Christian Living

Christian Living helps you follow Jesus in the everyday moments—at home, at work, and in your relationships. Here you’ll find practical, biblically grounded articles on spiritual growth, prayer, discipleship, character, and making wise decisions in a complicated world. Explore guidance for living with grace and truth, building healthy habits, navigating suffering and joy, and pursuing holiness without losing compassion. Whether you’re new to faith or have walked with Christ for years, these resources are designed to encourage you, challenge you, and equip you to live a life that reflects the gospel in real life.

June 15, 2011

Christian Standard

Warm but Not Fuzzy

By Frederick W. Norris Earthquakes, a Pacific tsunami that reached California, shifting yet continuous wars, shaky economies. These events grab our attention with ghastly pictures of eroding life. There are, however, flashes of light that remind us of our abiding hope in Christ. God is not dead; neither does God sleep. The loss of schools for educating church leaders in the 1930s during the Depression, cultural secularism, and movement toward world war provided the conditions for the birth of our colleges. We made it then, and we can make it now, because God still rules. The courageous people who backed

June 2, 2011

Christian Standard

Deo Est Amo””God Is Love

By Sheila S. Hudson “Mrs. Hudson. Your husband”s chances are about 50-50. He”s a very sick man. His body has been through a lot. To be perfectly honest, I”m not sure he”ll make it.” Dr. Morris”s face was grim. His eyes stared into mine, making sure I got the message. My hands trembled. The words burned into my brain. Panic overwhelmed me. Angela, interim director at Christian Campus Fellowship, and I held each other. I sobbed as she prayed. In the ladies” room as I dried my hands, I took off my wedding band and read the inscription. Deo Est

May 26, 2011

Christian Standard

Wherever the Table Is Spread

By J. Michael Shannon “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord”s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). The first Lord”s Supper was observed in a relatively obscure room in Jerusalem. It was a private gathering. Very few people were there. Those who were there did not understand its full significance. Jesus was making clear the meaning of his death. In the early church, Jesus” followers each Lord”s Day reenacted what happened in that room. Even though the events were fairly recent, they did not want a week to go by without remembering.

May 25, 2011

Christian Standard

Well Gifted

By Mark A. Taylor “What do you want for your birthday?” Believe it or not, I always have trouble answering the question. It”s not that material things don”t turn my head. But, with all my physical needs met and so many of my wants provided, nothing”s pressing for a place on my wish list. Just bake me a chocolate cake and shower me with funny cards””that”s enough to make my birthday happy. I guess I”m at that stage of life where smaller gifts””the kind usually given at birthdays””aren”t really necessary. I have more socks and shirts than I can wear

May 20, 2011

Christian Standard

Fifty-One Miles to Faith

Going to church in this era of loud, rude bands and electronic light shows is often more of a trial to my faith than a boost to it. To get away from it all, my wife, Sharon, and I climb into my blue Crown Victoria and roll north to the little town of Leonard, Missouri, 51 miles from our home in Moberly. The sign says, “Leonard, population 200.” The church is a pretty vanilla building, resting on a pea gravel parking lot, and wrapped in a grove of towering oak trees. The inside of the building is immaculate, tastefully done

May 15, 2011

Christian Standard

Our Lost Love

By Charles A. Lee The American Christian community is rapidly losing its love for the Bible. Studies by Barna, Gallup, and other pollsters repeatedly uncover a diminishing knowledge of the Bible among Christian adults and a consequent weakening of Bible-focused dialogue in the marketplace. In spite of the clear evidence, many churches are more interested in creating programs, developing relationships, and listening to “heartwarming stories” than in helping adult members develop a pragmatic mastery of God”s Word. Jesus told the religious leaders of his day, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of

May 13, 2011

Christian Standard

Interview with Lisa Jernigan and Patty Wyatt

Patty Wyatt was reeling. A college roommate had been shot and killed at Wedgewood Baptist Church and just seven months later a man walked into her parents” homeowners” association meeting and randomly shot and killed Patty”s mother. About the same time, Lisa Jernigan”s mother passed away after a tough fight with cancer, and Lisa”s husband, Cal, had been asked to serve as the new senior pastor at Central Christian Church in Mesa, Arizona. But the move from Central”s youth ministry to “big church” left Lisa feeling very alone. A mutual friend saw these two women””both with grieving fathers and hearts

May 11, 2011

Christian Standard

Why Women”s Ministry?

By Susan Lawrence with Darrel Rowland Editor”s note: Why have a women”s ministry? We asked women”s ministry consultant Susan Lawrence for her answers. In addition to her ministry with women”s groups in many places, Susan coordinates women”s ministry at her home church, Taylorville (Illinois) Christian. To have or not to have a women”s ministry? It”s a question every church needs to answer, but the answer won”t be the same for every church. Many churches make their decisions to have or not to have a women”s ministry for rather twist-ed reasons. For instance, continuing a women”s ministry because “we”ve had women”s ministry for

May 8, 2011

Christian Standard

Women”s Ministry: Changing Views

By Darrel Rowland When Patricia Rohach surveyed Christian church women across the country as part of her doctoral dissertation on women”s ministry, she got an earful. One person she interviewed said, “Not all pastors in the different Christian churches I have attended have been positive toward women, and there have been many instances of devaluation of women through attitude and lack of addressing teaching about women. It isn”t as much a negative approach as it is an ignoring of women, by not acknowledging their existence, joking about them publicly, and treating them as the “˜little ladies.”” Another responded, “Until the

May 3, 2011

Christian Standard

A Good Ride, Just Begun

By C. Robert Wetzel In 1946 David Parsley and I were baptized by Lloyd Robbins at the First Christian Church in Hugoton, Kansas. We were 12 years old at the time. Lloyd gave us our baptismal certificates and copies of the Revised Standard Version of the New Testament. At the time the translators of the RSV had completed only the New Testament. It was later when the Old Testament translation was completed that the controversy over the RSV became so intense. Some will remember “The Battle of the Versions,” as the controversy was described by one well-known author among us.

May 1, 2011

Christian Standard

Confronting Our Own Heresy

By Dick Alexander I became a Christian at age 9 to escape Hell. That”s not necessarily a bad thing, but it”s not the only thing, and maybe not the best thing. It took me years to get past fear and learn to love God. In retrospect, I wish I could have started with love. The quintessential evangelism question is, if you died tonight, are you sure you would be in Heaven tomorrow? But statistically, the chances are small the person will die tonight. While it”s dangerous to presume on the future, especially in the highest stakes game of all””eternity””is there

April 29, 2011

Christian Standard

A Visible Reminder

By J. Michael Shannon “Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them saying, “˜Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins”” (Matthew 26:27, 28). Sometimes we need a visible reminder of those things we cannot see. A wedding ring can remind us of love and commitment. A flag can be the symbol of liberty and patriotism. A pin can be the symbol of fraternity or fellowship. Since we cannot see the past, we often use symbols to remind us of

April 27, 2011

Christian Standard

Under Conviction

By Tony Twist Recently married and fresh from seminary, Suzanne and I began our ministry with East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1979. It so happened that the Billy Graham Crusade came to Indianapolis in 1980, and Suzanne was tapped to work in the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association office. One thing she learned from the crusade team was to pray over everything. So, she determined to bring this practice home. The evening we decided to have devotions together, rather than at separate times, was a beginning for us. And a disaster. As we knelt beside the bed

April 24, 2011

Christian Standard

After an Earthquake Bedrock Faith

By Mark A. Taylor Internet news sites always provide a ready distraction from a deadline. But when those posts contain a dozen stark videos of the unprecedented Japanese earthquake and tsunami, perhaps the procrastination can be forgiven. Each new harsh scene of ships and cars tossed together like bathtub toys, each new account of surprising survivors and shocking destruction, contributes to the jumble washing through my thoughts. Responsibility””what should I do with my plenty to help a population reduced to a struggle for survival? Reevaluation””how can I believe all my attention to what I own and what I earn will

April 22, 2011

Christian Standard

Christmas or Easter?

By Kent E. Fillinger Why do churches pay more attention to Christmas than to Easter? If you surveyed a group of church leaders, the common response probably would be, “Evangelism””we want to create welcoming environments for people to bring guests, and Christmas is an optimal opportunity to do so.” Really? Businesses measure “return on investment”””whether a product or venture yields a return that warrants the investment required to offer it. From the standpoint of a return on investment, Easter consistently dominates Christmas in attendance. For example, the average megachurch experienced a 74 percent increase in attendance on Easter, compared with

April 18, 2011

Christian Standard

Making Disciples?

By Kent E. Fillinger What about small groups? Should they be “euthanized,” as Brian Jones asserted (January 23) or promoted, as all the writers in Christian Standard”s March 6 issue suggested? We asked the churches we surveyed for their answer. For the first time, the churches that participated in this study were asked: “What is the primary method for adult discipleship (spiritual formation) at your church?” Churches were given these three choices to select from: Sunday school classes/adult Bible fellowship classes, small group Bible studies, or a combination of classes and groups. Here are the findings. Not a single megachurch

April 16, 2011

Christian Standard

I Bought It with Tip Money

By Chris Travis I bought the Bible that changed my life while working as a delivery driver for Papa John”s pizza””literally, while working. I stopped at a local bookstore during a shift. I bought it with tip money. I can”t remember whose generosity financed that pivotal purchase, but it”s fun to imagine how my customers might have felt about it. Would they have been thrilled? Appalled? I doubt they had any idea what God would do with the couple bucks they gave me. As the door to the bookstore swung shut behind me, a bell jingled against the glass, sounding

April 13, 2011

Christian Standard

Farm Team

By Jennifer Taylor Several years ago, Jerry and Debbie Cramer, members at Tyro (Kansas) Christian Church, began Gifts for the Nations, a ministry dedicated to providing medical equipment, educational material, clothes, bedding, and other supplies locally and internationally. “They began working with missionaries in northern Africa,” says David Bycroft, Tyro Christian”s evangelist. “When they learned the farmers there were using cow bones as hoes to prepare fields for planting, they wanted to send a tractor.” Jerry and a small team restored the first tractor and partnered with FAME (Indianapolis, Indiana) to ship it to an African village. The team bought

April 6, 2011

Christian Standard

Counter Culture

By Mark A. Taylor “I”m an editor. I work with words.” I”ve used that excuse more than once when I”ve miscalculated or misunderstood or misapplied some list of numbers. (My wife says she hopes I don”t die before her, because it would take her a month to figure out what”s going on with our checkbook!) So if you prefer ideas and expressing them over numbers and analyzing them, I understand. But I urge you not to ignore all the facts and figures in posts we”re planning for the next few weeks. Here”s why: We serve a God who keeps track

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