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Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Top Blogs - Ed Stetzer

Today I return to my blog reviews and evaluations. I am in what I call the Second Tier blogs.

I should say that these are all good blogs, they’re just not the first ones I click on each day when I check my blogroll (but I do have them there). They’re good, just not to the level where I think I can’t go through the day without reading what they have up for the day. To keep it simple, I will just say that all of these would average a 2 Star rating on my 3 Star scale (3 = Excellent, always good stuff; 2 = Pretty Good, most of the time; and, 1 = Not so much!).

So today I look at Southern Baptist researcher and church specialist, Ed Stetzer’s site: EDSTETZER.COM (A Lifeway Research Blog).

Generally I find this site a very useful and informative place to visit. In it, Stetzer basically chronicles what he is researching, writing, and speaking about in his work for Lifeway (for the uninitiated, Lifeway is the denominational publishing company of the Southern Baptist Convention). Stetzer’s area of expertise is the church. His research and writing focuses on matters related to the church. Because it is research driven, his work is in the realm of what I would call a “sociologically informed theology of the church” sort of thing. And I do not mean that in a pejorative way. I find his writing interesting, theologically informed, and honoring of the church, while also challenging and pushing the church—and its leaders—where needed.

Moreover, because of his unique job, he gets to travel to some very interesting places and gets to hang with a lot of people I’d love to meet (as they say, “he’s living the dream”). I would love to tag along with him for a week or two. And I would add, Ed is quite generous with his work and has even allowed me to use some of his research material for classes without any strings attached. A quality I have to very much appreciate.

Well, here are my thoughts based on my subjective criteria, enjoy . . .

Content – Mainly theological; specifically ecclesiology.

Informative – Yes!

Current – New every day, and he Twitters for those that can’t get enough.

Interesting – Usually.

Creative – Not really his thing, “original thinking” might be a better way to say it here.


Relevant – Especially concerning the church. Unless you’re a hardcore traditionalist, then you might call him too much so, maybe even the dreaded “P” word: a Pragmatist! = Ouch, the theological intellectual
types, kiss of death.

Appeal – Not flashy, a “just the facts please” style and look.

Anyhow, if you care about or work in the church, this is a blog you should read regularly; keep it on your Blogroll. Stetzer’s work is needed, and he makes a valuable contribution to the church. Check him out here >>

Blessings
3 John 8
Bill H.

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