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.

October 26, 2013

Christian Standard

Rare Doctors, Rare Diseases, and the Church

By Brian Mavis Robert was born a perfectly healthy boy. But as his first birthday approached, his mom noticed he wasn”t progressing in his development like he had before. In fact, she was afraid he was regressing. Robert”s parents took him to see several doctors, but none of them knew what was happening to Robert. After a few more months, Robert had become completely limp, even to the point of not showing facial expressions. He became entirely unresponsive. Over the past 10 years, Robert”s parents have taken him to dozens of specialists at the best hospitals in the country. They

October 8, 2013

Keeping Them Connected

By Mark A. Taylor Those concerned about millennials and their relationship to the church can be encouraged by research reported by the Barna Group in September. Although the news release, titled “Five Reasons Millennials Stay Connected to Church,” minced no words about “the harsh realities of Millennial Faith,” it also offered research to show why many 18- to 29-year-olds stay connected to God by being connected to a local church. But first the bad news: 59 percent of millennials raised in Christian churches eventually leave them. In the last decade, according to this research, the number of unchurched millennials has

September 18, 2013

Christian Standard

Colorado Churches Helping Flood Victims

By Jennifer Johnson Several Christian churches in Colorado have been key in helping victims of the floods that damaged more than 18,000 homes and left many other residents without power and running water. “¢ LifeBridge Christian Church (Longmont, CO) has served as one of the primary evacuation centers since last Thursday, assisting thousands of people and working with city and county officials as well as leaders from relief organizations. LBCC says it doesn”t need any immediate donations of food, water, or clothing, but will probably need more as rescue turns to recovery. “The LifeBridge site was almost a study

February 21, 2013

Christian Standard

Cocooning Instead of Congregating?

By Mark A. Taylor Even though I”m an extrovert by nature, I love a weekend evening at home with my wife, sharing the couch and something fun to eat, and watching a program or movie we both enjoy on TV. This is especially nice at the end of a busy week, with several nights away from home, and workdays filled with multiple obligations. It”s great to settle in, put away the to-do lists, and just enjoy good food and good entertainment with my best friend. Several decades ago, trend forecaster Faith Popcorn coined a term for a pastime like this.

January 12, 2013

Christian Standard

The Knife Wasn”t Even Sharp

By Robert Kitchen One day Vic came into my office to discuss a construction project at our church. Vic is a retired executive from a large machinery manufacturer, gentleman farmer, elder, and willing volunteer. Me? I”m a semiretired accountant, writer, woodworker, elder, and part-time business manager. I said, “Vic, you”re my friend and a willing volunteer. I need some surgery and I think you can do it. Do you have a pocketknife?” Vic knew my off-the-wall manner, so he played along. He pulled out his knife, held it to the light, and said, “It may need some sharpening.” I was

December 20, 2012

Christian Standard

Merger a Reunion of Mother, Daughter Churches

By Jennifer Johnson In November, Eastside Christian Church (Fullerton, CA) moved into its new building, a former Boeing defense site (complete with helipad!). On the same weekend, more than 100 members from Community Christian Church in nearby Yorba Linda joined them. Community Christian launched 27 years ago as an Eastside church plant, and offered a strong ministry with intergenerational worship and a car clinic providing free auto services to more than 150 single-parent families each year. But the struggling economy, a building located far from its core members, and declining attendance prompted Community Christian”s senior pastor Greg Curtis and Eastside

December 6, 2012

Christian Standard

Documentary Film about Joplin Tornado Premieres

On Nov. 19, College Heights Christian Church (Joplin, MO) hosted the premiere of Steadfast, a full-length documentary about the May 2011 Joplin tornado and the response of local churches. Gregory Fish, an Ozark Christian College graduate, directed the film, and 50 percent of the profits go to rebuilding efforts in Joplin. Watch the trailer and learn more at www.steadfastdocumentary.com.

October 29, 2012

Christian Standard

A Building for ‘Outsiders’

By Patrick Furgerson The prophets of the missional church movement tell us it”s a great thing to get out of our buildings and quit spending money to build new ones. “Brick and mortar””bad. Spend your money serving people””good.” Is this a legitimate dichotomy? What if a building serves people? Not your people, but people who are far from God. Imagine a church of 1,000 completing an $11 million building that doesn”t even include an auditorium for worship. New Life Christian Church in Chantilly, Virginia, did. Here”s how. Here”s why. Here”s what has happened as a result. Last year New Life

October 28, 2012

Christian Standard

Welcoming the Newcomers

By Melissa Brandes Too late we realized our failure. Communion was being served, and we hadn”t adequately prepped our unchurched, international guests. The Communion plate came around, and our guests stared at the two circles of unleavened bread. Bewildered, but trying to honor us the best they could, they picked up the circles and took a big bite, as if they were eating a sandwich. My mother and I and those in the pew behind us looked on in shock. Our guests, aware that something was wrong but not sure what, looked around, uncomfortable and embarrassed. We motioned for them

May 29, 2012

Christian Standard

You Can Go Home Again

By Kent E. Fillinger Eric Keller grew up in Enid, Oklahoma, and attended Oakwood Christian Church. He returned to his home church for two summer internships during Bible college, and in 2003 he became the church”s student minister. Then, in 2008, Keller became senior minister at Oakwood. Some would say you can”t go back home to serve a church you attended as a child. They would point to the experience of Jesus. When he returned to his hometown to teach, some of the locals took offense, and Jesus responded, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town

April 7, 2012

Christian Standard

My Wish for the Irregulars

By Mark A. Taylor Regular churchgoers sometimes resent the come-on-Easter crowd, suspecting shallow motives among those who don”t make it to worship more often. But this Easter, as I think about seeing folks I don”t know or haven”t seen at church in months, I”m more inclined to feel sad than mad. Think of all they”re missing by not joining us week after week! We need each other, and how do people find support and encouragement and friendship without the church to lean on? Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal featured one man”s answer to that question. Alain de

March 27, 2012

Christian Standard

Considering the Question of “˜Them” and “˜Us” and “˜Ours”

By Mark A. Taylor The spirit of the day was one of inclusiveness. “Denominationalism is dead.” “Sectarianism is to be shunned.” “People today are more interested in Jesus than any human hierarchy or divisions.” Hear, hear for the plea to be “Christians only.” But this discussion was not just about whom to treat as Christians, but also about whom to include in one of “our” meetings. And here opinions were not as uniform. If the meeting is by and for “us,” some wondered, shouldn”t those credentialed by the meeting planners be from among “us”? Their question of “them” and “us”

March 2, 2012

Christian Standard

Sitting Pretty

By Daniel Schantz The wooden pew is a kindÂ of symbol of the churchÂ in the past century. For a preacher”s son who grew up in the 1950s, the church pew provided me with stability, discipline, and plenty of fuel for a child”s imagination. Stability Almost everything in those old churches was made of wood. Wood was warm, smooth, pretty, and as stable as an anvil. Children sat with their parents during worship in those days before graded worship, a practice that many churches are reviving today. The first thing a child learned in church is that God is forgiving. The second

November 10, 2011

Christian Standard

Lessons Learned in an Unusual Church

By Tom Tanner It”s an unusual church, the church where I worship now. We have no children”s ministry, no youth group, and we never send anyone on a mission trip. We have no Sunday school teachers, deacons, or elders. We don”t even have any baptisms. Lest you think the church I attend is some kind of cult or has the most self-centered sinners you can imagine, let me share one thing more. The average age of those who attend this church is 70-something. At 59, I”m the youngest one there most Sundays. You see, my church meets at the nursing

September 23, 2011

Christian Standard

NH Church Celebrates 50th with Stadium Service

Manchester (NH) Christian Church celebrated its 50th anniversary on Sunday with a special service at the Northeast Delta Dental Stadium, home to the area”s minor league baseball team. “Preaching from home plate under blue skies, senior pastor Bo Chancey said the evangelical Christian church has become a home, family and source of hope to its members,” says a local news article. “We have a mission to change New England, to turn ordinary people into extraordinary followers of Jesus,” Chancey said. Click here to read more and to see pictures of the packed stadium!

August 31, 2011

Christian Standard

Church Uses Flags to Commemorate 9/11

On Sunday, Aug. 28, volunteers at Eastside Christian Church (Fullerton, CA) planted more than 3,100 small white flags in a dirt plot outside the church building. Each of the flags represents an individual who died on Sept. 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the plane crash in Shanksville, PA. Floodlights shine on the crosses at night and a sign at the site invites people to attend Eastside”s community memorial services on Sept. 10 and 11.

August 27, 2011

Christian Standard

The T-shirt Aristocracy

By Daniel Schantz I was speaking at a small Missouri church, and I couldn”t help noticing I was the only male wearing a necktie. Services were over, and I was shaking hands with the last person to leave. “Hmmm, seems like I”m the only male wearing a tie today,” I noted. The lady laughed. “Oh, don”t worry about that! Our preacher doesn”t wear a tie, and he urges us to dress down too, so that we don”t offend any seekers who might be poor and unable to afford dress clothes.” I said nothing. I have heard this line many times

July 15, 2011

Christian Standard

A Movement of Unity Starts with Me

By Chris Beard I love the Restoration Movement. It didn”t used to be that way. Don”t get me wrong; I have believed wholeheartedly in the principles of the Stone-Campbell Movement since I was a kid. As a minister, I believe the more my congregation reflects the values and principles of the New Testament church, the more effective we will be for God”s kingdom. I”ve always thought I loved the Restoration Movement, but it turns out, for the longest time, I only loved my church. And isn”t that often the case? While there is no official data to investigate, a quick

June 9, 2011

Christian Standard

Our Decision, Our Opportunity

By Mark A. Taylor Some in Christian churches and churches of Christ are worried about the future of our movement. Others aren”t thinking about our movement much at all””its past or its future. But regardless of whether we”re fretting or forgetting about our future, it is still before us, and we ignore it at our peril. “The future doesn”t care if you believe in it,” says marketing guru and entrepreneur Seth Godin. Godin tells his audiences they can invent their own future. Part of that process involves looking carefully at what”s happening now. Some trends to consider: Denominationalism is dead.

March 29, 2011

Christian Standard

In Praise of Congregational Participation

By Becky Ahlberg Contrary to what you might think, “worship wars” have been going on for centuries. I”ll not slip back into my music history professor role and bore you with all the details, but suffice it to say that, from early church days, how we worship has been the topic of a lively, ongoing debate. As is the norm for humans, we tend to swing the pendulum from one extreme to another, rarely finding that center of balance. I suppose if we carry through with that analogy, though, the good news is that it is the swinging pendulum that

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