http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/02/oklahoma_and_mis

Oklahoma Baptists are talking about missional churches. They have started a process to help their churches be missional. Their State Exec. is Anthony Jordan and he is helping to set the tone. Leaders like Scott Phillips, Bob Mayfield, and the team are working hard to cast a vision for missional ministry. Recently, Scott Phillips and I wrote a couple of missional church articles you can find here in a magazine for their pastors and church leaders.

Part of that includes the annual missional ministry conference. The conference has grown rapidly as people are seeking to engage culture and live in and for the mission of Jesus.

Here is a photo of the meeting I just left:


One story recently explained:

Churches were challenged to abandon religion by Anthony L. Jordan…

Jordan challenged Oklahoma Baptists neither to act like a religion nor to be identified as another religious body, but as a people following Christ. “Jesus did not come into the world to start a religion, he came to start a movement that is relational, transformational, and incarnational,” Jordan said, during his Tuesday morning address.

“The Jesus movement is relational in that the relationship is with Christ above religious activity, doctrinal correctness, ritual or structure; and transformational in that it focuses on making disciples and on a way of living; and incarnational in that it focuses on serving and going rather than protecting us from others and keep us from storms. To care for the hurting we must venture into the storm.”

That's just good stuff... and even better coming from a key denominational leader who "gets it."

Bob Mayfield is seeking to help churches with traditional structures to be missions. He writes about the "Missional Sunday School."

He wrote in a recent article:

Is your Sunday School class impacting your culture, or is it full of people who have been sitting for 20 years? Here’s some good news! Your Sunday School is meant to be a culture changing dynamo!

Are you interested? A new style of Sunday School is emerging that is still appreciative of the classic Sunday School disciplines of the past, but sensitive to the needs of engaging the 21st century with the gospel. We’re calling it Missional Sunday School and here’s what it
looks like:

• They do not have lessons! They invite people to engage the Bible and search and discover the eternal truth of God’s Word, rather than having information given to them;

• This class functions like a “community of evangelism” that invites their lost friends and neighbors in for a view of authentic Christianity;

• Missional Sunday Schools build bridges to the culture and engage in ministry in the community, often by partnering with community services;

• Because these new classes are reaching beyond the walls of their class, churches with missional Sunday Schools have more people enrolled in Sunday School than they have church members (Oklahoma, by the way, has 31% fewer people enrolled in Sunday School than members);

• These missional classes are actively praying for their lost friends and neighbors to come to Christ;

• Missional classes use “team evangelism”. They recognize that for most people, becoming a Christian is a journey and a number of people can help bring someone to Christ;

• Because these classes are relationally driven, they tend to be smaller classes.

Keywords: blog, Stetzer

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/03/i_had_essential_

Yep, there is a reason I am behind in my emails and my work. (Friday is for Friends will probably be Monday, for example). But, I am still catching up. You see, I had some meetings with VERY important people last week... and things got a little crazy.

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/03/friday_is_for_fr

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:




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.


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.

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/03/you_provide_the_

Go ahead... what caption would you suggest for this picture from the ComeBack Challenge conference? (picture: Tim Gentry)


Rick Warren & Ed Stetzer

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/03/homeschooling_in

According to the L.A. Times:

Parents who lack teaching credentials cannot educate their children at home, according to a state appellate court ruling that is sending waves of fear through California's home schooling families.

CT explains in its story:

A California appellate court ruled last week that a family's religious convictions do not guarantee a right to homeschool their children.

"California courts have held that under provisions in the Education Code, parents do not have a constitutional right to homeschool their children," wrote Justice H. Walter Croskey for California's Second District Court of Appeal.

Regardless of your thoughts about homeschooling, this is a religious liberty issue that should concern us all.

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/03/religion_researc

One of the standard tools for those of us who work in church and culture research is the Association of Religion Data Archives.

They recently announced some upgraded functionalities:

THE ARDA INTRODUCES NEW LOOK AND NEW FEATURES

The Association of Religion Data Archives is excited to announce a new look and many new features. Two of the most significant new features are GIS U.S. Maps and the Learning Center.

Partnering with Social Explorer (www.socialexplorer.com), the ARDA now provides a U.S. Maps tool that allows for interactive mapping of demographic data by census tracts and religious adherence data by counties. All of the GIS maps allow for zooming, moving, and searching across locations and let you create customized demographic and religious reports.

You will also find an expanded Learning Center. The Learning Center contains many new Learning Modules for classroom use and now includes a Dictionary of Religious and Statistical Terms. The new Center also offers multiple interactive tools, including the Compare Yourself Survey that allows students and others to compare themselves to the U.S. population on a variety of religious indicators. A more complete overview of the many new features and upgrades is provided below.

Learning Center…includes downloadable Learning Modules, a Glossary of Religious and Statistical Terms, and multiple interactive tools.

GIS Mapping…using tools developed by Social Explorer, GIS maps allow you to visually see the social, economic, demographic, and religious landscape of neighborhoods, cities, states, regions, and the entire United States.

Multi-Country Comparisons…easily select up to seven nations to receive a comparison of their social, demographic, economic, and religious characteristics.

Compare Yourself Survey … allows individuals' to see how their answers compare to other Americans taking a national survey.

Denominational QuickStats…centralized location for information on U.S. denominations. Includes information on mergers and schisms, membership data, changes over time, and distribution across the country.

New Data … data and other information were updated in our National Profiles and our U.S. Denominations feature.

New Design …The homepage now provides easy access to some of the most popular resources on the ARDA site. Using drop-down menus, the new homepage now allows for faster access to the ARDA's various content and tools.

The Association of Religion Data Archives
Authoritative Information Made Accessible
www.theARDA.com

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/03/road_to_financia

At my church, we recently completed a 4 week message series called "The Road to Financial Freedom." Our platform was covered with road signs that related to different parts of the message (see below).

You can learn more here. Ashley Clayton is the brains beyond the operation.


Ashley asked me to write and deliver a series of four messages that they would videotape and outline to use in future iterations of the message series. So, since they are using the outlines, I won't put them here... but I will tell you a little about the emphasis.

The web site explains:

"It’s A New Day” is about stewardship! It’s about the lordship of Christ over everything in our lives! It’s about getting out of debt! It’s about being ready to fulfill God’s call upon our lives!

And there is a good reason for helping your church to encourage people toward financial freedom:

Imagine what churches could do for the kingdom if their members were not burdened with debt. Imagine what could be accomplished if church members were free to fulfill God’s call of ministry. There has never been a better time than NOW to experience true joy and liberty that comes through financial freedom!

I built some of the series around a symbolic metaphor related to an earlier argument with my middle daughter. One day she complained that I had eaten all the Cheese-Its and she became obsessed with getting her own Cheese-Its.

I showed this photo in church to introduce the issue of fear and greed.


She did not know that her father could provide more... and would meet all her needs. When you really want something, your greed becomes idolatry and then it becomes an idol in your life. Then, you get trapped by your stuff.

On the week we talked about greed becoming an idol, and your stuff taking over your life, we illustrated with a big box:


For many (most?), money is an idol:

"Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to... greed, which amounts to idolatry" (Colossians 3:5, HCSB)

In other words:
• Fear leads to greed
• Greed creates idolatry
• Idolatry leads to bondage

(The final message had a prison of the Cheese-Its.)

Admittedly, it was a bit "cheesy," but it seemed that everyone "got" the metaphor.

The message series can be found at the church website. They were:

1. God's Ownership
2. Debt's Dangers
3. Greed's Antidote
4. Money and Work's Purpose

Since the message series was for Crown Financial Ministries, we did not use much from other organizations in the presentations. However, Michael Edwards, occasional blog commenter and regular church attendee, put up a Dave Ramsey video on-line that relates well. It was played at the Catalyst Conference and it is worth taking a look.



And here is Dave Ramsey speaking on finances (if you listen be sure to go to the end):



This is an important issue and one we frequently overlook... and it requires sensitivity and honesty to address the topic.

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/03/jimmie_davidson_

This morning, I preached at Highlands Fellowship in Abingdon, VA. I plan to write more about the church and its pastor, Jimmie Davidson, in the coming days. That post will deal with their remarkable global strategy.



First, in this post, a little about the church.

Highlands Fellowship was part of a study that LifeWay Research did last year called "Standout Churches."

In order to be in the "Standout Church" survey, a church had to have:

A minimum of 26 baptisms for 10 consecutive years (1996-2005)
A membership to baptism ratio of no more than 20 to 1 each of these ten years
A minimum of 5% growth in worship attendance overall (2005 compared to 1996)

Highlands Fellowship is one 22 (of 43,000 churches examined) that met the Standout Church criteria. Nineteen (of the 22 churches invited) participated in the study. You can read more about it here. The PowerPoint from the study is here.

You can listen to Jimmy in an interview about that study here.

The church is multisite so, late last night, I spoke to a camera in an empty room with 1000 seats. The "High Def" recording was then delivered to three locations (in Johnson City, Bristol, and Abingdon) early this morning. (And, no, I do not look any better in High Def.)

Then, this morning, I preached live at Abingdon and that message was "beamed" to several other venues with different worship styles.

Their web page listed their Abingdon venues as follows:



The church has about 3000 attendees on a weekend in all these different venues and locations.

Jimmy is a great guy with a remarkable gift for encouragement.

But, that is most remarkable is how they are mobilizing their church in a small town to be involved globally... more on that soon.

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/03/russell_moore_mi

The prolific Southern Seminary Dean, Russ Moore, makes me think about a surprising issue-- church graveyards.

You can read the article here. Until today, I thought I was the only one who occasionally strolled through a church cemetery.

Some excerpts:

Drive by your local booming suburban church, or the up and coming congregation everyone's talking about in your community. You might find a state-of-the-art children's complex--complete with antibiotic soap dispensers on every corner. You might find a Family Life Center--previously known as a gym--with a basketball court, foosball tables, maybe even an Olympic size pool. You'll almost certainly find a feeding hall, perhaps with a franchised gourmet coffee kiosk nearby. What you will not find is a graveyard.

Not many churches have cemeteries anymore. In some ways, that's a good thing. Churches that are growing and evangelistic rightly conclude that sharing the Gospel with the living is more important than remembering the dead...

The church graveyard might serve to remind us of something that we as contemporary evangelical Christians, with all our flash and verve, seem to forget too often these days. We are going to die...

Perhaps, though, a graveyard in our peripheral vision as we get out of the car for worship might remind us of the gravity of the task before us. Maybe a cemetery in at least some of our churches would serve as an icon that all our Babels will collapse, all our wood, hay, and stubble will be incinerated before the Judgment Seat.

After all, our church buildings--even the most state-of-the-art of them--will someday collapse beneath the weight of decay. Your church sign may someday hang silently above some rubble, battered and torn, like the Statue of Liberty in the final scene of the "Planet of the Apes." Maybe the tattered wording on it will still announce to the silences around it, "The Church Alive Is Worth the Drive," but no one will care about how good its sound system used to be. Our hymnals and our bulletins and our PowerPoint presentations and our systematic theology texts will one day wither away into mold and dust...

Only the Gospel, only the power of Christ, will remain...

We're a Kingdom--a Kingdom that spans the ages and includes the dead and the unborn, mighty as an army with banners...

Sometime, when you get a moment, find an old church graveyard and walk through it. Not for the goose bumps or ghost stories, of course, but to remind yourself of some matters of eternal weight.

Good words.

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/03/people_and_place

Recently, I inadvertently said good things about Pentecostals and Presbyterians, so let me atone by sharing a few SBC updates:

Junior Hill



One of the things I love about my job is the chance to meet with and learn from great men and women of God. One such person is Junior Hill.

I had dinner with Dr. Hill in Orlando last week. We talked about the gospel, evangelism, Calvinism, the emerging church, and the diet that helped him lose an amazing 125 pounds.

My favorite moments came when he told the stories of men and women he had led to Christ. My guess is that tens of thousands have trusted Christ at a meeting preached by Junior Hill. I was honored to spend time with a man of his character and passion.


Rob Zinn Speaks to Southern Baptists

Rob Zinn, well known leader in SBC life and former head of the SBC Executive Committee, joins a chorus of voices calling for cooperation around God's mission.

Last week, in Okahoma, Rob said:

We got into this big battle in 1979 over the Bible. But I’m here to tell you, we won that battle! What we need to do is get on with the rest of life. We need to quit fighting a battle that’s been won and get back to doing the main thing; which is the main thing, and that’s winning people to Jesus, evangelizing the world, and starting missions and going out and doing what God told us to do. That’s what we NEED to be doing! When there’s a battle to be won, then we ought to get together. But folks, when the battle is over, then we need to quit beating people over the head with it and get down to the basics of ministry. And the basics of ministry is not politics, it’s JESUS!

Comeback Churches

The Kentucky Baptist Convention is turning our book, Comeback Churches, into a process. Should be interesting...


Johnny Hunt
I had some time with Johnny Hunt this morning who is increasingly concerned with our denomination's lack of focus. He shared with me: “We can get 45,000 people to a convention to declare the Bible is true but we can’t get 10,000 to a convention to live it out—we have lost our focus on the main thing.”

If you have not yet signed up, let me encourage you to come with Johnny, me, and a host of other people at his Bonfire Conference. We talked a bit about the conference and its focus. We are going to talk much about church transformation and revitalization. It will definitely be worth your time.


John 3:16 Conference

Speaking of Johnny Hunt, his church (First Baptist Church of Woodstock) is hosting a conference with some of the great preachers of our day.

My friend Steve Lemke sent me this note today. As Steve has indicated, there has been some buzz about this in the blogs. Steve gave me permission to post his note that gives some more details about the meeting.

Steve explains:

Ed,

I’m sure you’re aware of my involvement in the upcoming John 3:16 conference scheduled November 6-7 at FBC Woodstock.

The conference will begin and end with sermons on John 3:16 by Dr. Jerry Vines and by Dr. Charles Stanley. In between, Southern Baptist scholars will be presenting a Biblical response to the well-known tenets of the Presbyterian Synod of Dort:
• Total Depravity - Dr. Paige Patterson (SWBTS)
• Unconditional Election - Dr. Richard Land (ERLC)
• Limited Atonement - Dr. David Allen (SWBTS)
• Irresistible Grace - Dr. Steve Lemke (NOBTS)
• Perseverance of the Saints - Dr. Ken Keathley (SEBTS)

This conference is intended as a majoritarian Southern Baptist response to the “Building Bridges” and “Together for the Gospel” conferences. The announcement of this conference has already provoked considerable buzz and speculation in the blogosphere.

Hope you’ll join us!

Steve Lemke

I can't go, but there are some good men sharing and I trust it will bring honor to God and a focus on the Great Commission.

That is something upon which we can all agree.


Heading Home

I just finished preaching at the Southern Baptists Conservatives of Virginia Evangelism Conference (tonight) and the State Convention of Baptists Evangelism Conference (yesterday), so now I am on my way home.

I must confess. I do love encouraging SBC pastors to engage their communities for the gospel. It is good to be amount the family with common values, passions, and an abiding love for fried chicken.

Are we perfect? No. But, I believe that the SBC is increasingly more focused on God’s global mission and cooperating more effectively. That is good news.

Anyway, I am trusting that I made much of the cross and Jesus in my message tonight. That's my passion and, I hope, our purpose.

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/03/more_on_rob_zinn

Mike from my church shared with me an online quote from Rob Zinn's SBC sermon. (I mentioned Rob yesterday.)

The story explains:

The great majority of Southern Baptist churches are disobeying the mission given them by Christ, and countless people are destined for hell because those churches refuse to make the changes needed to reach the lost in their communities, a California pastor told messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention June 13 in San Antonio.

Quoting Rob:

"Jesus gave a commission to His disciples to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations," Rob Zinn, senior pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Highland, Calif., said in the convention's annual sermon. "We are a denomination that talks a lot but does little when it comes to evangelism...

"Folks, what you did in the '40s and what you did in the '50s isn't going to win this culture to Jesus," Zinn said. "One of the things we are losing right now is our kids."

While Southern Baptists must never change "the man [Jesus], the message [the Gospel] or the mission," they must be willing to change methods like the kind of music used in worship if they are going to reach a new generation in a changed culture, Zinn said.

His voice cracking with emotion, Zinn said: "My heart is bursting for a generation of people who are lost and dying and going to hell. It's not about you. It's about Him [Jesus], and He loves them all."

You can read the full story here.

As I said in my SBC message after Rob, "He bought it... and I bought it."

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/03/more_on_jimmie_d

A few of you have emailed me about Highlands Fellowship, which I mentioned in an earlier post. Jimmy shared some more details which you might find interesting:

Jimmie explained their multisite and multi-venue approach as follows:

Our first additional site was in a strip mall which we converted into a campus. About 15,000 square fit of space, very little work just some paint and a great HD Projection head to toe. We are running about 7 to 800 in attendance, it’s two years old. Our advantage a core group of about 100 from the main campus already driving from Bristol which is about 20 minutes away. The twin cities of Bristol, population 50,000. We did a preview service on Christmas 2005 and then launched second week of January 2006. This gave us time to build momentum before the summer. We have a great campus pastor there, Curtis, who is a gifted leader / manager.

We started an additional site in Johnson City, Tennessee (population 50,000) last Easter. That is 40 minutes from our main campus and it was meeting in a community center on Sunday’s. We launched with about 400 in attendance on Easter Sunday 2007, doing a couple of previews and then launch using direct mail. We ran into several problems.

1. We did not have a core group that lived in the area. So this was more of a true new launch.
2. The church right off of Easter began a steady decline from the 400 not reaching bottom until late summer at around 120.
3. Leadership Issues. Our leader did not have the start up combination gifts of Leadership/Management essential for a new work. We found his nitch at the main campus and placed a new leader there.
4. The city had a history of failed church plants and there was skepticism this would work.
5. We feel the location and not having a permanent site hurt us although we started Highlands and grew to 700 in a high school this has not been ideal for us with our satellite. In Johnson City, we moved to a permanent and relaunched Christmas and now are averaging 200. It’s starting to really take off. We have a full time Ministry coordinator.

Another problem with these two launches is cost. Around 400,000 per campus which is not reproducible on a scale we want to achieve.

We are now launching a new idea called "café congregations." Our goal is ten of these by January 1, 2011.

We will launch our first 30 minutes away in a small town called Marion, in a county of 37,000 people with a core group. This is a low cost, low risk with great potential.

There is also no other contemporary witness there. We once again have leased space but much smaller, I’m guessing around 2200 square feet. No worship team/music/singing etc. Café tables/chairs and refreshments in a great environment and watch the message on a drop down video screen.

We have a volunteer children's director overseeing nursery, preschoolers, and children's class. Service will begin at 10 and 11. We will have a small group director volunteer overseeing small groups. The café will seat 65 adults. At 200 adults we will move to new location with live worship band/leader etc.

In our cafes at the Abingdon, Bristol and Johnson City campus we are packing out the café venues with seekers. There is no music other than background. The cost around 60,000 start up and another 60,000 for six months operating.

The benefit is over 270 families have visited or are attending Highlands from this region. Our preview service is Palm Sunday and launch on Easter. I know it’s another Easter launch but you can’t wait for perfect conditions. If this works it could be huge. We want to reproduce these in a five state region around Highlands main, within a two hour drive in each county seat town. Starting with those closest to us and building out from that.

Here is one other idea we are about to innovate.

We are having folks ask if they can start a Highlands site in their cities/towns. We are going to give it a try. We will give them a DVD of the service, shape them to see if they fit the leader/manager type to do it, and let them start in community centers/existing cafes already there. This is a no cost/low risk and great potential. They can even start in a home. These are people driving a distance from our church but have the Highlands DNA. This one excites me the most and has the most potential to become viral. Once again our goal is to go to the places others are not, either declining towns/cities with no contemporary witness close to us.

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/03/what_is_sin.html

Our friends at Ellison Research have recently done some research on sin. (I am skipping the obvious joke that we all have done a lot of personal research on the subject.)

You can read their public studies here. The sin study (with charts indicating percents who agree something is a sin), is particularly interesting and can be found here.

When I grew up (Catholic), I often wondered how the priest would decide the severity of sin and thus the amount of penance. This chart may help... the more people who agree it is sin, the more Hail Marys you should recite for penance. (I always imagined there was a chart on the other side of the confessional wall, so this may actually be the evidence I was seeking.)

And, in case you are wondering who agrees with what sin, below are the sins. Enjoy!

The behaviors a majority of all Americans describe as sinful are:

Adultery 81%

Racism 74%

Using “hard” drugs such as cocaine, heroine, meth, LSD, etc. 65%

Not saying anything if a cashier gives you too much change back 63%

Having an abortion 56%

Homosexual activity or sex 52%

Not reporting some income on your tax returns 52%

A number of other behaviors are considered sinful by a significant portion of all Americans, although not a majority. These are:

Reading or watching pornography 50%

Gossip 47%

Swearing 46%

Sex before marriage 45%

Homosexual thoughts 44%

Sexual thoughts about someone you are not married to 43%

Doing things as a consumer that harm the environment 41%

Smoking marijuana 41%

Getting drunk 41%

Not taking proper care of your body 35%

Then there are behaviors that fewer than one-third of all Americans see as sinful:

Gambling 30%

Telling a “little white lie” to avoid hurting someone’s feelings 29%

Using tobacco 23%

Not attending church or religious worship services on a regular basis 18%

Playing the lottery 18%

Watching an R-rated movie 18%

Being significantly overweight 17%

Not giving 10% of your income to a church or charity 16%

Drinking any alcohol 14%

Working on Sunday/the Sabbath 14%

Spanking your child when he/she misbehaves 7%

Making a lot of money 4%

Dancing 4%

Interesting that more people consider spanking a sin than consider dancing a sin. They must not have ever seen me disco in the 70's...

The Christian Post has the story here.

Most importantly, sin is sin. God is God. And forgivenes comes through Jesus work on the cross.

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/03/and_one_more_bit

The thing that impressed me most about Highlands Fellowship was their global vision. I have already written about my visit to Highlands and their multisite strategy. But, the most impressive thing about their church has to be their global vision.

I asked Jimmie to share with me about that global vision and he explained:

One of the most defining moments of my life happened on Monday night, May 12th 2003. It continues to shape my life and millions of others to this day.

Rick Warren walked into a meeting on the eve of the 2003 Saddleback Conference and said these words: “You’re not here by accident. God brought you here for a reason. Your vision is not big enough. I looked around the room in that small gathering of pastors and thought, “I’ve got a big vision, and I know some of the people in this room have a big vision.” About that time Rick said, “These are the very words God gave me to give you: ‘For the Global Glory of God’.”

When I heard those words, something happened. It literally felt like a knife had cut into my heart. I’ve never had anything like that happen to me before. In one moment, I’m lifted up in pride at all I thought I was doing for the Lord and the next I’m bent over having just been nailed by the Lord.

God opened my eyes. As much as He cared about the people I was trying to reach, He cared just as much about everyone else in the whole world. My vision was not big enough. For the first time in my life, I realized Jesus meant the Great Commission. He wasn’t joking. I had a word from God and my life would never be the same, the people I pastor would never be the same and the millions that would be impacted by obedience to that word would never be the same. I began to share with the people of Highlands Fellowship over and over. Little did I know that in a few short weeks, God would test my obedience.

One summer day while spending time with the Lord, I read 2 Chron. 16:9 which says, “For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” As I sat there, I thought to myself, “Lord, no one would pick me. I pastor a church in a small town, in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia. No one would pick me, but you’re telling me you would.” So right there that morning I said, “Lord, I make my heart completely yours. Use me. Pick me. Here I am Lord, pick me! Whatever you want, I’m available.”

That evening as I walked into my home, my wife, Lori, told me that I had received an e-mail from Mark Carver of Saddleback Church asking me to go to Egypt to speak at their first purpose driven church conference in the Middle East. The first words out of my mouth were “I ain’t going to Egypt.” God was laughing. That morning, here am I Lord send me, that night send someone else I’m to chicken.

Later that night when I was struggling with whether this was God’s will or not, my wife gently reminded me of a commitment we made before we married. We promised God that if He could not find someone for an assignment He wanted done, we would be the couple that would go. In that moment, I remembered once again the Great Commission of Jesus – Go! I realized I did not have to pray. Over 2000 years ago, He had already told me to go by starting where I was and continuing until I had shared His good news with the whole world. I then replied to Mark’s email with my willingness to go. if they needed me. Later that morning I regretted having said yes. I then told myself that they really didn’t want me, God was just using this to test me. Two days later, the reply came your it, your going. Obedience to Christ is an amazing thing. When we obey, it’s not closed ended but leads to greater opportunities to be used by God.

Just a few short weeks later, our church hosted an end of summer party to invite the unchurched to check out Highlands and to kick off a new series. While speaking during the Saturday night service, I remembered Rick saying that sometimes God has to bump us to get us to do what He wants us to do. I thought that sounded really cool, so I used it in my service that night and told those in attendance that we needed to ask God right then and there to bump us, if we needed to be bumped into what He wanted us to do.

Right after I walked off stage, I was greeted by several of my pastoral staff who looked almost ill. When I asked them what was wrong, they told me that the neighbors across the street had called the police and were charging us with disturbing the peace because they were upset with our youth who were having an outdoor concert. They also expressed their anger because they had been unable to sell their home due to our “ark” that was practically in their front yard. The police had also informed the youth leaders that if they had to return the next morning, someone would go to jail.

I began to laugh. This was so cool. They were going to throw our youth ministers in jail. Wow! This was just like in the Bible. No one laughed with me. When I asked them why they weren’t laughing, they told me that I would be the one put in jail, not the youth leaders. I then realized it wasn’t as funny as when I thought the youth leaders would go to jail. We laughed and I took some of the pastors to a room to pray.

I asked what would Jesus do? How would He respond? I couldn’t call off the service the next day as thousands were coming. Then it came to me. I knew what we had to do. We could call down fire from heaven and have the whole house and family consumed. Yeah! That’s it! Then I thought that’s not Jesus. That was James and John—the burn baby burn brothers. Jesus said to love your enemies, don’t return evil for evil but good for evil, be like your heavenly Father.

I told the guys that we were going to buy their house. We had no money, but we were going to buy it. In fact, we would give them the full asking price of $403,000.00 so that no one could ever say Highlands Fellowship took advantage of its neighbors. We chose to love them.

I called the neighbors and asked if we could come over. They were a little reluctant after having called the police, but finally agreed. As we walked over to their house, I told the other pastors who were with me that we were going to turn the house into the Global Glory of God Peace House. We were going to invite men and women of peace from all over the world, people of great influence to spend ten days at Highlands Fellowship living in this home with other global leaders, learning God’s purposes from people doing the purposes of God. We would love them and model for them what Jesus meant when He called us to be servants. During their time at the house, they would get a glimpse of God’s Global Glory and God’s invitation for them to carry it out. They would see first hand a church that has created environments to bring in those who do not know Jesus. They would learn with the people of Highlands how to take their next step in growing to maturity, training to serve in ministry, and being sent out to share their story, all for His global glory. The goal being that one day, you will not be able to go to a place in the world that has not been impacted by a witness from Highlands Fellowship.

As we arrived at the family’s home, there was tension but I quickly encouraged the family not to feel bad for calling the police because God had bumped us. You could have knocked them over with an iPod. We bought the house and the people of Highlands were able to pay it off within 11 months.

Since that summer of 2003, over 180 pastors, business and Christian leaders representing over 40 nations have stayed at the Global Glory of God Peace House. We have chosen to house a small number so that their experience can be personal and practical. This May will be our tenth event with 25 to 30 global leaders hanging with us for ten days.

The leaders we have mentored have been able to return to their homes with ideas to better reach their culture and they are seeing amazing results. Pastors whose churches were running 4,000 jumped to 8,000 in a matter of months. Many, if not most, of the leaders who come to Highlands are pastoring or leading denominations whose congregations are much larger than ours. We can all learn from each other. The leaders God sends us continue to be people who have greater and greater influence. The combined representation of the leaders at any one event is into the millions. The impact is global.

Last year, through divine appointments with William Okoye at Saddleback’s May Conference, they held their first Global Glory of God Peace Conference at his church in Abuja, Nigeria. This September will be their second conference. William is the former Chaplain to the President of Nigeria. His influence in Nigeria and Africa as a whole is amazing. Kings and Presidents call him by name. William gathered over 70 of the most influential religious leaders from that most influential African nation and we together taught them how to grow a healthy church for God’s glory. Through William, I was invited to personally address the President of Nigeria in his chapel service on a Sunday and present him with a P.E.A.C.E bowl. Afterwards, I was invited to be a guest in his home for lunch. Thirteen members of the Highlands Fellowship team ate in his palace. Only God could orchestrate that.

This summer, Peace teams from Highlands Fellowship will begin visiting the pastors and churches we have trained to encourage them and help them with their practical needs. Highlands is building a peace village that will equip small groups and churches to help make the pastors and churches in impoverished areas of the world heroes in their communities as we train them how to dig wells for clean drinking water, plant crops, build businesses, and do what Jesus did by helping the poorest among us. These churches will become the most influential in their areas as they will be able to share the good news as they care for people’s basic needs.

I have realized that the word I received from God in May of 2003 wasn’t just for me. It was for every believer, every pastor, and every church. Jesus meant it. He wasn’t joking. Your vision is not big enough. For the Global Glory of God. I invite you and your church to join us in finishing the Great Commission Jesus gave us. His eyes are searching for those whose hearts are fully His, so He can strongly support them. Say it with me, “Here I am Lord, use me”.

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/03/off_to_criswell_

It's 5.30 in the morning and I am off to Criswell College to preach in their chapel for Great Commission Week.

I will share more about Criswell College later, but it has, in its short history, made a lasting impact on my whole denomination.

Luke Britt, recent winner of the "Rick Warren / Ed Stetzer caption contest" will be picking me up.

More soon...

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/03/criswell_reflect

My three hours at Criswell College turned into quite an ordeal in Dallas... but also a blessing as I had the chance to spend some time with college President Jerry Johnson and to learn more about a hero of mine, W.A. Criswell.

The Visit

I preached at the Criswell College chapel for their Great Commission Week. They had a great group of students and a passion for the gospel.

After that, the president and I went to the Petroleum Club. Now, this is a pretty fancy place for a working class New Yorker like me. The club explains, "Founded in 1934, The Dallas Petroleum Club has evolved from a fraternity of prominent oil men into one of the finest private city clubs in the country." Well, let's just say that I wished I had worn a shirt that “tucks” before we went.


Spending some time with Jerry Johnson was great. We actually were at Southern Seminary together but this was the first time we had the chance to visit and talk-- and talk we did. About the denomination, the school, and mutual friends.

Jerry has a radio program and he gets some great people to join him for interviews. Yesterday, he spoke with Lee Strobel. You can download and listen to podcasts of his insightful interviews here.

Criswell has some ambitious and exciting plans for the future.

The Storm and Its Damage

When we got back from the club, things were not good at the school (or in Dallas in general). American Airlines canceled all Dallas flights and, I found out later, thousands of people spent the night in cots. (They were still there this morning.) At one point they actaully evacuated the air traffic control tower due to 100 mph winds.

When Jerry and I returned from lunch, there was at least two feet of standing water against the wall on the outside of the school, and the lower floor of the library was flooding. Not good.

Pray for the school, and consider donating, to help them with the damage.

The School and Its Founder

Well, since I was not going home, I had some time to tour... and what a tour it was. Jerry showed me around a few not-yet-public things.

Now, if the name "Criswell" means nothing to you, stop reading now. Or, better yet, read on and learn.

First, as any Baptist worth his/her friend chicken knows, Criswell is ground zero for the Southern Baptist Conservative Resurgence. The pictures are on the wall and the names are mentioned regularly. (They call them “Criswell Men,” always uttered with hushed and respectful tones.) So, I am honored they would invite me to a place with such history.

Second, W.A. Criswell is a legend. Wikipedia’s article on Wally Amos Criswell explains:

Wallie Amos Criswell, Ph.D. (December 19, 1909 – January 10, 2002), was an American pastor, author, and a two-term elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1968 to 1969. Supporters have described him as the patriarch of the "Conservative Resurgence" within the SBC.


Criswell was born in Eldorado, Oklahoma, and felt a divine call to enter the Christian ministry as a teenager. Criswell was licensed to preach at the age of seventeen and soon thereafter held student pastorates at Devil's Bend and Pulltight, Texas. He would also serve as pastor of First Baptist Church Mt. Washington (near Louisville, KY), First Baptist Church of Chickasha, Oklahoma, and First Baptist Church of Muskogee.

In 1944, he became the senior pastor of the First Baptist Church in Dallas, where he remained until semiretirement in 1995. During this period, the church's membership grew from 7,800 to 25,000. The church expanded to multiple buildings in downtown Dallas, and becoming a well-known Southern Baptist megachurch. The popular evangelist Billy Graham has been a member of the Dallas congregation.

Criswell was instrumental in the rightward shift of the Southern Baptist convention that began in the late 1970s. He published fifty-four books, including an annotated Criswell Study Bible. He received eight honorary doctorates. He founded Criswell College, First Baptist Academy, and KCBI Radio.

Sermons and Videos

Upon his death, a site was endowed to preserve his sermons, well, until Jesus comes back. You can download his sermons in multiple forms here. Don’t let the front page fool you; it is a technological wonder from over 5 decades of expository preaching to one congregation.

The www.wacriswell.com site has a full bio with two video documentaries at the end of the bio page.

W.A. Criswell

No, at the risk of going over the top, I am a big fan of W.A. Criswell. So, I was excited when Jerry took me into a new memorabilia room in honor of Dr. Criswell. It is an EXACT replica of his home study reproduced exactly as it was on the day he died on January 10, 2002. For example, the items on his desk are still on his desk from that day, it is just now in a locked room). The details are, well, a little freaky. For example, they took pictures of all the books and stacked them right where they were that day. (When I die, please clean up the place and straighten my books before taking any pictures.)

But, since it was exactly placed, I had an opportunity that few have:

His famous goggle glasses... I touched them (a free book to anyone who can find a photo of him preaching in those glasses).

His chair... sat in it.

His kneeler... prayed a quick prayer in it.

And, I even took home a piece of his stationary (real stuff from his desk).

Amazing.

I thought day was redeemed and could not have been made any better... but wait, there is more! I found out later that they picked me up from the airport in Mrs. Criswell's car, donated to the school upon her death. So, that was a little extra bonus.

A Prayer

So, thank you God for the rain. Sorry you had to strand 10,000 people in the Dallas airport so I could see W.A. Criswell's study, but I am grateful.

There are great preachers today. There are great leaders today. But, there are few W.A. Criswells to be found. May his tribe increase and may the college that bears his name produce leaders committed to his cause!

Weather aside, all and all a good time… and, I owe Luke Britt for taking me to the airport at 5a.m. this morning…

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/03/missional_church

This morning, I spent the day with the staff of three local churches, Living Hope, New Vision, and First Baptist churches. Our focus was on "the missional church" and how our churches might embrace such a vision.

There are many who think that large churches simply cannot be missional. To be fair, I think it is more difficult at a mega church. Large churches can and do struggle with the tendency to turn inward. Having "much" makes it harder to focus on the mission because it requires so much energy to maintain the system. In other words, the more you have, the more you must focus on keeping "it" going.

But, ultimately, I think the mission of God must not just be "owned" by the new or small church. It must also be owned by mega churches, contemporary churches, traditional churches, etc. It’s a big mission and we need all hands on deck to join God in that mission.

So, I talked with about 60 staff members from three megachurches about how we might do that in churches such as ours. (And, a couple of church planters crashed the meeting too, so I guess that was 4 churches.)

The questions and discussion were very insightful and spoke well, I think, of the desire that these staffs have to not play church, but to truly join God in His mission.

You can listen to Jason Pettus, pastor of Living Hope, as he recently preached a series on the missional church. Click on graphic to see and listen to the series:


Last year, I wrote an article intended to encourage megas to be more missional. It was published in Outreach Magazine.

The article has an interesting history. After it was published in the magazine, the Presbyterian Global Fellowship, a reform group within the mainline PCUSA, sent the article out to their 8000 subscribers. I received some interesting feedback from mainline pastors-- probably the most feedback I have ever received from mainline pastors from a published article.

Anyway, you can read the article below:

What do you think of when you hear the word megachurch? Maybe polished productions, big personalities, an expansive building, stellar programs (lots and lots of programs) and crowded parking lots with orange-vested attendants, come to mind. Maybe a great worship service that leaves you laughing, crying or both. Or perhaps a creative children’s ministry—kind of a Jesus-meets-Chuck E. Cheese type of place.

To most people, the word mega suggests bigness and power, not necessarily missional ministry and sacrifice. (It combines nicely with well-known words like megalomaniac, megaphone and mega-millions. Words like mega-service, mega-sacrifice, and mega-witness, well … not so much.) Although mega is not exactly a word we think of when subjects like Jesus, the Bible or the early Church are discussed, it definitely grabs our attention.

But what’s next for megas besides the infamous big productions and headline-making numbers? People have been criticizing the practices and predicting the demise of megachurches for more than a decade now, and some of their criticisms are valid. Many megachurches are not living with a Kingdom focus—unless that kingdom has the megachurch pastor as the sovereign. At times megachurches have been shallow, ego-driven and less than engaged in their community.

On the other hand, I’ve been doing quite a bit of research to uncover whether bigness always tramples the values of Christ. Are the thousands of megachurch attendees across the globe really that shallow and easily fooled by the music, lights and makeup? Are the hallmarks of the megachurch still consumerism, excess programs and marketing tactics?

Some may say yes, but lately I’ve noticed a progression in the ways these churches are bringing the Gospel to the community and the world. Following their trajectory helps us identify five missional realms megachurches are stepping into—key realms that will likely define their future.

1. Community Transformation

While some megachurches are building their own bowling alleys so believers won’t be offended by the lifestyles of those abrasive lost bowlers, others are serving and impacting their communities in profound ways—engaging the poor, working for the welfare of their cities, meeting practical needs in the community, purposely joining “secular” sports leagues—and seeing lives transformed by the power of Jesus Christ.

For example, the 3,300 members of Calvary Church in Charlotte, N.C. (calvarychurch.com), engage in more than a dozen local outreach opportunities each week. Church volunteers operate the Homeless and Street Ministry where they cook and serve breakfast to hundreds of people on Saturdays at the Uptown Shelter and on downtown streets. Every Wednesday, the volunteer-run Clothes Closet provides quality, gently used clothing to those in need in the community. The church’s Jackson Park Ministries helps inner-city families deal with extreme financial hardship and broken family relationships by providing housing and services to help them recover and stay together. The ministry also offers classes on money management as well as marriage and parenting skills.

What’s happening at Calvary is a practical outworking of missional living. Calvary is focusing on someone other than itself, its services and its programs, and joining God on His mission in the world. Like Calvary, other megachurches are also deciding that what they are receiving from God—an abundance of people, resources and callings—is going to be the determining factor that drives their ministry purpose, commitment and giving. They’re turning their focus from “every member a minister” to “every member on mission,” and effecting change in the lives of their members and communities.

Megas are also partnering with organizations and individuals in their community to harness various talents and abilities for Kingdom work. For example, 19,000-member First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles (famechurch.org) conducts a free legal clinic two Sundays a month to assist people who cannot afford an attorney with landlord/tenant disputes, credit issues, real estate and more. The church clinic networks with the UCLA School of Law and its students to provide totally free assistance with no income requirements.

2. Global Ministry

For too many, going missional means little more than a pastor with a goatee and indie rock. But true missional engagement isn’t being trendy; it involves joining God in His mission both locally and globally. Going forward, more and more megachurches are taking Jesus’ words from Acts 1:8 to heart—that we are to witness of His glory in both local (our Jerusalem) and global (uttermost parts of the earth) settings—and utilizing their strength and influence toward that end.

Take Rick Warren, for example. Being the pastor of a church that defined the boomer megachurch phenomenon (think Hawaiian shirts, shoes without socks and a baptism pool right off the glass sanctuary) was not enough. Warren knew he was called to a global mission, so building upon the success of his book, Purpose Driven Life, Saddleback Church initiated his P.E.A.C.E. plan (thepeaceplan.com) in 2005.

Citing what he labeled as the five Global Goliaths—spiritual emptiness, egocentric leadership, extreme poverty, pandemic diseases, and illiteracy and lack of education—Warren singled out the worldwide network of Christian churches as the only organization with the resources to solve these problems. After spreading awareness, Saddleback began providing leadership and training opportunities for churches around the world that wanted to get involved in the P.E.A.C.E. plan, through seminar-type briefings and an extensive online system of tools and resources.

That’s what can happen when a megachurch focuses not only on increasing its own size and numbers, but on investing its God-given resources for the purpose of extending His kingdom around the world. I believe this kind of global leadership initiative will largely characterize the megachurch of the future.

But significant global awareness and influence is also happening at the local level. As the U.S. population becomes increasingly diversified, I see many megachurches claiming their role as Gospel ambassadors and cultural anthropologists. In Pensacola, Fla., the 10,000-member Olive Baptist Church (olivebaptist.org) is focused on reaching diverse ethnicities within its community. As Pastor Ted Traylor encourages the church to be missional, he models that concept with a multicultural staff of Hispanic, Russian and Chinese pastors. The church identified key people groups to intentionally reach, then hired staff who spoke each language and understood each culture to show the church’s commitment to taking the Gospel to all ethnicities.

3. Apostolic Networking

More and more megachurches understand that they are not called to be kings of the mountain. Rather, the Lord has blessed them so that they can bless their communities and incrementally reproduce their talents through other churches. Many megas are doing this through networking outside their church—a methodology called “apostolic networking,” or acting as a key leader of a network that partners in new missional endeavors.

This kind of megachurch collaboration is an increasingly prevalent theme that will carry into the future. Convening best practices and a wealth of diverse experience around a common table produces rich and strategic alignments, in turn providing new leadership and new means of collaborating. As I’ve been studying this changing paradigm, I’ve noticed many megachurches partnering with other smaller churches by freely sharing their vast supply of resources and experience—developing training venues, church-planting networks, outwardly focused seminars and conferences, and online training for other churches. They’re making their staffs and resources available to other leaders and churches all over the world. I predict these strategic partnerships will only increase, replacing the competitive mindsets of the past.

Community Christian (communitychristian.org) in Naperville, Ill., is a prime example of leveraging influence not for its own means or renown, but to extend the Kingdom of God. As an outflow of the TK-member church’s exponential growth and the increasing number of pastors nationwide who wanted to learn from its success, the Naperville- based NewThing network (newthing.org) emerged to coach other pastors in church planting and multi-site strategies. Founding pastors Dave and John Ferguson lead their venture by this mission: “To be a catalyst for a movement of reproducing churches relentlessly dedicated to helping people find their way back to God.”

Still other megachurches like Kensington Community Church (http://www.kensingtonchurch.org/) are aligning with organizations like Vision360, a multi-denominational ministry that functions like a network of apostolic networks committed to reproducing churches. Led by former church planter Steve Johnson and Al Weiss, president of worldwide operations for Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, Vision360 aims to impact at least 50 cities throughout the United States, resulting in 1,000 new churches. Its international goal is to start as many as 500 churches in the largest cities across the globe.

That’s a lot of cities and a lot of people, but another growing megachurch trend has the capability to impact millions: virtual social networking. I believe multi-site LifeChurch.tv may be paving the way—it is intentionally engaging people in church through its Internet campus, which can either mean people watching the sermons online or experiencing the full virtual effect in the 3D digital world SecondLife (secondlife.com). On the weekend of Aug. 13, 2007, LifeChurch.tv’s Web site had more than 800 IPs (or Web site addresses) logged in for its online church service. In fact, one IP represented a group of 17 people in Germany who viewed the experience together and are living out the LifeChurch.tv community in another country. Skip ahead 10 years, and this kind of virtual worship won’t be unusual for the megachurch—it’ll be the norm.

4. Holistic Disciple-Making

Perhaps the greatest obstacle to megachurches being missional is the ease in which individuals can simply blend into the large crowds, remaining faithful as attendees but disengaged from other members and uninvolved in service and outreach. However, many megachurches are reversing this trend by reorienting their members to the centrality of Jesus’ message: discipling people toward living their lives in outward ways, like missionaries.

For megachurches, a praxis style of discipleship is catching on, whereby seasoned workers are taking others hand in hand to the real places of ministry, quite often beyond the church campus itself. At 4,300-member Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston, Texas (mdpc.org), this missional training starts at the beginning for newcomers. The New Members Class is a six-session process, spread out over six weeks, that deeply embeds a missional outreach experience in its participants, driving home the value of being an outward-focused church and building relationships with other members.

As Diann Turet, the New Member director, explains, “We try to get our new members to understand that these ministries happen because everyone is involved. We take a Saturday and spend five to six hours on a project. When they experience the joy of reaching out to the food pantries we serve, or the junior high school where we’ve done makeovers for the library, painted the teachers’ lounge and weeded the flowerbeds, they get it. It makes all the difference.”
Also teaching church members to live their lives from a missionary stance is TK-member First Assembly in Phoenix (phoenixfirst.org), which sends enthusiastic, well-organized teams to conduct more than a dozen outreaches, transform neighborhoods and break the cycle of poverty and violence. Through one ministry called Sponsor-a-Bus, First Assembly picks up people for church—and nine bus routes operate throughout the week to serve the disabled, elderly and nursing home residents often forgotten by society. Its independent fleet of 34 buses is recognized nationwide for serving the Phoenix metro area.

From my observations, megachurches training members to live with a 24/7 missional focus are coming out at the forefront of the holistic Gospel that Jesus taught. We’ll continue to see them excel in plugging their members into niches where they can develop lasting relationships and change the world.

5. Church Multiplication

The title “fastest-shrinking megachurch” may go to New Hope Christian Fellowship O’ahu in Honolulu, Hawaii (enewhope.org), led by Wayne Cordeiro. Attendance is dropping like a rock. But Cordeiro seems pretty happy about it. On the surface, going from 12,000 weekend attendees to 9,500 may seem like decline. But by planting 83 new churches, New Hope continues to reseed itself by multiplying churches rather than adding to its own numbers. Cordeiro plans to plant New Hope’s 100th church by 2010.

In recent years, church planting has gained tremendous traction. And many megachurches are now embracing a missional vision for church multiplication. Notice I did not say church planting—these churches are not interested in simply planting one church at a time, but are leveraging their resources to multiply, or plant several churches on an annual basis.

A prime example of a megachurch that engages in church multiplication is New York-based Redeemer Presbyterian (redeemer.com), led by Tim Keller. With an average weekly attendance of 4,800, it has participated in more than 100 church plants and set aside $2 million annually for the Redeemer Church Planting Center. Redeemer is a model of local church leaders assuming significant responsibility for planting churches, not leaving the burden to their denominations.

The Future

While this article doesn’t prove that all megachurches are on the right track, it certainly points out that not all of them are egomaniacs; many are stepping into these five key missional realms and using their vast resources to touch lives in practical ways and share the Gospel.
Remember that smaller, niche churches don’t have a monopoly on missional. People are drawn by the authentic Gospel lived out through both large and small bodies. You don’t have to wear Birkenstocks to be about God’s mission—you can even do it from a very large church.

As we survey the future of megachurches, we should have a sense of hope and excitement. The churches of tomorrow are truly making a difference in building God’s Kingdom and living as the body of Christ in their communities. And their communities, the body of Christ, the world and the Gospel are all better off because of their efforts.

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/03/keller_driscoll_

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."

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/03/he_is_risen_1.ht

He is Risen Indeed.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." 1 Peter 1:3-5 (HCSB)

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/03/joel_hunter_and_

Although I have recently shared that I have joined the faculty at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, I am still pleased to be teaching a few places in the next year or so, including Reformed, Biblical, and Southeastern seminaries.

It was recently announced that I will be co-teaching my class at Reformed with Joel Hunter.

Joel is quite a legend and has riled up much of the evangelical world. He was offered the leadership of the Christian Coalition, announced his plan to broaden the agenda of the organization, and then the Coalition and he parted ways while he was still "president elect." The New York Times version is here.

CNN explained:

"I wanted to expand the issues from only moral ones -- such as opposing abortion and redefining marriage -- to include compassion issues such as poverty, justice, and creation care," Hunter said in a statement. "We need to care as much for the vulnerable outside the womb as inside the womb."

He has a book out that gets at some of his political views, A New Kind of Conservative.

However, conservative politics (of the new or old kinds) will not be the focus of our class. We will focus on the gospel, the mission, and the church. Since Joel has been all over the news, many people might not know that he is a pastor in Central Florida with a thriving church called Northland.

And, the book he is requiring for the class is Church Distributed, his manifesto of sorts. You can read the book online here. In it, he explains:

So what is the distributed church, anyway?...

In the present model of the church, the local church tends to be isolated and preoccupied with its own world. It appears to be, and often is, self-centered. Our triune God, by His very nature, models relationship-centeredness. God in Christ came out of His self-sufficiency to identify with those radically different from Himself, and His church is called to be like Him. The church that is distributed values ministry beyond its walls more than ministry inside them because it focuses on those not yet included. It reaches through relationships it has within its congregation to identify with others. Intentional distribution of the church with a goal of ultimate connection through relationship reflects God’s image.

Christian, wake up: YOU ARE A MINISTER OF THE CHURCH. You don’t need to know more; you don’t need to have a church program commission you—although both can be useful. But you need to understand that in this definition of the church that you are a minister of the church and you can further ministry by connecting with other believers who are different from yourself.

It should be a great class. You can download the syllabus here.

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/03/bowling_green_co

Today I am in Bowling Green, KY teaching at First Baptist Church, Bowling Green for the Kentucky Baptist Convention.


Now, you keen students of history know that First Baptist is an important part of the history of the Southern Baptist Convention.

And, since I like to give a "little extra" on the blog...

First Baptist was a key part of what is knows as the Landmark Baptist movement.

Wikipedia explains Landmarkism:

Most theologians and historians who have dealt with Landmarkism have agreed that the following ecclesiological convictions were inherent to the system:

The exclusive validity of Baptist churches

Although different champions of the Landmark Baptist cause have identified different required characteristics, or "marks," that validate a legitimate Baptist church, all varieties of Landmarkism stipulate that legitimate Baptist churches are the only legitimate churches. According to Landmarkism, congregations of other denominational varieties are merely religious gatherings, or "societies," with no claim to the title "church."

The invalidity of non-Baptist churchly acts

Landmark Baptists have refused to recognize as valid any baptisms or ordinations performed in circumstances other than under the auspices of a Baptist church. Thus, Landmark Baptists have declined to allow non-Baptists to preach in Landmark Baptist churches and have required prospective members who have received "pedobaptism" or "alien immersion" to be baptized by a Baptist church before receiving them into membership. Expressed as a syllogism, the Landmark Baptist argument