) of clergy agree that government should guarantee health insurance for all citizens, even if it means raising taxes. And nearly 7-in-10 (69%) clergy say that more environmental protection is needed, even if it raises prices or costs jobs.

On a broad range of issues, mainline clergy affirm equality for gay and lesbian Americans. Roughly two-thirds of mainline clergy support some legal recognition for same-sex couples (65%), passing hate crime laws (67%) and employment nondiscrimination protections for gay and lesbian people (66%). A majority (55%) of mainline clergy support adoption rights for gay and lesbian people.

Mainline Protestant clergy are strong advocates of church-state separation. A majority (65%) of mainline clergy agree that the U.S. should "maintain a strict separation of church and state." Mainline clergy are more worried about public officials who are too close to religious leaders (59%) than about public officials who do not pay enough attention to religion (41%).

Mainline clergy are more likely to publicly address hunger and poverty and family issues than controversial social issues. More than 8-in-10 clergy say they publicly expressed their views about hunger and poverty often in the last year, and three-quarters say they addressed marriage and family issues often. Only about one-quarter (26%) say they often discussed the issues of abortion and capital punishment.

Audrey Barrick over at The Christian Post point out that,"according to survey results, two-thirds of mainline clergy disagree that 'the Bible is the inerrant word of God, both in matters of faith and in historic, geographical, and other secular matters.' Only 29 percent of mainline clergy agree with the statement."

The whole report is worth reading. The results are not particularly surprising, but it does quantify some things in a helpful way. Download the topline survey results here (PDF) and come back to discuss.

Today we are electing a new president of our country, and while most seem to agree that change is needed, what that change should look like is hotly debated. I hope everyone gets out today and plays a part in this choosing our nation's leader. I believe it is civic duty and Christian responsibility.

Make no mistake, this election is different than previous elections for a number of reasons. One worth noting is that self-identified "born again" voters are split on which candidate will get their vote. Geogre Barna reports that,

...among born again voters there is a statistical dead-heat: 45% plan to vote for Sen. McCain, while 43% expect to cast a ballot for Sen. Obama. Even if Sen. McCain were to sweep the 10% who are undecided born again voters, he would fail to reach the 62% who rallied for President Bush in 2004.

Barna's research is careful to distinguish between "evangelical, born again Christians" and "non-evangelical, born again Christians," but things are changing even within the more conservative group (evangelical, born again). For example, in 2004 85% of these voters selected George Bush. But when Barna's research came out two weeks ago only 63% of the evangelical group said they are supporting the Republican candidate.

Most of the experts seem to believe Senator Obama will win this election, though it may turn out to be a closer race than many expect, and people of faith are playing a prominent role in all of this. Barna explains,

If the presidential election were held only among born again Americans, it would be a close contest. When the rest of the nation's voters are factored into the equation, Sen. Obama is staked to a commanding lead among likely voters, 50% to 37%. In large part this lead is due to the substantial support he receives among other self-identified Christians, that is, individuals who describe themselves as Christians but who are not categorized as born again. Among this group, 54% plan to vote for Sen. Obama, compared with 33% for Sen. McCain. This voting segment represents 36% of likely voters. (source)

So how are Christians to respond?

Well, I recently read a letter from a Methodist pastor posted at Ben Witherington's site. I found these two paragraphs helpful and insightful:

There is always - always! - a "contrarian" bent to the Christian political angle. After all, in the Roman empire the complaint filed against Christians was "they are turning the world upside down" (Acts 17). In a world that does not love the Lord Jesus, we will expect to find ourselves at odds with business as usual; we shun a judgmental spirit, but we do not refrain from making judgments. "The Church is not simply a 'voluntary association' that may be of some use to the wider public, but rather is the community constituted by practices by which all other politics are to be judged" (Stanley Hauerwas).

Abraham Lincoln told the truth about "sides" who boast of God: "Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; each invokes His aid against the other. The prayers of both could not be answered... The Almighty has His own purposes." Knowing this, we treat each other charitably, and look to God for something better: "With malice toward none; with charity for all... to bind up the nation's wounds - to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations."

We're about to choose a new leader for ourselves, and, regardless of who wins, some American Christians will be frustrated and disheartened. This is a difficult election for many Christians, but it should not-- it cannot-- eclipse our mission. And while politics and presidents can connect to the outworking of our faith, God uses the preaching of the gospel in word and deed to bring redemption to the broken, forgiveness to the sinful, hope to the lost and the real "change we need." It is not an elected official who will transform the country, but the grace of God at work in his church-- that is what changes lives, transforms cultures and turns cities upside down.

November 4th will come and go, but our mission remains the same, and our hope remains secure. That's change we can believe in.

I hate to post on top of a morning post (see here for some thoughts on our Love/Hate relationship with the world), but we just released some new research.

See here.

Some excerpts:

Only about half of Protestant pastors say they plan to vote for Republican John McCain in the upcoming presidential election, but McCain still holds a substantial lead over Democrat Barack Obama, for whom less than one-quarter of pastors polled indicate they will vote...

LifeWay Research found that 55 percent of Protestant pastors plan to vote for McCain compared with 20 percent for Obama. A full 22 percent are undecided.

Evangelical pastors are significantly more likely to support McCain than their mainline counterparts. Sixty-six percent of self-identified evangelicals plan to vote for McCain while 13 percent are for Obama and 19 percent are undecided.

Only 36 percent of mainline pastors plan to vote for McCain. Thirty-seven percent support Obama, and 24 percent are undecided.

"Protestant pastors are strongly for McCain, though that changes when you look at mainline versus evangelicals," said Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research. "Mainline pastors reflect the American setting - they are split between Obama and McCain. Self-identified evangelical pastors are overwhelmingly for McCain."

Stetzer added that given the late date in the campaign, "there are a surprising number of undecideds."

There is more at the story here.

A few things were surprising to me:

1. Self identified "mainline" pastors not more pro-Obama (they were split).
2. A sizeable minority of pastors are still undecided.
3. A majority of pastors endorsed candidates outside of their church role.

Please take a look and share your thoughts below... I may not be around to interact, but when I am sharing political news (rather than mission news) that does not seem to stop a good conversation. :-)

Click here for the full release and the graphics.

Some excerpts from the story:

According to a survey released by LifeWay Research, Americans believe churches should not campaign for or endorse political candidates and pastors should only endorse candidates as private citizens outside of a church service...

"There is a longstanding and publicly affirmed view that the pulpit is not the place for politics, particularly endorsements," said Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research. "It would appear this view is still widely held in most sectors of society."

When asked for their level of agreement with the statement, "I believe it is appropriate for churches to publicly endorse candidates for public office," 59 percent said they strongly disagree while 16 percent somewhat disagree...

When it comes to how churches use their resources, Americans believe overwhelmingly that churches should not use those resources to campaign for candidates for public office.

When asked to respond to the statement, "I believe it is appropriate for churches to use their resources to campaign for candidates for public office," 85 percent disagree including 73 percent who disagree strongly...

When the topic turned to whether churches that publicly endorse candidates should lose their tax-exempt status, a slim majority agree and differences appear along many of the same lines. (Churches that campaign or endorse candidates in violation of IRS prohibitions have been threatened with losing their tax-exempt status.)

Thirty-eight percent strongly agree and 14 percent somewhat agree "that churches who publicly endorse candidates for public office should lose their tax exemption." Twenty-five percent strongly disagree, 17 percent somewhat disagree and 6 percent are not sure.

"Americans overwhelmingly want pastors to stick to faith and not political endorsements," Stetzer said. "However, they are less certain that they want the government to strip them of their tax exemption. A majority do think such churches should lose their tax exemption, but a significant minority does not. Americans don't want churches in politics but they are not as certain they want the government in the churches."

Details here.

What do you think? What does your church do and not do? Why?

New Research from Barna on Green Evangelicals

Barna surveys evangelicals about their enviornmental views. Here are some excerpts:

One of the intriguing findings of the research is that millions of evangelicals - often perceived to be on the sidelines of the green movement - have become more environmentally conscious in the last year. Yet, evangelicals do so with some skepticism about the environmental movement, specifically the implications of climate change. Evangelicals are concerned about what they perceive to be media hype surrounding global warming, as well as skepticism about the role humans play in causing it. Moreover, evangelicals express strong concern that proposed environmental solutions would hurt the poor, particularly in developing nations...

What makes Americans skeptical about global warming? The survey explored five common objections and discovered that roughly half of Americans maintain some reluctance about climate change for each of the following reasons:

• 49% of Americans contend that some solutions proposed to help global warming would have a negative influence on the poor, especially in other countries
• 48% believe the earth has undergone climate change before and the current warming is not primarily caused by human activity
• 47% indicate the news media have made global warming a bigger story than it deserves
• 47% agree that the U.S. economy is not strong enough right now to take on the problem
• 46% say that if America leads the way tackling the problem other countries will not follow suit and it would hurt American businesses and workers

A majority of the Christian community, regardless of how it is defined, believes that global warming is happening. Still, only a minority of churchgoing Catholics (36%), non-mainline Protestants (36%), and mainline Protestants (45%) are very certain climate change is occurring...

Evangelicals are among the most skeptical population segments when it comes to global warming...

Click here for the full story.
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New Research from the Center for Latin American Studies, Univ. of California, Berkeley.

An important look at Global and U.S. Immigration: Patterns, Issues, and Outlook. Click here.
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New Megachurch (and other) Research from Baylor

Here are some excerpts:

American religion is remarkably stable and quite surprising in its diverse beliefs, practices and realities, according to the latest findings from the Baylor Religion Survey, one of the most extensive surveys ever conducted on American religious attitudes.

"None of the things we all believe about the megachurch is true," said Dr. Rodney Stark, Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences at Baylor and co-director of the ISR...

When compared to small congregations, the survey found that megachurch members display a higher level of personal commitment by attending services and a Bible study group and tithing. They also are more likely to accept that heaven "absolutely" exists and that God rewards the faithful with major successes, are more convinced of the reality of evil, are far more given to having religious and mystical experiences, are significantly younger in age and are remarkably active in volunteer work (as much or more so than tiny churches)...

During the past 63 years, several polls show the percentage of atheists has not changed at all, holding steady at only 4 percent of Americans who say they do not believe in God. Not only is atheism not growing in the United States, the majority of Europeans are not atheists (Ch. 14, "Atheism: The Godless Revolution That Never Happened"). Russia now claims 96 percent of its population believes in God, while a recent poll of China showed that atheists are outnumbered by those who believe in God(s)...

The survey found that 45 percent of Americans report having at least two religious encounters (Ch. 6, "Religious Experiences: God Told Me to Go to Church"). Denomination matters, too. Conservative Protestants are more likely than liberal Protestants, Catholics or Jews to report religious or mystical experiences. However, these experiences are not limited to conservative Protestants. They occur with considerable frequency in nearly all religious groups. The survey also showed that women, African Americans and Republicans are more apt to have religious and mystical experiences...

Among other interesting findings on paranormal or occult beliefs: People who have read The Purpose-Driven Life or any book in the Left Behind series are less likely to believe in the occult and paranormal, while those who have read any book on dianetics or The Da Vinci Code are more likely to believe.

Fascinating information.

Click here for their release.

Jacqui Salmon does a good job with the story in The Washington Post. Click here.
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Election Prayer Initiative

Check out the new prayer initiative called the 40/40 Prayer Vigil sponsored by the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and the North American Mission Board. From the website:

The 40/40 Prayer Vigil consists of 40 days of prayer from September 24 to November 2, 2008, culminating in 40 hours of around the clock intercession during the last 3 days of the Vigil. The Vigil focuses first on personal spiritual revival. It then covers an expanding circle of prayer concerns, from the church to the nation.

You can visit the website to sign up, get updates, and download a Prayer Guide.

This is an exciting political season, and we've all probably had solid discussions, heated arguments, or at least a few good laughs. Let's make sure we're praying as well.

I've been talking on the blog the last couple weeks about Sent, the Threads Bible study resource I'm releasing that walks churches through some key ideas about how to live missionally together. You can read the previous posts here and here. In Session 2 of Sent, we talk about the hot-button and often divisive issue of the kingdom of God. What is it? What is it not? And what does it mean to be kingdom people? One of the key ideas we try to grab onto here is the "already but not yet" nature of the kingdom of God. Here's a couple of excerpts from the session:

Politics
The Bible says we should be slow to speak. Good idea. Something I said on Twitter while watching the RNC was picked up by Brian Ayers - and he is encouraging me to run for office in 2012 with Sarah Palin. It's probably a good match in some ways, though I am afraid she would beat me in a hunting contest.

But we do share a sense of style. It looks like we shop at the same store for our glasses (Lenscrafters, I am guessing). But I'm not sure where Brian get's the idea that I am smaller than Palin. And why am I hiding behind her?

Missionaries
When some people think of international and cross cultural missionaries they conjure up unrealistic images super-saints. Here's a video that shows a more honest picture of those who have gone into West Africa; who they were before life on the mission field, and who they are now.

To learn more visit www.gowestafrica.org/cardboard

BTW: If you know an SBC-affiliated 20 something guy or gal, the West Africa mission has a fully-funded (insured and salaried) 2 year mission experience with their name on it! (They have a real need for guys especially because in some of the cultures in Africa guys can go places women are not allowed.)

I am still here in Chicago relaxing with my beautiful bride, but the world of politics goes on without me.

Ryan Burns sent me a picture of the building so prominently featured in the recent film, The Dark Knight. But, instead of Batman, he put my ugly mug up there... so, I will take this is a symbol that I am watching over the city of Chicago today. Or, at least watching it... as watching "over" is work and Donna and I are on day 3 of our anniversary trip. No work today!

In case you are interested, I have been uploading a ridiculous amount of pictures to the Twitter feed as my Chicago Architectural Boat show turned into a Blue Angels air show yesterday.

But, a couple of things came to mind this week about politics and I had to add them this Saturday morning. You can't be in Chicago and not think about politcis-- the city slogan might be, "Vote early and vote often."

So, since my brief foray into political analysis was so well received last week, I will do it again.

Speaking of the post last week, people are still in the conversation there at the earlier post, so feel free to drop by.

On to the post at hand...

First, be sure to watch the Rick Warren interviews of the McCain and Obama tonight. If the questions he asks are anything like what he shared in the Green Room at the Innovate Church conference this week, it should be interesting and clarifying for many evangelicals.

Second, Jonathan Merritt called me Thursday night about a story coming out the next day on the Washington Post. Well, it really did come out-- big. It was above the fold, front page, cover story. Read the story here.

I think this section is a good summary of the whole story:

For Merritt, the decision comes down to combining the values his father taught him and those he has discovered along the way. The more he talks about McCain and Obama, the clearer it becomes that he is dissatisfied with both. In a freelance column published recently, he wrote: "If Democrats begin championing the sanctity of human life and traditional marriage, they may capture some of the powerful Christian voting bloc; if Republicans can develop an aggressive platform on issues like poverty and the environment, they can reverse the erosion of their evangelical base."

Now, the usual suspects are already calling Jonathan a bad person for daring to think for himself... but I am glad his voice is out there. And, I am glad to hear of his concern for life and morality, in addition to his concern for other important issues.

My analysis is not that younger evangelicals are abandoning the core evangelical principles I mentioned earlier, but they are broadening their concerns to include other issues. It appears to be a both/and rather than an either/or.

Of course, this line is key, "If Democrats begin championing the sanctity of human life and traditional marriage." I believe that will be key for most evangelicals. These are, and will remain, essential concerns for those who hold evangelical beliefs.

Third and finally, the Dallas Morning News has some interesting analysis here:

A Pew poll published last month shows that Obama is doing worse among white Evangelicals than John Kerry was at this point in 2004, or Al Gore was in 2000. (Obama's got 25 percent, versus Kerry's 26 percent, and Gore's 28 percent). This is extraordinary considering how much better a candidate Obama is, and how Obama has made his faith a big part of his campaign.

and here:

It's certainly true that McCain is not doing as well as Bush was at this point in 2004 or 2000. McCain's got 61 percent of the white Evangelical vote, versus 69 percent for Bush in '04, and 65 percent in 2000. The difference? Three times as many Evangelicals (12 percent) are undecided this year as in June 2004.

It will be interesting to see how the evangelical vote goes... and I will share other data and analysis along the way. LifeWay Research is even considering doing our own poll if we can add to the conversation.

And, while I am on politics, I thought this picture (taken at the Innovate Church Conference last week) would express my feelings well.

Off to have fun in Chicago... once the wife is back from shopping.

Today, we MUST eat deep dish pizza and one Chicago style dog.

Don't miss the post I just put up about ministry to people groups, but moments ago the Pew Forum sent me their new research release. Click below for their press release. Click here for more information.

A recent study by Lifeway Research demonstrates the differing perspectives on current events and hot button issues between Joe Public and Southern Baptist pastors. From global warming, to physician-assisted suicide, to embryonic stem-cell research church leaders are seeing things differently than average American.

Be sure to check out a summary of the study and the presentation. The research also shows who our pastors are likely to vote for in the upcoming presidential election. Can you guess?

Ergun Caner, of Liberty University, called last Friday and we talked about the Evangelical Manifesto. It seemed a bit odd to see his name on the document considering he taught at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. We talked again today.

Whatever you think of the manifesto, Ergun's name sticks out like Joel Osteen at a John MacArthur's Shepherd Conference.

I recently wrote about the Evangelical Manifesto.

On the morning it released, I received a call from one of the key people behind the manifesto, Darrell Bock. Darrell is Research Professor of New Testament Studies and Professor of Spiritual Development and Culture at Dallas Theological Seminary. He was quoted in my local paper this morning.

This morning, I had a nice talk with Darrell about his intent (and the intent of the document).

I have read the document and find it compelling in many ways. Would I change some things? Of course. Does it say some important things? Definitely.

As I mentioned in the USAToday story, I was concerned it would be "spun" to say Christians should not be involved in politics. That was not the intent of the signers, but some have tried to spin it that way.

Darrell mentioned his radio dialogue with Denny Burk. Denny has just posted links to the interviews here. Their focus is on what some call "single issue" politics.

Darrell shared the following with me that addresses some of the intent of the document. He will soon release to other blogs but gave me permission to share it with you:

Should Christians be involved in politics? Yes.

Are Evangelicals too identified as a partisan political bloc? Yes.

Can Christians still be involved in politics and social action and yet more clearly articulate a gospel message? I hope and believe we can.

As a matter of fact, the growing evangelical understanding of the Kingdom reminds us that we must be involved. (See Russell Moore's helpful, The Kingdom of Christ: The New Evangelical Perspective, for a helpful analysis. Or, Carl Henry's Uneasy Conscience, for an earlier perspective.)

Today, USA Today weighs in on the subject. This story was tied to the publication of an Evangelical Manifesto, a document I am assuming I will like (based on who is endorsing and the theme). The website is here.

We had just completed some research (to be released on the LifeWay Research website today) on the involvement of Christians in politics, so we ended up in the story. I don't speak much of politics, but the research connected well, so here are a few of the comments I made to USA Today (they cited some of them):

The data tells us that a minority of Americans, and a smaller minority of Christians, are concerned that Christians are "too involved�? in politics. The more liberal and secular one is, the more concerned you are--which is not surprising. But, the majority of Americans (and a large majority of Christians) do not share the concern that Christians are too involved in politics.

I am one who agrees that evangelicals need to be known for what we are for--showing and sharing the good news of Christ, not only just what we are against. But, in regards to public policy, it is a both/and, not either/or.

You cannot stand for justice and be told you cannot speak of Jesus, nor can you love God and His word and not care for unborn children, the abused, and social justice.

Christians need to speak prophetically to all parties, not be beholden to one. If evangelicals are seen as a voting bloc of the Republican Party, I am concerned. If Christians are told to leave their faith outside the public square, I am more concerned.

Religion will always be an issue in politics. However, as evangelicals we need to not try to moralize the unconverted-- our primary mission is to convert the immoral-- other sinners like us.

Simply put, you cannot have a proper view of the Kingdom of God and not care about society. And, part of caring about society involves advocating for social policy that protects those needing protection and promotes the public good. Maybe part of the problem is that we have been known for advocating polices rather than serving the hurting in the name of Jesus.

We need both.

Update: I have read the document (and talked to some of the Charter Signatories), and I am impressed.

I had the privilege of attending the SBC Executive Committee meeting this week. I think it is essential that we, as denominational servants, are under the accountability of lay people and pastors from churches across the United States. I don't consider that a burden, but I see it as a mark that we serve the churches and not the other way around.

People have joked with me about running for SBC office, but I think it is a bad idea. First, because I would lose-- big time. Second, and more importantly, in our current SBC environment it is important for denominational employees to be accountable to our churches-- not, for example, appointing trustees that, well, oversee us.

One of the blogs in my Bloglines Reader is GetReligion.org. The site analyzes secular media coverage of religious issues and they are often quite insightful.