Lots-o-Links 4.23.08

Check out Ed Stetzer's post about the current decline of the Southern Baptist Convention.  Joe Thorn and I have been blogging on these issues for years, and Ed offers some very good commentary and critique.  I'm very thankful for guys like Stet who are speaking to the convention honestly and directly.  Here's a snippet...

Baptisms are at their lowest levels since 1970 with seven of the last eight years showing annual declines. Even though some might hope the decline in membership numbers is due to lack of reporting, the inescapable conclusion is that baptisms by individual churches is falling off. (LifeWay Research will provide more analysis in the next month.)

For now, Southern Baptists are a denomination in decline. Some of you were born into an SBC church; others of us chose it of our own accord. Either way, it is dear to us all. Our responsibility before God is, then, to urgently consider how we should respond.

Also worth checking out is the New Evangelism Research.

Bob Hyatt shares a great photo of what a church that packs out a coffee shop looks like.  Love it.

Tony Morgan says that changed lives is what creates buzz about a church (more here).

A Cubs hater (meaning, someone who likes another team) sent me a video filmed from the bleachers of Wrigley Field.  In it two fans, who probably had too much to drink (it's a Cubs game, duh), decided to have a hot dog eating context.  The result is worth watching.  There is at least one word that is not for kids, so please heed the WARNING: Not for kids or judgmental Christians...

Comments

[matt]

Steve,

That is actually a bar (The Lucky Labrador) that Bob Hyatt's church has packed out. It would probably even fly in Missouri even. The bar doesn't open until AFTER church lets out.

[Steve McCoy]

Thanks Matt. I think I just assumed considering the order boards hanging there and look in general. Almost looks like a deli.

[Bob Hyatt]

It's a pub- which stands for public house.
All ages until 10 o clock pm, great beer brewed in-house, excellent sandwiches...
We're the church on a pub crawl- this is our third pub (we outgrew the other two)
But...
We're getting ready to start our second worship gathering back in our last space, and hopefully within a year a third back in our original space.
We'd love to add a church building that someone gives us sometime, but we'll always have worship in the pub- it's such an open door for people who wouldn't otherwise come. (Also tends to self-select out the more... uh... or rather less adventuresome Christians :)
Thanks for the link!