We start off the coversation with two leaders from the Southern Baptist Convention — Fred Luter and Russel Moore — who have started to reshape the direction that their denomination is heading.  Many of their policy moves represent a softening of the Southern Baptists on the political front and we discuss why this is.  Next up, we do cover an “event” that was associated with two individuals — the Boston Marathon Bombing.  Jeremy gives his perspective on that event and we speculate to what effect this will have on how we view terrorism in the United States.

On a less serious note, we turn to our third “newsmaker/event” of the year, which was the “Tips for Jesus” trope that strung out over several months.  Starting with the actions of a pastor who refused to give 15% to a waitress back in the summer and then to another waitress who faked a similar incident, we track how this has led to a number of “anonymous” big tippers for Jesus in the month of December.

Following our gratuity controversy, we turn then to a series of three megachurch pastors that have all stirred up the religious soup pot in one way or another.  Mark Driscoll is first on that list based not only upon his “in-your-face masculine” Christianity, but because of a recent plagiarism controversy that has arose around him.  The next megachurch newsmaker was Joel Osteen, not for any action on his part but rather because of a hoax that someone perpetrated claiming Osteen has left Christianity behind.  Given that so many people fell for this hoax might have something to say about the state of Christianity in the U.S. today, and we chat a bit about this.  Finally, Rob Bell makes the list not for his acceptance of same-sex marriage. which became common fare for many religious notables this year, but rather for what happened to his own congregation following the release of his book, Love Wins.  Apparently, there was a dramatic drop in membership following the publication of that work and this leads us to a brief discussion, once again, of “nones,” a topic that both Jeremy and I believe has been exhausted and/or needs a whole discussion unto itself.

Not all well-known ministers made the news because of controversy.  We finish off the podcast with reflections on Billy Graham and Pope Francis.   Graham makes this list because he gave his final sermon in the past year, prompting many people to reflect upon his amazing ministry and his impact in the future.  Jeremy then shares his perspective on arguably the most talked about religious figure of the year, Pope Fancis.  This perplexing pontiff seemed to both exhilarate and anger progressive and conservative Catholics alike, all the while garnering immense admiration all around the world.  Finally, Tony asks Jeremy for trends to be looking for in the year ahead, which allows us to wrap around with some of the things from the year behind.  Recorded: January 2, 2014.

RELATED LINKS

“Kind of a Big Deal: Top Newsmakers of 2013,” by Jeremy Lott (on RealClearReligion).

RealClearReligion — a great place for all your religious news!  (You can also link to RealClearScience and RealClearBooks here too.)

William F. Buckley (Christian Encouter Series), by Jeremy A. Lott.

In Defense of Hypocrisy: Picking Sides in the War on Virtue, by Jeremy A. Lott.

The Warm Bucket Brigade: The Story of the American Vice Presidency, by Jeremy A. Lott.

I’ll Never Forget It: Memoirs of a Political Accident from East Baltimore, by Marvin Mandel, Jeremy Lott, and Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr.

 RELATED PODCASTS

Jeremy Lott on Mormons, Pope Francis, and Ugly Churches.

Jeremy Lott on the Media’s Pope-O-Rama.

Jeremy Lott on America’s Shifting Religious Election Coalition.

Jeremy Lott on Episcopalians, Ex-Atheists, Health Care, and German Circumcision.

Jeremy Lott on Real Clear Religion.

James Felak on Picking Pontiffs and Pope Francis.

Mark Driscoll on the Growth of Mars Hill Church.

Larry Osborne on Church Finances and Growth.

]]> http://www.researchonreligion.org/christianity/jeremy-lott-on-the-religious-newsmakers-of-2013/feed 0 http://www.researchonreligion.org/church-organization/thom-s-rainer-on-baptist-conventions-church-health http://www.researchonreligion.org/church-organization/thom-s-rainer-on-baptist-conventions-church-health#comments Sun, 14 Jul 2013 08:00:43 +0000 http://www.researchonreligion.org/?p=2648 Prolific author and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, Dr. Thom S. Rainer, joins us today to talk about a various number of issues affecting Southern Baptists and American religion writ large.  We start with the recent convention of the Southern Baptist Convention that was held in Houston in June, 2013.  Not knowing much about the history of these gatherings, Tony asks Dr. Rainer how far back these conferences date, how often they are convened, and what purpose they serve in guiding the denomination.  Thom explains the history of them, the organizational structure of the Southern Baptist denomination, and how individuals are selected to attend the yearly confab.  We also review the recent history of the “Conservative Resurgence” (circal 1979-92), also known as “The Battle for the Bible,” that moved the SBC in different directions.  Unlike many other conferences that bring out the goofiest in behavior of attendees, Thom points out that there were no funny hats or water balloons at this recent meeting.

We then turn to the particular issues that were raised during the June 2013 gathering, from the trivial to the important, and to some issues that didn’t make many headlines.  The trivial issues include some nitpicking over types of products and services offered by the various vendors at this convention.  Thom also points out an interesting event that occurred at the conference, namely the presence of the Wetboro Baptist Church (WBC) protesting outside the convention doors.  He was encouraged by the presence of these protesters outside their meeting as it demonstrated to the public that WBC is not in any way affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.  We then move on to some of the bigger concerns that were raised in Houston, including how individual congregations should handle their charters with the Boy Scouts of America (given the new policy on openly gay scouts) and the issue of mental health.  While the former issue garnered more headlines, Thom notes that discussions about mental health — prompted by the recent suicide of Rick Warren’s son — had more profound implications for the direction of the SBC.

Following our discussion on the SBC Convention, we shift gears to discuss what constitutes a healthy church, starting with an examination of some of the major trends that have affected America’s religious landscape in the past few decades.  To Tony’s surprise, the first trend that Thom raises is the increasing consolidation of church attendance in megachurches as compared to medium-sized congregations.  This is coupled with an increasing tendency to create “multi-campus” or “multi-site” churches.  The issue of “religious nones” also comes up and Thom makes the observation that many of the “nones” are coming from what he calls CEO Christians — i.e., religious attendees that only showed up on Christmas and Easter Only.  He also observes that attendance among the “millennials” (individuals born after 1980) has also slid, but those among that age group who remain active in the church tend to be extraordinarily committed.  Tony challenges Thom regarding the declining faith of youth by noting that nearly every generation has wrung their hands about the moral decline of youth; Thom responds and we both agree that there are various ebbs and flows in the history of Christianity.

The last quarter of our interview focuses on what makes a church grow and what makes a congregation stagnate, starting with the latter.  Thom notes that it is fairly easy to identify what causes churches to stagnate, namely a sense of comfortableness and self-centeredness that inculcates a culture opposed to constant change.  Tony asks Thom how he advises churches who are in this stagnation mode, and he notes that the first thing is to assess the clergy and members’ willingness to change.  Interestingly, he notes that about 90% of congregations that have this problem do not want to make any significant changes to change the direction of stagnation.  Nonetheless, there are 10% who do make changes and “breakout,” to which Thom provides a few examples of congregations that make changes without firing the pastor (as the most common way a church deals with stagnation is to toss the minister at the podium).  This discussion includes thoughts on what it takes to motivate “tired” clergy and includes a personal story that proved very important in Thom’s own life.  Finally, we finish with a few seemingly “trivial” details about what makes for a successful church, but which can have a major impact on attendance and the vitality of a congregation.  Such things include the proper size for the sanctuary so that the services feel well-attended but not over-crowded, the number of parking spaces available, how to encourage an appropriate level of giving, and the width of chairs!  Recorded: June 18, 2013.

RELATED LINKS

Thom S. Rainer’s biography at his personal blog website.

LifeWay Christian Resources.

I Am a Church Member, by Thom S. Rainer.

The Millennials: Connecting to America’s Largest Generation, by Thom S. Rainer.

Transformational Church, by Ed Stetzer and Thom S. Rainer.

Breakout Churches: Discover How to Make the Leap, by Thom S. Rainer.

Simple Church, by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger.

Please consult Thom Rainer’s personal blog above to access other fine books he has authored.

Reflection on the Houston Southern Baptist Convention, Day 1 and Day 2.

Billy Graham School of Missions and Evangelism.

RELATED PODCASTS

 Larry Osborne on Church Finances and Growth.

Marc von der Ruhr on Megachurch Recruitment and Retention.

Dave Travis on Megachurch Myths.

James Brettell on Trends in American Christianity.

Steve Pfaff on Denominationalism, Sin, and Other Stuff.

Gordon Melton on Mega-Trends in American Religion.

Most people have never heard of “cowboy churches.”  While religion has always been part of the pioneering West, there has been a new movement in the western US,  Canada and even Mexico to promote rural outreach, particularly to individuals such as rodeo wranglers who might not otherwise be enticed by a traditional church.  Daniel Stiles — an ordained minister with the Trinity Fellowship in Sayre, Oklahoma, and a the regular announcer at Cody Night Rodeo — talks about the world of rodeo and cowboy church ministries.  We start with insight into Dan’s personal religious journey from a kid in a small town in Missouri, through his bull riding experiences, and look at how he eventually connected with Trinity Fellowship.  Along that path, we get an idea for what it is like to ride an angry 2,000 lb cow.  Dan then leads us into a discussion of the various challenges facing a pastor who has taken on the task of ministering to young, single males (and females).  He recounts various lessons learned on this journey as well as providing us with a number of very inspirational stories.  These lessons not only apply to rodeo ministries, but also contain insights into running a ministry in general.  We also discuss the role of Trinity Fellowship and other “cowboy church” organizations such as Riding High Ministries, as well as inspirational individuals such as Andy Taylor, Cody Custer, and Lane Frost.  Although we have some short audio problems about three quarters of the way through the podcast, the interview is well worth listening through to the very end as Dan shares some personal thoughts about the direction of religion in today’s society.  By all admissions, this interview was a personal indulgence for me and turned out to be one of my favorite interviews to date.  If you made it this far in the description, leave a little “yee haw” in the discussion box below. Thanks!  Recorded: July 13, 2011.

RELATED LINKS

Trinity Fellowship in Sayre, OK (Andy Taylor, lead pastor).  You can view streaming video of services from this website.

Riding High Ministries (Todd & Leslie Pierce).

Camp of Champions & Young Riders, a youth ministry program that is all cowboy and cowgirl.

Cody Night Rodeo in Cody, WY.  (and the official Facebook fan page for CNR.)

Cody Custer’s story on CBN.

Lane Frost tribute page.

RELATED LINKS

Trinity Fellowship in Sayre, OK (Andy Taylor, lead pastor).  You can view streaming video of services from this website.

Riding High Ministries (Todd & Leslie Pierce).

Camp of Champions & Young Riders, a youth ministry program that is all cowboy and cowgirl.

Cody Night Rodeo in Cody, WY.  (and the official Facebook fan page for CNR.)

Cody Custer’s story on CBN.

Lane Frost tribute page.