Tell me about some unique things your church is doing in outreach.

I don't know if we do anything that's really "unique." I would describe our outreach as "simple." I think Jesus' was too. He simply told his disciples, to "Go, make disciples." That's what we teach our people. We challenge them to live sent lives in every domain of their life. We tell our people that we have no marketing campaign. We don't blanket the community with fliers. We don't rent billboards. We tell our people they are the outreach plan.

How did LifePoint transition from a traditional First Baptist to an international, multi-ethnic "sending church?"

In 2004, I felt a clear direction from the Lord to lead our church to a time of prayer, fasting and worship. We would fast for three days and then meet together at night for a time of intense worship: no preaching, just fasting and meeting together to pray and worship.

We had already begun to transition some external things like our music style and dress, and, as a result, had seen lots growth. As a result, we were in the middle of a building program to build a new auditorium. We thought this time of prayer and fasting was to prepare us for what God was going to do when we opened our new auditorium. However, during those three days of prayer & fasting, we realized that God had called us together because He wanted to open our eyes to His heart for the nation. So, our focus changed from bringing more people in to sending more people out.

How did you measure success in the past?

I've always been a pastor who loved people and love seeing their lives transformed by Jesus. But, admittedly, there was a time when I was more ...

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If you are not reading Anthony Bradley, you really should be. In this article, he pushes a bit about our view of the creation narrative. Interesting stuff…

A Conflict of Christian Visions: Gen. 1-2 vs. Gen. 3 Christianity — Anthony Bradley

Christine was recently on The Exchange (along with my friend Kathy Ferguson Litton), for an interview regarding her new book, The Church Planting Wife. Here is a related letter that's worth a read.

An Open Letter to Church Planting Pastors — Christine Hoover

We've talked a lot about mental illness lately. I've written for CNN, and at my own blog. The Huffington Post, the Blaze, CNN (here and here), and lots of others have reported on our data. In my most recent article, I wrote about the danger of overmedication. Being an evangelical, one of the biggest challenges is to encourage Christians to see mental illness as an actual illness. We have a long way to go, based on our recent research. However, the other extreme is that of overmedication, as this article explains.

Doctors: Anti-psychotic meds overused for dementia, kids — Kim Painter

A couple of weeks ago I sat down with evangelist Luis Palau on The Exchange. What regrets does he have in his experience as an international evangelist? Don't forget to join me every Tuesday at 3:00 PM Eastern for The Exchange.

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Outreach Magazine just released their Outreach 100 issue for 2013. LifeWay Research does the research for this issue. I was particularly encouraged to see the list focus especially on fastest growing churches. You can subscribe to the magazine here. Here is my article with a bit of analysis of some of the fastest-growing churches in America.

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Each year at LifeWay Research, we work together with Outreach Magazine to create the Outreach 100 listings of the country's Fastest-Growing and Largest Churches. On one hand, these lists are one of the most anticipated things we do each year. People seem to eagerly await the lists so they can learn from these churches about what God is doing to build his kingdom across the United States. On the other hand, there are those who complain about the lists. They seem to think this is a way of exalting "big churches" in an effort to make them look better than the churches that are not on the list, when nothing could be further from the truth.

Remember folks: facts are our friends.

I love to learn. I have spent a significant portion of my adult life in the classroom, either as a student or as a professor. These lists feed our hunger to learn as we evaluate the temperature of the churches we study in an effort to learn more about the ways God is working. I hope these lists encourage you and challenge you. I hope, like me, you read them and celebrate the ways God is working. I hope they challenge you to think through your own strategy to reach your community with the gospel.

On this year's lists, we noticed many of the same trends we've seen in the past. Among the recent trends, we continue to see multisite churches becoming more and ...

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Amy Simpson responds to our research on mental health that has been reported at CNN (here and here), The Huffington Post, the Blaze, and lots of other places.

Evangelicals, You're Wrong about Mental Illness — Amy Simpson

I appreciated Ronnie Floyd's words here. At our church, we don't do a "come forward" invitation-- that does not work in a movie theater-- but we always invite people to Christ at the end of every message. I found his comments helpful.

4 Words to Keep in Mind When You Give a Public Invitation — Ronnie Floyd

Helpful article on innovation from Justin and Matt.

How to Stop Copying and Start Innovating — Justin Blaney and Matt Carter

A couple of weeks ago I sat down with evangelist Luis Palau on The Exchange. Listen to the advice he had for others who share the Gospel. Don't forget to join me every Tuesday at 3:00 PM Eastern for The Exchange.

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Denominations and networks of churches were and still are created for the purpose of partnership in mission. At times, these organizations have successfully unified churches around their common goals and accomplished much. But sometimes the very institutions meant to unify and encourage the mission have inadvertently hindered their own ability to multiply efforts through partnership.

Without a clear avenue to foster partnership for multiplication, the need for these organizations becomes less clear. If denominations and networks do not exist-- at least in part-- to multiply churches, then they have lost a big part of their purpose.

Denominations, networks, and other such partnerships (referred to occasionally as simply "partnerships" for sake of space), when functioning correctly, should help foster multiplication.

I regularly work with a variety of denominational leaders to help them chart a course toward unified missional engagement. There are several points of weakness common to many of the organizations I have seen.

Since these blind spots seem to be somewhat universal, it makes sense to give broad consideration to the ways of overcoming them. So, I have taken a talk I gave to the Evangelical Free Church leadership and modified it a bit to share here.

Hopefully this information can serve other groups as well. Here are six key steps toward creating the type of unity among churches in denominations/networks that leads to sustainable multiplication of a movement.

1. Recognize that Multiplication is Part of Health.

First, your partnership must understand that multiplication is a sign of health.

Healthy churches multiply disciples, groups, ministries, and churches-- and healthy partnerships cultivate ...

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Moody's change to its alcohol policy has hit the news. As I see it, changes like this point to ongoing discussion (and in some places shifting views) on alcohol in conservative evangelical circles.

I've recently had conversations about alcohol with Wesleyans (you cannot be a full member if you drink alcohol), Pentecostals (just about all holiness movements forbid alcohol), and Baptists (northern Baptists tend to be moderationists, where Baptists in the south are abstentionists). This is a big topic of conversation today and I imagine it will continue.

Moody's shift does line up with northern evangelicalism, which tends to be much more moderationist than southern evangelicalism.

Moody Bible Institute drops alcohol and tobacco ban for employees — Sarah Pulliam Bailey

I know this is just one church, but I have some personal connections with the church. As a teenager, just about everybody on that side of Orlando attended "Rock House." Our little church actually would send out youth to their meetings. And, Donna and I attended their "Jesus Festivals" several times. So, Calvary Assembly was a part of my teenage years.

To see this church, once one of the largest in the country, experience such decline is heartbreaking. I recently wrote about the trend away from such large buildings like at Calvary. However, right now this church has a sanctuary that seats thousands with attendance of hundreds.

If you have a moment, would you join me in praying for this church?

Despite Rumors, Calvary Assembly Megachurch Is Not for Sale — Steve Strang

One of the things I've seen at some seminaries is the continued promotion of the Ph.D. degree. To be honest, I have mixed feeling about ...

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On Tuesday, October 29th, Micah Fries and I will be in south Florida, hosting an important regional conference dealing with Transformation; specifically what it looks like to lead a church that is a place of consistent transformation. We'll be joining with pastors, staff members and lay people from across the area at Sheridan House in Davie, Florida.

Earlier this year, in April, we hosted a similar event. This is the second of these events we have hosted, but anyone is welcome to join us in October! Attending the first event is not absolutely necessary to attend the second event. I am really confident that this upcoming seminar will be helpful even if you didn't attend the first.

We will be emphasizing the importance of assessment in our churches, a topic I've been dealing with a lot lately. At this particular gathering we will deal specifically with the areas of disciple-making and group life. Transformational discipleship is essential for the cultivation of a life radically changed by the transformative gospel of Jesus Christ. In order to truly pursue and see life transformation, we must be willing to use assessment tools that can help identify real change in the lives of people in our churches. Creating a culture of assessment in our churches is an important part of disciple-making and group life.

I truly believe that we are not going to lead churches to be places of transformation unless we are regularly assessing ourselves. We need to create an assessment culture in our churches, and once we have determined where we are, we need to create a new scorecard to help us celebrate biblical effectiveness.

We want to not only help you lead your church to be a place of transformation, but we want to help ...

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I'm not sure if Chuck Norris approves of this sign, but I approve of them using Chuck Norris on this sign.

Good to know that Jesus Jukes aren't just for Twitter conversations.

There's a whole lot going on in this sign, and I'm not sure any of it makes sense.

Thanks to @davidtark, @swritebol, and @rupedavid for sending these in. As always, send me your signs via Twitter to @EdStetzer.

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How did the idea for this character originate?

RNR: I developed the character in my mind around 2009. I was bi-vocational then and had a lot going on. I would just make up Unappreciated Pastor jokes and share them with church members, friends and my wife. I didn't discover Twitter until 2012. After I joined I began seeing some parody accounts. That gave me the idea of taking The Unappreciated Pastor to the Twitterverse. It really started as a joke. I had no idea people would follow. It caught on pretty quick. I can't get 100 followers on my real Twitter account! The Unappreciated Pastor is me, at times—it's how I feel. Sometimes I'm wrong, sometimes I'm shallow, and sometimes I'm right! The tweets are usually exaggerated realities or perceptions. The character is kind of a coping mechanism for me. It enables me to laugh at or challenge myself.

CC: Back in the old days, there was @Xianity and @SBCMessenger, and a couple of other fake church anons. I've known lots of curmudgeons in my life as a worship leader, and I really do love them. They've taught me a lot. So I figured there needed to be one on Twitter.

What has the feedback been like? How do you handle the haters?

CC: The feedback has been amazing. Mega-pastors, micro-pastors, watch-bloggers, actual curmudgeons, and mostly just regular churchgoing people have responded with good will and good favor. One of the things I decided when I started out is that I would not clog up my twitter feed with lots of interaction. That way, when people would read my feed, they could read it like a book without having to sift through a lot of back-and-forth. I regularly heard from people who would spend an hour reading through my tweets, laughing until ...

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My friend Mark kinda' goes on a theological smack down.

Understanding the Mystery of Christ -- Mark DeYmaz

Lots of talk about the end times… even in Utah.

Are Syria, Colorado signs of end times? -- Deseret News

This is not new research, but I was just sent a link to it. It's a helpful infographic.

Pastors Want to Visit Church Members' Workplaces

Stephen Miller joined me on The Exchange recently and discussed how we try to find our identity in things that aren't going to last. Don't forget to join me every Tuesday at 3:00 PM Eastern for The Exchange.

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