On Wednesday, LifeWay hosted a number of pastors and bloggers for The Gospel Project Webcast with Matt Chandler, Ed Stetzer, and J.D. Greear. I’m excited about rolling out the videos soon. You can watch the whole webcast here. 

Below are some of the best tweets:

God’s acceptance is what frees us from sin, it’s not God’s reward to us for resisting sin. @jdgreear #thegospelproject

— Joseph Stegall (@josephstegall) March 14, 2012

Bible stories become only kids stories and moralistic tales when we don’t connect them to the gospel. #thegospelproject

— Meredith Teasley (@MeredithTeasley) March 14, 2012

Hey friends #thegospelproject is trending worldwide #2 on twitter. Not incidental.

— Alvin Reid (@alvinreid) March 14, 2012

“We don’t want people on mission out of obligation we want them on mission out of passion” Trevin Wax #thegospelproject

— Marty Blakely (@3BCMarty) March 14, 2012

“A sure sign you understand the Gospel is what you do when you mess up”@MattChandler74 #theGospelProject #Truth

— Ron Edmondson (@RonEdmondson) March 14, 2012

“@samluce: We want to teach our kids so that if you shake them, they throw up Bible. @jdgreear #kidmin and vomit. #thegospelproject“/love it

— Jasmine Waring (@JazzyWaring) March 15, 2012

The point of #thegospelproject is not just to produce learners but also teachers & leaders. @edstetzer

— Philip Nation (@philipnation) March 14, 2012

‘The heart of a “deep” Bible study is the centrality of the Gospel.’ – @trevinwax #TheGospelProject

— benreed (@benreed) March 14, 2012

“I never want to preach a message that would still be true if Jesus hadn’t died on the cross.” @edstetzer #TheGospelProject

— Scott Connelly (@Scottvconnelly) March 15, 2012

students take calculus, biology, etc in school yet we think they cant understand the depths of who God is. #makesnosense #thegospelproject

— Jefferson (@JeffuhsonBethke) March 14, 2012

“@Jonathanakin: You worship your way into sin and have to worship your way out- @jdgreear #thegospelproject”

— Benjamin Bryant (@bendrumsbryant) March 14, 2012

As believers we need to act a little less we’ve arrived and more like God sent us @edstetzer #thegospelproject

— LifeWay Student (@StudentMinistry) March 14, 2012

“We’ve got to go deeper than the demons. ” – @trevinwax on going deeper than just knowing the bible. #thegospelproject

— Michael DiMarco (@dimarco) March 14, 2012

You have to teach morality in the context of the Gospel or people become self-righteous or beaten down – @MattChandler74 #thegospelproject

— Sam Luce (@samluce) March 14, 2012

In studying the bible, many of us “confuse minutia with meat.” – @edstetzer #thegospelproject

— Michael DiMarco (@dimarco) March 14, 2012

The only way we are freed from our desire for sin is a greater desire for Christ through the Gospel #thegospelproject

— David Chambers (@dbc1938studios) March 14, 2012

Photos from yesterday’s #thegospelproject webcast w/ @edstetzer @mattchandler74 @jdgreear @trevinwax – bit.ly/zHXkOD

— LifeWayNews (@LifeWayNews) March 15, 2012

On Wednesday, Matt Chandler came to LifeWay to speak at chapel and take part in our webcast for The Gospel Project. I encourage you to listen to Matt’s chapel message here. It’s a hard-hitting sermon from Philippians 3 about not trading in Jesus for the idea of Jesus.

A few hours later, J.D. Greear, Matt Chandler, Ed Stetzer and I hosted the Gospel Project webcast. Over 3000 people joined us for a conversation about gospel-centrality and how it relates to discipleship and curriculum. During the hour and a half broadcast, the webcast became a #2 trending topic worldwide on Twitter. You can watch the entire event below.

• 0:00 Trevin Wax – What does “in depth” mean?
• 4:20 Matt Carter on the power to change
• 5:01 Matt Chandler on making the gospel explicit
• 20:10 Geoff Ashley (writer) on the connection between gospel and mission
• 20:45 Matt Chandler / Trevin Wax conversation on typology, gospel-centrality, mission
• 30:21 Kimberly Thornbury (Advisory Council) on kids’ curriculum
• 31:00 J.D. Greear on grounding life application in the gospel
• 48:11 Halim Suh (writer) on the gospel working on us as we serve Christ
• 48:51 J.D. Greear / Trevin Wax conversation on kids’ curriculum, Old Testament moral examples, and worship
• 59:02 George Guthrie on the importance of the Bible’s storyline
• 59:52 Ed Stetzer on going deep and going out 
• 1:14:48 Juan Sanchez (writer) on what good curriculum does
• 1:15:53 Ed Stetzer / Trevin Wax conversation on connecting small groups to mission
• 1:27:40 Panel Discussion with Matt Chandler, J.D. Greear, Ed Stetzer, and Trevin Wax

For more information and details on scope & sequence as well as pricing, visit the Gospel Project website here.

Thanks to the bloggers and pastors who joined us in Nashville for the webcast. Thanks also to those at LifeWay who were involved in the Gospel Project webcast. Our prayer was that Christ would be exalted and His church edified.

2. When I pray, am I more likely to pray for God’s judgment on others rather than marvel at God’s amazing grace toward me?

3. Am I overly critical toward others while I give myself a pass or an excuse and justify my own sin?

5. Do I have people whom I allow to hold me accountable for my sin and unforgiving heart?

9. When others see how I deal with people, will they think God is mighty to save or that God would never forgive them and there is no hope for forgiveness?

10. Do I receive correction humbly?

11. Before I correct others, do I spend time in God’s Word and prayer asking the Holy Spirit to expose my sin so that I might repent?

Today, I’m hosting a free webcast about The Gospel Project with Matt Chandler, J.D. Greear, and Ed Stetzer. During the event, these three men will each deliver a brief message:

• Matt Chandler will discuss the need to make the gospel explicit in our small groups.
• J.D. Greear will discuss the need to ground our life-application in the gospel.
• Ed Stetzer will talk about the need for gospel-centeredness to move us out on mission for God’s Kingdom.

After each message, I’ll sit down with each speaker and ask them questions we receive through FaceBook and Twitter. At the end, the four of us will gather for a panel discussion.

The webcast starts at 2:00 p.m. (Central Standard Time) and will go until around 3:15.

I’m also looking forward to spending some time with a number of distinguished guests and local pastors. Here are some of the bloggers who will be joining us:

• Todd Rhoades (Twitter)
• Jeff Bethke (Twitter)
• Tony Kummer (Twitter)
• Dave Miller (Twitter)
• Jon Akin (Twitter)
• Micah Fries (Twitter)
• Sam Luce (Twitter)
• Kenny Conley (Twitter)
• Jonathan McKee (Twitter)
• David R. Smith (Twitter)
• Ron Edmondson (Twitter)
• Aaron Armstrong (Twitter)
• Jenny Funderburke (Twitter)

The Twitter hash tag for the event is #thegospelproject. If you plan on watching, let us know by tweeting to @Gospel_Project or by visiting the FaceBook page. You can send questions for Matt, J.D., and Ed via Twitter and FaceBook as well.

If you can’t make the website but still want information on The Gospel Project, check out the website and join the pilot project. Once you join the pilot project, you can download four sample lessons from each age group for free.

“If a church doesn’t have a website in this day and age, it’s as if the church doesn’t exist.”

We need to remember that tools—no matter how efficient, cool, or helpful—are, in the end, only tools. Having a website and social media accounts does not replace the work of God, but they certainly can give insight to those outside as to how God is moving within His body.

Even with the advent of social media, websites are still a go-to place for information. As such, the church website should not be neglected in favor of the new social media toys in the room. With those few thoughts in mind, here are a few things that no church website should be without.

1. A clear, easy to find “Statement of Beliefs”

In our pluralistic society, people will be accessing your church’s site from every imaginable background. Whether they are well versed in doctrine or confused beyond description, they should know what your church believes. It might be best to have a simplified statement of faith (for unbelievers) as well as a link to a more robust statement of faith (for long-time Christians). You want to communicate what you believe in such a way that the gospel is clear and not obscured.

2. Basic boring information

• Contact: Make it easy for people to know how to contact you. I suggest having the church’s address, phone number, and generic e-mail in the footer of every page. That way it’s easy for visitors to figure out quickly how to get in touch with someone.
• Schedule: Let people know when and where you meet. Give them an entry point. I wouldn’t put every single church activity, program, or event on there. It’s best to keep it simple. (Just make sure you keep the schedule up-to-date.)
• Directions: Use Google to make it easy for someone to figure out where you are located. Most people won’t recognize where in the world your street address is until they copy/paste it into a maps feature online. Why not do this for them anyway?

Before people get interested in the specifics of the programs offered by your church, they will be interested to see who is leading. I’ve seen some churches that list all their staff on one page, with their titles and an e-mail address to contact. A long list of names is not the best way to introduce people to your leadership, especially in a Facebook society where we are used to information and pictures. Instead, provide a picture of the staff member, a brief bio, and his or her role at the church. This will go a long way in helping people get a feel for your church.

Anyone seriously considering your church will be helped in the decision-making process by providing opportunities to hear the weekly teaching. Because of the sometimes extensive differences in church teaching styles and content presentation, it is helpful to make these available online to anyone researching your church. A number of churches use a video welcome from the pastor. That’s okay, but a simple welcome will not reveal as much as full-length sermons.

5. Social media buttons

A website is only part of communicating your church’s presence to your online community. With nearly a billion people worldwide on Facebook and 250M on Twitter, these tools ought not be overlooked. Decide how you will make announcements, share devotionals and Scripture verses, and then use them wisely.

If your pastors like to blog, link to their blogs from their individual staff pages. This is true even for—maybe especially for—children and student pastors. Many parents want to “get a feel” for the leaders to whom they will entrust their children. The more they know about a leader, the more confident they may be about that ministry.

Conclusion

Churches can do amazing things with websites nowadays. Sometimes, in the rush to be innovative, we wind up cluttering the site and making it difficult to give people basic information about our churches. It’s better to have a sharp website that accomplishes the essential purposes rather than a sprawling, detailed website where people can easily get lost.

What about you? When you first visit a church website, what do you look for?

—–

Thanks to Marty Duren for bringing his social media expertise to this post.

Last night, pastor Mark Driscoll joined Piers Morgan (CNN) to talk about his book, Real Marriage. Anytime Morgan gets a conservative Christian on television, he asks them about homosexuality and appeals to the “inevitability” of same-sex marriage and the need for tolerance.

Here is how Mark answered the question.

(If the video becomes available, I’ll post a link to it.)

MORGAN: Do too many people in the world of religion take it too seriously?

Is that part of the problem?

DRISCOLL: I think we should take Jesus seriously. We should take the Bible seriously. We probably shouldn’t take ourselves nearly as seriously. And that’s how I approach it.

MORGAN: Do you think you’re a tolerant kind of guy?

DRISCOLL: I love people very much and it’s — it’s –

MORGAN: That’s not the same thing.

DRISCOLL: Well, it’s — how do you disagree, sometimes, with people that you love?

That’s a very difficult issue for everybody, but for a pastor in particular, because –

MORGAN: But do you preach tolerance?

DRISCOLL: I’ve preached that we should love our neighbor, that we should accept –

MORGAN: But tolerance — tolerance in particular.

DRISCOLL: Why — you keep hammering it. What — what do you mean by tolerance?

MORGAN: Tolerating people who may have a lifestyle or a belief that you don’t agree with.

DRISCOLL: Yes, we have to. And that’s — when Jesus says love your neighbor, you know, he knows you’re not going to agree with all your neighbors, but he wants you to love them, to seek good for them, to care for them.

(CROSSTALK)

MORGAN: What did you make of the whole Kirk Cameron scandal, as it’s become, where he, you know, for 15 minutes here, he sat here espousing what I think he thought were perfectly normal Christian views. But he did it in a way that people saw was really very bigoted toward gays.

What did you think of that?

DRISCOLL: To be honest with you, I haven’t seen the whole thing. So I –

MORGAN: But you know what he said.

DRISCOLL: I saw some of the Twitter and, you know, some of the blogging and stuff. But that’s not always the best snapshot of the full context of the conversation. So I — I don’t know, to be honest with you.

MORGAN: Well, OK.

I mean do you think that homosexuality is a sin?

DRISCOLL: The Bible says, on six occasions –

MORGAN: What do you think?

DRISCOLL: I believe that all sex outside of heterosexual marriage. So, me as a teenager having sex before marriage, that was wrong. People looking at pornography is wrong. Single people having sex is wrong. Homosexuality is wrong.

So there’s a long list of things that the Bible says is wrong.

MORGAN: Right. But given eighty states in America now have legalized gay marriage, that’s fine, right?

DRISCOLL: Well, no. I mean it’s amazing, because there were anti-sodomy laws and anti-fornication laws on the books just a few generations ago.

MORGAN: I mean, no one’s taking much account of the anti- fornication laws, are they?

DRISCOLL: Yes, I do — I don’t want to be the one to enforce those laws or go around –

MORGAN: Right. But my point is, it — you know, the Bible is what it is. It’s an extraordinary book –

DRISCOLL: Right.

MORGAN: — which has governed people’s moral and personal behavior now for –

DRISCOLL: Thousands of years.

MORGAN: — thousands of years.

However, like everything in life, shouldn’t it be dragged kicking and screaming into each modern era, and be adapted, like the American Constitution.

DRISCOLL: Yes.

MORGAN: Because, you know, my — my view about this is — is not that I don’t respect Christians or Catholics or whoever who — who absolutely swear by every word in here. It’s just that it’s — I just don’t believe anyone who is genuinely Christian should be spouting bigoted opinions about sections of the community for their sexuality.

DRISCOLL: Well, I think when it comes to the Bible, you’ve got three options. Take it, I believe what it says. Leave it, I don’t believe what it says. Or change it –

MORGAN: Or adapt — or adapt the wording –

DRISCOLL: Which would be the changing it.

MORGAN: — for a modern era.

DRISCOLL: That would be the changing of it. That’s exactly what, for example, Thomas Jefferson did. He literally sat down in the White House with scissors and cut the parts out that he didn’t feel should be in there.

MORGAN: But given that more Americans now believe that gay marriage is acceptable than don’t in this country –

DRISCOLL: Well, we don’t know, because it has — it hasn’t been voted on.

MORGAN: No, but that’s what the latest polls — national polls have said.

DRISCOLL: Well, there’s — there’s the polls, there’s the news, there’s the truth. Until there’s a vote, we really don’t know.

MORGAN: Right. So let’s get to the point where there is one day a vote, right?

DRISCOLL: Yes.

MORGAN: If it was in — the majority of Americans believed in it, would you then go along with it?

DRISCOLL: Would I officiate same-sex weddings and things of that nature?

MORGAN: Yes.

DRISCOLL: I couldn’t, according to conscience, no.

I think the big issue for families in America is really men who walk out on their families. I mean, right now, the average child born to a woman under 30 is born out of wedlock –

MORGAN: Yes, but that’s why –

DRISCOLL: — with no father.

MORGAN: — see, that’s my whole point about this. There are so many feckless guys out there –

DRISCOLL: That’s really –

MORGAN: — right?

DRISCOLL: Yes.

MORGAN: Who marry endless times –

DRISCOLL: And just keep having kids.

MORGAN: — they have had –

DRISCOLL: They don’t –

MORGAN: — hundreds of kids.

DRISCOLL: — fund them, they don’t.

MORGAN: They have no responsibility.

DRISCOLL: They don’t support them.

MORGAN: They’re ghastly human beings.

DRISCOLL: That’s the heartbreak.

MORGAN: I don’t hear many pastors, at least Catholic ones or Christian ones, ranting about those guys. All they want to rant about are gay marriage in loving, monogamous relationships with a — with one other person who just want to have the same right to get married as I do as a straight guy.

DRISCOLL: Yes, for me, I hammer those guys like a pinata on Cinco de Mayo. That’s really –

MORGAN: Oh, come on.

DRISCOLL: — like a pinata on Cinco de Mayo. That’s my sweet spot, young guys who don’t get married, they take advantage of women, they sexually assault, they’re addicted to porn, they’re irresponsible. I mean, for the first time in the nation’s history, a woman is more likely to be in church, college and the workforce than a young single man.

And there’s sexual assault, sexual abuse, abortion, children born out of wedlock. Forty percent of kids go to bed without a father. I mean to me, if we’re going to talk about, you know, what’s really harming the country –

MORGAN: You see –

DRISCOLL: — that’s a big issue.

MORGAN: Well, I agree with all that. But I also think what is harming America right now, like many countries around the world, is just a fundamental lack of tolerance and respect for people who may not share your personal values. You know, I just think that pastors like you, funny enough, are in a great position to trail blaze a bit, you know, to take this great book and bring it slightly kicking and screaming into the modern era a bit.

Because eventually America will get to that position anyway, and quite fast.

DRISCOLL: It’s moving fast.

MORGAN: So it’s going to be happen.

DRISCOLL: I’m also a guy, I believe the Bible.

- For the full transcript, click here.

A couple weeks ago, I posted a review of a new book edited by Robert Plummer, Journeys of Faith: Evangelicalism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and Anglicanism, that chronicles the journeys of four individuals between four Christian traditions. Dr. Plummer was my hermeneutics professor at Southern Seminary, and he is also the author of 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible. Today, he joins me for a conversation about his experience in editing this intriguing new book.

Robert Plummer: As I explain in the introduction to the book, I began to notice a trickle of Evangelicals converting to Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy – both from my local church and the seminary where I teach. When I looked for resources that helped in understanding this migration and responding biblically, I had difficulty finding anything helpful. I originally thought about describing and assessing the phenomenon myself but decided that the book would be much more interesting and accurate if recent converts were allowed to tell their own stories.

Robert Plummer: Frankly, I originally did not want to include Anglicanism in this book because Anglicanism is, in some expressions, thoroughly Evangelical. But the publisher convinced me that enough “free church” Evangelicals convert to Anglicanism that it is a related phenomenon we could not ignore. For example, Todd Hunter, former head of the Vineyard movement has recently written a book about his conversion to Anglicanism (see The Accidental Anglican).

Robert Plummer: I have several different hopes for the book, but let me focus on one here – for the Evangelical readership – that it would help us both understand and respond to persons leaving our churches for liturgical Christian traditions. Speaking quite directly… I believe an Evangelical understanding of the gospel, salvation, and the Scriptures is correct. (If I did not, I would leave Evangelicalism.) Yes, I respect persons leaving my faith tradition.

Nevertheless, through the responder sections of the book, I want to lay before potential converts the reasons I think they are making a mistake to leave Evangelicalism. And for those with friends leaving Evangelicalism, I hope this book equips them to make a loving appeal to stay. Chris Castaldo’s riveting account of his journey from Catholicism to Evangelicalism also highlights the strengths of Evangelical claims, I think.

Robert Plummer: Yes, authority is big. Who or what has the final say in matters of faith and practice – Scripture? Tradition? Experience? Or some combination? Obviously, as an Evangelical, I believe Scripture is the final authority, but I also understand the important secondary role tradition plays in all Christian churches – even those that deny they have traditions.

1. Ask questions and listen. Don’t immediately criticize. Try to understand the attraction of Eastern Orthodoxy.  Visit the church they are attending and graciously observe. Admit your own biases and erroneous preconceptions.
2. Read up on Eastern Orthodoxy in places like Wilbur Ellsworth’s and Craig Blaising’s chapters in Journeys of Faith. Another recommended book is Robert Letham’s Through Western Eyes. Eastern Orthodoxy: A Reformed Perspective.
3. Pray.
4. Speak the truth in love.

During my second year of mission work in Romania, I was given the opportunity to serve one Sunday a month in a tiny village church close to the Hungarian border.

As the months passed, it seemed the village became more desolate. The people were aging. Their children and grandchildren had moved to the cities. Whenever we walked down the main street, we passed rows of abandoned houses and saw brush overgrowing the courtyards.

The local Baptist church was merely a remnant of ten or so elderly members who, despite the decline of their village, were filled with hope. They loved the Lord, faithfully attended services, and consistently shared the gospel with their neighbors. They had been praying for a pastor, so they received great encouragement from our willingness to visit their church and minister to them once a month.

One day, I was talking with a Romanian man who had just returned to the country, fresh out of seminary in the United States. He told me of his ongoing search for a church in which to serve. I informed him of the little village church that had long been praying for a pastor. His reply came swiftly:

“I want a city church. I don’t want to fool with the villages. City churches have a future. What can I do with a handful of people? I want a church I can grow.”

The next time I ministered in the small village church, I could not help but wonder if maybe the seminary graduate was right. A pastor who would take such an insignificant church would be giving up any possibility of gaining power or influence within the Baptist Union. How foolish for a pastor with a seminary education to take a church with “no future!”

But as I listened to the joyful voices of the church members, believers remaining faithful even as their way of life crumbled around them, I came to see the power of God’s kingdom in a unique way. The presence of the Lord seemed palpable in that little village church in the middle of nowhere. Somehow, serving in the place of powerlessness stirred up within me a powerful sense of hope and joy. I then felt sorry for my pastor friend. He was missing out on such a blessing!

The Great Reversal

God’s view of our world is radically different than our own.

History books about ancient Egypt list all the Pharaohs and their accomplishments. It is interesting to note that the Bible never tells us the name of Pharaoh during Moses’ day. However, in the book of Exodus, we are given the names of the two Hebrew midwives who protected the Israelite babies and defied Pharaoh’s orders. From God’s point of view, the faithfulness of Shiphrah and Puah are far more important than the pyramids of Rameses the Great.

And nowhere is the Great Reversal more evident than in the seeming weakness of the Lamb that is slain and yet sitting on the throne in Revelation. The slain lamb would appear to be a picture of ultimate weakness, and yet a glimpse of God’s throne room shows us that Jesus is the conquering king who has won the victory through his death and resurrection.

Power in the biblical sense affirms God’s glory, not our own. We should take the earthly power and authority that God has given us and exercise it in such a way that it shines a spotlight on God’s magnificent grace.

In order to subvert the Caesar of Power, we must be ready to question the world’s derision of apparent weakness. It is often in our weaknesses that God’s strength is most clearly perceived. It is often in doing something the world sees as backwards that we are taking spiritual steps forward.

The Puritan prayer captures this truth well:

              Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up,

              that to be low is to be high,

              that the broken heart is the healed heart,

              that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,

              that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,

              that to have nothing is to possess all,

              that to give is to receive,

              that the valley is the place of vision.

- adapted from  Holy Subversion: Allegiance to Christ in an Age of Rivals

Today I’m excited to welcome to the blog – Matt Papa. Matt is a minister and Christian recording artist based out of Raleigh, North Carolina, where he lives with his wife, Lauren, and two daughters. He serves on staff as a worship leader at The Summit Church in Durham and is currently finishing a masters degree at Southeastern Seminary. For over a decade, Matt has been writing and recording songs that are saturated with God’s Word. To Papa, a song is more than just lyrics and melody – it’s a sermon people will remember. Matt’s latest studio release, This Changes Everything, is a cry to put off empty religion and to embrace the radical call of the risen Christ.

Matt Papa: Yes! I believe we are beginning to see a revival of music with rich content for the church. The two primary places this is happening is within the Christian hip-hop culture (Lecrae, Trip Lee, Shai Linne, etc.) and in the modern worship pastor culture. Worship leaders are beginning to see themselves as worship pastors – caring deeply about song-theology and writing new songs of worship that feed the church. We’ve still got a long way to go, as much of the dominant and persuasive CCM industry is money driven rather than ministry driven, but I believe God is moving, and songs are being written that both perpetuate and memorialize this current season of gospel-renewal. And I say, “Go Jesus.”

Trevin Wax: Guys like you and me can come across somewhat critical of CCM, and sometimes rightly so. But I was recently revisiting some old Steven Curtis Chapman albums and noticed a heavy focus on grace, the gospel, etc. There are bright spots in CCM. What in CCM do you like?

Matt Papa: Some of the artists I like in Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) include Matt Redman, Phil Wickham, Matt Maher, Switchfoot, and Tim Hughes, although some would say (and I would say) these I have listed here aren’t quite “CCM.” They are contemporary artists and they are “doing Christian music,” but “CCM” has taken on a new meaning entirely in my opinion (I will explain in a moment).

The acronym “CCM,” in my opinion, no longer simply means contemporary Christian music. It has come to mean that style of Christian music that is heard on mainstream Christian radio, which can be characterized by words like poppy, chipper, and feminine in a musical sense…and words like shallow, safe, and imbalanced in a lyrical/spiritual/theological sense.

Trevin Wax: I hear you, and I share many of the same concerns. Do you think Christian radio is a lost cause? Is there hope for biblically rich, substantive lyrics on the radio? Or should we be thinking beyond radio anyway, as technology is offering lots of ways to hear music?

Matt Papa: I’ll answer your question in two parts. The first answer is regarding philosophy, and the second, strategy.

I think as Christians we must always live in the tension of knowing that the gospel will never be “popular” and yet always hoping that it will be. Jesus said the world would hate us, but Paul also said that we are to be all things to all people (i.e., be winsome). I think as Christians we have to hold to the truth that as long as we are living, there is no area of this world that is a “lost cause” because Jesus is alive and is strong enough to redeem anything and anyone. That said, I absolutely do think there is hope for Christian radio…and want to fight for that and pray for that. As it is underneath God’s sovereignty (like everything else), I should not be surprised if God moves and people repent and things begin to change…but as it is an element of “popular” culture, I should also not be surprised when the gospel is not explicit and Jesus is misrepresented. The Jesus of the Bible is not “popular.”

With respect to the second part of your question…should we be thinking beyond radio. I’ll answer that question with another question: Should movie-makers forget about the movie theatre since everyone is watching movies on their computers via Netflix and Hulu? I would say no. People may be going to the theatre less and less, but that’s where a movie gets major awareness and momentum. The metaphor may not be perfect, but it’s almost perfect.

Trevin Wax: So what’s the takeaway for those of us who are not involved in the music side of things? How can we encourage artists and musicians to compose great songs for the church? And how might we play a part in extending the influence of those artists and musicians into radio for increased exposure? We want to encourage and support musicians (like yourself) who are doing great work. Tell us how.

I’ll be doing a blog post on this topic in the days to come, but my short answer, at the risk of sounding vain and biased, is buy their music.

Artists/musicians, historically, have been modest, hard-working, blue-collar people who were mostly supported by patrons. In the middle ages, baroque, classical, and romantic periods, composers like Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and Haydn (many of whom were worship leaders in churches) were financially supported by wealthy landowners or people of royalty. Patrons would give these composers financial support so that they could write music and do what they were called to do. Creating good art takes time. (On a side note: J. S. Bach, who had patron support, had 20 children and was a worship leader in 4 churches simultaneously!)

All that said, when you add Jesus and ministry to this mix, it can become extremely difficult to make ends meet. Art is already often pushed to the fringes of society in its importance, but when you add Jesus and the gospel, your possible “fan-base” immediately decreases by 70 percent because the gospel is by nature offensive.

For the church: the power of “song” is hard to exaggerate. Someone has said, “Let me make a nation’s (popular) songs, and I care not who make their laws.” Luther counted hymnody just under preaching in terms of theological formation. I say it this way: A song is a sermon people remember. People forget a sermon in a couple of weeks. They remember a song forever. That means if we as worship leaders and Christian artists are leading people astray with our lyrics, I believe we’ve got a lot of heavy millstones waiting for us. Songs and art have power, permanence, and influence, especially in the realm of theology. And it probably goes without saying but that which influences theology influences everything. ”What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us” - A. W. Tozer.

For the artist: I think it will forever be a struggle for those in ministry – whose “market” is the church – to discern whether God is using them or they are using God. Pray for us Christian artists that we would be servants, not rock-stars. That we would be ministers, not icons. That we would wash feet. That it would become our ambition to build the kingdom of God, and that God would bless us to the extent that we embrace His mission in the world and not our own. Pray for us that we would become increasingly biblical…unafraid to say things that should be said…unafraid to sing things that should be sung. And pray that we would be focused…we will have all eternity to write music…we must win souls.

Evangelicals appear to be preoccupied with sex. One megachurch pastor and his wife have written a book challenging married couples to a “sexperiment” of making love for seven days straight. Mark Driscoll’s controversial new book on marriage contains a chapter titled “Can We?” in which he and his wife answer questions they are typically asked in counseling situations, questions related to different sex acts.

Instead, I want to offer a pastoral look at the underlying issues that prompt these questions and encourage pastors to go for the heart, not merely the surface, when approached with questions of this kind.

1. Recognize the legitimacy of the questions.

Therefore, we cannot and should not chastise new converts for asking specific questions regarding sexual activity. Paul did not chastise the Corinthians for asking about meat offered to idols. We should expect that new believers (and old believers, for that matter) who have at some time or another been hooked on pornography will have a view of sexuality formed (or better said, deformed) by what they have witnessed. There are specific, graphic kinds of questions that arise in this cultural context, and a pastor who seeks to be a missionary in a pornified world ought to expect the uncomfortable questions.

2. Go beyond the surface of the questions.

Many pastors recognize the legitimacy of the questions but don’t go any further. They offer a few reflections about mutual consent, relegate the decisions to the couple in the privacy of the marriage bed, and stress the principle that all (or most) acts are permissible.

Imagine this scenario. A wealthy couple in your congregation comes to you for advice regarding some purchases they’d like to make. “Would it be okay, pastor, for us to buy a bigger TV for our living room? We already tithe and give to missions, but our current TV is a little small.” Most pastors will appeal to the freedom they have in Christ to make the purchase and enjoy the fruits of their labor.

But the conversation continues. Their next question is about purchasing two more TVs the same size. Then the husband asks about getting a fourth car, although there are only three drivers in the family. And the wife says something like, “Well, our neighbors have four.” Next thing you know, they are pelting you with questions about making this purchase or that. And suddenly, you realize that the way you might answer the first question about an individual purchase is not the way you should approach all these questions. The stream of questions reveals a problem with materialism.

Or imagine this scenario: A young man who appears to be in great shape physically asks you about the appropriateness of eating fast food. You explain that in moderation one can enjoy a Big Mac. But he then asks what moderation consists of. Can he eat fast food three or four times a week? If he works out, can he eat all the junk food he wants? And is it wrong to plan each day around one’s meals? Suddenly, you realize that your initial answer to a question about fast food is not the way you should answer all his other questions about food. This guy is obsessed with food, and so now your tactic changes. You begin to ask him questions in order to discern his heart and get to the underlying issues.

The same thing is true of sex. You may answer one question in a particular way, but if a husband or wife is constantly asking, “Can we? Can we?” there are probably bigger issues under the surface. There are presuppositions regarding sex, satisfaction, reproduction, intimacy, neediness, lust, and servanthood that may need to be challenged by the gospel.

If we only recognize the legitimacy of the questions but never go beyond the surface of those questions, we are missing an opportunity to counter our culture’s obsession with sex. It’s not enough to stress our freedom in Christ and grant carte blanche permission for couples to mutually consent to an assortment of sexual activities. Instead, we ought to use the questions as an opportunity to challenge our culture’s warped view of sex and to offer something of beauty in response.

The reason our world is so enamored with sex (evangelicals included) is not because it is so satisfying but because for many it is so unsatisfying. We know there is something cosmic going on when a husband and wife come together. We know there is supposed to be something sacred about the act of marriage. But so many in our society are missing it. And too many times, evangelicals respond to sexual disillusionment by turning our focus toward the act and not the marriage, and thus we fail to lift up something substantive. We offer a Christianized version of RedBook magazine’s “tips to spice up your love life.”

Perhaps it’s time that we shift focus from “Can we?” and “Can’t we?” to a better question: “Why do you ask?” The conversation following that question will surely be more pastorally fruitful in discerning the heart than if we focus merely on the do’s and don’ts.