I'm often asked what books and blogs I read and recommend. So, without further adieu and in no particular order, here are a few I am recommending this week-- they will change next week.

Here are the top ten most read posts in August. Not throughout the whole Internet, just on my blog. Though, I bet it's not much different. ;-)

1. Willow Creek, Homosexuality, and the Future of Evangelical Response

Willow Creek Church came under scrutiny and criticism recently over how the church views and relates to homosexuals. In this post I suggested five principles to consider about the issue of homosexuality and evangelical churches:

• The issue is not going away and you cannot ignore it or seek to downplay your views.
• The culture sees this as a "justice" issue-- Christians discriminating on the basis of immutable characteristics.
• Though it is easy to make the case (in the church) that homosexual practice is incompatible with scripture, it will be exceedingly difficult case to make in today's culture.
• Building bridges and showing grace and love is needed, lacking, and essential when dealing with people with different views and values.
• At the end of the day, all evangelicals (including centrist evangelicals like those at Willow Creek) will still have to deal with an issue that the world perceives as narrow and bigoted.

Read the whole thing here.

2. Developing Missional Churches for the Great Commission, Part Eight: Cultural Relevance and Living Sent

The final post in my "Developing MIssional Church for the Great Commission" deals with the issue of contextualization and cultural relevance.

To engage culture with a biblically faithful message, we also need to culturally relevant strategies. Again, fundamental to the nature of the gospel is the proclamation of the gospel. But even further, fundamental to the proclamation of the gospel is being sent to people--and that means we must understand those people. Cultural relevance is understanding and communicating with the people God has sent you to reach. People are afraid of that term because it seems to be a compromise. It need not be.

Read the whole thing here.

3. New Research on Global Evangelicalism

The Pew Forum recently released new data regarding global evangelism that is worth a look. Christianity Today created a helpful infographic illustrating the major differences among those polled from around the world at the Lausanne Congress last October. Some of the results were surprising. I offer some thoughts as well.

Read the whole thing here.

4. Protect Yourself from Phishing (Again)

Wherein I attempt to help my online friends from getting "phished." Don't get defensive about the post, just practice better defense with your social media accounts. Please, please, please read this!

Read the whole thing here.

5. Pornification, Part 2: 'Not that There is Anything Wrong With That'

The "pornification" series came from a lengthier article I wrote for the Assemblies of God Enrichment Journal. In part two of this series, I deal with changing views of sexuality and inceased sexualization.

Who will be the "salt" and "light" source of biblical guidance to a culture "gone wild?" The church must provide a clear and robust biblical ethic of sexuality. Although it may be uncomfortable for Christians and churches to discuss, these are issues on the hearts of young Americans. Addressing the issues of marriage, pornography, and homosexuality in biblical ways will enable a church to engage with its community and thrive in many ways. We must resist the temptation to acquiesce to culture through silence. The church should hold up the "new alternative lifestyle" (men married to women for life in a sexually pure covenant relationship) and live it out.

Read the whole thing here.

6. Pornification: Just the Facts

More on "Pornification."

We live in a confused culture filled with moral ambiguities and flawed solutions. The heart without God is the same as it has always been. What we are exposed to is no doubt is more sophisticated than the sexual images drawn in ancient times. But all are symptoms of deeper issues of the heart. People created porn for the same reasons people consume porn--because life without God and other healthy relationships leaves us all very empty.

Read the whole thing here.

7. Pornification: Causes or Symptoms?

For years culture has been forced to find an argument to defend their passion for consuming porn in general and selling porn in particular. Somehow they have managed to find and win their argument. Now we must find the new argument. Right now it seems that is not working well for us. Yet, the church holds and proclaims the truth of the gospel--and the gospel, and only the gospel, permanently fills the void that porn temporarily occupies.

Read the whole thing here.

8. Race Relations, Affirmative Action, and the Church: More Reflections on The Help

More thoughts on race, relationships, and the church.

Why is it that we still seem to struggle with this issue 150 years after slavery and nearly 50 years after the Civil Rights Act? Why can conversations with those of different races be so stilted, appreciation of our cultural differences so hard, and inter-racial friendships feel so forced?

Why is it that so few African Americans go to white churches and vice versa? That so few churches reflect the racial demographics of their host community? That so many white parents would still rather have their daughter marry a non-Christian white man than a godly, Christ-honoring African-American young man? Why the judgment on Mexicans? Are we concerned at all that certain areas of our country may be creating another generation of "helpers" out of Latin immigrants?

Read the whole thing here.

9. Jesus and Sexual Deviants

This post intentionally uses strong language, but I do so to make a point- there is much deviation from God's norm and God's plan. My hope is that we might deal with the issues- and the people-- in the way Jesus calls us to do.

Read the whole thing here.

10. The NASCAR Prayer That Won't End

Of course you saw the video of the NASCAR prayer. "Boogity, boogity, boogity" and all that? Well, your painful amusement is not complete until you watch the autotune version of that prayer. Many of you saw it, but for those who didn't (and for those who desire their cup to overflow), enjoy.

Watch it here.

Tony Morgan's blog is an ongoing source of helpful strategic thinking. Last week, Tony suggested how to preach messages in a series.

I think Tony has helpful wisdom here and reflects an approach I try to take in the places I serve. For example, even as we preach through Philippians this summer, we do it in the form of several series. Our Philippians 1 series was built around the them and title, "Outrageous Joy." Now we are in Philippians 2 with the title, "Humble." Before Philippians, we did a series called "Sleepless-- Questions that Keep Us Up at Night."

Tony's suggestions include:

1. Leverage the seasons when folks are most likely to attend church. I like to launch new series that have a more outreach focus when people are more likely to attend services and invite their friends. Those seasons are cyclical. They depend on where you are located. Obviously, Christmas and Easter are two common times when people are likely to attend church.
2. Find the right balance between "reach people" series and "grow people" series...
3. Use a variety of approaches to begin your series development. Teach on a topic one series. Teach through a book of the Bible in another series. Teach a series of messages on a specific biblical character. Use a series to teach through a specific doctrine. Mix up your approach.
4. Address questions that people are asking...
5. Deliver biblical truth and life application...

Number 2 is particularly helpful. There are seasons in church life that connect with growth and seasons better for depth. For example, I like to do a book series in the summer and winter and often preach a thematic series in spring and fall. Planning around them allows you to continue to help people grow deeper, but also provide a series when new people can "on ramp" into the teaching ministry of the church.

Click here to get the rest of his insights.

I would love to hear what principles you find most helpful in the comment section below.

This is part 4 of the 2010 Blog Review where I highlight this year's posts that were either popular, controversial, helpful, or interesting (at least to me).

October-December 2010

Gabe Lyons and the Next Christians
An interview with the co-founder of Catalyst, and the co-author of UnChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity and Why It Matters.

Fast Company, Twitter, and Influence
Fast Company published an article that argued social medial is not effective at spreading influence. I suggest it really depends oj the kind of influence you are going for.

Kick-Starting the Plateaued and Declining Church
A blog series on on church revitalization.

Called to Love, Serve and Lead People
Cultivating a Heart for The People and Place
Contemplate the State of the Situation
Challenge People to Face Reality and Join the Team
Catalyze Change and Expect Opposition

Thoughts on Lausanne / Cape Town 2010: Part One, Part Two
Some thoughts on the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization's history, current identity and related issues.

Churches Meeting in Non-Traditional Venues
A post on where the local church gathers and how it impacts mission.

Prominent Charismatic Pastor "Comes Out of the Closet"-- A Video Worth Considering
Jim Swilley's announcement made headlines and have us all a lot to think and talk through. We did some of that on the blog.

Four Reasons You Should Resist The New TSA Security Procedures
TSA's new "pat-downs" and body scanners generated quite a discussion on the blog with over 90 comments and over 1,000 "Likes" on Facebook.

Multi-Faith and the Global Faith Forum: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
In this three part series we discussed the difference between "inter-faith" and "multi-faith" dialogues, The 2010 Forum at Northwood Church, and the talk I delivered.

I enjoyed sharing and discussing truth, trends, and trivia with you all on the blog this past year and am looking forward to 2011. Happy New Year, friends!

This is part 3 of the 2010 Blog Review where I highlight a this year's posts that were either popular, controversial, helpful, or interesting (at least to me).

July-September

Calling for Contextualization
This was a lengthy series I did on the issue of contextualization. Though it just moves beyond the months than July-September I have put them all here for ease of reference.

What is culture, and why does it matter?
The Need to Contend and Contextualize
Knowing and Making Known the Gospel
Untangling Cultural Engagement
Indigenization
Loving and Hating the World
The Contextualization Spectrum
Ruining and Recovering Relevance

Christians are Hate-Filled Hypocrites . . . and Other Lies You've Been Told
The title of this post is the title of a book which I was happy to write the foreword to. Here I shared the foreword on the blog.

Interview with Adrian Warnock: Why We Need Non-Paid Christian Leaders
Here's a video interview with Adrian Warnock on how can we find and affirm non-pastors who are engaged in Christian ministry?

When Missional Churches Will Multiply
Warren Bird and I offer some thoughts of what has started to happen, but must continue at a higher and more widespread level to see the multiplication of missional churches in the United States. Below are the highlights.

Celebrating Our Anniversary
Donna and I celebrated our 23 anniversary this year, and I shared a photo from our wedding. I had a full beard and more hair back then. See, there you are moving in to click the link...

Ray Ortlund on Small Churches Planting Churches
Good words from Ray on how smaller churches (like the one he pastors) can plant new churches themselves.

Engaging in a Global Harvest
This is a reproduction if an article I wrote for Outreach Magazine where I shared some thoughts of how we might better engage our churches in global outreach.

Interview with Darrin Patrick
I had a chance to ask Darrin some questions on church planting and his new book, Church Planter: The Man, The Message, The Mission.

This is part 2 of the 2010 Blog Review where I highlight a this year's posts that were either popular, controversial, helpful, or interesting (at least to me).

April-June 2010

Theological Approaches to Social Action and Transformation
A look at how evangelism and social justice interface by looking at the emergence of liberation theology and the church's shift in attitude towards the poor in the missions conversations in the mid-to-late 1900s.

The Most Influential Preachers
We had a lot of comments in this discussion of the preachers you thought have been the most influential preachers over the last 25 years.

How Should We Engage Culture?
Throughout the 2010 we kept wading deeper into the waters of "engaging culture." Here is a good place to start.

Missional Voices: Part One, Part Two
A look at some of the leading missional practitioners in the 21st century.

Exponential and Church Planting Trends
Current trends in church planting, based on research from Lifeway and Leadership Network.

The Nashville Flood: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
Do you remember the flood that hit Nashville in May? I blogged about the damage and relief efforts here.

American's Thoughts on Prayer
We looked at a several research polls that examined the prayer habits of Americans.

Do Not Plant or Pastor a Church In Your Head
This is an article I wrote for Pastors.com explaining the danger of adopting a model of church without giving proper consideration to the people and culture God is sending you to plant or pastor.

Interview in Bible Study Magazine
I was interviewed about how and why Christians should be interacting with Scripture.

The Upstream Collective: London Paris
Here are several posts related to the Upstream Collective: a week long interaction with different European cultures and churches in order to see what God is doing and how American Christians and churches can get involved.

Connecting People for God's Mission in London/Paris
Why in The World Are We in London?
Terry Virgo, Church Planting Networks, and London
Caleb Crider on the Upstream Collective
Global Cities and Gospel Influence
More on Missions and Global Cities
Steve Timmis, Western Europe, and Church Planting
Arts, Creativity, and Evangelism
Westminster Chapel: Preaching Point/Mission Center
Paris
Greater Europe Mission
Sojourning for God's Global Mission

All of God's People Involved in All of God's Mission: 1, 2, 3, 4
A series of posts on moving the church at large (every member) to be actively involved in the mission God has given her.

The Church and Social Media
An article I wrote for Tabletalk Magazine on the benefits of social media to the local church.

This is an active blog, which means I post a lot of information. From my personal life to cultural analysis, theological perspective to statistics and research, and much more, it's easy to miss a few things. So each year I post a Blog Year Review highlighting a few posts that were either popular, controversial, helpful, or interesting (at least to me). This time I'm breaking down the year in review into quarters.

January-March 2010

My Continental Complaint and Their Excellent Response
The year started with a bad experience on one Continental flight. I expressed my concern and they responded very well.

Ten Scripture Texts on God's Mission
Ah, Twitter. You ARE a fun and useful tool. Here we talked, via Twitter about the missio dei and what Scripture passages teach it.

Language in the Pulpit
Preachers need to choose their words carefully, and that means being "thoughtful, provocative, and clear."

Missing the Missional Mark
Some continued to misunderstand that there are solid, biblical voices in the discussion, encouragement and practice of being "missional." But, at least we are talking!

Christian, Jew and Muslim "Trialogue"
Pastor Bob Roberts was doing something that made some people cheer, and others express concern.

Converts to What?
I argue that we must be careful not to allow our churches and ministries to create converts to anything less than Jesus. Are you making converts to a cause, or to Christ?

What is a Missional Church?
A couple videos explaining what it means to be missional.

The Eschatological Dimension of the Missional Church
Here we look at the role of eschatology and its relationship to mission and the church.

The Church, the Kingdom, and the Mission
More theological reflection here, focusing on the relationship between the Kingdom and the church.

Church Birth Control
Why aren't our churches reproducing?

Missiology and Soteriology
Where we discussed the connection between soteriology and missiology

How and Why is God at Work Outside the Church?
More on the role of salvation in the missional conversation.

One More Run at Salvation
Another post on salvation and the church. You should read all three of these posts together.

Evangelism and Social Justice
The beginning of a series of posts seeking to uncover the place for evangelism and social justice through the church.

We are taking the day off, getting ready for the mother of all garage sales. C4C (Calling for Contextualization) will return next week.

Thanks for coming by the blog to comment. In order to facilitate conversation, we are seeking to be good hosts. That is always a difficult task because so many struggle with good conversation-- leading an increasing number of Christian blogs to shut down comments. In order to make this a good place for conversation, we have to be wise stewards of the forum here.

To do that, we have created some comment policies at the blog. If you are a regular reader, you can help by pointing out the policies to those who may wander astray.

My hope is that the end result will be a conversation that honors God, leads to learning, and provokes us to love and good deeds.

In order to facilitation good conversation, please keep the following in mind:

People say stupid things (me included). But, they also say insightful things. And, beauty is often in the eye of the beholder.

Part of the problem with online "discussions" is not that we say a mix of things, but that those conversations are very public and hang out there long after the conversation is over. So, while most of us know how often we fail to maintain civility and basic manners and say stupid things, we seem to forget the public and semi-permanent nature of these conversations.

Yet, I love a helpful blog discussion.

I'm continuing the 2009 blog in review with some highlights from March. Below we've got some good research and a lot of Andy Stanley.

MARCH 2009

Preaching to the Younger Unchurched

Let us begin by saying that not only is it possible to preach to the unchurched, it's quite probable you're already doing so, perhaps weekly. Just because someone has awareness of your church or has attended a service at your church does not make them churched. Consider those that show up for their annual visits on Easter and Christmas. They may have sat through the last 20 years of your holiday cantata, but that doesn't make them churched. Entertained, sure. Inspired maybe. But certainly not churched...

[read it all here]

Andy Stanley

This interview with Andy Stanley is helpful and provocative. It generated a lot of conversation on and off the blog. I actually had to interrupt the interview in between parts 2 and 3 to address some of the responses. If you missed it, it's definitely worth checking out.

Andy Stanley on Communcation Pt 1
Andy Stanley on Communcation Pt 2
Responding to Stanley
Andy Stanley on Communcation Pt 3
Andy Stanley on Communcation Pt 4
Andy Stanley on Communcation Pt 5

Barna: How Many Have a Biblical Worldview?

Barna Research has published the results of a survey that "explored how many [adults] have what might be considered a 'biblical worldview.'" This is a helpful study that will confirm the conclusions many have already drawn - and may surprise some of us as well. What does Barna mean by a "biblical worldview?"

[read it all here]

The Decline of Religion in America

...the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) has caught everyone's attention today as it points out the decline of religion and the rise in secularism in America

[read it all here]

Receptive People

Yesterday I talked with Cathy Lynn Grossman for USA Today about Americans' receptivity to evangelistic contacts and outreach from a church. I pointed to some recent research done by Lifeway Research and the North American Mission Board where we surveyed over 15,000 people (read more on this report via Lifeway Research). It turns out most people said they would be willing to receive information about church in a personal conversation with a family member, friend or neighbor.

[read it all here]

We're continuing the review of some of the highlights from last year's blogging and are dropping in on 6 posts from February. Family, history, culture, sin, church and discipleship. There's something for everyone!

FEBRUARY 2009

Deposits and Withdrawals

People often ask me how I balance work and travel. Sometimes it is really a question. Other times, they are just reminding me to be sure to do that. By no means, do I think I have it all figured out, but my wife says she thinks we have a good balance.

Missional Family Tree

Editors from Leadership Journal have constructed something like a Missional Family Tree that traces the influence from "The Missional Church" edited by Darrel Guder. The chart accompanies an article by Alan Hirsch on "Defining Missional." It's an interesting visual.

Finding Your Way With The World

How do we respond to the predominant social forces around us? Here are three typical reactions and one better way.

Missional Tribe Interview

An interview I did for Missional Tribe where I shared some thoughts on the missional nature of the church, cooperation, and the need for less armchair missiologists, and more real-life practitioners.

The Biggest Sin in Your Church

I was interviewed by Brian Proffit for Rev! Magazine concerning the "80/20" rule in most churches - where 20 percent of the people do 80 percent of the work. It's a good conversation to have and I wanted to share ours with all of you here on the blog.

I talked about the most common sin in many churches. I am guessing there are many, but I think one of the most common is a lack of obedience.

Rethinking Discipleship

Notes from my talk on Discipleship for Church Planters at the ChurchPlanters.com Conference in North Georgia.

Feel free to interact at the individual posts or here at this one.

2009 has come and gone. As I was thinking back on this past year on the blog I realized we've interviewed some great leaders, had a number profitable discussions, and probably annoyed a few readers in the process. I think we've done more good than harm here, and I wanted to point back to a few of the more important posts you might have missed, or want to revisit. I'm breaking it down into 12 separate posts, starting with this one covering the month of January.

JANUARY 2009

Interview with Alan Hirsch

I believe that the closer we get to Jesus, the more 'dangerous' he is to us. We prefer to keep him at arms length and engage him from the relative safety of objective theology. Why is it worth it? Because without Jesus we have no legitimacy, or in fact do we actually have Christianity, because Christianity minus Christ equals Religion. And hey! Who wants a religion? Is it worth it? It is our eternal destiny to be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom.8:29.) We cannot escape it. It is our joy, our salvation, our freedom. All else is just messing with the fringes of the faith.
- Hirsch

Stemming the Decline of the Southern Baptist Convention

The SBC I care about is in decline. Yes, it's part demographics (i.e. we're historically rural and such regions are in numeric decline) and ultimately changes have to be made at a local church level. But, many believe there are issues the convention can acknowledge and address to help turn around the decline. Denying the facts won't help, nor will a theological left turn, but there are things that need to change to reverse the decline.

Interview with David Fitch (video)

[see the entire post here]

Converts to a Cause or Christ?

So, my Reformed friends, let's not only read 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John (that is, John Calvin, John MacArthur, and John Piper), let's go plant some more churches. My emerging church friends, let's take a pause from the theological rethink and head into the neighborhood and to tell someone about Jesus. My missional friends, let's speak of justice, but always tell others how God can be both "just and justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." My house church friends, let's have community, but let's be sure it is one focused on redemption. My Baptist friends, let's focus more on convincing pagans than Presbyterians. And, my charismatic friends, let's focus less on getting existing believers to speak in tongues and more on using our tongue to tell others about Jesus.

Contextual Preaching

If the church is to become an indigenous expression of its context, then contextualization comes into play. When it comes to contextualization, reality suggests that the eternal, universal truth of God's Word is understood and appropriated by people through a cultural grid or framework.

Though we understand and appropriate the truth as conditioned by culture, biblical truth is eternal. However, we, and our hearers, are not!

The State of Church Planting

North American Christians are interested in church planting in a way not seen for many decades. In response, Leadership Network commissioned a research project that surveyed over 200 churchplanting churches, more than 100 denominational leaders from dozens of denominations, and over 45 church planting networks.

Starting a Church Without Losing Your Soul

Church planting is a rigorous task that leaves planters physically, emotionally and spiritually drained. Church planters are busy and stressed. The inherent instability of church planting places constant pressure on these Alpha-leaders to excel. They feel that every sermon, every service, every advertisement, every contact, and every event must be exactly right for them to succeed. Performance pressure overwhelms their theological moorings as to who they are in Christ creating an incessant anxiety which drives them even further into the work that drains them. It's a vicious cycle.

The Dangerous Church in 2010-2020

I have been asked to do a bit of "prognosticating," which can be a dangerous thing. My friend Linda Stanley asked me to set up a conversation about what I think will be the marks of the "dangerous church" in 2010 and stretched on to 2020.

When I think of "marks" I want to talk about distinguishing biblical marks, or what makes a church a church. But, that is not quite my assignment and I have commented on that elsewhere, so let me focus on what they mean.

Some of this will be statistical, some my personal beliefs, and some my hopes. You sort them out.

[read it all here]

Feel free to read them all and comment at the individual posts or comment right here.

While you were fooling around on vacation you might not have given this blog the attention it deserves. ;-)

Just in case, here are the last several posts on at the blog:

Barna's End of Year Review
The Barna Group has just released four themes they see from their research in 2009. Read the excerpts below, check out the full article here, and come back to discuss.

Preaching Magazine Interview (Parts One, Two and Three)
I was interviewed by Preaching magazine about preaching (go figure) and reaching the young adults who are disconnected or disconnecting from church. It was a good conversation that I'm reproducing here in three parts.

Merry Christmas from the Stetzers
Everyone gets a Christmas card from my family!

Gallup on the Decreasing Numbers of Self-Identified Christians in America
In 1948, 91% of Americans identified with a Christian faith. In 1989, 82% of Americans identified as Christian. Ten years ago, it was 84%. This year, it's down to 78%. Check out the article and research coming out of Gallup.

How Protestant Pastors Spend Their Time
This is already generating a lot of conversation. Check it out.

Top Ten Theology Stories of 2009
Collin Hansen did a "top ten theological story" list for Christianity Today. He gets it (mostly) right. Here I interact with his list.

Biggest Changes in Chrisitanity in the Last Decade
Christianity Today asked several of us to answer, "What was the most significant change in Christianity over the past decade?"

Upcoming Sunday Preaching (or what used to be "Saturday is for Seminars")
Some of the places I'll be preaching in the coming year.

I have gained an appreciation of the Religion Newswriters Association. I had the privilege of addressing the group last year (my notes are here) and found them to be hardworking women and men seeking to report on our diverse religious landscape. Most of them work for secular news outlets, primarily newspapers, but all kinds of groups were represented.

So, when they vote on the "top religion stories" it is worth noting.

Their top five: