Produced by Faith Communities Today, the survey is based on responses from more than 2,500 Oldline Protestant, Evangelical Protestant, Catholic & Orthodox and World Religions congregations.

The Cooperative Congregational Studies Partnership (CCSP) conducted the survey. It updates results from surveys taken in 2000 and 2005, and is the latest in CCSP's series of trend-tracking national surveys of U.S. congregations.

Several of the key findings of the survey were reported earlier:

American congregations, as a group, continue to struggle, facing declining attendance at worship, eroding financial health, waning spiritual vitality and increasing uncertainty about their mission and purpose.

At the same time, some congregations have shifted to a contemporary style of worship that has catalyzed growth, and other congregations have benefited from focused leadership.

...

Among the new findings:

• Oldline Protestant congregations spend close to half their budgets on salaries and benefits compared to 31 percent spent on salaries and budgets by Evangelical Protestant congregations. Oldline congregations' pay premium is even more striking when one recalls that Oldline congregations are, on average, considerably smaller than other Christian congregations.


• American congregations have gone electronic. Web access is more the norm than the exception.


• A newly emergent trend is satellite congregations in which sermons are beamed in from the primary congregation.


• Congregations that changed to contemporary worship in the past five years show elevated levels of spiritual vitality and growth in worship attendance.


• Conservative congregations place more emphasis on the quality of their internal relationships than do liberal congregations; liberal congregations place more emphasis on ministry to the world outside their doors.


• As in 2000, money, worship and leadership lead the way as the areas of congregational life most riled with conflict. Conflict about leadership is the most likely to produce serious negative consequences.


• Creating strong interpersonal bonds and purposefulness decrease the likelihood of conflict.


• In clergy time usage, worship and teaching about the faith are the top task priorities for both Protestant families. The Oldline congregations put higher priority on worship and the Evangelical congregations put higher priority on teaching. Catholic/Orthodox leaders spent more time and attention on administration than any other task.

You can download the survey here. Check it out and come back to discuss.

Reporter Jamey Tucker provides analysis of the state of the church in America, examining and discussing research and future trends in North American faith. He interviews several leaders, pastors, and experts in this eleven-minute "Extra" segment.

I'm impressed to see a news affiliate (ABC in this case) pay such attention to issues of faith and culture. It has been a long time since I have seen anyone do a TV news story that lasts more than 10 minutes-- let alone something on faith.

You can watch the video here:

WKRN News 2 Nashville Reports on Religion in America from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

Much of what I mention is in my recent article on "stats abuse" in Christianity Today.

Feel free to share your comments (or perhaps even corrections) below.

What does it mean to live "subversively" for Christ?]]> http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/03/trevin-wax-holy-subversion.html http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/03/trevin-wax-holy-subversion.html Books church counter culture subvert Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:27:53 -0600 In our previous installments of the "Mondays are for Missiology" series, we investigated the unique connections between the kingdom of God, eschatology, the church and mission (and all the interrelationships therein). As we've walked through this discussion I made the comment, "I see much missional historical naïveté." What exactly do I mean by that? Well, some of what I am hearing from some (not all) missional thinkers are the same words that other individuals said decades earlier-- and it subsequently led to theological ruin in the missio dei movement (something to which almost all, not just evangelicals, would agree).

So how do we not make those same mistakes again? I believe it helps by going back and looking at the roots of the missional movement and having a robust theological discussion that heightens our awareness of the issues at hand.

To that end, today I want to shift gears and begin to look at these missional issues through a more soteriological (the study of the doctrine of salvation) lens, covering the nature of salvation.

]]> http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/03/monday-is-for-missiology-8.html http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/03/monday-is-for-missiology-8.html Missional Theology evangelical liberal missional Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:26:24 -0600 Tonight, I'm reviewing the message I'll share at Two Rivers, where I serve as Interim Pastor. I love the people there, and am happy to be able to serve the body and work along side them. The Tennesean (our Nashville paper) recently did a story on Two Rivers focusing on its healing and movement forward. If you aren't from around here you probably don't know the details, but it has had some rough days.

]]> http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/03/two-rivers-and-gospel-healing.html http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/03/two-rivers-and-gospel-healing.html Church Church Revitalization Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:33:20 -0600

On Thursday, we do another session of "The Exchange."

Here is how I explained the whole idea:

]]> http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/03/the-exchange.html http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/03/the-exchange.html Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:52:01 -0600 Here is my most recent column in this month's Outreach Magazine. If you were a subscriber, you would have already read it and many others. So, click here to subscribe.

]]> http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/03/march-outreach-church-birth-co.html http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/03/march-outreach-church-birth-co.html Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:25:28 -0600 Here is something that has been posted at several places on the web today:

David Fitch once said that most missional thought leaders "emphasize incarnational forms of church over attractional; the church as Missio Dei over mission as program; organic forms of missionary living in neighborhoods over ministry set in a building." Yet many others seem to add the term to the current program they are attempting to promote or make cool sounding. As Ed Stetzer noted, "The word missional is used to bludgeon legalism and antinomianism alike. To some it is a sign of freedom from all established forms of the church and to others it is a degeneration into syncretism with the world."

So, do we abandon the term and move on? Not yet, because the concept behind missional is really big and words help us when we can agree on their definitions-- or at least we can agree what we mean when we use a word.

]]> http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/03/prologue-to-missional-discussi.html http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/03/prologue-to-missional-discussi.html Missional Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:32:56 -0600
Over the last few weeks we have looked at the relationship of the church, the kingdom of God, and mission. I want to bring these ideas to a close this week and move onto a new theme beginning next week. Please join the conversation in the comments. I enjoy the discussion!

The Church on Mission for the Kingdom

We may now see how when everything becomes mission, nothing is mission. The church does not point to a reality in itself, but rather to the kingdom of God and the reign of Jesus Christ. The church stands for something more elemental and invasive than itself. Because the kingdom is more all-encompassing and far-reaching than the church, the church must be recognized as a servant to Christ's kingdom.

]]> http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/03/monday-is-for-missiology-7.html http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/03/monday-is-for-missiology-7.html Church Missional Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:55:37 -0600 Tomorrow is a crazy travel day. I actually speak at three events in two states. Yep, crazy.

Here is the plan:

Monday morning, Main Stage at the Orlando Hard Rock Cafe

I am speaking at the Student Leadership University to 2500 student pastors.

Monday afternoon, Harvest Church in Warner Robins, GA

I'll be taking questions about church planting at the end of the (free) NEXT Church Planting Seminar. (Interesting note: this is my first time ever speaking at anything meeting in a United Methodist church.)

Monday night, Central Baptist Church in Warner Robins

I've be preaching at the Georgia Baptist Evangelism Conference followed by a late night Q&A.

I'm tired already... but I love pastors and church leaders and look forward to encouraging lots of them tomorrow! Please pray for strength and that I can make much of Jesus and God's mission.

]]> http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/02/sunday-is-for-seminars-5.html http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/02/sunday-is-for-seminars-5.html Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:41:42 -0600 In the last few days, I have received hundreds of spam Twitter direct messages from my Twitter friends. Many of them were quite, shall we say, graphic. Others are just the normal foolishness.

Here is the direct message I have sent out many, many times the last few days:

You have been phished. Pls change (and better protect) your password so you won't send out these direct messages. Thx.

Let me say a few things so you might avoid this.

]]> http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/02/how-to-avoid-and-apologze-for.html http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/02/how-to-avoid-and-apologze-for.html Web internet scam spam web Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:15:14 -0600

Bob Roberts has earned degrees from Baylor Univeristy, Southwestern Seminary, and Fuller Seminary. He planted Northwood Church in 1985 that has since planted 140 churches in the United States. He has written for various periodicals and journals both faith based and secular international relations journals. He works with the United Nations and various State Departments of various governments around the world doing humanitarian engagement projects. He frequently travels to seriously challenged nations to help with development, engagement, and reconciliation. Their focus is to engage the society with the Gospel through the use of ordinary disciples vocations. Bob has written 4 books, Transformation, Glocalization, The Multiplying Church, and recently Realtime Connections: Linking your job with God's Global work. Bob speaks around the world on globalization, faith, church planting, engagement, and a variety of global affairs issues. He is married to his wife of 30 years Nikki, they have 2 children, Ben and Jill, a daughter-in-law Ashley, and an exchange student they consider their own - Ti.

Bob will be leading a lab at the missionSHIFT conference this summer at Ridgecrest Conference Center in North Carolina on July 12-15. Bob's lab is titled, "The Glocal Church: Missional beyond Program." Here's a brief description.

]]> http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/02/missionshift-introducing-bob-r.html http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/02/missionshift-introducing-bob-r.html Missional Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:40:12 -0600 I had a great time at Saddleback last week, and not just because it's in California. Where it was sunny. And warm. And very sunny!

As is my custom, I like to blog a bit about the service. First thanks to Rick Warren for inviting me to preach in the weekend services. I think there were 22 services where I spoke (that's not a typo-- it's twenty-two), though I only preached 4 times. You can see the video of that service here. (By the way, if you would like to hear about how Thom Rainer and I used to "despise" each other, you will want to watch the message.)

]]> http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/02/visiting-saddleback.html http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/02/visiting-saddleback.html Church Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:19:46 -0600
Hugh Halter will be speaking at the missionSHIFT conference this summer at the Ridgecrest Conference Center in North Carolina on July 12-15. Hugh is the national director of Missio, a ministry team committed to training, developing, and apprenticing Incarnational leaders for the church. Within Missio, Hugh co-directs the MCAP, an online collaborative training environment for Incarnational leaders, pastors, and church planters. Hugh is also lead architect of Adullum, a local movement of incarnational communities in Denver, CO. As co-author of The Tangible Kingdom, and the accompanying Tangible Kingdom Primer, Hugh is an advocate for disoriented God seekers and loves to inspire and re-orient leaders around the mission of God. I was happy to write the foreword for his next book, AND...the Gathered & Scattered Church coming out through Zondervan/Leadership Network/Exponential in April. At the missionSHIFT conference Hugh will unpack the sotry of Adullam to help you think beyond the normal church plant methods, funding options, and kingdom results. The key focus will be on decentralizing incarnational communities and holding the congregation together through non-consumer gatherings.

Ed: Tell us briefly how you came to the work with Adullam and what all fills your days?

]]> http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/02/missionshift-introducing-hugh.html http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/02/missionshift-introducing-hugh.html Missional Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:40:10 -0600

It's Monday and time for another installment of "Monday is for Missiology." Long time readers of the blog are familiar with my Meanings of Missional series, but for those who have missed it here is where the conversation unfolded on the blog.

Meanings of Missional

The Meanings of Missional: Part 1
Where we ease into the word, missional. Where did the term come from, and do we really need it today?

The Meanings of Missional: Part 2
Where we begin to look at the relationship between the words mission, missions, and missional.

The Meanings of Missional: Part 3
Where we consider the sentness of the church as fundamental to the word "missional."

The Meanings of Missional: Part 4
Where we look at the role of the church and evangelism in the missio Dei.

The Meanings of Missional: Part 5
Where we consider the need to be God's missionary people, with a biblical definition of mission, focused on the missio dei.

Monday is for Missiology: The Eschatological Dimension of the Missional Church

Monday is for Missiology: The Church, the Kingdom, and the Mission

As I've said before, I believe it is very important to look at theological and historical roots of the missional conversation if we want to frame the current discussion with integrity. If we don't, we could easily make some of the same mistakes that caused the leftward trajectory in a theological direction during the missio Dei movement in the mid- and late-20th century. We want to be faithful to the Scriptures as well as good students of history.

Today we will look at a couple of caveats regarding the eschatological language (the coming Kingdom is "already and not yet") of mission.

Caveats

Citing German Lutheran theologian Ernst Käsemann, Bosch raises some points of caution regarding the language of the church as "sign or sacrament." Käsemann believed that this kind of vocabulary might muddy the distinction between Christ and the church. To call the church a "sign" may obscure that the only genuine sign of the church is the cross of Christ. Concerns like these inspired the World Council of Churches at the Faith and Order meeting in Louvain, Belgium in 1971 to clarify: "The church...is a sign. But it is also no more than a sign." Further, they said, words like sacrament are not attributes the church confers to itself: "God himself has chosen the [church] to be in Christ the sign or sacrament of the unity of his kingdom." Bosch summarizes these points by saying, "When the church, in its mission, risks referring to itself as sacrament, sign, or instrument of salvation, it is therefore not holding up itself as a model to be emulated. Its members are not proclaiming, 'Come to us!' but 'Let us follow him.'"

Additionally, it is of the utmost importance to evade the common dueling extremes:

1) the extreme eschatologicalization of mission, and

2) the extreme historicization of mission.

First, an obsession with "end times" can paralyze mission. Walter Freytag strongly criticized missionaries and mission agencies that appeared to welcome the corrosion of society as a sure indication of the imminence of the Second Coming (parousia). M.A.C. Warren also notes that Freytag warned that the stress on the waiting for the "not yet" could "easily lead to 'quietism'...," making the church "guilty of the sin of temerity...[and] timidity." Bosch continues:

A fixation on the parousia...simply means that we are evading our responsibilities in the here and now. Submitting to Christ as Savior is inseparable from submitting to him as Lord in our personal lives but also political and economic systems in the corporate life of society.

On the other hand, a fixation on an entirely "this-worldly" understanding of the eschatological character of mission is equally dangerous. The threat lies in the abandonment of any idea of the uniqueness of the church and instead concentrates on what happens in the world outside the church. The incarnation becomes the representation of the world-historical salvation process that emerges gradually through cultural, moral, social, political, and even revolutionary illumination.

The attraction to an over-historicized eschatology seems to arise when individuals become impatient with the "slowness" of the kingdom coming and in turn, take control and redefine the kingdom, seeking to build it with newer techniques, while continuing to use the name of Christ to endorse their programs and social endeavors. "Mission" merely becomes shorthand for the fulfillment of societal responsibilities.

Bosch is quick to say that the problem with this paradigm is that in becoming the "arbiters of what action is appropriate," God's reign always passes sovereign judgment over the pinnacle of our ideals and often goes against the grain of history, overcoming our diminution of the gospel to mere ethics. He continues: "We will never realize our blueprint for a societal and political order that will match the will and rule of God...[T]he future holds the primacy. The ultimate triumph remains uniquely God's gift."

So, where do you think we are erring today? And how can we avoid the reactionary pendulum swing from one extreme to the other?

]]> http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/02/monday-is-for-missiology-6.html http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/02/monday-is-for-missiology-6.html Missional Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:38:29 -0600