It's the news every spouse and parent fears: be prepared to go it alone, because your loved one may not live much longer. Lauren Chandler bore that diagnosis in the very public role as pastor's wife. During The Gospel Coalition's women's conference, June 22 to 24 in Orlando, Chandler will lead a workshop on "The Stability of Your Times: A Meditation on Isaiah 33:5-6." Chandler will speak out of her experience with suffering about how God has sustained her through his character revealed by his Word. You can register for the conference and sign up for Chandler's workshop. Space is limited, so register soon to reserve your spot.

Chandler and I corresponded about the health of her husband, Matt; how she's changed since his diagnosis; and why we're so surprised by suffering.

So how is Matt's health, and how are you and the kids doing? 

After his resection in December 2009, 6 weeks of radiation, and 18 months of chemotherapy, Matt has been given the much-longed-for status of "no evidence of tumor." His most recent MRI scan was in early January, when we gratefully received this news. However, according to the doctors, this is a disease that will not officially be in remission. We believe nothing is too hard for our God, including healing Matt of oligodendroglioma. The kids and I are doing well. During Matt's recovery and treatment, by the grace of God, we were able to find a "new normal." Currently, we are enjoying the "old normal"---no pauses in life for "chemo week" and Daddy being out of commission.

What was your reaction when you first learned of the severity of Matt's condition?

Matt's neurosurgeon, Dr. Barnett, strongly suggested we let Matt rest and recover from the trauma of surgery before telling him the diagnosis and prognosis. To keep treatment protocol running smoothly and in a timely manner, Dr. Barnett invited our friend and lead elder, Brian Miller, and me to meet with him about the diagnosis. The three of us sat at a large, square table in a small, closed room in the belly of the hospital. It could not have been more suffocating. Once he delivered the news that Matt did indeed have anaplastic oligodendroglioma (malignant brain tumor), I was surprisingly calm. It wasn't until I asked for the prognosis of this type of brain tumor that I started to feel sick. The typical life expectancy of a person with anaplastic oligodendroglioma is two to three years. Two to three years--the age of my younger daughter right now. It wasn't enough time. I decided that it would be best not to let anyone else know about his diagnosis until Matt was informed. I didn't want that for him. I didn't want that for them. I didn't want him to be oblivious, and I didn't want them to have to pretend. This was a difficult decision. I stepped out of the stifling conference room and was immediately accosted by couples. I say accosted, but not literally. I felt accosted by the realization that I could very well be half a couple in two to three years. I was nauseated by every man and woman I saw holding hands. Only when my dear friend Maury prayed over me in the hospital hotel room before we fell asleep did I start to feel peace. Thankfully, the peace stayed and has been a welcome guest ever since.

People often cling to biblical promises amid suffering, but I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone point to Isaiah 33:5-6. How did this passage become so important to you?

I've enjoyed the privilege of walking with the (mostly) same small group of women for about six years. Just after Matt's surgery, we started Beth Moore's Bible study Breaking Free. In one of her video sessions, she brought our attention to rest on Isaiah 33:5-6. With the sturdy ground of a loving, godly husband threatening to give way, this portion of Scripture provoked me to prop my life on something, or rather Someone, stronger. Verse 6 says, "and he [the LORD] will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is Zion's treasure." How I needed some stability! Now, this is an "already and not yet" kind of statement. In Christ, there is stability now in knowing that because of his work on the cross and his resurrection, all things work together for my good (Rom. 8:28); but there is to be a stability at the consummation of all things, when Zion is filled "with justice and righteousness."

Why are we so surprised when suffering comes?

I think most of us associate the favor of God with living pain-free lives. I believed this until the Lord graciously allowed me to suffer the loss of two miscarriages. He awakened me to the favor of his nearness in pain, the favor of being stripped of something desirous to see intimacy with him and joy in him as ultimate; to say with Paul that "I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ (Phil. 3:8)."

What I've found to be so interesting is that there are plenty of people who are surprised when suffering comes but also plenty who suspect it around every corner. Some believe that the Lord has positioned them on the anvil of suffering and is just waiting to bring the hammer of loss down on their heads. Lamentations 3:31-33 says that though the Lord may cause grief to his children, "He does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men." This gives us a very different glimpse of God. Yes, he may choose for his great purpose and our great joy to allow suffering in our lives, but he isn't champing at the bit to do so. At the heart of suffering is God's steadfast love.

How have you changed since entering this season of suffering?

In his study of Galatians, Tim Keller says, "Jesus suffered, not that we might not suffer but that when we suffer, we could become like him." This season of suffering has become an opportunity to press more and more into the Father, and be shaped by him more and more into the likeness of Jesus. It has been an appointed time to let all other "props" go so that I may lean solely on him. By no means do I lean on him perfectly. There are plenty of false props that he brings to my attention, of which I continually have to confess and repent. But, even then, it is an opportunity to believe the gospel and trust that even as I don't "get it right" Jesus got it right for me, and he has made a way for me to run to him, not from him when I inevitably fail.

What excites you about participating in TGC's inaugural women's conference this year?

I am honored to be listed among some incredibly godly women. I look forward to hearing from them! I am excited that TGC is creating a space for women to talk about, rejoice in, and flesh out the daily-life implications of the gospel together.

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me," Jesus announced. "Go therefore and make disciples." When it comes to the mission of believers in this world, few would question the importance of these marching orders. Carrying them out, however, isn't so easy. Consider two scenarios:

1. A middle-aged woman is approached by a young single mom with a full-time job and two kids. The busy mom has been a Christian for decades and is solid on biblical doctrine, but she's currently struggling with personal issues and wants someone to help walk her through this season of life. Because of her work schedule, she can only meet for the summer.

2. A Christian college student is trying to invest in a group of high school athletes. Most of them are brand-new believers, struggling with typical high school issues, and can meet for at least the next year.

Would you recommend taking these people from different backgrounds---with different needs and time commitments---and handing them the same discipleship curriculum?

Consider Downline Builder, a customizable curriculum designed to meet people where they are and foster spiritual maturity in the context of real relationships. In contrast to a one-size-fits-all format, the Downline Builder enables users to personalize scriptural content to fit their specific needs. I corresponded with Downline Ministries director of resources Jason Seville [Twitter | email] about their promising new disciple-making tool.

Downline Ministries has trained thousands of disciple-makers in the past five years through your institute program and summit weekends. What do you find people struggle with most when it comes to making disciples?

There are many reasons people struggle, but the biggest one in our experience is that they either lack a clear understanding of what it looks like to disciple someone, or they have an image of discipleship that is far too shallow. For instance, many people think of discipleship merely in terms of Christian education---going to a coffee shop every Wednesday morning to read the Bible or a Christian book together. This lack of a clear picture of true discipleship results in not feeling qualified or competent to make disciples. Around Downline, we like to speak of discipleship as "truth and life transference in the context of real relationships," which is something almost anyone can do.

So the short answer to this question is "competency." In general, people won't gravitate toward what they feel incompetent to do. We think we have some training (and a new tool) to help with this weakness, but it is still the most common problem we encounter.

Discipleship has always been valued and talked about in the church, but it currently seems to be even more of a trending topic. Why do you think this is the case?

Downline works closely with hundreds of local churches, and the majority of the leaders we talk to say that discipleship is a glaring weakness in their church (and the same is true of our interaction with parachurch leaders). This is no secret, as the recent influx of studies, books, articles, and blogs on discipleship will attest. Discipleship is "trending" because everyone's recognizing it as a huge need.

Perhaps more importantly, we attribute this to the sovereign grace of God as he guides his church. He has raised up some incredible pastors, elders, and leaders around the world, and when they all have a common word on their hearts, at the risk of sounding cliché, it's a God thing. We feel that he is graciously leading his flock toward a return to biblical discipleship. If Downline were the only group talking about discipleship, we'd be very discouraged. But we feel like we're part of a huge movement of churches and believers who want to see a restoration of biblical discipleship.

In your opinion, what does the current world of discipleship curriculum get right and get wrong? 

After extensive research on discipleship curricula, I am greatly encouraged by the sheer volume of rich theological and practical content on the market. I also rejoice at some of the stalwart resources that have been out for decades and stood the test of time.

However, there are two things that I can't help but see as huge oversights. First, there aren't any easily accessible avenues to train disciple-makers to use this rich content to, as we say, "meet people where they are." Most resources seem very cookie-cutter to me, as if I should use the same ten lessons with a 22-year old New York urbanite that I would with a 37-year-old small business owner. Second, the problem with most---if not all---curriculum is that it doesn't force, or even provide accountability for, authentic relationships. Any curriculum should complement the relationship, not replace it. The relationship has to drive true discipleship in order for it to be truly transformative.

What led you to develop the Downline Builder?

Ironically, for the reasons listed above, I've always been anti-curriculum, because I never found a resource that easily allowed for contextualization and majored on relationship. So the genesis of the Builder was really the weight that culminated from the first three questions above.

When Downline asked me to work on a new curriculum, my previous experience and research led me to the following conclusions: (1) it had to be based on Scripture; (2) it had to somehow have a major focus on both truth and life transference: it couldn't be a "let's just sit down and study systematic theology" curriculum, and it couldn't be a "let's just share about our feelings" curriculum; and (3) it had to somehow allow the user to customize it to meet the specific needs of the folks they were pouring into. The only way we could conceptualize a curriculum that would do these things was to move away from printed material and make it a web-based tool.

What makes this resource unique in the vast world of discipleship curricula? 

First, the ability to customize the Builder equips you to do contextual ministry. Once you log in, you have to fill out a page on the person you are discipling or group you are leading. Based on that information, we'll give you a blank table of contents and list of suggested lessons to cover.

Second, it requires relationship building. When you build a curriculum, you must plan what we call a "life on life" session after every two lessons that you put in your table of contents. You can't download or print your curriculum unless you include these fields. These will be things like working out together, running errands, sharing a meal, doing evangelism, engaging in a service project, and so on.

Third, the process equips you to be a disciple-maker as much as the product does. Thinking through various growth areas for each person you're discipling and personalizing a plan will hopefully train you to think more intentionally about what the next spiritual growth steps are for brothers and sisters in your areas of influence.

A fourth uniqueness is the ever-expanding library of doctrinal and practical lessons. You will never have to pay for a "volume two" of the Builder. We'll keep adding lessons (even ones that you suggest) and as long as you have access, you can use the new lessons we add.

Finally, we feel that our payment philosophy is rare, as evidenced by the fact that we've driven our marketing consultants crazy. Our primary objective has always been to have a tool that could help equip and ignite a movement of biblical discipleship across the globe. For this reason, we went with a subscription model that allows you annual access for a very affordable price. If you buy an annual subscription, it's "all you can eat" for the whole year. We could have gone with a pay-per-lesson model, but we didn't like the idea of people trying to see how little they could do and still be effective.

This affordable price meshes well with our desire to get the Builder in other languages as quickly as possible. We have a fairly aggressive translation strategy that will attempt four new languages every year.

We truly hope that God would use this tool to equip pastors, elders, missionaries, and laymen/women worldwide. 

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Downline has decided to give the TGC family a 40% off coupon code up through April. Go to builder.downlineministries.com and sign up. Enter the code "TGCdiscount" at checkout to receive your discount. 

Faithful presence is a helpful corrective to mistaken Christian approaches to culture. But it's not enough. While we're faithfully present, we must faithfully fulfill the Great Commission by proclaiming the gospel. That's what I talked about with Chris Castaldo, director of the Ministry of Gospel Renewal at the Billy Graham Center of Wheaton College.

Castaldo responds to James Davison Hunter's central proposal from his book, To Change the World, reflecting on similar prospects for renewal faced by Christians in 16th century Italy, prior to the Council of Trent. Castaldo then applies these lessons to today. Castaldo also references the book Life, Letters, and Sermons, trans. and ed. John Patrick Donnelly, The Peter Martyr Library 5 (Kirksville, MO: Thomas Jefferson University Press, 1999). You can read Castaldo's review of Hunter's book here.

Worship leaders often talk about the tension between performance and worship. It's easy to get drawn into the spectacle of music in the church, with our primary examples and role models being professionals---often young, beautiful, and enormously talented.

In this third of three video discussions with Kevin Twit and Isaac Wardell, we talk about the idolatry of youth culture and how it has shaped our worship. Worship culture has followed the lead of culture generally, becoming obsessive about youth, perpetually introducing new worship leaders while introducing fresh songs, styles, and ideas. We're perpetually innovating, chasing the demand for being new and cutting edge.

How can worship be shaped in such a way that it confronts these obsessions? How does the music industry shape our expectations for worship leaders in particular and church leaders in general? What are some of the contrasts between the attitude of an aspiring artist and an aspiring servant. Wardell talks a bit about the difference between a "church musician" and a "worship leader," which I find to be a really helpful distinction.

As the conversation unfolds, we discuss the possibility of a counter-culture---of worship as a feast, rather than a concert or a lecture.

I corresponded with chapter leader and TGC Council member John Mahaffey, senior pastor of West Highland Baptist Church in Hamilton, Ontario. We discussed his hopes for the conference but also explored the overall state of the church in Canada, especially the rapidly changing demographics. After reading the interview, check out his short video on leading a multi-ethnic church and listen to him address "Building Gospel-Centered, Intentionally Multicultural Churches."

Can you give us a feel for the state of the church in Canada today?

In 1900, 25 percent of Canadians were evangelical in conviction. That number fell to 8 percent in the 1980s, but has since rebounded to almost 11 percent. This resurgence since the 80s is encouraging, but this devastating decline over the last 100 years has left a negative mark on Canada. Theological liberalism was primarily responsible. The United Church of Canada's (UCC) drift into apostasy from its strong evangelical Methodist heritage is probably the best example of what has happened. The UCC is still believed to be Canada's largest Protestant denomination, but more people can be found worshiping on any given Sunday in Pentecostal assemblies than in all of the UCC churches combined. The effect of the UCC's abandonment of the historic gospel can be seen largely in my generation (baby boomers), who attended booming UCC Sunday schools in the 50s, 60s, and early 70s. We were left largely untouched by the gospel and for the most part are no longer active in church life at all. This lost generation has produced the next largely unchurched generation in Canada today.

In spite of this I sense optimism today among those committed to gospel-centered ministry. There is a renewed emphasis on church planting, and some churches are experiencing consistent growth. In my own denomination (Fellowship Baptist) we have seen a significant number of new churches started in the last few years. Evangelical churches in Canada support a missionary force of more than 7,000 people around the world. When I travel to new communities and new housing projects and see churches being erected it is undeniable that the vast majority of them are committed to the gospel. French Canada is largely unreached with the gospel, but during the 70s and 80s great strides were made by evangelicals in Quebec. The rate of growth since that time has declined somewhat, but there are signs of renewed vigor, and churches are being planted. There has been an explosion of ethnic churches reaching out to the growing immigrant population.

Can you comment further on immigration to Canada and how this has affected the church's mission?

Canada holds the gold medal for immigration by taking in the highest percentage of immigrants each year of any nation in the world. For us that's 300,000 people per year. That's lower than the numbers who immigrate to the United States, but when you consider the fact that Canada is just 35 million people, 300,000 is staggering. Toronto is the most international city in the world, and Vancouver is actually the second-largest Sikh city in the world. This has presented great challenges and opportunities for the church in Canada. There has been a significant increase in the numbers of ethnic-focused churches, and denominations that once only existed in Africa, Asia, or the West Indies now have churches in Canada. These churches have done a great job in reaching their people with the gospel. Worship on any given Sunday in Toronto occurs in more than 130 languages. The numbers of Chinese churches in the greater Toronto area and in Vancouver have grown considerably.

Churches serious about the gospel and mission have had to rethink how they do ministry. How do we communicate the gospel to a Hindu? How do we share the gospel with a Muslim? These are questions we have had to wrestle with. Our Jerusalems with which we were so familiar now look and feel like Samaria. Our neighbors used to be those who were physically close and culturally close. Now they are physically close and culturally distant. In major urban centers where the concentration of non-Christian religions is the highest, pastors and churches have had to think and function more like foreign missionaries if they want to reach people with the gospel. Many churches have not adjusted well to the demographic changes in their communities and have closed their doors. Others have looked upon the new multicultural reality as an opportunity to remake themselves into a diverse community that actually looks like the kingdom of God. This was my experience when I pastored in Toronto. The moment the church I pastored stopped fighting the providence of God in allowing our community to change and embraced the people with Christ's love we began to grow and see many conversions. Today that church has people in its membership from more than 70 different nations. The churches in Toronto that are thriving today are either ethnic-focused or muticulturally focused. The church in Canada is no longer just a missionary-sending church. It is also a missionary-receiving church. We need experienced bicultural missionaries to come alongside the church and assist us in our mission. SIM Canada now operates an ethnic ministries department and helps place missionaries in churches that are serious about reaching their multicultural neighborhoods.

In addition to the challenges the Canadian church faces in reaching people of other cultures and religions, the greatest challenge is to uphold the glory of Christ and the gospel in the midst of a multicultural world. The emerging generation of Christian young people who have grown up with Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Buddhists as neighbors and classmates can easily have doubts about the exclusivity of Christ. It's easy to believe that people are lost when they are on the other side of the world. It's another thing when they are your nice next-door neighbors.

Are there changes in Canadian churches and in your ministry that you have observed over the past decade that are personally encouraging to you?

There are three I can think of that deserve comment. Generally speaking I am seeing more of an outward focus within our churches. For so long we were just trying to maintain ourselves. A "hunker in the bunker" mentality was prevalent. Today I sense that churches are realizing that protecting the gospel doesn't mean hiding it. With the pastors I regularly have contact and fellowship with I sense that this is changing, and our focus is shifting to reaching out with the gospel. The second thing is the shift away from a fixation with methodologies. For at least a decade at every denominational conference I attended the focus was on ministry programs, being relevant, seeker sensitive, contemporary, etc. I don't hear a lot of that anymore. The emphasis now is on prayer and the primacy of the gospel. This is resonating in our churches. It is certainly our greatest need. In terms of my own ministry, what can I say? In June of this year I will be 56 years old. Getting older and heading into the home stretch of ministry has made me ask serious questions of myself. What do I want to accomplish in the next ten years? Where should I be placing my energy and focus? As I have prayed about this I have experienced a growing burden to influence the next generation of pastors and preachers. Interestingly, in just the last three months there have been six young men within our congregation who have approached me because they are sensing God's call into ministry. I am thrilled to be meeting with them and my prayer is that they will be just the first fruits of many more.

Why are you having a TGC conference in southern Ontario?

At the last national conference in Chicago in April 2011, I believe that close to 10 percent of the registrants were from Canada, so one might wonder why we would have a Canadian conference. Canadians are not so geographically distant that they can't attend a TGC conference in the United States. TGC's vision is to have regional chapters, but I view this as more than just a regional chapter. We want to give a Canadian identity to TGC. We appreciate the network and close relationship we have with American Christians and church leaders. Many TGC Council members are part of this relationship, but we have a need, particularly in southern Ontario, to bring together Canadian pastors who are in sync with TGC's foundational documents to fellowship and dialogue together around the gospel and the unique challenges that we face in our ministries in Canada today. My hope is that out of this conference we will be able to strengthen a Canadian identity to TGC and foster a greater network and cooperation among pastors and Christian workers. In addition to our plenary speakers we are also having David Short as our special guest to share with the conference the St. John's Vancouver story. This is a uniquely Canadian story of faithfulness to the gospel within a denomination in theological drift that needs to be told and will be a great encouragement to Canadian pastors.

How might your American brothers and sisters in Christ encourage the church in Canada?

The greatest way to encourage the church in Canada is with your prayers. The church needs revival. We desperately need a spiritual awakening. Joining us in prayer will have a great impact. If God is calling you into ministry, why not consider Canada? There are many opportunities here. Usually when you think of missions you think of heading to South America or across the Atlantic or Pacific. Do you realize that the largest unreached people group in the Western hemisphere is French Canadians?

Fred Luter hadn't planned on becoming a multi-site preacher. But in the summer of 2005, Hurricane Katrina buried his church and his city under nine feet of water---and dispersed his congregation across the country. By January 2006, Franklin Avenue Baptist Church had recovered enough that it began holding worship services in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Houston. Luter, while living in Birmingham, Alabama, spent his time traveling to these three cities---as well as across the United States---to minister to his church's displaced members.

"Fred Luter is a hero," says Russell Moore, dean of the School of Theology and senior vice president for academic administration at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. "He stood with conviction and compassion and shepherded his flock after Katrina, when he could have gone anywhere, had a comfortable ministry, and chalked the move up to the 'calling of the Lord.' He's never hesitated to persecute the Devil by preaching the poured out blood of the living Christ."

Today, Luter is poised to carry out the dual role of preaching the gospel and leading America's largest and most diverse Protestant denomination, as a currently unopposed candidate for president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). "Fred Luter is one of the most loved and respected pastors in the Southern Baptist Convention," says Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. "Electing him as our president would be a great thing in so many ways, and I am excited about what it can mean for the future of our Convention."

Luter, who currently serves as the denomination's first vice president, would be the first African American elected president of the SBC in its 166-year history. The historic choice could have a profound effect on the denomination's future. "A descendant of slaves elected to lead a denomination forged to protect the evil interests of slaveholders is a sign of the power of a gospel that crucifies injustice and reconciles brothers and sisters," Moore added. "The election of Fred Luter doesn't mean the question of racial justice is settled for Southern Baptists, but it is one small step toward our confessing that Jesus Christ and Jim Crow cannot exist in the same denomination, or in the same heart. One has got to go."

I recently talked to Pastor Luter about his challenges as a minister, his view of racism in the SBC, and why denominations still matter.

What did you do before you became a pastor?

In 1983, when I first received the calling to be a preacher I was working for a brokerage firm. I'd work for the firm during the week, and then every Saturday I'd be on different street corner preaching the gospel. My first job as a pastor came in 1986. Even though I had no pastoral experience the members of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church hired me to be their pastor. I've been there ever since.

What is the biggest challenge you face as a pastor of a large congregation?

Before Hurricane Katrina, our church had more than 8,000 members; today we have 4,500. A lot of churches in the area lost a lot of people. Even now only about 75 percent of the former residents have returned to New Orleans. So we have the challenge of losing half our members and having them be spread all over the country.

Another challenge we have as a church with a large congregation is trying to minister to each person individually and to not see them as just a number. But that's a problem for all churches, both large and small. Our congregations include a diverse group of folks---singles, young families, senior citizens---and they all have different needs. We want to help them become better than what they are, better servants of the Lord. But that's not an easy task.

The SBC was born in a climate of racism. But since 1845, and especially since 1940, there have been at least 31 SBC resolutions on race and racism. Is racism still a significant problem for the SBC?

People ask me all the time, "Why would you want to be Southern Baptist when their history is rooted in racism?" The truth is that when I became a Southern Baptist I wasn't even aware of the denomination's history. It wasn't until years later that I found out, and by then I was already involved in the association.

I look at it this way: All of us have a past. But it's not what happened in the past, but what is happening right now that matters most. I was in the convention in 1995 when the denomination repented and apologized for perpetuating individual and systemic racism. I thought that was a major step forward for racial reconciliation. I don't think racism is still a problem, because the convention has said that they want to make it a racially diverse community. The SBC reaches out to all different races and culture. You now have an African American serving as the denomination's vice president, and they may soon elect an African American as president. I think that says a lot to the world.

Is self-segregation of congregations still a problem? If so, what can we do about it?

I get asked that question a lot, because I am often the first African American preacher in Anglo churches. Local churches often reflect their communities. Where neighborhoods are predominately Anglo or African American, the churches tend to be predominately Anglo or African American. Where neighborhoods are changing in racial diversity, we see more racial diversity in the churches.

There are a lot of cultural issues, ranging from the way people dress to the style of worship, that lead people to choose a particular congregation. You can't force people to come to your church. But the doors need to be open to everyone. At Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, 99 percent of the congregation is African American. Now I would love for our church to be more diverse, say 50-50 between Anglo and African American. But it just doesn't happen. We are in the "hood," so the people in the neighborhood are African American. We have Anglo guests every Sunday, and every last one of them will tell you they feel welcome. That's the key. We can't force people to come to our churches, but when they do come they should feel welcome.

Denominationalism has been on the decline for the last 50 years. Many evangelical churches are moving toward aligning with networks or other non-denominational organizations. Why is it important for the SBC to remain a denomination?

Because we can do more together than we can do apart. When Hurricane Katrina hit, volunteers from SBC churches around the country came by the hundred of thousands to our city and helped whoever needed to be helped. They helped to remove debris and rebuild homes. One particular church in Tennessee came to New Orleans more than 20 times to help. Often, these were Anglo churches coming to help their brothers and sisters in African American churches.

When the government was slow in their response to rebuilding the city, the local newspaper editor---who, I believe, is Catholic---wrote that if Southern Baptists were building New Orleans, we would have been rebuilt a long time ago. That is a great testimony. That is one reason why we need to stay a denomination---we don't want to lose the reputation for compassion that we have built over the years.

Recently, Gerald Harris, editor of The Christian Index, news-journal of the Georgia Baptist Convention, stirred up controversy by expressing his concern about the "encroachment of Calvinism." Do you think resurgence of Reformed theology is a threat to the SBC identity?

Not at all.

A task force of the SBC was appointed last September to study a possible name change. After considering 535 possible names, the committee is recommending the convention keep its legal name but adopt an informal, non-legal name for those who want to use it: Great Commission Baptists. What do you think of the proposed auxiliary name?

I was at the meeting when that was discussed and was very impressed by the way the task force came to the decision. They didn't feel the SBC name should be changed, but they wanted to provide an alternative option for people who think the name hinders our mission. The proposed solution gives newer churches and younger pastors who don't yet have the same loyalty to the denomination a way to remain associated with the Convention. I thought it was a great compromise.

As a potential president of the SBC, what is your vision for the denomination?

If I'm elected, I would like to use the position to bring together all the different groups within the denomination. We share a common vision for reaching the world and carrying out the Great Commission. I want to bring us together so that we can fulfill that vision.

Have you ever taken time to sit down and reflect on what comes into your mind when you consider Jesus? It's rather amazing how many hours we can spend in church ministry without giving serious thought to the question. Since our view of Jesus Christ shapes our faith, and our faith (or lack thereof) inevitably forms our identity, we would do well to give it thought. As A. W. Tozer famously put it The Knowledge of the Holy, "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."

Many of us struggle to acquire a biblically informed view of God. Our challenge is not simply seeing through a dark glass; we also have the problem of looking in the wrong direction. In this interview, I talk with Tullian Tchividjian about some of the central ideas that should cross our minds when we hear the word gospel.

Choosing songs is a pastoral task. The songs we sing and the way we sing them shape the way our congregation understands the gospel of Jesus Christ. In singing, we marry texts and music, communicating truth through a particular aesthetic---a particular cultural lens.

In this second discussion with Isaac Wardell and Kevin Twit, we talk about contextualization and retuned hymns. How does the current climate of mp3s and pop music shape the way the church sings? How can we take advantage of the resources already available to help people to sing? On the other hand, how does context shape the way we make decisions about the songs we sing and the songs we don't sing?

We also consider Wardell's provocative question of why church leaders talk so much about contextualization when no matter where you travel, you see them wearing the same clothes and hear the signing the same songs.

Over the last few years, hymns have made a comeback in many churches. At Sojourn Community Church, in Louisville, Kentucky, we rediscovered hymns, and it revitalized our corporate worship. From Mars Hill Church to Sovereign Grace, to campus ministries and worship bands, many Christians have discovered the same richness and depth of the hymnal. Great music is being written and recorded for "retuned" hymns---traditional lyrics with new melodies.

I had the privilege of sitting down with Isaac Wardell and Kevin Twit to talk a bit about the effect of hymns on the life of our congregations. Wardell is the director for worship arts at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, and one of the founders of Bifrost Arts, through which he's recorded a number of traditional and retuned hymns. Twit is a pastor with Reformed University Fellowship at Bellmont University in Nashville, and the founder of Indelible Grace, a collection of musicians who have been writing retuned hymns for many years.

In this conversation, we talk about why we've returned to hymns and some of the reasons for retuning hymns with new melodies.

Last year I greatly enjoyed getting to know the leaders of World Harvest Mission and learning about their passion to preach the gospel first to themselves and then to the nations. I sat down with Bob Osborne, executive director, to learn about the distinctives and history of this agency, organized in the late 1970s by pastor, evangelist, and author Jack Miller. Watch the video at the end of this interview to learn more about WHM and their commitment to care for and disciple missionaries to cherish the gospel.

I corresponded with Osborne more recently to solicit his counsel about the problem of burnout among ministry leaders. If you're stuck in the burnout spiral, I pray you will benefit from Osborne's wisdom about how the gospel of Jesus Christ transforms how we care for ourselves and support one another.

At World Harvest Mission, you say that "life and ministry must be saturated and motivated by our own need for---and experience of---the gospel of grace." What does that look like in practical terms on your staff and among your missionaries?

As pastors, workers, or missionaries, our busyness can easily overwhelm our ability to hold onto God's love for us in Christ, and God's presence with us as we live in fellowship with the Spirit. We've found that the only way to authentically teach these things is to be experiencing them ourselves.

To hold onto the gospel, workers like us need some degree of humility, flexibility, and adaptability. We look for people who have an awareness and understanding of their sin patterns, a strong grasp of the gospel, and can apply the gospel to their lives. We know that whether engaged in cross-cultural ministry abroad or working in the home office, our sin affects how we relate to one another, and we work at applying what we preach and teach to one another.

So we try to create a corporate culture of prayer, repentance, and forgiveness and seek to answer this question: "What does faith, expressing itself in love, look like in this situation?"

Burnout is a common experience among pastors and other ministry leaders. How does the gospel address this problem?

I have a deep and growing burden for Christian leaders because of the alarming number who have fallen over the past decade. As leaders, we are constantly tempted by a deadly cocktail of narcissism and isolation. And once our faith slips from a tight grip on Jesus and his power, we are trying to do tremendously difficult jobs on our own. At that point burnout is never far behind.

It's a little scary how few leaders understand the idols that run their hearts: pride, reputation, people-pleasing, control, success, you name it. And it is equally as scary how many leaders are ill-equipped to apply the gospel to their sin-burdened hearts.

How this shows up practically for us is having trusted friends in our lives who are willing and able to ask us hard questions---to speak the truth in love when they see our self-deception. As you might imagine, it takes a lot of humility and trust to submit yourself to the godly wisdom, advice, and prayers of friends who know you well. Of course it also never hurts to admit that you're not as essential to God's work as you might have thought!

What is one sure sign that a pastor or ministry leader doesn't grasp how the gospel should shape ministry?

At World Harvest we often talk about leaders being the "chief repenters." In fact, being the chief repenter is actually a formal part of my job description! The moment we're no longer able to accept criticism and other input from our peers and even subordinates, I think we're missing the gospel.

In my experience, unwillingness to accept feedback necessarily creates growing isolation, and even paranoia and anger. This downward spiral can only be arrested by humble repentance---something that always brings joy, shows us our sin (and limitations!) but even more, Christ's glory and work and the Father's love. Frankly, just stopping to remember that all we have or can do is a gift from God and not something we've done ourselves changes everything. Of course, that's often easier said than done.

Speak directly to a pastor watching this video or reading this interview who realizes he's headed for burnout. How does he now proceed to escape this downward spiral?

When I find myself heading for burnout, more often than not I've lost the rhythms of rest and repentance and start to chase my idols. I take my sights off of Christ and become self-focused---simply put, I try to take God's place on the throne.

So I guess I would say, "Pastor, you are prone to burnout for good reason: the demands of ministry are endless and urgent and you lack the natural ability to self-regulate. Right now you need to stop and seek those in authority over you and a few trusted friends to tell you how they see your life out of balance."

For me, that means asking questions about everything from physical exercise to sleep to prayer and relationships with my wife and children. Restoring a good work/life balance will help stem the tide of burnout, but if we're being truthful, it will only get you to zero.

Mostly from my many failures, I have learned that I get right back to burnout unless I have intentionally created ways to see my sin more clearly and how that sin hurts others. I need constant reminders that my Father in heaven loves me and is singing over me because of what Christ has already done and not what I'm achieving in ministry. I need to trust in Christ's righteousness that is given to me in justification rather than trying to create my own righteousness through my "success." And I need to exercise faith that God is at work in my life and in ministry and it's not up to me to accomplish everything.

This is precisely why ongoing gospel mentoring is so critical for our own staff and missionaries and how truly life-changing our discipling ministry has been to thousands of pastors over the years. More than anything, it helps you learn how to regularly meet with Jesus in this way.