By Shawn McMullen
As we enter the New Year, we’d like to introduce several new online resources we’re making available to our readers in 2025.
Engage Online
Tyler McKenzie’s Engage column appears in each print issue of Christian Standard. A popular column among our readers, Engage connects us with current cultural issues and challenges us to understand and respond to culture in ways that honor Christ.
If we’ve faced any challenge in publishing Engage, it’s that our production schedule requires that we receive the material several months in advance of its publication. While most of the material we print doesn’t have the same degree of time sensitivity, it’s been difficult for Tyler to share his biblical perspectives on cultural issues in a timely manner.
Here’s our solution. Starting this month, Tyler will write an Engage column every month which will be published in one of our weekly Christian Standard newsletters. Our goal is to post the column within two days of its submission, allowing Tyler to write in a more time-sensitive and relevant way. We’ll regularly republish one of Tyler’s online columns in our print edition, giving readers who prefer the print edition continued access to Engage as well.
1717 Bible Studies Online
For the past six years, Christian Standard and its sister publication, The Lookout, have produced weekly Bible studies for Sunday school classes, small groups, and personal growth. The six-year cycle, known as a “scope and sequence,” made it possible for students of Scripture to study through the entire Bible in that time period.
Each week Bible students received access to Bible commentary, application, and discussion questions. The Bible commentary was written by Mark Scott, longtime Professor of Preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College (Joplin, Missouri) and minister with Park Plaza Christian Church (Joplin, Missouri). The application essays were provided by David Faust, popular author and Senior Associate Minister with East 91st Street Christian Church (Indianapolis, Indiana). Our staff wrote the Discovery small group questions each week. Christian Standard Media invested more than $100,000 in the project.
At the end of last year, the project came to an end. That raised a question, “What can we do to benefit our readers with this vast and comprehensive archive of study material? The question led to the development of a new online study series we call “1717 Bible Studies.” The “1717” reference connects students to Jesus’ words in John 17:17, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (New International Version).
Each month in the New Year and onward, we plan to roll out new studies online—both topical and book series—based on the material we’ve compiled over the past six years. As they become available, these studies may be downloaded, printed, and distributed at no cost.
We hope you’ll take advantage of this free resource as we continue to make the Word of God accessible, understandable, and applicable to groups and individuals.
Consider This Online: A New Weekly Essay by David Faust
Readers acquainted with The Lookout are familiar with the name David Faust. Dave began writing weekly columns for The Lookout in 1996, serving as Editor, Executive Editor, and lesson application writer. In that time, he’s written nearly 1,500 columns. His biblical background, unique writing style, and personal warmth have endeared him to thousands of readers.
Given our long history together, we were saddened to realize that the end of our scope and sequence project also meant the end of Dave’s weekly columns for Christian Standard. We softened the blow a bit when we asked Dave to serve as a contributing editor and to continue writing a column we titled Motivate for our print issue.
Now here’s the really good news. As we enter the New Year, we’ve arranged for Dave to continue writing a weekly column for Christian Standard that will be published in our online newsletter. It’s titled, Consider This.
In this new column, Dave will offer biblical insights, application of biblical truth, devotional thoughts, and perspectives on current events. For our readers who have a long history with Dave and the wisdom he shares through the written word, we hope this new column will simply be a continuation of that valuable connection. For readers who may be new to Dave’s writing, we hope this will lead to a long and fruitful relationship centered in love for God and his Word, and the desire to develop a deeper walk with Christ.
Our aim at Christian Standard Media is “to leverage the power of our unity.” We believe these new online resources will help us do just that—to grow closer together as a movement of churches as we grow closer to our God and Savior.
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