The Restoration Movement is "not liberal, not really evangelical, not fundamentalist—as a group we are generally conservative, but not consistently so," LeRoy Lawson wrote in 2006. "In fact, critics could accuse us of not being consistently anything" . . .
A funeral sermon helped launch me on a path to ministry . . .
March 1, 2024
When I was a teen in the late 1960s, my church became a verbal battleground . . .
March 1, 2024
Exploring the pivotal issues that gave rise to two major divisions (and a number of smaller ones) . . .
A bottom line measured in outreach, church attendance, and baptisms . . .
February 19, 2024
The Christian Amateur Radio Fellowship (CARF) formed at the North American Christian Convention during the summer of 1966 as a way to promote fellowship among Independent Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, our Christian colleges, and as a service to missionaries. CARF has a website but no headquarters. The fellowship has hundreds of members in North America and around the world. . . .
February 1, 2024
Allan Dunbar, 84, who served as senior minister with Bow Valley Christian Church (formerly called Cambrian Heights Christian Church) in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, for 20-plus years, then served as president of Puget Sound Christian College in Seattle, and completed his professional career as executive director of the North American Christian Convention, died Jan. 28, 2024, in Kalispell, Mont., where he had resided for several years. . . .
January 4, 2024
"Someone ought to say a good word for the small church," Joseph H. Dampier wrote in 1981. "The reported observation of Abraham Lincoln that the Lord must love the common people because He made so many of them could be applied to small churches because there are so many of them." . . .
September 19, 2023
"One Body," edited by Victor Knowles, has promoted the unity of all Christians for the sake of world evangelism (as Jesus prayed for in John 17:21) for 40 years, but its focus has been on unity within the Restoration Movement . . .
September 14, 2023
In his well-known sermon "Playing Hurt," Wayne Smith asked, "Will you stay in the game . . . even if you've been hurt? God had only one son without sin, but no son without sorrow. . . ."
In honor of the 50th anniversary of IDES (International Disaster Emergency Service), we again share a 1991 article about Milton B. Bates, the man who started the disaster relief organization. IDES will mark its anniversary with an open house July 8 at its headquarters in Noblesville, Ind.
March 21, 2023
"It’s been five years since the final NACC, [but] I still go to the North American Christian conventions. And I think you should too," writes Matt Proctor. "By 'conventions,' I mean our three biggest national gatherings that are still largely Independent Christian Church folks . . ."
March 1, 2023
The Perspectives of Our Editors and Essayists Over the Years
February 2, 2023
In preparation for the 1931 North American Christian Convention, slated for June 17 to 21 of that year in Lexington, Ky., Christian Standard published a list of important dates in Restoration Movement history. . . .
November 16, 2022
Ben Merold, 96, a beloved minister in Christian churches and churches of Christ for almost three-quarters of a century, died Wednesday morning. Merold was known as a church builder and a friend of the small church.
November 16, 2022
We remember Ben Merold, who died this morning (Nov. 16), by reposting this appreciation written by his longtime friend Bob Russell, with whom he led monthly retreats for ministers for many years.
November 1, 2022
By David Roadcup The sons of Issachar are widely noted in church leadership circles for having the ability to read their circumstances and respond in wisdom: “Of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their kinsmen were at their command” (1 Chronicles 12:32). This text comes at a time when Israel had divided into Israel and Judah. The nation needed to reunite under the leadership of David. The sons of Issachar knew it was time for this to happen for the sake of
November 1, 2022
By Jerry Harris I admittedly write this column with some bias. Either because of how I was raised or how God wired me, a church service just seems incomplete without an invitation to enter a relationship with Jesus Christ. When I was growing up, invitations came after the preacher finished his sermon. He would leave the pulpit and come down to the floor—to the same level as his hearers—and invite those in the congregation to come forward and do some business with God. During an invitation song the preacher would scan the audience for movement. Those who came forward—to accept
October 26, 2022
News briefs about a "Declaration and Address" original copy on display, three notable deaths, Mulberry International's efforts in Ukraine, Ends of the Earth Cycling's schedule, and this weekend's big football game (Point University vs. Kentucky Christian University).
September 30, 2022
This week, more than 1,000 leaders from our Restoration Movement tribe gathered in Orlando, Fla., for the fourth-annual SpireConference. Of course, this was not the only thing occurring in Florida this week. Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida at about 3 p.m. Wednesday, on Day Two of Spire’s scheduled three-day gathering. . . .
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June 8, 2026
Don Sanders
June 8, 2026
Jerry Harris
June 3, 2026
David Faust