Church Life

Church Life explores the shared rhythms, relationships, and practices that shape a healthy congregation. Discover Bible-based articles on worship gatherings, fellowship, unity, hospitality, discipleship in community, and caring for one another through life’s joys and challenges. You’ll find guidance for building a welcoming church culture, strengthening membership and belonging, handling conflict with grace, and encouraging spiritual growth across the body. Whether you’re a church leader or a committed member, these resources help you cultivate congregational life that reflects the love of Christ and supports faithful discipleship.

January 26, 2017

Christian Standard

Being the Church

By Glen Elliott What does it mean to “be the church”? If we were meeting as a group and discussing this, our conversation would be all over the place. The church is to make disciples. Yep.  The church is to reach the lost. Yes, for sure. The church is to protect and care for its members. Check.  The church is to ensure that the values and morality of God are lived out and taught. Sure!  And the conversation would still not be finished. We have not included any discussion of whether the church is, in fact, being the church or

January 20, 2017

Christian Standard

An Occasion for Unity

By Ronald G. Davis On the same occasion Jesus put in place this memory meal, he prayed fervently for the unity of those who would assemble around his table. Sadly, this table has often divided those “who believe in him,” the ones for whom he prayed (John 17:20). Churches have had significant and insignificant disputes about the Lord”s table. There have been disputes over who should be at the table. Over which believers should be present. Over what the emblems should look like. Over how often the emblems should be available. Over such small matters as to when in the

January 16, 2017

Christian Standard

What Is the Church?

By Mark Scott Ask people on the street, and they”ll come up with many inadequate answers. But what would Christians say? A survey of Bible definitions gives us a clear answer. In the mid-1990s, a few doctor of ministry students from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary hit the streets of Boston, Massachusetts, to interview people. One of the 10 questions they asked was, “What does church bring to mind?” Here are some of the answers: “¢ guilt “¢ obligation “¢ uncomfortable “¢ stuffy “¢ one and one-half hours of complete boredom. Does the church need a better press agent? Did the church

January 12, 2017

Christian Standard

Candlestick Framework

By Jeff Faull One of the most beautiful and reassuring scenes in Scripture is found in the opening pages of Revelation. It focuses on the all-holy, all-seeing, all-powerful Jesus walking among the seven candlesticks or lampstands. And with unmistakable clarity John declares, “the seven lampstands are the seven churches” (Revelation 1:20).  Incredible! In all of his love, majesty, and insight, Christ has the church as his overriding concern and passion! He moves among the candlesticks. As church members and church leaders, we frequent this place of beauty””immersed in, obsessed by, and saturated with visions of the church in Scripture. Some

January 9, 2017

Christian Standard

I Love the Church . . . Because of What I See the Church Doing

By Scott Ancarrow “This is why we planted a church here.” That phrase ran through my head as I tried to rest in the midst of the unrest in our city in April 2015. As peaceful protests following Freddie Gray”s death turned into a night of violence captured and shared on video all over the world, our family knew that moments like this are why we were where we were. A hundred times I had repeated the refrain “the local church is Plan A for bringing hope to bear in the world.” I said it every time I talked to

January 9, 2017

Christian Standard

I Love the Church . . . Because It”s Finding New Ways

By Dennis Bratton “It”s what you do” is the theme for an entire series of insurance commercials. If, for example, you”re a parrot, “you repeat things. It”s what you do!” What would a Christian version of that commercial look like? “If you”re a Christian, you [blank]. It”s what you do!” The possibilities are endless. There are legitimate options on every page of the Bible, and there are pressing needs and opportunities everywhere you look. And where there is a legitimate need, within the family of God, there are spiritual gifts sufficient to respond. Hebrews 6 encourages Christians to “keep doing”

January 8, 2017

Christian Standard

I Love the Church . . . Because There”s Work to Be Done

By Miriam Y. Perkins There are reasons I ought to love the church. The church refined the families who raised me. My connection to the Christian churches stretches back three generations to my great-grandparents Esther and Howard Dillon and grandparents Miriam LaRue and Hershel Dillon and Gladys and Carl Perkins. And this circle includes my mother, Linda Perkins, who has dedicated her life to family and the education of children, and my father, Gary Perkins, who was seminary-trained, ordained, and a career military chaplain. If I love the church at all, it is because of this generational legacy. Not Easy

January 7, 2017

Christian Standard

I Love the Church . . . Because the Church Loved Me, and Still Loves Others

By Rick Chromey I love the church. I love going to church. I love hanging around church people. I love experiencing church stuff””from camps to conferences to cantatas. I love that I grew up in church within earshot of the saints and under the watchful eyes of the “brethren,” many of them little old ladies with blue hair, quaint dresses, and perfect attendance pins. I love the smell of a hardwood pew, the taste of church coffee, and the sound of steeple bells. I can still sing the first and last stanza of many hymns, including favorites like “Revive Us

January 6, 2017

Christian Standard

Obituaries for 2016

The most recently received obituaries are listed first. An alphabetical listing of all 2016 obituaries begins further down. William Breckenridge Gulick, 86, of Mason, OH, died Dec. 21, 2016. Abandoned when he was 3 to 5 months old in Covington, KY, on Sept. 15, 1930, he was taken in by Fred and Betty Gulick, who gave him a name and chose a birthday. He lived in Covington until age 12. He lived with several families in Cincinnati, OH, until graduation from Western Hills High School in 1947. He graduated from Cincinnati Bible Seminary in 1951. In 1949, he married Ethel

January 6, 2017

Christian Standard

I Love the Church . . . Because It Pushes Against ME

By Rhesa Storms My morning glance at social media often resembles a life-coaching session. Between headlines about politics and opinions about the politicians can be found several self-improvement titles: “Find Your Passion” “Know Your Home Decorating Style” “Describe Yourself in Three Characters” “Your Fall Fragrance, According to Your Meyers-Briggs Type” Self-improvement articles are enjoyable, even a bit addicting. It is wise to know what makes us tick, what gives us joy, and the gifts we possess. I suppose knowing what perfume someone with an ENFP personality should wear has some value. Our media does run the danger of becoming an

December 23, 2016

Michael C. Mack

What Is the Role of Greeters in Your Church?

By Michael C. Mack We conducted a survey through Facebook that asked, “What is the role of greeters in your church?” Respondents could select as many answers as applied. The results are displayed in the chart. “Other” included responses such as: introduce new people to regular attendees, usher to destination (e.g., class or worship center), make sure visitors know where everything is (e.g., nursery, restrooms, information), and just be a friend. Discovery Christian Church in Clearwater, Florida, takes a unique approach to greeting. “We don”t have “˜official” greeters, but everyone is an unofficial greeter,” says minister J. R. Carrel. “That

October 19, 2016

Christian Standard

The Power of Belonging

By Jim Tune When William Broyles was drafted into the United States Marine Corps in 1968, his early career as a journalist was put on hold. Some know him for his subsequent screenwriting work on the television series China Beach and films such as Apollo 13, Cast Away, Planet of the Apes, and The Polar Express. But today I”m quoting from his book Brothers in Arms documenting his experiences in Vietnam and the impact of that war on himself and his fellow soldiers. Broyles writes: “A part of me loved war . . . the comradeship our platoon experienced in

October 12, 2016

Christian Standard

On Being Done with Church

By Jim Tune Research reveals that when it comes to identifying with a particular faith, the “nones”””those who affiliate with no religion””have been increasing for decades. Recently we have heard about the rising number of “dones,” people who were actively involved in a local church who have simply dropped out. A growing number of lifelong churchgoers, many of them leaders and ministers, are saying, “That”s it. I”m done!” It”s not that they are avowed atheists. They haven”t rejected God. It”s not that they never gave church a try””quite the opposite. The “dones” have ample firsthand experience with it. They”ve been

August 31, 2016

Christian Standard

In ALL Things, Love

By Jim Tune For as long as I can remember, our movement has gravitated toward a familiar slogan: “In essentials, unity; in opinions, liberty; and in all things, love.” Still, we often find it difficult to offer liberty when our opinions clash, and the list of essentials varies from person to person and from church to church. One might expect that familiarity with such a gracious slogan would tilt us strongly toward accepting one another”s differences and respecting the cherished convictions of brothers and sisters who see things differently. However, our movement has been as vulnerable to division, splits, and

June 2, 2016

Christian Standard

Moving from the Method of Meeting to the Mess of Meeting

By Susan Lawrence Encouragement for anyone who sometimes finds church a troubling place. If we insist on avoiding the messiness, we may miss the greatest blessing. Let us think about each other and help each other to show love and do good deeds. You should not stay away from the church meetings, as some are doing, but you should meet together and encourage each other. Do this even more as you see the day coming. If we decide to go on sinning after we have learned the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice for sins (Hebrews 10:24-26*). Encouraging each

February 16, 2016

Mark A. Taylor

Creating the Integrity of the Church

By Mark A. Taylor Peggy Noonan wrote in Saturday”s Wall Street Journal about “the general decline of America”s faith in its institutions,” and you can guess the institutions she listed: “the professions, the presidency, the Supreme Court,” and the one she mentioned first, the church. I”m assuming Noonan, a Catholic, thinks first of the church she knows best, and statistics suggest the Catholic Church in America is in trouble. According to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), a national nonprofit research center affiliated with Georgetown University, attendance at Mass in the U.S. declined from 55 percent of the

January 26, 2016

Mark A. Taylor

No Snow Day for Mountain

By Mark A. Taylor A blizzard of historic proportions is coming your way on a Saturday; so what do you do on Friday? Most local churches in the path of Winter Storm Jonas last weekend decided to call off services. And who could blame them? Record snowfalls and gale-force winds wreaked havoc from Kentucky to Cape Cod. Interstates were shut down. Residents were told to stay home and stay off snow-covered roads waiting for overwhelmed plowing crews to clear them. Churchgoers couldn”t get to church buildings, and many local municipalities had issued orders not to drive. But we heard about

December 13, 2015

Christian Standard

Working Together

By Jennifer Johnson We all need a community of some kind””a place to be accepted and loved for who we are and challenged to grow into who we might be. Churches at their best have always been a place for people to find these connections by serving, worshipping, and studying together. Forefront Church in New York City encourages all of these expressions of community life, but the church is also developing new opportunities to support, nurture, and encourage artists and entrepreneurs through a program called “Creative Guilds.” The concept of a guild developed hundreds of years ago to encourage artisans

October 3, 2015

Christian Standard

The Best Thing We’ve Done for Christmas

By Jennifer Johnson Our building is on the National Registry of Historic Places and is three blocks from the state capitol building. Several other beautiful places of worship are also nearby. Each year the media advertises that from 3-6 p.m. on December 26 these places will be open for tours. We offer live music during that time as well as cookies, hot chocolate, apple cider, and coffee. Our guides give visitors information about the church and a tour of the building that explains what worship, fellowship, and Christian education functions dictated the form of the building. From 400 to 600

August 11, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Shopping for a Church? Check Here!

By Mark A. Taylor Welcome to Choose-a-Church.com, the one-stop shopping source where you can find exactly the church you”re looking for . . . FIRST SECTION: Please tell us a little about yourself. Check every phrase that accurately completes the following sentence: “I”m looking for another church because . . .” “¢ I”m not being fed at my current church (indicate whether you”re referring to sermons or fellowship dinners). “¢ My current church changed something (indicate whether or not the church asked your permission). “¢ I don”t like the way my current church spends money. (If you check this sentence,

Help Keep Christian Standard Free & Accessible with a Tax Deductible Donation

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Does Your Church Want to Support Christian Standard?

Would your church consider including support for Christian Standard in its annual missions budget? Your support would help us not only continue the 160-year legacy of this unifying ministry, but also expand the free resources, cooperative opportunities, and practical guidance we provide to strengthen churches in the U.S. and around the world.

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Secret Link