1. Church members are more illiterate of the Bible than we think.
2. Many (most) of our members do not understand the concept of making disciples.
3. The number one indicator of spiritual maturity is time spent studying the Bible.
4. If our churches had discipled (taught the Bible) to the 7 million people baptized by SBC churches the past 20 years, our Sunday School/small group attendance would be twice what it is today.
5. The number one reason young people leave church is their observed lack of commitment to Jesus by their parents and church leaders as they were growing up.
6. People do not learn today in the same way they learned 20 years ago.
7. Expository preaching (and teaching) is still the best method for proclaiming the Gospel.
8. For most people, church activities have become just another option that competes for our decreasing amount of "leisure" time.
9. Our culture is more secular than we realize, and the trend is toward increased secularization. (The Church enjoyed its the highest growth rate when it was marginalized and persecuted from AD 33 to AD 330.)
10. God's mission for the church has not changed: make disciples of all people groups, baptize the new disciples, and teach them (and how to apply to everyday living) the theology of the Bible.
11. Leadership in our churches is transitioning from the baby boomers (like me) to Gen x and the millennials. (This change is good.) We older guys need to graciously follow the leadership of younger men and women who have the obvious presence of God. We must support them and pray for them. There is plenty for us old guys to do as followers; there is no retirement from our calling to make disciples.
