We're moving through Megachurch Week here at the blog and I wanted to draw your attention to the article I wrote for Outreach Magazine called, Learning from America's Largest and Fastest Growing Churches.

As we talked with churches and gathered the information for the OUTREACH 100 Largest and Fastest-Growing Churches in America, we saw several dichotomies, including the one developing between small and large churches. If current trends continue, the number of medium-sized churches will continue to decrease, and the bulk of U.S. churches will tend to be very large or very small. While most churches have always been small, large churches getting larger...

While churches are getting larger, attendees are often not unified in one location as more megachurches add satellite sites...

While last year we highlighted a growing interest in churches on the lists becoming multicultural, this year we found a heightened interest in churches becoming multigenerational. As Baby Boomers age and the number of senior adults in America reaches record highs, leaders are recognizing the need to be a church for all ages...

Regardless of your church's size or shape, Christ calls each of us to seek out fresh ways to contextualize the Gospel for a dying world.

You can read the whole article at Sermon Central.

The folks at Outreach Magazine have created helpful landing pages which provide access to more information about the churches on the lists: FASTEST / LARGEST

I first met Kerry about 8 years ago. We invited him in to Louisville to speak at a church planting conference and he did an amazing job. (I still have the evaluations on my computer and his marks were higher than mine... but who's counting.)

Kerry Shook and his wife planted Fellowship of the Woodlands in 1993, which is now one of the fastest growing churches in America. They average over 16,000 people at their their 3 campuses and operate with over 4,000 volunteers. They are looking to start additional sites in the future as they continue to grow. In the midst of all this extraordinary growth Kerry understands that what is happening at Fellowship is the result of God's activity among his people as he changes their lives. Lifeway Research interviewed him for the blog, and I think you'll find the discussion encouraging as he talks about the book he wrote with his wife, One Month to Live, and how God has used this emphasis in the life of his church.

LifeWay Research: Pastor Kerry, could you tell us a little about what's been happening at Fellowship of the Woodlands?

Pastor Kerry Shook: Last year we presented our staff with a challenge. I challenged them to live the next 30 days as if it was their last, not because they were going to die in a month, but, because, Lord willing, they were going to live many more years. I believe if you live the next month as if it is your last then you will really want to do something that makes a difference for eternity. You will want to leave a legacy. All of the stories that came out just from our staff team were amazing. Then my wife and I wrote this book and presented the whole campaign to our church in February and it was just amazing what it did. It really impacted the community.

I asked everyone in our church if they would ask their neighbors and friends to come over to their house and just experience this challenge with them. I said, "Just invite them over and, you know, maybe it is three or four of you or four or five of you and just talk about what you would do if you had one month to live. And throw out some refreshments." We gave them some DVDs and the books. It was amazing. We basically grew by 9000 in small groups just during that month. And then after the campaign ended we went down to about 7300 new people in small groups from the community. It was just crazy.

The end result was after our people really started inviting their friends to their house and then bringing them to church and really being a witness to them. We had 1500 people this summer who were baptized because of the study and we've never seen anything like that in our church over the last 15 years. This has really just sparked amazing life change and stories.

We had one woman in our church whose son had been murdered at college, and right as she took the challenge the young man who had committed the crime was convicted of the murder and she was able to speak to him in the sentencing phase because of victim's rights. And the judge warned her, "No cursing, no shouting, but you can say whatever you want to say." And this woman, Terry Lynn McDonough, stood up and read this beautiful letter of forgiveness. She said, "If I had one month to live I would want to forgive everyone including you, and I choose to forgive you for my sake because I see Jesus standing next to you begging me to forgive you. And if you become a saver of life instead of a destroyer of life then maybe my son's death won't have been in vain." She used the next 30 days to go visit him in prison. And he made a faith promise to Christ. He was baptized. And it is the kind of forgiveness that I can't even fathom.

LWR: Kerry you have talked about 1500 baptisms and the tremendous growth of your small groups. What did you have to do to realign your church to meet the needs of so many more people?

Shook: We are scrambling, but what is really exciting about it is that we have been praying and preparing for this for a long time. We knew it was going to be amazing when we started this campaign and that God was going to do some really great things because of it. It was a real passion on my heart but I didn't expect this to happen. And so once we had so many new people in small groups we have been scrambling to fill positions and we have also been raising up leaders and training leaders. But one thing this experience has done for our church, it has really called our people to a new level of leadership. We have also discovered that people want to be challenged.

You know, our people want to be challenged to make a difference in the world and they want me, as their pastor, to challenge them. And so I am constantly challenging people to step up to leadership. I have had hundreds of people come up to me and say "Thank you, Kerry, for challenging me. I am stepping up to lead and I am scared to death, but it is really rewarding." I love to hear that and so we constantly challenge.

We welcome the problems because they are just really opportunities. The cool thing is our staff sees it as that. We just celebrate the baptisms, the lives that are changed, and the spiritual growth that is taking place and all the missions trips. We had 200 students go on a mission trip this summer. I gather the whole staff together once a month and we just praise God. We celebrate and thank him for what he has done.

LWR: What was Fellowship at the Woodlands like before you began the "one month to live" campaign?

Shook: This church has been a wild ride since day one. We are only fifteen years old and we started with eight people. There have been a lot of exciting things that God has done, but there was just something about the one month to live campaign. I think one of the things we saw as a church was that it is not just about us. It is not just about church growth or what is happening in our church but it is about what God does in the community with lost people and it is also about what God does through other churches around the world. And this is one of the first things that we have done that has impacted a lot of other churches around the world to impact their communities.

So I think it was one of those things where we can never thank God enough for what he has done over this first 15 years, but this was just something really special and amazing and it really helped us move beyond just ourselves and God blessing our church to we have 1000 churches this fall who are doing the campaign. This is something that our people are just thrilled about because we are helping all these other churches.

LWR: How does it make you feel when USA Today and the Press Register compare the Next Thirty Days campaign to the secular mover The Bucket List.

Shook: We think that's great. You know there has been a lot of people who have thought about the idea of what would I do if I knew my time on earth was short. And so we just really took some time to formulate how a person could take that challenge in 30 days or how a church could take that challenge in 30 days with that central question, what would I do if I knew I had one month to live. I will tell you in the movie The Bucket List they did a lot of crazy things like skydiving and race car driving. But the thing that the character played by Jack Nicholson has the problem with is the toughest thing and that is reconciling a relationship. And that's what we have with so many people now who have taken the one month to live challenge is that it is in our relationships that we have our greatest regrets. And that is why I think that God has used it in churches because we have seen a lot of healing take place in churches and we have seen a lot of healing take place in families.

LWR: How important has this campaign been to the families of your church?

Shook: Very important. When I, personally, started living this one month to live challenge and this one month to live lifestyle, I started asking myself what I would do if I had one month to live. One of the first things I did was to go to my teenage sons and I said, "Guys, we got a great relationship, but I come home from work and you say, 'How was your day, dad?' And I say, 'Great.' And I say, 'How was your day, guys?' 'Great.' And that's about it. You know, we are guys and this is as deep as it got."

And I said, "I want to know your struggles and your stresses and your problems because I know you are going through stuff as teenagers." They replied "Well, dad, you never tell us your struggles and stresses. You just always say things are great." And I said, "Well, I didn't think you wanted me to dump all my stuff on you." And they said, "We can handle it." This conversation really took our relationship to a new level. I started every Thursday meeting them at their favorite restaurant and I would have the chili cheese fries on the table waiting for them when they got out of school. We would just meet and talk about stuff going on in their lives and in mine.

LWR: In our conversation you have briefly talked about how this campaign has changed the churches involvement in the community. I know that before the campaign your wife was involved in missions and women's ministry but what is different now about the church's involvement in the community and around the world?

Shook: Really the ultimate product of one month to live was that it has helped us want to leave a legacy. There are four principles we really taught: to live passionately, love completely, learn humbly and then lead boldly. The last principle is key. It's about doing something that is going to be here after you are gone and it really helped our whole church go to a new level and get excited about doing mission work and making a difference overseas and making a difference right here. For example in our community we did a huge feeding campaign where we gathered 20,000 pounds of food and filled up the local food pantries. We have really been focusing on Kenya and Malawi in Africa and Indonesia and Costa Rica and Sweden. Only one percent of the people go to church in Sweden. We have been partnering with churches to help them make some changes.

LWR: What would you say the "secret" is to your church's growth?

Shook: We always say that the secret to our church's growth is life change. When God changes someone's life, then they tell everyone and it is contagious. We use a lot of creativity and new technology, cutting edge things to use in our church, but really what it comes down to is God changing a life. And then, you know, they just want to tell everybody.

LWR: What's next, Kerry?

Shook: It seems like God is always up to something next. One of the things that we feel is real important for us is the satellites that we are starting. We are staring our third campus... and it is only about 25 minutes away from our main campus... We have a campus in East Houston where we had 1500 people come day one and we started that just last year. The influence that we have in Houston is totally from God but we have to step in and take advantage of it. Also the television ministry coming together to help us form these satellites is something that is real important to us because one of the things that God has given us a passion for is creative content and putting together creative campaigns for churches like a creative sermon series or other things that can really help churches and take them to the next level.

LWR: Pastor Kerry, what do you think is important for other pastors to know about your church or what encouragement/advice would you have for them?

Shook: I would encourage every pastor to ask this question. What would you do if you knew your church only had one month to live? How would you make decisions? Would you make them differently if you knew your church was only going to be here another month?

I think we would all take more risks to make a difference for the kingdom. We would all be in prayer more. We would all see the Lord more and his wisdom. We would want to do something that would be here after we are gone. I encourage pastors to make those one or two little changes that could make a huge difference.

Another thing I would say to other pastors is that only God can grow a church and there are principles that we need to follow to reach people for Christ from God's Word. But ultimately I will have to blame God for the growth of our church. There are churches that do the same things that we do but they have not experienced the growth that we have for whatever reason. Maybe they are in area where there is not as many people, but I do know that God will sort it out when we get to heaven. It is just being faithful that matters.

It's megachurch week here at the blog. To coincide with the release of the top 100 church lists in Outreach Magazine, we will be sharing megachurch info here at the blog.

The word "megachurch" tend to elicit strong reactions. Megachurches are churches that average over 2,000 for worship gatherings. While "megachurch" does not necessarily equal healthy church, it would also be wrong to assume a megachurch always equals an unhealthy, man-centered Christianity. In fact recent studies are giving a more favorable picture of the megachurch than some might have expected.

A new study by Rodney Stark of Baylor University, now available in book form here, is dispelling the popular caricature of the megachurch as spiritual entertainment for the quasi-Christian baby-boomer. What Americans Really Believe reveals that megachurch members tend to be younger, practice evangelism more frequently, and are bigger on volunteerism than those in smaller churches. Oops. There go the stereotypes. And they aren't abandoning the harder, counter-cultural doctrines of the Christian faith either.

Those who attend megachurches are more likely to affirm historic Christian doctrines like hell, the exclusivity of salvation through Jesus Christ and his literal return than those in smaller churches. The Washington Post summarized this part of the study saying, "Ninety-two percent of megachurch members believe that hell "absolutely exists," compared with just over three-quarters of small-church members, the survey found. And eight in 10 megachurch worshipers believe that the Rapture -- when followers of Jesus Christ believe they will be taken to heaven -- will "absolutely" take place, compared with less than half of those who attend small churches."

For more coverage check out The Washington Times and The Washington Post.

Another study by Scott Thumma of Hartford Institute for Religion Research and Warren Bird of Leadership Network trace the megachurch movement over the past eight years and have found both positive consistency and adaptability. Here's a summary of some of their findings:

Megachurches - Protestant congregations that draw 2,000 or more adults and children in a typical weekend (attendance not membership) - show considerable consistency over the past eight years. They continue to:

• Grow in size,
• Lead the way as America's most multi-ethnic class of church,
• Show a strong bias toward contemporary worship, and
• Remain minimally involved in politics.

However, they also are institutions in transition. They are now:

• Offering more worship services and expanding to multiple-locations,
• Shifting to playing a greater role in community service,
• Decreasing their use of radio and television, and
• Putting greater emphasis on the role of small groups.

You should download their study (PDF) here to read it in full for free.

While there certainly are examples of megachurches who do little more than put on a show for the curious and uncommitted, this does not appear to be the case in most evangelical megachurchs. For those who are one prone to criticize the megachurch phenomenon, I bet even you can think of one megachurch you respect. The Baylor and Hartford/Leadership Network publications seem to point out that there are many others who are doing it right as well.

I am an advocate for all churches who exalt the gospel and reach their communities for the glory of Christ. That means bigger churches and smaller churches. As I have said before, I think Christians can learn from one another. Throughout this week I will be posting a series of interviews with some of the pastors of the fastest growing and largest churches in America, not because bigger is better, but because these churches have found ways of bringing the gospel to bear on the lives of a great number of people in their cities.

So, it's megachurch week-- come by every day and you will read interviews with megachurch pastors, read analyses, and see more research and information about megachurches.

To my Nazarene pastor friends:

Thanks for having me at your conference yesterday. Here is the church planting information I promised to upload here today. I look forward to seeing out at the national Nazarene Pastors Conference in San Diego in January!

The "State of Church Planting" reports I referred to yesterday are listed below for your convenience. You can download them from the Leadership Network website at the links below.

The Christian Post reported on the research.

If you haven't seen them already, check out:

Church Planting Overview
Funding New Churches
Improving the Health and Survivability of New Churches
Who Starts New Churches?

You can also access all the Leadership Network downloads at www.leadnet.org/churchplanting.

The NAMB research I mentioned was done at the Center for Missional Research.

You should visit their site-- you can download over 2000 reserach presentation on a myriad of topics. The CMR web portal is one of the things I was most excited about when I worked at NAMB. (PeopleGroups.info was another).

Here is a rundown of what church planting research you can download.

First, is the full report of the Church Planting Survivability and Health study, a study involving 11 denominations and networks. You can download a presentation of that study here.

Second, are four articles that came from that study.

Part 1: The Survivability and Health Study
Part 2: How Many Church Plants Really Survive--and Why?
Part 3: 10 Factors for Higher Attendance in Church Plants
Part 4: Higher Baptisms in Church Plants

Third, is a research that looked at denominational "best practices" that led to higher church planting survivability and health. To do this, we did more in-depth analysis of several denominations to look for best practices. When we found a practices that was "statistically significant," we reported it and then I asked representatives to present what they did at last year's National New Church Conference in Orlando.

So, you can find the full report here and a PowerPoint of that data here.

Finally, you can find my presentation of the best practices research that I recently gave at the NAMB State Summer Leadership Conference. It is a big download, but you can get it here.

In that presentation, I combined the presentations of 4 denominational leaders who shared their best practices in the areas we found statistically significant. Each network or denominational leader presented their overall church planting system, then presented their specific best practice as determined by our research. Each of them gave their permission to share their presentation. The presenters were:

Steve Childers presented the Presbterian Church in America assessment system.
Rod Koop presented the Foursquare peer support / mentoring system.
George Klippenes presented the Evangelical Free team approach and funding system.
Steve Pike presented the Assemblies of God community minsitry approach.
Tom Nebel and Gary Rohrmayer presented the Baptist General Conference training for local church giving.

I hope they are a help!

My paper on the emerging church is now online. It is in a journal along with some other issues. You can download the journal here and read my article inside. (I am not publishing it here so that that NOBTS web site gets a few hits.)

The journal flows from the influence of two major streams in the church today. Others have reported it elsewhere and I will repeat it here: there is great energy in the Reformed and in the emerging church movements-- much more than we find in some of the other movements vying for attention.

The first section deals with Calvinism. And, in the spirit of keeping my focus on the topic at hand, I am working hard to resist any comment on the contents thereof.

I wrote a paper on the emerging church. My paper is not a "Baptist" paper like some of the others in the journal. By that I mean I am not writing about Baptist denominational distinctives or from a Baptist denominational perspective as my presentation is more broadly evangelical. That is partly because I presented it first at the Evangelical Free Church Midwinter Ministerial, an annual denomination wide theology symposium of sorts that asked me to come in and keynote for a long (8 hour!) day. I shared a very truncated version at a conference on the emerging church at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. In both cases, I made revisions after each presentation and the presentations and paper have been a work in progress.

I welcome you to take a look at the paper and correct me where I am wrong, update or clarify my history, and just discuss in general. I am going to watch the thread for a bit and see what I can learn.

Three people "respond" to me in the journal: one says I was too hard, the other too soft, and the third just right. (Just kidding.) The other papers all share their own ideas-- they are not simply responses to my thoughts. They are worth a read. One is written by the President of a College (Free Will Baptist Bible College). He has a good grasp of the issues. The second is by Jack Allen, who may have been off his medication when he wrote it. And the third is by Page Brooks, a professor at NOBTS, who told me that he mostly agreed with me because he read all my books while a student. (I immediately commented to him that I was ONLY 42. Grin.)

Andrew Jones (tallskinny kiwi) was gracious enough to take a read and help me out with some suggestions. As part of the research, we had help (on the history part) from Dave Travis, Doug Pagitt, Tony Jones, Andrew Jones, and Brian McLaren. If you have any more ideas on the history, I would be particularly interested as I will publish that part in a book (linked here). I focused on the U.S. expressions here, but have about 6 pages I edited out (due to space) that dealt with more international expressions.

With that being said, my evaluation is my evaluation. And, for that matter, historical errors are my own as well. I have tried to be fair and that means I will please few. But, such is life. I am a critic of some things in the Emerging Church, but I work hard to be an honest one. (When you have been lied about yourself by key religious leaders, I think you try to be more sensitive to others.) But, at the end of the day, I think an increasing number of voices who identify themselves as evangelical and emerging are expressing concerns similar to those here-- my paper is neither brilliant or filled with new insights.

This paper was done before I did some additional interviews with some leaders of the Emerging Church. I will put those here on the blog so you can hear from them directly over the next few weeks. Don't just listen to people talk about people--listen to the people about whom they are talking.

As I mentioned at the conferences, if you want to know more about the emerging church, the books I recommend (read in order) are:

1. The New Christians by Jones
2. Emerging Churches by Gibbs and Bolger
3. Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church by Carson
4. Why We Are Not Emergent by DeYoung and Kluck

I suggest you read them in order because you should hear from a movement before you critique a movement. The books I list are not necessarily the best, but I think they are helpful because they are influential and help you to understand the ideas of proponents and critics of the movement.

I have started into Phyllis Tickle's new book so that may bump the order around a bit. However, I am having doubts about her premise that "emergence" is a 500 year shift of Christian faith. I will delve into that later, but I simply do not see the movement as nearly that influential. This week many have said that emerging is going away-- well, I doubt that. However, I do not think it is the new Protestant Reformation either.

Once you get over your fixation with printed paper, read the Emergent Village blog, Tall Skinny Kiwi (Andrew Jones), and Jesus Creed (Scott McKnight) to better understand the emerging church and its beliefs.

It's also worth noting that in the midst of all this emerging/emergent talk, there is in-house discussion about the validity of the continued use of the terms themselves. Without theological unity among those who adopt the term "emerging," and in light of the ongoing confusion between Emergent and emerging, many are dropping or distancing themselves from these words. Dan Kimball is holding onto what "emerging" meant years ago when he wrote his book, The Emerging Church, but believes the term is used so broadly that defining it today is difficult. Bob Hyatt is just about done with the term, Andrew Jones is dumping it, and Doug Pagitt is using a new term (in addition to the others).

The emerging and Emergent church is an important ecclesiological issue worth working through. Check out the links and my paper, and as always...

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.

On Saturday, I spoke and participated in a panel at The Washington Post in D.C. to a conference of the Religion Newswriters Association. I was impressed with their organization. They clearly desire to understand the people they cover in their stories.

They graciously invited me to address the issue of religious research, addressing the question: What do we need to know when we evaluate religious research?

The panel included Roger Finke (from the ARDA and Penn State) and Dan Cox from Public Opinion Research. Each of us spoke for twenty minutes and then particiated in a Q&A session.

Here are the written notes I used when sharing with them.

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:

Outside the south, many are unaware of revivalism and its influence. Talk of saw dust trails and the like may have conjured images on the frontier, but today these trails tend to be found at home construction sites rather than under big tents.

Some southern Evangelicals are still holding "sawdust revivals." Others have opted for alternate means of communicating the Gospel in ways they consider more suitable for their context. Block parties, for example, provide many avenues for connecting with people who need Jesus. So, few remember what a real tent revival looks like.

A few weeks ago, I journeyed down to St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church to see an old fashioned revival depicted in the basement of a liturgical church. (I have been a bit too tied up to publish my thoughts. But, better late than never.)

I need your help.

We are about to undertake a very large survey of Protestant pastors in the United States. We want to ask them questions about their church, their lives, and their ministries.

It will be an anonymous survey, taken over the phone, and will be released (in parts) over the next few months.

So, here is my question: if you could ask thousands of pastors a question, what would it be? We want to get a picture of what is going on in the church today and this is one means to do so.

Keep in mind that it is best that it be answerable in a short format: yes/no, multiple choice, single word answer, etc.

I have spent the morning with my team and we are looking for ideas. Many of the questions are already committed for a project we have in motion, but we also have some room for others.

We can't guarantee we will use them, but if you put them here we might. And, if you have some questions you would want to ask for a project you are doing, please contact my staff at research@lifeway.com and we can talk about you being a client on the project.

Please share your thoughts below.

We just released some new research on the beliefs of Southern Baptist pastors. Here are some excerpts from the story you can find here:

I am a big believer in coaching and mentoring. Coaching is essential for Christian life. However, it is often absent or underappreciated in churches. Even when there is mentoring, it seems mentoring is for the "few" and not the "many."

I've been privileged to be mentored by several Christian leaders since I was a teenager. These mentors have provoked me, taught me, and challenged me.

I still remember Steve M., a volunteer youth leader, challenging me as a teenager. He asked if we could read Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship together. We did, and it helped change my life. I did not have a license, so he chauffeured my girlfriend (now wife) and I out on our first car date. At 40, he looked a little funny as a groomsman in my wedding filled with 20-year-old friends, but I was glad he was there.

Mark B. was my youth pastor. He met with me and helped me memorize scripture and share my faith. I remember that he taught me not to be satisfied with lukewarm faith.

Steve C. met with me regularly in college. He taught me how to treat my fiancé, challenged me to deal with some areas of sin in my life, and pressed me to pursue a deeper relationship with Christ. Many times, I did not want to listen, but it did not deter him. He invested in me, and it helped transform my life.

Mark T. mentored me as a young professor. He was patient but unwavering-- helping me to grow as a scholar, writer, and teacher. I dedicated my first book to him writing, "I knew the 'hows' of church planting but you taught me the 'whys' of missions."

I have a couple of mentors today-- typically one or two at any one time. I meet them occasionally, talk to them regularly, and they have permission and invitation to speak into my life at any point.

I also mentor a couple of people on an ongoing basis-- mostly movement leaders who work with networks, churches, or denominations.

I assumed that most people had mentors-- we sure talked about it often in the 90's. However, I have since learned that mentoring relationships like these are all too uncommon. I have assumed it was normal to have men who would invest themselves in one's life and ministry. It seems that it is more unusual than I thought.

Steve Ogne's and Tim Roehl's new book on coaching has been released. TransforMissional Coaching: Empowering Leaders in a Changing Ministry is a valuable read for those of you leading others in the church. I was privileged to write the foreword, and thought I would share it with you here.

Mark B., Steve M., Steve C., Mark T.

These are probably random names to you-- and they are probably not names that are important to you. But, they are to me. They are mentors who invested in my life.

Steve Ogne and Tim Roehl understand such relationships-- their essential importance and the way they best function. And, this is not a new phenomenon for them. Steve wrote his first coaching resource 13 years ago and set the pace for coaching in Christian ministry. Tim has been coaching and training coaches with Church Resource Ministries for 8 years and has previously authored two devotional books.

You will see their experience and passion for TransforMissional coaching as they describe a holistic approach to coaching that is especially empowering to young and emerging leaders. Rather than telling leaders what to do or how to do it they strongly advocate the art of listening and asking great questions as an effective vehicle to engage and empower the leader.

TransforMissional coaching is a holistic approach. Unlike business coaching models that are only concerned with productivity or results, TransforMissional coaching engages the whole leader in transformation. Steve and Tim suggest that coaches transform leaders by helping leaders clarify calling, cultivate character, create community and connect with culture.

Coaching may be the primary vehicle that makes the transition from modern to missional paradigms. Young and emerging leaders are looking for relationship, proximity and affinity with those they allow to empower them. They will receive coaching and mentoring from those they trust, those who will be there for them. TransforMissional Coaching is an effective process for empowering emerging leaders to engage in missional expressions of church.

The authors suggest the art of listening and the use of effective questions as the keys to empowerment. Emerging leaders are looking for empowerment that is consistent with their world view and life experience more than that of their parents. Listening and good questions effectively anchor the coaching conversation in the life and experience of the leader more than that of the coach. The resulting trust allows the coach or mentor to speak timeless truths in a timely way without imposing his views or preferences or models on the leader. As you will see TransforMissonal Coaching includes several lists of great coaching questions.

As you can see TransforMissional Coaching goes well beyond simple coaching formulas and will be very useful to those who are serious about transforming leaders and empowering mission.

There are few men that I consider both experts and friends. Steve and Tim fit that bill and they are worth heeding. I was blessed with good mentor--but TransforMissional Coaching will help me (and you) be intentional, biblical, and strategic in our coaching relationships.

You can download the Introduction, Chapter One and the Intro to Chapter Two at the publisher's website.

Today is Donna's birthday so I have blown off work for the afternoon and am taking her out. No phone calls, no emails... just the occasional Twitter update.

So, in honor of Donna's birthday, here are some fun videos. (Donna puts the fun in my life.)

Why I enjoy Christian music (don't miss the part about Jesus being like a "mountie"):

Donna likes this one so much she made me play it this morning.

This song is officially stuck in my (and Donna's) heads. We have been singing it all day.

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Here are two teacher enlistment videos our church creative team put together for teacher recruitment:

They are spoofs of the well known Geico commercials. The first involves Mike Stark (knowing his name becomes important in the video):

The second is Miss Dixie, Jaclyn's teacher:

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I am hoping Troy (worship leader) will get moving like this on Sunday:

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Here are two videos I have shown at my church:

Me Church:

Me Worship:

HT: JT

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And, as an extra bonus, I saw this on my Facebook page this morning.

It felt like a guilt-by-association accusation. For the record, I have never met these men and am offended that Facebook would think I might know them:

And, just a thought. Does this put Mark Dever in jeopardy as a second (or maybe third) degree separation issue, proving his critics right? Does Facebook count in the Doctine of Separation?

Grin.

Have a great weekend... and remember, "Jesus is a friend of mine."

Today, something personal.

This post is the product of a conversation I recently had with Bill Kinnon, uber blogger and provocateur, about the importance of the local church, and the questions I often get while preaching and teaching across the country. Questions like, "Ed, why are you currently serving at an established church?" (being a denominational leader and, formerly, a church planter).

The simple answer is I do not believe I can talk about the church without being a part of a church.

But let me unpack this a bit.

In the past I have worked for Southern Seminary and the North American Mission Board, and I currently serve Lifeway, the International Mission Board, Southeastern Seminary, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Whatever you call them, they are not the church, but serve along side it. However, my experience has been that in many cases they are staffed by people who were formerly pastors. And, in some cases, it seems that moving into a role like this leads many to a diminished connection to a local church. Some of that is a function of the role change, but in most of the places I have served, we have sat down together and lamented the disconnect we felt with the local church. Some worked hard to overcome it. Some did not.

This is not a criticism of others. The point is that I found the temptation in my own life. You see, I teach pastors and church leaders. I tell them they should be biblical, missional, and spiritual (see chapter one of Comeback Churches). I have a high standard of church, and, to be blunt, it seems that no church meets that standard (except maybe the churches I plant, which points to a pride issue).

So, here is what I am trying to avoid in my own life: too many church consultants, speakers, leaders, professors, and denominational leaders (like me) see themselves as voices to the church and not a part of the church.

I have often heard people say (and have said myself) the church is, in many ways, broken and in need of some change. However, it is exceedingly dangerous to become a critic of the church while you are not a part of one. I love the church, and therefore feel compelled to point out our challenges with the hope of seeing transformation. I guess this makes me a critic of the church, but it should also makes me a critic of myself.

I currently serve as interim pastor. For those of you not in our autonomous church tradition, I am basically the "fill in" preacher until they find a new pastor. The role allows me to be a part of the church here and help them during the transition. It is not a perfect situation and I know I need deeper connections, but it is how I am connected at this time.

This brings me back to the question I am sometimes asked, "why are you currently serving at an established church?"

For me, doing an "interim" helps me be a little more faithful in several ways.

First, it keeps me home on weekends and in community. It is a temptation to be on the road every weekend. A lot of great churches will invite you to speak - but as interim I can't do that. This keeps me in my church and home with my family.

Second, it keeps me preparing messages. In the past, I have "re-preached" many of my sermons. Having done 7 or 8 interims, you can basically re-preach the same messages in each church. But, my former co-pastor (Philip Nation) challenged me to bring a "fresh word" at church every week. So, that is what I try to do at church and that keeps me preparing. When I look in a pastor's eyes, and that pastor is tired from sermon prep work, I know what that means. (I finished my message at 12:30a.m. this morning.)

Third, it reminds me of what real ministry work is. It's all too possible for me to fly in and out for pastor's conferences and start to believe my own P.R. (Being a mere D-list celebrity doesn't dissuade one from believing his own press releases).

At church, I am not the normal pastor (being an interim), but I still have the privilege of opening the word of God and sharing it with God's people. It is not the same as being the congregations shepherd, but it keeps me in real world life and ministry. People still complain to me, there is still that opinionated guy who keeps coming up after the service to question my Bible teaching, and I get an occasional piece of hate mail. If I were a "real" pastor there would be more, but since the church has over 3,000 Sunday morning attendees, there are always some percent of people who are unhappy enough to tell me - and it reminds me that real world ministry does not look like a TV show - it is messy because it involves people. And, that is also what makes it real life ministry.

Lastly, by serving as interim in a local church, a simple and very important truth is reinforced in my life; God has chosen the church, not denominations and parachurch organizations to make known his manifold wisdom (Eph 3:10). This fights against some of the triumphalism in my denomination and elsewhere. They may come and go, but it is the church that will prevail against the gates of hades.

Let's be honest, there are more verses in the Bible that justify you having a concubine than us forming a denomination (much less a Lifeway). Yet, I stay in what is basically a church support (rather than a full-time local church) role. Why? Well, it is for the same reason we have a denomination. We can do more together than we do apart. For example, I value church partnerships like denominations as it means I can help resource 5,000 missionaries around the world through organizations like the IMB. I believe in partnerships (of which denominations are one expression) because I believe we can do more together than we can do individually-- and, although the Great Commission is given to the church, each local church can not (by itself) effectively evangelize the world.

The reason I do not become a full-time pastor is that for now I am called to help pastors and church leaders. However, I will always remain a pastor and will always be a part of a church.

Is it a lot of work sometimes? Yes. Do I regret doing it sometimes? Honestly, I do. It would be easier to be a "prophet" to the church and not be a part of the church. But that seems pretty hypocritical to me.

The bad thing about being an interim is that eventually you have to leave. What then?

Well, I am leaning against doing another interim. This one is great - the church is 3 miles from my home and we know many people in the community. It is a great church with a passion for the Bible and has a heart and desire to be missional. However, teaching every week has been a bit too much and I have not been able to connect in some other ways. After my interim, I hope to serve in a church role where I do occasional teaching (weekly has been wearing me out!) and serving in a church's ministry and leadership teams.

All that being said - I know that many who read this are frustrated by the church. Most of the denominational leaders I know are. I am. Yet, I love the church. It is that love that makes me want to provoke the church "to love and good deeds" (Hebrews 10:24).

The church is filled with people who know Jesus, love one another, and are (or at least want to be) on-mission. It is the family of God. It is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It is the sent people of Jesus Christ. I am convinced that the good God wants to accomplish in the world, and in me, will happen in and through the church.

Last week, I told you about the Bible study I'm releasing with Threads called Sent: Living the Missional Nature of the Church. You can read the full post here, where I discuss that "sent-ness" is in the DNA of the Church.

But, as we point out in the Bible study, we aren't just sent on our own accord; we have to understand something about the nature of God if we are really to understand our sent-ness. Many are quick to jump on the missional bandwagon (or throw rocks at it as it passes by) without seriously considering the theology that drives it.

As we look back through the pages of the Old Testament, we see over and over again the God who sends. He sends Moses as an agent of redemption (Ex. 3:12), he sends prophets to proclaim both judgment and restoration (Jer. 1), to his own people and to those who are not (Jonah). Even when he sends his own people into exile as a form of judgment, he sends them with instructions to seek the welfare of the foreign city in which they found themselves sojourning (Jer 29).

As we read through the New Testament we see the Father sent the Son to accomplish redemption for his people and indeed all creation (John 5; 8:42; 1 Jn. 4:14; Rom. 8:18-25; Col. 1:15-20). Then we see the Father and the Son sending the Spirit to bring conviction and conversion to the lost, and to empower the church for the spread of the gospel and the work of making disciples (John 14; 16; Mk. 13:11; Luke 11:13). And finally we see Jesus sending the church into the world, just as the Father sent him (John 20:21; Acts 1:8).

God has always been, and continues to be, the Sender.

So if we, as the church, do not live as sent ones to the people we live among, we are denying that we have come from God. If our identity is found in the God who sends, then "missional" will be more than a buzzword. It's meaning will remain central in defining who we are as the church.

That's what we cover in the first session of the study, in an effort to first lay the theological groundwork for living missionally as the church. You can learn more and get your copy of Sent here.

Last year, I led a seminar at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary on "The Future of Church and Mission." Earlier this year I turned that same lecture into an article on the future of the church and its mission for Enrichment Journal, a publication of the Assemblies of God. Here is a condensed version of the article, "Writing on the Wall."

In the movie, Lonesome Dove, Danny Glover portrays Joshua Deets, a cattle-drive scout whose job is to ride ahead of the drive and survey the terrain. Largely responsible for the success and safety of the drive, Deets would inform the team of any obstacles, dangers, enemies, or resources that lay ahead. By assessing the upcoming path, he could help the trail boss make an informed decision about how to navigate the way to the trail drive's destination.

Deets' role is reminiscent of the tribe of Issachar in 1 Chronicles 12:32 -- men who "understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take" (NLT). Today, church leaders must act as scouts, fervently asking the Lord for discernment into how they can best practice biblically faithful ministry in their cultures and contexts.

Here are the facts: North America is the only continent in the world where the church is not growing. In North America, the church is in decline. Some even claim it is dying. Most denominations -- including evangelical denominations -- are shrinking.

While the global spread of Christianity and its explosion in the Global South needs to encourage us, our leaders must ask themselves: What must the North American church become and do in this season of decline? The answers all revolve around the gospel.

Continue reading Writing on the Wall.

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.)

In the next few weeks, I will be releasing a Bible study with LifeWay's Threads initiative. It is called Sent: Living the Missional Nature of the Church.

I'm hoping that the study will be a helpful tool to put in the hands of church leaders who want to ground their people firmly in an understanding of the mission of the church and what it means for the body of Christ to live together as the sent people of God. The study has 6 sessions, so I'm going to be writing over the course of the next few weeks some summaries of the main points of the sessions to whet your appetite. Today we deal with the title and the idea behind the study.

Jesus said over and over again in the Book of John that He was sent from the Father. Then in John 20:21, He said: "As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you." We take from that the idea that the very nature of the church is this "sent-ed-ness." It's part of our DNA. The problem is that many churches have the "arrived" mentality rather than seeing themselves as sent out from Christ on mission. It's time for us to reclaim the core of our identity, that we are a people sent by and for God. It's more than a choice or a program; it's about a fundamental understanding of our Savior and ourselves that leads us forward as his people. That's why it's called "Living the Missional Nature of the Church."

Love for you to check out the study; you can download a free sample and get more info here. For people establishing a church's DNA, or trying to reconfigure a group of people to think rightly, you might consider taking your entire church through the study. I think it will provide a good understanding of what the church is supposed to be in the world.

More soon...

Next week, I will be doing a half day seminar at Brentwood Baptist Church. This is a church that wants to think and act in missional ways, but is also seeking to do so in its own cultural setting.

Brentwood is a big church (thousands on a Sunday), in an affluent area, and has a long history. That makes for some challenges and some opportunities. They have to recast language carefully and slowly.

So, in order to make a sharper focus they sought to cast their language in a way that was helpful for their context. They sent their "lexicon" to me to prep for my time with their church. I found it interesting and I thought I should share it with you.

I am one who believes that new language can be helpful, hence I started using the "missional" word back in the 1990s. However, it is essential to note that people have been being missional long before Francis Dubose started using it in the way we use it today. So, the language matters less than the emphasis. And, I find that Brentwood is doing some important thinking about how to use language in a way that communicates truth in meaningful ways.

Also, they DEFINE terms, something that I think you will need to do if you choose to call your church missional. For example, "missional" means different things to different people (see my Meanings of Missional series) so it is important that you clarify what you mean if you use the term.

The actual files are linked below, but here are a few highlights of Brentwood's new vocabulary related to evangelism and outreach.

connectors: people who are already connected to Christ.

You are a Connector if you have a personal, life-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ - if you are grounded in worship, growing in discipleship and going in service.

And this raises the first question: Are you sure you are connected to Christ? Are you still firmly grounded/growing? Have you checked your own connection?

You cannot be a Connector if you're not connected to Christ.

unconnected: people who do not have this personal, life-transforming relationship to Christ.

Old vocabulary: "nonbeliever" or "unchurched"

Our goal is not to "church" them. And while our ultimate goal is that they become believers, our immediate goal is to get them engaged with Christ in some way - as seeker, questioner, hearer.

Keep in mind: Some people may be church attendees or church members, but are not connected to Christ.

Some people may be disenfranchised from organized religion, so they are not connected to Christ.

Some people may know nothing about Christ, or what they know is inaccurate, so they are not connected to Christ.

story: There are three parts to story:

my story: my personal experience with Christ.
their story: their personal experience/lack of experience w/Christ.
God's big story of redemption.

Old vocabulary: "testimony."

This is what I have seen and heard. This is what I know about Jesus. This is what I want you to know. This is where I am. Our stories are not complete. At certain times, our stories are not neat or resolved...

We want to have Christ-followers:

who have first-hand experience of Jesus and can talk about it authentically
who know how to ask good questions of others who are not connected to Christ
who know how to listen to the other person's story
who know how to tell God's big story in a simple way.

To tell God's story, we will be using the four principles and diagrams from James Choung's book, "True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In."

Here are links to their relevant documents: Connecting (PDF), and Connecting Vocabulary (Word doc).

This is an important subject to me. Their terms deal with evangelism and outreach, though we also hear discussions around the term missional. Some say the word has become to diluted or is often misunderstood.

But, language matters. Its use changes over time. And, words that once pointed to new ideas eventually lose their usefulness because of the baggage they carry.

So, I would love to get your thoughts:

1. What do you think of their lexicon?

2. Do you use the term "missional"? Why or why not?

3. Do you use an alternative term(s)? If so, why? And, if so, what terms do you use?

4. Have you opted for less traditional language when attempting to communicate biblical truth with the world? If so, why? Please give examples.