I'm going to the Advance13 Conference

At least once a year, I try to attend a conference that will strengthen my understanding of the gospel or help in my practical leadership in the church.  Sometimes, that is a hard balance to find.  Some conferences are great on providing deep lectures about the gospel.  They are headlined by some of the great minds in the church.  I have been to several of these and am always stretched in my theological apprehension.  Other times, I have been to conferences that are focused on church leadership, growth strategies, and ministry nuts and bolts.  These always give me something new to think about, try to implement or adapt in my ministry context, or just be jealous that I didn't think of it sooner.

Very rarely do I find a conference that can balance these two things.  I believe that Advance13 will be such a conference.  I have been impressed by the team at Advance the Church for a couple of years now.  They have put together an impressive conference experience several times.  I haven't been able to attend because I am usually already committed to another conference by the time I find out.  I did attend a regional event with ATC in Hattiesburg, MS a couple of years ago.  I was impressed with the depth, the practicality, the speakers, and the price.  It was good to see guys within about three hours of me who shared some of the same concerns I did as a pastor.

The theme for Advance13 is "Building a Faithful and Effective Ministry".  These guys have both an appreciation for the depth of the gospel.  But more than that, they are practicioners of the church.  They are pastors who are in the trenches of church leadership every day.  Speakers at this year's conference include John Piper, Bryan Loritts, Matt Chandler, J.D. Greear, David Platt, and Tyler Jones.  Breakouts are offered that are very practical in nature.  There will be networking times for participants to meet other guys and exchange ideas.

Here is an excerpt from their blog about the conference:

There is a false dichotomy in the church today, between faithful ministry and effective ministry – depth and width – making disciples and reaching the lost. Most of our churches are good at one or the other. Churches that prioritize faithfulness make mature disciples, but don’t always reach the lost. Churches that prioritize effectiveness reach the lost, but often don’t make mature disciples.

 The gospel calls for both. Faithfulness and effectiveness cannot be separated. Churches that grow wide without growing deep are not producing width that lasts. Churches that grow deep without growing wide are not as deep as they think.

We need faithful AND effective churches.

This is a major tension I am feeling as a church leader right now.  I am looking forward to seeking the Lord on this matter and the insights I will glean at Advance13.  It's not too late to register.  You can still make it to Raleigh and if you do, call me up and we'll grab coffee.  I am sure I can learn a lot from you too!

Update and Some Links

I know that my recent unplanned blogging hiatus has probably dwindled my readership from about a couple of dozen down to 1 or 2 people who have nothing much to do during the day but to jump around blog bookmarks.  Most of the reason for my hiatus has been that any extra time during the day not devoted to solving church problems or cleaning up after my kids has been spent working on my doctor of ministry project.  I turned in my proposal in late January and got approval as well as a one-year extension.  So, now I am reading my research and preparing my lessons to teach for my project.  Still a lot of work left to do.  I appreciate your prayers in the process.

My church is doing our first 4-day Revival since I have been here as pastor this week.  Tonight is our last night.  My personal pastor and spiritual dad, Mickey Dalrymple, has been with us this week.  It has been a unique privilege and honor to spend time with him and to share my pulpit with him as he has brought messages.  We are also being led in music by my friend Darryl Collins whom I worked with for 13 years at Westwood Baptist Church in Alabaster, AL.  Pray for our last night tonight that we can see a harvest from our efforts.

Since I wanted to get back in the blog, I thought I would post a few links for you to read that I have recently come across:

Three Actions Each Pastor and Church Need to Take by Ronnie Floyd - I have long appreciated Dr. Floyd's leadership and example.  I had the honor of hearing him preach last week during the AL State Evangelism Conference.  This is a good reminder of how a church can discover it's local missional context.

Largest Churches in the Southern Baptist Convention by Thom Rainer - I have also benefited greatly by Thom Rainer's influence.  I am glad to have him leading our efforts at Lifeway.  Since I love to read about churches and their strategies, I have always had an interest in seeing the numbers of a church.  Don't be fooled.  These numbers can quickly become an idol for many seeking to compare themselves to other churches or leaders.  However, I like looking at them and comparing them to where they may have been several years ago.  Some have grown considerably.  Some have shrunk considerably.  It was also interesting that I have served at one on the list, grew up at one on the list, and have several personal friends in ministry that are serving at some on the list.

Four Good Reasons to Read Good Books by Tim Challies - You know that I am an avid book buyer and sometimes reader. I love to help put a good book in someone's hand to help them grow in their understanding of God, grace, or the gospel.  I think too many people miss out on so much because they do not practice the discipline of reading good books.  I think there is some correlation in the ineffectiveness of many in the church today and the proliferation of television channels, internet, and social media.  This is a good article to help you be more inspired to read.

Dangerous Calling - A Book Review

Paul David Tripp has written a book that I firmly believe should be in the hands of every pastor in America.  From the first pages of this book, Tripp drew me into the deep, dark world that is my own duplicitous heart.  Very few people outside of ministry understand the danger that exists for pastors and ministers about having a public, ministerial persona and a private, personal persona at home that is actually more of who we are.  To be honest, most everyone struggles to a certain extent with the real person in private and the public person they want everyone to see.  However, for ministers, this duplicity has very drastic effects on both our personal walk with God and our ability to accurately give to others the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Tripp's book, Dangerous Calling, is painful to read. There were many times that I wondered to myself how the author had access to so many of the private thoughts and actions that I am embarrassed that anyone would know about.  I believe that I have been much more aware and diligent to avoid this ministerial duplicity recently, but it is not a problem that goes away easily.  Like some, I have learned some hard lessons from seeing very good friends of mine that are no longer in ministry because they fell victim to "doing ministry" as a professional but were not accurately walking with Christ or allowing their lives to be dramatically impacted by the continual truths of the gospel that we are all still in the midst of our own sanctification, that we desperately need to depend on grace and not our skills, that we have a tendency to check out and escape into mindless activities that blind us to the gospel.  Tripp lays the gauntlet down in the first chapter with a powerful discussion of his own personal downfall and why he got there.  The second chapter follows with nine "signs that a pastor has lost his way" that every minister should read.  The rest of the book flows from these premises over and over.

One area of concern that I had is that Tripp seems to be very hard on seminaries and religious education institutions.  As someone who attended a seminary, I see many of his points.  He argues that professors need to be people who model for their students gospel dependency and see the opportunities they have to "pastor" these future pastors.  Instead, many seminaries create and foster a performance-based culture, keep relationships at a surface level, and actually create a perfect environment where this duplicity between the public minister and the private person can incubate.  I know from personal experience because I lived that life as a seminary student in the early 90's.  I don't think ultimately this is a fault of the seminary as much as it is the product of a religious culture that has dominated the church for decades.  Many of these professors that Tripp criticizes are just fostering a Christian culture they grew up in.  However, I do appreciate that Tripp calls seminaries out to reevaluate what they are doing.

Another weakness of the book is that is sometimes seems repetitive on certain key points.  The reader starts a new chapter reading a gut-wrenching story but then reads three points that sound a lot like what the author wrote two chapters ago.  However, I think that is just Tripp's way of reinforcing over and again that there are certain fundamentals that we as ministers need to preach to ourselves every day.

I personally wish I could give a copy of this book to every pastor and minister that I know and make them read and discuss it.  I wish that every young pastor and seminary student in his 20's would read this book very carefully as a warning and decide to implement the author's suggestions.  If so, maybe the landscape of the church 20 years from now would actually be much more gospel-centered because pastors are actually ministering from the gospel instead of just throwing it around like a buzzword.

Get this book if you have been called by God to lead in the church.  It will be painful.  It will be awkward.  But, it will be rewarding.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Crossway book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Straight from the Sidelines

Ever wonder what those NFL players are saying on the sidelines.  Now you know.

A Powerful Story...

If you've never heard the story of Steve Saint and Mincaye, the man who killed his father Nate Saint in Ecuador, you have missed a blessing.  It was the subject of the movie "End of the Spear" and another movie "Beyond the Gates of Splendor".  I had the awesome privilege of hearing Steve and Mincaye speak in person at John MacArthur's "Shepherd's Conference" in 2003.  Their story is a powerful testimony to the gospel, grace, forgiveness, redemption, and missions.

Last year, Steve Saint was injured in an accident as he was testing a "flying car" his company had developed to use in the jungles.  This video below is after his accident.  You will see the awesome love that the gospel has bridged between these two men and their families.

To see this specific video, go to the bottom where it says "playlist" and click and select the video that says "Nanicabo".

2012 Year in Review

Well, it's been a long time since I have posted on this blog. Most of the last 2 months have been spent working on either the growing ministry responsibilities or finishing up my Doctor of Ministry project proposal.  I hope to turn the proposal in to New Orleans Seminary in the next few weeks.

I wanted to at least put on a year end blog about 2012.  Overall, it was a very good year.  On the family front, Alison and I celebrated 15 years of marriage on November 1, 2012.  Time has flown by.  I am so blessed that my beautiful red-haired girl said "yes" to me.  15 years and 4 kids later, marriage is getting better every day.  This year has had financial struggles just like everyone else.  Alison has worked more this year and took a second job doing hospice care.  My sons Nathan and John David both played baseball in the Spring.  Nathan and Drew both played football in the fall.  So, most of our year was spent shuttling to practices and attending games.  We loved it though.

Our family did a lot of travelling this summer.  We attended the Southern Baptist Convention together in New Orleans in June.  We also went as a family on our church mission trip to Spartanburg, South Carolina.  We took a family vacation to Panama City Beach with my in-laws in July and had an awesome time.  In addition to these, Alison and I had two trips to celebrate our anniversary year.  In April, we took a cruise with our friends Bill and Ginger Young.  It was a first for all of us to be on a cruise.  We ate a lot and enjoyed the views from the boat.  We also shopped in Cozumel and got a massage on the beach.  In August, Alison and I went to Boston for 4 days to watch a couple of Red Sox games and tour the city.  We really enjoyed Boston even though the Red Sox were pitiful.

In the ministry world, we added two new staff members at SSBC.  James Hollis joined our staff in January as Minister of Youth and Discipleship.  Allen Tidmore joined the staff in June as Worship Pastor.  I am blessed to work with a young but talented staff.  We saw a lot of new people start coming to church in 2012.  We also lost several of our senior saints this year.  It was a tough year with a lot of funerals.

On a national level, we saw some incredible things in 2012.  One of the things that stood out was the rash of violence in places such as Aurora, Colorado and Newtown, Connecticut.  Our country saw a contentious and historic election.  We saw a terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi that killed our ambassador and rising tensions in many countries.  We saw a man skydive from 24 miles above the earth.  We saw Hurricane Sandy wreak havoc on New York and New Jersey.  The economy continued to affect many as prices keep going up and disposable income keeps going down.

One of my most reflective things to observe at year's end is the people who passed this year.  One of the most significant to me was Chuck Colson.  He influenced my christian walk in profound ways.  He was one of the most important voices for the church.
Some of the most notable stars that passed this year were Andy Griffith, Larry Hagman, Dick Clark, Whitney Houston, Michael Clarke Duncan, Sheman Hemsley (Mr. Jefferson), Ernest Borgnine, Richard Dawson, George Lindsey (Goober on Andy Griffith), Mike Wallace (60 Minutes), Jack Klugman, and Davy Jones (the Monkees).  Other notable people who died were General Norman Schwarzkopf, former Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork, motivational speaker Zig Ziglar, Mr. Food Art Ginsburg, politicians Arlin Specter, Daniel Inoye, and George McGovern, Steve Sabol of NFL Films, astronaut Neil Armstrong, writer Steven Covey, singer Barry Gibb, Rodney King, and singer Donna Summer.

Some great movies came out this year.  I loved the conclusion to the Batman series with "The Dark Knight Rises".  I also loved "The Avengers"!  Other good movies that came out were Les Miserables and The Hobbit.  I didn't see "The Hunger Games, but heard it was good.  Mercifully, the last Twilight movie finally came out.

I'm looking forward to 2013 being another good year.  I am hoping to finish my doctoral work this year.  Also praying for God to open up opportunities for gospel ministry for myself and my church this year.  I have lots of books to read.  I'm hoping my Bulldogs start the year right with a Gator Bowl win. I hope 2013 is a great year of growth for you with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Freeing Our Idols

“What happens in the experience of gospel wakefulness is a satisfaction so complete that it fixes the center of our affections on God alone, in Christ alone, by his Spirit alone.  That is what worship is, after all: proclaiming worth, giving weight to something in the revolving of our affections around it.  When that center is anything but God, we are idolaters, and we end up abusing what we worship because it is not equipped or designed to receive our affections in that way.  But when the lights of the gospel flood our heart, we transfer our affections to God, finding all our fountains in him, and our idolatry dies as our idols are freed from the confines of our abuse.”

Jared Wilson, Gospel Wakefulness

Grace by Max Lucado - Book Review

Every time I read a Max Lucado book, I put it down and realize that I love God more than I did when I picked it up.  My first Max Lucado book was as a college student when I saw a copy of "Six Hours, One Friday" at New Life Bookstores in Columbus, MS.  It was probably one of the first books I ever read cover-to-cover.  It changed my spiritual life and started me on a journey to love reading great books.  I own and have read every one of Max's books since.

Grace - More than We Deserve, Greater than We Imagine may be the best book Max has written to date.  Lucado dives into the subject of grace with the reckless abandon and vivid color that only he can bring.  It's apparent on every chapter that the subject of grace has captured Max's heart.  This isn't surprising to anyone who has read his previous works.  He has extensively treated the subject of grace in every book he's written.  However, in this one, he takes it to another level.  Early on in the book, Max does a masterful job of describing "The God Who Stoops."  He shows how God doesn't bring us up to his level or badger us because we can't get to him in our own righteousness.  Instead, God stoops.  He shows how Jesus stooped in John 8 before giving the Pharisees some "shut-up" juice and showing a morally loose woman how good grace really is.

My favorite chapter was the one entitled "Wet Feet" where he talks about Jesus showing grace in the washing of the disciples feet.  I could almost feel the cool water against my own feet as I read it.  It was a wonderful reminder that my Lord has left and example for me to follow and that just as he washed each one of the feet of those who would let him down, I am called to wash the feet of those who let me down as well.  Grace isn't just a great gift that I receive, it is a privileged calling I am called to give as well.

If your soul is dry and needs to drink deeply of the living water, I would suggest you go buy this book. It's a spiritual oasis in the desert.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Multiply Disciples

David Platt and Francis Chan have released some new material for discipleship that appears to be really good.  It's an organic movement designed to give some material to regular people to study the word of God together and replicate discipleship.  Check out the website and some of the material.  I'm looking for some ways to plug this material in our context at SSBC.

What Is the Multiply Material? from Multiply on Vimeo.

Voddie Baucham's Personal Take on Abortion and Adoption

I have a deep respect for Voddie Baucham.  He is a man who has come out of some of the most extremely desperate circumstances in life.  He came to faith as a college student at Baylor.  Now, he is a bold defender of the gospel, skilled in apologetics, and a man who has become a voice for families and adoption.  This is an excellent video I found on the internet about him addressing several important topics.  If more supposed evangelicals thought like this man, our country would be much different.

Deep and Wide by Andy Stanley - A Book Review

A couple of months ago I saw a tweet where someone could get a preview of Andy Stanley's new book "Deep and Wide: Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend" for review.  It was on a website called NetGalley.  Naturally a book nerd and one who loves free stuff, I went to check it out and signed up.  It was delivered to me in a digital format for my Kindle which was a little different.  However, I was very excited to read and review it.  I have followed Andy Stanley's ministry and journey at North Point most of my time in ministry.  Stanley is one of the most engaging and effective communicators I have ever heard.  He has been given a very strong platform to teach leadership lessons for church leaders.  I have been to North Point at least a dozen times for conferences or worship experiences.  I have heard Andy speak at Catalyst and the DRIVE Conference.  I follow his leadership podcasts.  I have 12 of Andy's book on my shelf and have read almost all of them.  So, I went into the book with an expectation that I would probably be familiar with much of what was in it.  I was.  But, there was much in there I could learn from too.

The first section of the book that traces Andy's story at First Baptist, Atlanta with his dad through the starting of North Point is worth the price of the book.  Growing up in the shadow of a gifted and revered father was surely no easy task for Stanley.  When he went into ministry, he had great gifts and great expectations on him.  I knew some of Andy's story through following his parent's divorce and conversations I had with people in Atlanta who I knew.  But Andy does a great job peeling back the curtain to show that the starting of North Point was in many ways a defining moment and a divine opportunity.

I know that many of my pastor friends in the more Reformed/doctrinal preaching camp do not have a lot of appreciation for Andy Stanley.  In many ways, Andy comes across very dependent on corporate models of leadership.  His big church and his big platform make him a target of criticism.  Some of the criticism probably has some legs to it.  Much of it doesn't though.  There will be many things in this book that will make the "gospel-centered/missional church" crowd uncomfortable and argumentative.  I found myself writing several notes in my Kindle arguing some of Andy's points.  I went into the book knowing that the evidence is there for North Point being "wide" but I wanted Andy to show my some of the "deep".  Personally,  I didn't find a lot of testimony of depth.   I think that Andy narrowly defines the gospel as the preaching of Christ's death to get lost people converted.  I don't think Andy communicates in the book an appreciation that the gospel and not slick methods are what produces true conversion and sanctification.  Not surprisingly, I think Andy communicates a very man-centered understanding of evangelism.  At times when reading the book, I had the impression that Andy believes that the conversion is too deeply dependent upon what we do rather than how God is drawing that person and invites us into the process.  Much of what Andy communicates is formulaic and fosters the impression that if you use their formula or tweak it to work in your context, you will get the same results.  He also implies in some of the book that numerical growth, especially the kind of explosive growth they have seen, is the leading indicator of spiritual health.  I don't think Andy appreciates the complexities that exist for small-church pastors who reside in overly-churched areas on the rural South where growth is slow and tedious.

Having said all that, I found many strengths in the book.  One is that reading it gave me a sense of hope that my church can and should be doing much more to reach the unchurched in my area.  I like that Andy says that too often we create the "church" for "churched" people and forget that many don't come to our church precisely because we have unwittingly communicated that we don't want them.  I was forced to think about some of the language I use when I preach.  I was forced to remember not to assume that everyone in my congregation knows the background to the Bible stories like I do.  Another strength is his challenge to church leaders to lead through the necessary change no matter how hard it is.  It's far easier and more safe to keep those inside happy because they pay the bills and ultimately our salary.  However, when we decide to start reaching the outsiders, we will upset some of the insiders.  I appreciate that North Point and Andy take very seriously the challenge of reaching the lost and unchurched and their numbers show that much of their growth is reaching those who didn't go to church rather than pulling in sheep from another congregation.

Deep and Wide is a book that is worth reading, highlighting, and dialoguing with.  You likely won't agree with everything Stanley writes, nor should you.  He anticipates that point and even issues some arguments in the book.  However, I think every church leader can find some leadership nuggets and some programmatic challenges worth talking about in the book.  It would be a great book to read as a staff.

Jack Is Back!

Wondered what Jack Bauer has been doing since he walked away at the end of season 8?

When Leaders Blow the Call

Last night an epically bad call by replacement officials cost the Green Bay Packers a football game.  I didn't see the end of the game live, but I saw a sudden barrage of tweets as I was going to bed all lamenting the call and calling on Roger Goodell to end the referee holdout.  I saw the play repeated numerous times this morning on several morning shows.  It brought to mind several thoughts.  What do we do when those we trust in leadership let us down?  What are we supposed to think and feel when someone blows a call, not just in a football game, but in a strategic business or church decision?  In reality, this was a football game.  It did cost a team a victory, but lives aren't at stake and financial resources aren't at risk.  Here are some thoughts off the top of my head.  These are questions I think we can learn from moments like this.

1.  Are the right people in place to make the right call? - The first thing we notice from this situation is that the men that were on the field last night in the striped shirts really didn't belong on that field to begin with.  These men love football.  They obviously love to officiate football.  They were hired into this toxic environment because other men are fighting over money and benefits.  But, they are not the right people to be on the field at this time.  They are in this position as a substitute for the right people.

In the church world, we often have the right people in the wrong places or the wrong people in critical places in the organization.  We place people on leadership teams because they are nice people.  Or they are long-time members.  Or they make the most noise.  However, when it comes time to make a decision, they make the wrong decision because they weren't supposed to be in that position to begin with.  I have also seen this dynamic at work in professional ministry.  I am growing increasingly convinced that one of the reasons for high turnover and burnout in the church world is that many who are working in full-time ministry aren't supposed to be there to begin with.  They may love God.  They may love the church.  But passion isn't the sole quality of a leader.  Passion without competency is a naive attempt destined to fail.

2.  Have the people on the field been trained to do their job properly?  The officials that were in the game last night have been trained to officiate football.  However, their training was in a different environment - perhaps high school football, perhaps lower collegiate ranks.  These men were not trained to officiate the complex rules of the NFL at the speed at which this game is played.  In the last few weeks we have seen officials out of position to make calls.  Last night as the play finished, one official signaled one thing and the second signaled the opposite.  One of them look dumfounded at what call to make and was obviously just guessing - and he was the one who guessed right!

It's easy to see these guys weren't trained.  However, in the church world, we are guilty of this all the time.  We ask for people to volunteer to teach a class and then we give them a book and a roll and say "Good luck!"  We don't think through all the complexities of volunteering for a job.  We take for granted that they know many of the same things about the job that we do.  And when they do a poor job, we criticize the leader instead of evaluate the process.  I have been guilty of this far too often.  I have written off some very dedicated leaders early in my ministry because I was pitiful at training volunteers.  We often throw volunteers into the fray without thinking through our policies and training them on how to make critical calls regarding parents, security, answering tough theological questions, etc.   It's so easy to see in other organizations, but often so hard to see in ours because we think we've done all we can do.

On a personal note, let me speak to my pastor friends as well.  If you are in ministry, you need training. You are not an expert just because you have the title of pastor and the biggest office.  Your calling and gifts are not enough.  There is a dangerous trend emerging in ministry where I see a lot of young ministers who are "foregoing" seminary in order to attach themselves to a gifted leader or church and learn from them.  I have heard too many successful pastors belittle the seminary and education process. It is true that a lot of the practical things I learned in ministry, I learned outside of the seminary classroom.  There were many areas of working in the church I felt very unprepared for.  I am grateful that God placed some gifted and seasoned leaders in my life that gave me practical advice and examples.  However, there is also a price that needs to be paid in learning to be a leader.  In older days when a young man apprenticed himself to a tradesman, he spent many hours learning valuable lessons. He paid his dues.  I am afraid that a lot of young leaders are so frustrated with the ineffectiveness of many churches that they impatiently jump over some hoops in the process that will make them better equipped.  If you are called to pastor a church, you are accountable for the theological depth of that congregation.  That will not come from just reading John Piper books.  "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)  I am not suggesting that seminary is a "must" for everyone.  However, don't put off seminary just because you are trying to do "real ministry."  And don't put off stretching yourself with hard training because of fear or laziness.  If you have been to seminary, don't think that your degree is the end of your training.  Be a student of leadership. Find ways to improve your skills.  Create for yourself a personal improvement plan.

3.  What do you do when a obvious mistake is made?  It will be interesting in the next few days to see where this goes.  Fans, players, and coaches are frustrated.  Ultimately, the buck stops in the NFL commissioner's office to get the problem resolved and get the best men in place to call the game.  How will leader's react to such a volatile situation?

I believe one of the critical moments for us as leaders is not how we handle success, but how we handle failure.  What will we do when we make a decision and it backfires?  How will we handle accountability for our decision?  Will we try to spin the issue by saying "We did the best we could with the information at the time"?  Will we stubbornly dig our heels in and insist that the right call was made even when it's obvious to everyone else?  We don't usually have the luxury (or tyranny) of instant replay.  When we as a leader make a mistake, it is often what happens in the next few moments that will define our leadership in the organization.  And, we as leaders make a lot more mistakes than we like to admit.

What other questions come to mind for you about bad leadership decisions at critical times?

New Trailer for "The Hobbit"

A new trailer was released this week for the new Peter Jackson film "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey".  This looks impressive and should be a great flick.

"Refined" Sins

I am leading a Wednesday night class at my church through Jerry Bridges book The Discipline of Grace.  I read this book about five years ago for the first time.  It had a huge impact on helping me rediscover the gospel and the power of grace.  Last night we were discussing chapter 2 in the book "The Pharisee and the Tax Collector".  As the title suggests, it is about Jesus parable in Luke 18.  It is easy on this side of the cross and the New Testament to see the obvious judgmentalism and hypocrisy of the Pharisee.  It's always easier to see Pharisaism in others, but it's often impossible to see in ourselves.

Also in this chapter, Bridges has a very good section on what he calls "refined sins" that we don't often talk about in church.  Here is an excerpt:

"A large part of our problem as evangelical believers is that we have defined sin in its more obvious forms-forms of which we are not guilty.  We think of sin in terms of sexual immorality, drunkenness, lying, cheating, stealing, and murder...Most often our sin problem is in the area I call "refined" sins.  These are the sins of nice people, sins that we can regularly commit and still retain our positions as elders, deacons, Sunday school teachers, Bible study leaders, and yes even full-time Christian workers."

Bridges then goes on to identify some of these more insipid sins that many of us as Christian believers will commit and then quickly excuse or ignore.  One of these is a critical and judgmental spirit.  Bridges talks about how so often we don't take seriously Christ's warning to remove our log before we try to examine the speck in another person's eye.  Many in the Christian church make it a continual part of their character to criticize and put down others, especially other Christians with whom they may have theological differences.  Often I picture the world looking at us like the two curmudgeons from the Muppet Show who never have a kind word to say.  Another refined sin identified by Bridges is gossip, "the endless recounting and passing on of the sins and misfortunes of others.  We seem to get a perverse delight out of being the bearer of bad news about other people."  Bridges reminds us of Paul's admonishment in Ephesians 4:29, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."  If we really take that Scripture seriously, then we are not to use the words of our mouth to ever speak to or about someone unless we are doing it for their benefit and building them up in the faith.  In my opinion, that would solve many of the conflicts we have in churches today.

Bridges also identifies other "refined" sins that are not always frowned on as much in the church.  Some of these include resentment, bitterness, an unforgiving spirit towards others, impatience, and irritability.  Bridges does a masterful job reminding us that while some sins have greater degrees of consequence or horror in our eyes, all sin grieves God.  The sin of gossip grieves God as much as the sin of murder.  The sin of bitterness grieves God as much as the sin of sexual abuse.  We must never make lighter of our sin just because we have done a good job avoiding the "biggies".

Can you think of some other "refined" sins that you can think of that we often tolerate, excuse, or turn a blind eye to in the church?

Around the Internet

Here are some great posts and articles I think would be well worth the read.

Life: A Fabulous Choice - This is a great post by my friend Jenny Funderburke. I worked with Jenny for many years and didn't know this part of her story.  This is a great post to remind us when demagogues stand up and cheer the ending of life in the name of a "woman's right" that there are much larger things at stake than "rights".

Why Little Kids Need Big Bible Words - I appreciate this post by Trevin Wax.  Trevin is one of the editors for The Gospel Project from Lifeway.  We are using this new curriculum with our kids and youth ministry here at SSBC.  I am glad to know these guys believe that even if the kids can't understand the word now, we are planting seeds for gospel growth later.

I'm Christian...Can I Vote for a Mormon?  This post by Denny Burk has a great video panel discussion from Southern Seminary to help people really understand the foundations of Mormonism and our political tensions as Christ-followers.  This is a vitally important topic that is causing a lot of tension for many in the church.  This video is a must watch.  These guys say it much better than I can.

Last Ounce of Courage - There is a new movie coming out this weekend that you may not have heard about yet.  It's called "Last Ounce of Courage" and it looks pretty good.  There was a free preview here in Alex City last night for pastors, but I couldn't go.  However, I have heard from some of the pastors that went and they highly encouraged us to let people know this is a great movie to see.  If you are looking for a movie to watch this weekend, I would suggest this instead of some junk about demon possession.

I just saw on some other's blog today that a trailer has just been released for the new movie on Lincoln directed by Steven Spielberg coming out this fall.  This looks pretty good.

3-2-1 The Gospel

This is an excellent video I found online that explains the gospel in a powerful way. Use this to remind yourself of the gospel truth and also to share with a friend and co-worker for discussion.

321 from Jeremy Poyner on Vimeo.

Thoughts from Boston

Last week, my wife and I got to take a little "pre-anniversary" trip to Boston, MA.  2012 marks 15 years of marriage for Alison and me.  Our actual anniversary isn't until November, but we booked a couple of smaller trips this year instead of one big expensive trip.  It was a very refreshing time for both of us.  This is one of the few times since my oldest son Nathan was born that we both got away without kids and without an agenda.  Earlier this year, we talked and decided to go to Boston for several reasons.  One, my wife had never been to Fenway Park and by hanging out with me, she has become a pretty good Red Sox fan.  She has mentioned a couple of times the last 2-3 years that she wanted me one day to take her to a game there.  We also selected Boston because Alison had never been to it and I had only been once.  Alison loves to visit bigger cities that have lots of shopping and historical stuff.  So the combination of the city and the game made this a good choice for us.

Although the Red Sox are playing very bad baseball, this is a great time of year to visit Boston.  The weather was very nice. The universities are starting back, so there is a lot of bustle near Fenway.  We stayed at the Hotel Buckminster which is across the Mass Turnpike from Fenway Park. (The picture is actually the view from my hotel room.)  This is an old, historic hotel in downtown Boston.  This gave our visit a very historical feel.  There is a room in this hotel which is the room where the conversation began that resulted in the 1918 Black Sox scandal where the World Series was fixed.

Boston is a city with a tremendous historical and cultural heritage.  The streets of Boston are the site where much of the unrest developed and boiled over that resulted eventually in the American Revolution.  One day, Alison and I walked the "Freedom Trial" which is a 2.5 mile walk through the old parts of town where much of American history was made.  We visited the Old North Church where Paul Revere saw the lanterns that warned of British troop movements.  We visited the Boston Harbor, the Old State House, the sight of the Boston Massacre, Park Street Church, and a cemetery where Sam Adams, Paul Revere, and John Hancock are buried.  We also saw a tremendous amount of cultural diversity in the city.  Boston is a blend of many culture compacted in a small space.  There are areas where every restaurant is Italian and others that are dominated by Irish pubs.  There were several Muslims we passed tons of different cultural backgrounds that we rode with on the subway.  Here are a few of my observations from our trip around this city.

1.  Boston and New England are spiritually dark places - I have grown up and spent most of my ministry in the cultural "Bible belt" of the Southeast.  In this part of the country, there are churches on every corner and almost everyone you talk to is "a member" of a church somewhere and "believes" in Jesus.  Most of the time, we spend most of our ministry as church leaders trying to keep church members happy.  Most of our membership change is sheep from other pastures who decided that their former church isn't for them anymore.  In many ways, church members in the South treat church like they do restaurants they frequent.  If the service is good and the meal meets their needs, they will tip the church and come back later.  However, as soon as the service or food gets bad, they decide to search for somewhere else to dine.  In the area where I minister, we have access to thousands of people who, in reality, have no saving relationship with Christ.  We pass by them, but don't really see them because we are trying to "feed the flock."  If a church in my association has 15-20 baptisms in a year, that is mega-growth.
However, in Boston, things are much different.  In my four days there, I probably passed by three to four times more people than live in my county.  I would venture that 98% of them have no knowledge of Jesus or the gospel.  Jesus Christ is, for many of them, a punctuation to a sentence.  As I walked around the city, I could sense the spiritual oppression and the hopelessness that comes when all our hope is built in the things of this world.  The New England prides itself on being a place of cultural and religious diversity and of educational elitism.  Unfortunately, this has also created a culture that is very intolerant of the biblical message of the gospel.  The answer for the spiritual darkness Boston is finding a generation of genuine disciples of Jesus Christ that live and vocalize their faith one at a time.

2. There is hope in the midst of the darkness - One of the ironies that hit me is that this spiritual darkness hasn't always been the case here.  Boston and New England were once key hubs for the gospel in America.  Much of the First Great Awakening took place here. Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield preached and led many in this area to Christ.  Many of the colleges that are in Boston were started as institutions for religious instruction.  Many of the framers of the early American country were men of deep faith.  We can't forget the place that Christian faith had in this area for many years. There is hope that Christ can reign again here.  I still believe that Christ is "God of this City".  During my visit, I met with a church planter named Juan Maclean.  He and 6 others planted Redemption City Church in Boston a couple of years ago.  They are living out their faith publicly and holding out the hope of the gospel.  It is slow work, but they are being faithful to the cause and God is using them.  Pray for them and for God to send more church planters to this area.  Pray for God to raise up a generation of leaders that will not measure the success of their ministry by the size of their congregation, but by their impact on a city with the gospel.

3.  The Great Commission in America necessitates that we create strategies that focus on pioneering missions and redeeming our great cities - I have been a Christian for a long time and a minister for 20 years.  During that time, I have been way too content with crumbs when I should be leading my people to fresh bread.  I have measured my success too much on creating "programs" that people like to attend instead of building "disciples" who impact my city and the world for the gospel.  Our churches spend too much money on internal programs designed to entertain and inform our people.  We have failed to call our people to sacrifice greatly to make sure that cities like Boston are being reached for the gospel.  We have churches filled with people who call themselves Christians, but have a tremendous heart problem.  Our people spend too much time and money on self-serving interests and want churches that "meet their needs".  My church has a responsibility to reach our city for Christ.  We have thousands of people in our city that are just as lost as the people of Boston.  We need to identify them, pray for them, and engage them with the gospel.  Then, we need to be sure to let everyone in our churches know that the gospel doesn't exist just for them.  It is not a self-serving venture, but a self-sacrificing one.  If we really believe that Jesus has changed us, then let's live like it.

We have way too much money spent on churches and ministries that have kept us inoculated in the South.  I am not saying that these aren't good ministries.  The problem is not the ministries our state conventions and associations have created.  The problem is that the average Christian gives less than 3% to gospel related causes.  This creates an issue where there is a huge limit on funds and everyone is fighting over the crumbs of pie left in the pan.  We should have enough money in our churches to reach our communities with the gospel AND to plant thriving gospel-centered churches in Boston, New York, Chicago, Montana, and Oregon.  We should have enough money and missional fortitude that every church in my Southern Baptist Convention should adopt and engage with one of the 6,000+ unreached people groups on our planet.  The gospel we say we believe is powerful enough that all of our churches should have water in the baptistery and people being baptized every Sunday.  We are called to "make disciples" and I think we can do much better.

I am thankful that God has graced me on a trip where I went thinking I would just watch a couple of baseball games, but instead I got a peek into a very different world.  I am grateful that God has given me the honor of being a pastor and hope that I can be faithful to his call to make disciples in my local context while leading us to engage the world for Christ. Friends, the reality of lostness is all around us.  If you live like I do in the cultural Christianity of the South, pray for God to open your heart to the reality of lostness and to shatter the safe castles that we have created that have kept us from engaging the world with the gospel.  I believe that the Father's table still has plenty of open seats available for those who are hungry.  Let's go tell them where they can find the true and lasting satisfaction for their soul.

Men of Sunday - A Book Review

I recently received a copy of a new book called Men of Sunday: How Faith Guides the Players, Coaches, and Wives of the NFL.  I picked out this book primarily because I love sports and books about Christian athletes.  I always love hearing the stories and finding out about the faith of some of sports greatest athletes.  This book focuses on a number of current and former NFL players and the growing acceptance in most NFL locker rooms to athletes who are outspoken about their Christian faith.

Many of the names in this book will be very familiar to most sports fans - Tim Tebow, Tony Dungy, Ray Lewis, Trent Dilfer, LaDanian Tomlinson, Aaron Rodgers, and Mike Singletary.  The author, Curtis Eichelberger, describes at the beginning of the book how the National Football league has become a place where the Christian faith is much more accepted and prevalent than in years past.  He shows how a large number of the NFL's most successful athletes are men who are strong in the Christian faith.  However, he also avoids the campy suggestion that these men are successful because they are Christians and that somehow God gives Christian players more success than non-Christians.  Instead, he shows how the Christian faith drives many players to excel at the sport, to work hard to the glory of God, and to stay humble in spite of their success or failures.  He also shows how these Christian players handle many tough topics such as being a husband and father, overcoming injury and adversity, dealing with the violent nature of the game, avoiding the multitude of temptations they face, and dealing with the nature of sudden transitions.

This book is a quick read which makes it a very good book for most men.  It deals with subjects that are very relevant to all men, whether they are athletes or not.  Most men will receive a great deal of encouragement from reading about how some of these men that they admire for their great athletic ability deal with issues that are common to all men.  At times is reads like a manhood manual.  It is filled with great advice and brings many practical scriptures to light.  I have already thought of about 5 men I can pass this book onto that would benefit greatly from it.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Five Books I Will Be Reading Soon

If you know me, you know that I read a lot. I am an crazy book collector and try to read most of them.  I am constantly having to redo my bookshelves because of the new books I just bought or the ones I get free from conference.  I collect more books than I read, but I still read a lot.  I think reading is the key to learning and growing.  One of my new fascinations is that I have found several web sites that allow you to get books for free from them if you agree to read them and write a blog about them.  This is dangerous for me because giving me websites for free books is like giving me a box of hot Krispy Kremes and telling me to hold them till you get back.  Here are five books I have picked up recently that are on my most immediate "to-read" list.

1.  The President's Club by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy - I love biographies and learning fascinating trivia about presidents.  I ordered this book before my vacation and started reading it in July.  It's 600+ pages!  It traces the relationships of sitting presidents with some of their living predecessors.  Great background into this unique fraternity of great leaders.

2.  Deep and Wide by Andy Stanley - This book is coming out in a couple of months for national release.  Andy is a great leader and teacher on leadership.  He is one of the clearest and best communicators I have ever heard.  While there are times that I wish Andy would go deeper into some of the richness of gospel truths in his sermons, there is still much I learn from his leadership example.  This book is the story of how Andy and his team started North Point and what are the guiding principles that helped them to reach so many people.  Andy has taken a lot of criticism from some in the "gospel" camp, but whether you agree with him and the ministry of North Point or not, I believe there is a lot we can learn and take away from his story.

3.  Gospel Deeps by Jared Wilson - I have recently become a big Jared Wilson fan.  This is my book to counter the Andy Stanley reading.  Jared has a vision and passion for the gospel that is infectious.  He is a very talented writer who inspires me to know God better and to know his word deeper.  Jared is the antithesis of the "big-church" pastor.  He is content to live and preach the gospel in a small community church in rural New England where the work is hard but rewarding.  If you haven't read Jared's book Gospel Wakefulness, you must put it in your query right now.

4.  Men of Sunday by Curtis Eichelberger - This is one of the books I ordered from one of the book blogger websites.  I chose this one because I am a huge sports fan and love to read the stories of athletes who love Christ.  This book will help give me some stories to share with men about jocks who love Jesus.

5.  Killing Calvinism by Greg Dutcher - Calvinism is the hot topic today, especially in the SBC.  It's vastly caricatured by those on the non-Calvinist side and hotly embraced by those on the Calvinist side. I have very good friends and mentors on both sides of the debate.  I avoid the labels because of the divisiveness it causes.  However, as I read some people's online endorsement of this book and the description of it in Amazon, it sounded like a book that needed to be published a long time ago.  I think many in the Calvinist movement turn people off their theology not because of the truth of it, but because of their approach and presentation of it.  There are a small minority that feed the caricature of the non-Calvinists while many Bible-believing, gospel-centered, missionally-driven adherents are ignored or marginalized. I hope that reading this book will help me to be able to continue to build bridges between both parties.