Over the next few months leading up to missionSHIFT, along with introducing to you to the folks who are joining us at Ridgecrest to be a part of the missional conversation, I want to make sure that we continue to trace the roots of the missional debate historically and theologically. These posts will be a continuation of my "Meanings of Missional" series that has been on hiatus for a while. Okay, since October of 2007 (grin).

Today I want to introduce you to Linda Bergquist. She will be speaking at the missionSHIFT conference this summer. We are also excited to have her voice as a part of framing the Missional Manifesto.

Linda and her husband Eric live in San Francisco, California. She is a New Church Starting Strategist and the co-author of "Church Turned Inside Out" from Leadership Network (2009).

I have known Linda (Dr. Bergquist ) for many years. When I was a professor (oh so long ago) she took several of us on a tour of the marginalized communities where God was at work in the Bay area. She has a passion for people on the edge of society and the change that the gospel brings. You can find out more about her work in San Francisco at her site Plant Churches with Us.

To introduce her to you, I asked Linda to answer a few questions about herself.

Right now, many of you are gathered around the TV, surrounded by bowls of dip and chips, platters of wings, and other tasty treats as you watch The Game. Are you getting your Superbowl on? Some people watch mostly for the commercials, and at least one spot has already generated a lot of controversy because of an athlete's pro-life stance in it.

Most guys like sports, and Christians aren't any exception. In fact there appears to be a real influence of faith in sports, and even (for good or bad) sports in faith. There's even a new book covering the subject (with a negative view).

We've all seen teams pray before the game, players credit God with the win, and many athletes openly talk about their religious convictions. I know it's cool these days to dump on celebrities and athletes when they "thank God." Newscasters, and even many Christians, roll their eyes. But the truth is many athletes who wind up in the spotlight believe such opportunities must be taken to publicly give God thanks or even tell others about Jesus.

Look, you can't ask for someone's thoughts and expect them to leave out their core convictions that determine how they interpret the events (or games) of their lives. Even if the press doesn't get religion, they have to know enough to cover the motivation of these athletes. Sarah Pullman Bailey has written a good article on this in the Wall Street Journal.

...reporters have found it hard to ignore Jesus-professing athletes like the quarterback Kurt Warner, who retired on Jan. 29. Mr. Warner, who went from stocking shelves at a grocery store to winning two MVPs, is outspoken about his faith. When a reporter attempts to separate the high-caliber athletes from average ones, they begin to look for some intangible qualities, and faith is sometimes a part of that. "There is dishonesty in telling his story if you ignore what drives him, especially if you accept its role in one of the NFL's great success stories," the Arizona Republic's Paola Boivin wrote before last year's Super Bowl.

Sports journalism often lends itself to lengthy profile-driven features. Sportswriters have some of the best opportunities to tell human-interest stories, and in some cases that means connecting the religious dots for people. But when you look closer into what it means to be religious, it usually involves divisive opinions on matters like heaven and hell, and, in some cases, abortion.

One of the funnier moments I enjoyed was the shock that a nationally known athlete would live different because of his faith. Tebow's response to a journalist's question is priceless.

Now, this has to apply to all. If an athelte wants to thank Allah, Vishnu, Mother Earth, or the power of Grayskull, so be it. If you don't like it, quit making athletes into role models and interviewing them. When you ask them, they just might tell you what they believe.

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]

Here are some upcoming places where I will ministering in the next two weeks.

Austin, TX: Verge: Missional Communities Conference (Feb. 4-6)

I'm packing for the Verge: Missional Communities Conference this morning. I will be there all day tomorrow. I'm hoping to make much of God's mission with application on how we might live it out. The conference is sold out, but you can watch it live online at the site.

Nashville, TN: Honesty Conference (Feb. 10)

Next Wednesday, I will be speaking in the Honesty Conference in Franklin, TN with Ray Ortland, Scott Thomas, and Jamie George. I love the theme and look forward to talking about gospel-centered Christianity as compared to the works-based version so prevalent today.

Lake Forest, CA: Radicalis (Feb. 9-12)

Last week, Rick Warren asked me to join the team at Radicalis and I am glad to do so. I will be writing more about that later.

Lake Forest, CA: Saddleback Church (Feb. 13-14)

I will be staying over to bring the weekend messages at Saddleback Church. Please pray I make much of Jesus, the cross, and God's mission.

Thanks for praying for me as I seek to represent Christ.

Somewhere (and I don't recall where), I was asked to state my name and define a "missional church."

Here was my response:

What Does It Mean to Be Missional? from The Resurgence on Vimeo.

For a better (and much easier to look at!) video, see this one:

What do you think? What could be said better than what I said in my spur-of-the-moment comments? (By the way, I get much more technical here.)

Over the weeks to come, I will be introducing you to the people who will be serving as framers for the Missional Manifesto that we will discuss as a part of the missionSHIFT conference on July 12-15 in Ridgecrest, NC.

First up is Eric Mason... better known as "Mase" to his friends.

He lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with his wife Yvette and two sons Immanuel and Nehemiah. He is also an adjunct professor at Biblical Theological Seminary. Dr. Mason received his Master of Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary (ThM 2000) and a Doctorate degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (DMin, May 2007).

Eric is the lead pastor and co-founder of Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the church website, the mission of Epiphany Fellowship is simple: "We want to develop disciples."

The web site goes on to explain:

I'll be hosting a regular web show starting today. You can find it here.

Here is what I wrote last week:

My main agenda is simple: to help pastors and church leaders in a setting that includes questions and dialogue. If I had my way, I would personally coach and encourage every pastor or leader. But, since they actaully want me to lead a research team here at LifeWay, I am somewhat limited in my capacity. With this new show, I can talk through some common themes and interact with Christian leaders as we "provoke one another to love and good deeds" (Hebrews 10:24).

The episodes will be archived and cataloged by themes and topics. Today I will focus on three things:
1. my article on research in Christianity Today
2. thoughts on the clergification and its dangers
3. my blog post from yesterday

Here is the news release with more information (and the link at the bottom).

Today, I re-start my tradition of blogging on all things missional each Monday.

To do that, I wanted to start with an article that would not normally be listed as one of my "missional" articles. I think, however, it will help frame the discussion and must be part of the focus.

Simply put, I am not interested in a "missional conversation" that does not involve men and women being redeemed, changed, and transformed by the gospel. Yes, it is more than that (and I will write on that in depth over the coming week), but it must include a heart for those far from Christ. We are called to share and show the love of Christ and the beauty of the gospel-- both matter.

Here is a re-post of a blog post and an article I wrote for Catalyst Monthly. It begins by recounting a conversation I had with someone in the missional church conversation.

The article:

"We worry too much about reaching people," explained a recent "missional" convert. He explained that he had read my book and a few others and he wanted to be more about the mission of God and less about nickels, noses, and numbers. "We have to show the love of Jesus, not just tell people about him." He was a convert to missional but was not as focused on seeing converts to Christ. And he is not alone.

Continue reading "Converts to What?"-- On the Need for Showing and Sharing the Love of Christ.

As you may know, I am interim pastor at Two Rivers in Nashville. I have been preaching through the book of Philippians and thought I would post them here. Both of these videos are from our 9:15 service.

Here is part 1 with introductory information about the book and its big themes:

Philippians Series- part 1 from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

And, here is part 2, which covers verses 1:3-6:

Philippians- Our Partnership in the Gospel from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

You can subscribe to the vodcast here and the podcast here.

For those who know me, you will note that my 40-45 minute sermons are not suddenly shorter! The reason is that I am taking time in each service to explain to the congregation where we are (ministry, prayer, finances, the future, etc.) as we work together toward the future of Two Rivers.

God has been doing good things as we trust and follow Him. Part of that plan is to communicate with the people as we work through some important things as a church.

We're excited about the future at Two Rivers!