I got my latest copy of “OnMission Magazine” today. As I was flipping through it I ran across some scary statistics. I love the computer and the internet, but these are wild.

• 11% of Americans say they would be willing to implant a device in their brain that allowed them to use their mind to access the internet.
• 24% of Americans say that the internet can serve as a substitute for a spouse or significant other.
• The sum total of all information produced in 2008 will likely exceed the amount of information generated by humans over the past 40,000 years.

The information regarding this year’s Missional Network Gathering was released recently. It looks like, as usual, it will feature some of the great thinkers in our convention. I’ve been at each of the events held at the annual meeting that they’ve sponsored since the Missional Network was formulated in Greensboro two years ago. I am very excited about the lineup of speakers. Kerry Shook, Brian Bloye, Daniel Floyd & Shawn Lovejoy promise to deliver. On top of all that it’s being held at Bucca de Beppo, which we have in Kansas City, and which offers stellar Italian cuisine. I’m not going to be able to be there this year as I’ll be in another meeting at the time, but if you are free I would highly recommend that you sign up to attend. The cost is minimal but space is limited so sign up quickly. To sign up or get more info, click here.

HT: Timmy Brister

If you are a ministry leader Facebook for Pastors is an exciting new resource that you need to add to your library! Chris Forbes, also known as the Ministry Marketing Coach, has put together this short, 31 page book to walk pastors and church leaders through the process of using Facebook in their ministry settings. The best thing about the book is that it is available as a FREE download!

Chris is a friend who writes most of the book but also uses the help of a few other ministry personnel that are already using Facebook in ministry to add to his thoughts. I had the privilege of lending an article to the book.

I’ve been using Facebook for well over a year or two now and have found it to be an incredible resource in ministry.

Chris posted this description of the book on his site.

How to build relationships and connect with people using the most popular social network on the Internet. This 32 page e-book will help Pastors and other ministry leaders make the most of this great networking tool.

• How to make the most of your profile information
• Tips for Networking with People in Facebook
• All about groups, messages, poking, etc
• Brand Your Ministry
• Meet prospects for your church
• Learn more about the members in your church
• Fine tune your communication skills
• Testimonies from Pastors who use FaceBook
• and much more!

Get the e-book here free using this link: Facebook for Pastors E-Book
(PC users, right clink and select “Save As” for best results)

**DISCLAIMER** This is an occasional series in which I offer some heartfelt cries to pastors in regards to issues that I see that are crippling the work of the gospel and the effectiveness of the church. These are areas that are particularly close to my heart. These articles are not intended to be academic treatises, but rather a reflection of current concerns that I am dealing with.

I couldn’t sleep last night. It was a difficult night of tossing and turning until almost 3am before I finally drifted off to sleep. I occasionally have nights like this, and when I do I try to read. As a general rule I try to read a few newspapers each day (Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times and the St. Joseph News-Press) to make sure that I am current with the climate of our culture. I grabbed my laptop, turned it on and turned to the sites for these papers. As I was perusing the Post website I noticed an article by Melissa Etheridge, the rock star, who has become even more well known for her lesbian lifestyle and activism for homosexual couples to have the right to adopt. I read the article that she wrote about her  “Awakening at Easter” and my heart broke. In the article Etheridge details a typical midwestern upbringing in which she attended church with her parents only about 45 minutes from where I live here in St. Joseph. Unfortunately, however, as she spoke about their times at church during the Easter holiday she doesn’t speak of a pastor who clarified the risen Savior and the purpose of His resurrection instead, in her own words, what she heard was:

“Jesus was crucified on the cross and put into the tomb and rose from the dead three days later, now go find some eggs that a bunny left in the yard.”

I sat back, after I read her quote, and I struggled with frustration and sorrow. To think that her experience in celebration of the risen Savior was devalued to some lesson about Jesus and the Easter bunny is truly disheartening. To be honest, it could certainly be true that as a young child she simply missed the point, but unfortunately I would not be surprised if this depiction were accurate, understanding the state of the modern church.

It is vital that we pastors lead churches that communicate in modern, effective ways the truth of the Gospel. I believe in the importance of contextualization and the need for understandable application.  If, however, in an effort to make the message understandable we somehow lose the message itself than we have nothing of value to offer those who are listening.

It may be encouraging and convenient to encourage our people with thoughts that they should believe in themselves and that they should know that God wants them to triumph. It certainly may be convenient, but the problem is that it is not biblical. Instead of teaching our people that convenient message, we should teach our people to believe in God, rather than themselves, and the fact that He can triumph for us, rather than our ability to triumph for Him. Instead of getting people to our churches with a good time and throwing Jesus at them in some fashion, Jesus must become the center of all that we do. Our hope for our culture is not a large number of people who believe in the power of what they can do but rather a group of people who are broken by what they cannot do and are dependent upon God for what He can do.

It is frustrating to me to hear Etheridge’s personal testimony of the unfaithfulness of her church. It is even more frustrating when I turn on my own tv and see the pastors who are misleading their own people just as successfully by teaching them that God wants them to prosper and to be happy and that God would never allow them to suffer. It is a ridiculous perversion of the gospel. The kind of theology that exalts those values will cause our people to scratch their head in wonder when they see that God can’t even maintain His own standard with His Son, whom scripture tells us was “slain before the foundation of the earth.” So much for prosperity, comfort and ease I guess?

No, we do not need to make our people comfortable, happy and thankful for how easy their faith is. We must challenge them, encourage them and attack every thought that would exalt man over God. So, in this short plea, Pastor please hear me beg you not to lose the gospel! Contextualize the message, make ready the application and by all means prepare to communicate His word creatively, but please, please don’t lose the gospel. The lives of your people depend on it.

…to be a Florida Gator. Or at least the head football coach for the Gators! Man, take a look at this article. I think Driscoll may be on to something in this video when he talks about our idolatry.

In light of all the discussion that the recent statement on the environment and climate change has created, I think it is appropriate for me to clarify a few things concerning my personal position.

There has been some speculation that this statement means that those who signed it are endorsing the existence of Global Warming. I can assure you, from my perspective anyhow, that this is not the case. I am not a scientist. I do not have the ability to argue along scientific lines as to the existence of Global Warming or not. I am not trying, by supporting this initiative, to claim that Global Warming is true or not. There are, however, two specific reasons that I think this is an important issue to consider and address as conservative Evangelicals.

First, the issue of creation care is a biblical issue. For far too long those who have been the significant voices urging in the protection of the creation are those who will most often stand in opposition to biblical truth. This is shameful. Those of us in the Evangelical community have often been known as the ones who laughingly refer to our responsibility to “have dominion over the earth” as if that is some biblical principle that allows us to avoid our responsibility to manage what God has given us. This is no way necesitates the need to assume that the earth and its resources should be cared for to a greater extent than humanity, but rather it is an admission that although we are to use the resources the creation provides to care for humanity, we must not be careless or wasteful in that process. I support this initiative as a step in the right direction of recognizing that biblical Christianity and creation care should go hand in hand.

Secondly, this issue of Global Warming, climate change and creation care may or may not be true. As I stated before, I’m not a scientist and I will defer to their judgment on the issue. Since they are decidedly split in this area, it’s only fair to say we collectively do not know for certain what is occuring in the atmosphere and in our climate. Having said that, there is no denying that the topic of Global Warming is a partcularly significant topic, particularly among younger generations. Going one step further, it would also appear to be a biblical and moral issue. While I do not know if Global Warming, as popularly defined, is accurate or not, I do think it is safe to say that there is damage to the environment that is the result of irresonsible human behavior. That kind of behavior should be controlled by a biblical response of creation care. Due to the significant influence of popular culture promoting Global Warming, among other things, I think it is only appropriate that the Evangelical community address it as we would any moral issue that is known as a significant culutral issue of our day rather than try to dodge or deny the issue. It is important that the Evangelical community have some voice instead of simply allowing those in the mainstream who do not share our biblical value system to be the only voices of influence.

So, in conclusion, this statement is not an endorsement, on my behalf anyway, of Global Warming. It is, however, a recognition of the Evangelical community’s need to take a more prominent role in the advance of faithful, biblical stewardship of creation. I hope that we can all unite under that banner.

I continue to get a variety of questions from people who ask whether we should like or dislike the Emerging Church movement. If you’ve read this blog for any length of time you will know that I don’t believe there is much of an answer to that question. I believe that the EC movement is too diverse and too large to be labeled as simply “good” or “bad”. We’ve essentially got to consider each church on an individual basis.

Pastor Mark Driscoll, of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA preached a message this past Sunday dealing with the topic of the EC movement. It wasn’t new material for me but enough of you have asked about it that I think it would be good to post it so that you can consider it.