Culture &amp; Public Square

Technological Passivity

By Jim Tune The workshop was called “Technology, Social Media, and the Church.” As the presenter spoke enthusiastically about opportunities new technologies offer the church, he explained that technology is neutral, and that it can be used for good or evil. The important thing, he said, is that we use it to advance the gospel. I”ve made similar remarks. While it”s true technology can be used for good or evil, I”m not so certain it is neutral. Christians say, “The methods change, but the message stays the same.” Not so. The medium always affects the message. In the mid-1960s Canadian

February 8, 2017

Lost in Translation

By Jim Tune I wrote my message quickly and fired it off. Just seconds after clicking Send, it dawned on me with mortifying clarity that I had sent the text message to the wrong recipient. My message fortunately was not overly sensitive, rude, or confidential. Still, it left room for both misunderstanding and embarrassment. I”m guessing this experience is not unique to me. We”ve all been in a situation where someone reads a message intended for someone else that potentially could lead to misunderstanding and conflict. I was relieved when the unintended recipient responded graciously and with minimal offense. It

January 31, 2017

Welcome the Immigrant

By Mark A. Taylor Some Christians are ready to retreat from the barrage of controversy surrounding the first days of Donald Trump”s presidency. Some are so upset by his policies and pronouncements, they”ve just decided to turn off the news and stay away from Facebook. Others are congratulating him for keeping campaign promises, regardless of the style in which he does so. And many have taken to the streets to protest his policies. The news has reported waves of turmoil because of his executive order refusing entry to refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries. CHRISTIAN STANDARD is not a political magazine,

January 22, 2017

How Social Media Is Hurting Your Ministry

By Michael C. Mack “Are we willing to quit social media (and other distractions) if the temptations are too strong . . . to overcome?” Brian Jones asks this question on Senior Pastor Central (www.seniorpastorcentral.com). Jones says for years he was convinced that switching from the study of God”s Word and sermon preparation to distractions such as checking social media, text, or e-mails didn”t hurt him at all. After reading Deep Work by Cal Newport, however, he says he better understands the costs. Newport warns about what he calls “attention residue,” the lingering effects from switching back and forth between

January 22, 2017

Refugees by the Numbers

The world is currently dealing with a refugee crisis. More people have been displaced forcibly from their homes in recent years than at any other time in history. An unprecedented 65.3 million people around the world have left their homes. Among them are 21.3 million refugees who have crossed international borders seeking refuge, with more than half of them under the age of 18. As a result of conflicts and persecution, nearly 34,000 people are forcibly displaced every day. In 2016, the International Organization for Migration recorded more than 7,600 deaths of refugees while fleeing their homes. Fifty-three percent of

January 22, 2017

U.S. Refugee Screening Process

This graphic explaining theÂ U.S. Refugee Screening ProcessÂ was graciously provided to CHRISTIAN STANDARD by World Relief, whichÂ provides initial resettlement and placement as well as employment, education, andÂ legal services for refugees arriving in the United States. Learn more about World Relief atÂ www.worldrelief.org.

January 17, 2017

Beyond Facebook

By Mark A. Taylor Last fall a Facebook friend was protesting a political comment I posted. “I”ll be glad when this election is over!” she wrote, as if she thought disagreement about politicians would end after November. But instead of retreating, the rancor has ramped up. Perhaps we should expect that from the voices talking over each other on CNN and Fox News. They, and their counterparts cluttering talk radio, keep their ratings by stirring controversy and pandering to the perspectives of their audiences. But the time has come for Christians to move on. This doesn”t mean that government is

January 11, 2017

Principled Pluralism

By Jim Tune When we all assumed Christianity held a special place in our society, the solution to differing views was simpler: work harder at bringing the Christian faith into the public square. We all assumed the Christian worldview was right, and that it should shape every part of culture. Things have changed. As acceptance of Christianity has diminished, we find ourselves living in a pluralistic culture. As I”ve said before, we”re no longer the home team. It”s now assumed the Christian worldview has nothing to offer culture. People value tolerance. Tolerance sounds good. The Oxford English Dictionary defines tolerance

January 2, 2017

What Is a Christian Movie?

By Joe Boyd Among other things that I do for a living, I”m a movie producer. Rebel Pilgrim, my production company, was briefly mentioned on Fox News as one of several companies specializing in making “Christian movies.” As an independent producer, I”m happy to have my company mentioned on a national platform. Fox stated that we have six “Christian films” in development. That”s (sort of) true. We have six or so films in development at all times. I”m a Christian. Some of them overtly address God and faith. Some do not. It begs the question, What is a Christian movie?

December 17, 2016

Working Women/Women’s Work: A View from Washington

By Hannah Cleeton Professional women must perform a balancing act the church doesn”t prepare them to handle. A recent profile of the 114th Congress by the Congressional Research Service found women hold 108 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, up from 82 seats in the 109th Congress 10 years earlier.1 As it becomes more common for women to run for and hold public office, that number will continue to climb. The statistic does not take into account women who work behind the scenes in the various House and Senate offices, as I do. In my

November 28, 2016

A Different View of the Oppressed

By Casey Tygrett Oppressed. What does that word evoke for you? I typed oppression into Google, clicked Search, and it returned 36.5 million results. There is a lot being said about oppression. And Scripture says much about oppression, too. In fact, the word oppression appears nearly 4,500 times there. The first Bible story about oppression details the plight of the Israelites in Egypt and the beautifully momentous exodus that set them loose to chase the everlasting land and the everlasting covenant under the everlasting God. It”s a wonderful story, but it begins with oppression. To Be Helpless, to Be

November 15, 2016

Tell and Show

By Mark A. Taylor It”s one thing to talk about justice; it”s another to work for it. It”s one thing to study justice; it”s another to seek it. But talking and studying are important, of course, especially at first. So in posts at this site this month we”re talking about the justice God seeks for those beaten down by society and circumstances. Three writers look at Scripture to see God”s compassion and the gospel”s concern for those ill served by the systems and situations trapping them in poverty, homelessness, or despair. Look again at the prophecy of Amos, the experience

November 14, 2016

Seeking a Justice That Transforms

By Preston Shipp From the prosecutor”s office to advocacy for the imprisoned: a journey toward a new kind of justice.Â The United States has an immense population of marginalized people locked away in its prisons. It is the largest prison population in the history of the world, approximately 2.3 million people. As a result of America”s war on drugs, which has been waged over the past four decades and disproportionately against poor people of color, many of these people are serving long sentences for nonviolent crimes. The collateral damage, both emotional and financial, of such mass incarceration to children, spouses,

November 11, 2016

Missional Justice

By Kip Lines What is justice for followers of Jesus? What does it mean for the church to demonstrate God”s justice in the world? These are difficult questions I”ve discovered often lead to unexpected answers. In Kenya, together with Turkana church leaders, our missionary team sought to envision what it would look like in our communities if God really was in charge . . . if our following Jesus meant the kingdom of God was truly breaking into our human kingdoms. You might expect the largest injustice issues in a developing nation would be items like hunger and food security,

November 10, 2016

Other Women, Other Fields

By Troy Jackson God hears the cries of those suffering from injustice. Do we? The Bible”s story of Ruth challenges us to look with new eyes at the plight of those still seeking justice today. When many think of justice, they reflect on the inequities that plague our communities and our world. Others consider the hundreds of millions of people who have little access to clean water. Some mourn for those caught in the horrors of human trafficking, and some are angered when they know people are mistreated and wounded because of race or gender or ethnicity or even geography.

November 7, 2016

Pursuing Justice in an Unjust World

By Mark W. Hamilton What does a just community look like? Is the American church such a community?Â Do we live out the call of the prophet Micah to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly before God?”* These questions confront anyone who studies the history of American Christianity. From that history we learn that Christians used the Bible to defend slavery and oppose it, to silence women and empower them, to cheer on Bull Connor”s corrupt police in Birmingham, Alabama, and to walk through hostile crowds in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Selma, Alabama, during the civil rights movement. Today,

November 6, 2016

Seek First the Kingdom and Its Justice

By Robert L. Foster I work with a task force that connects churches with undocumented communities in partnerships that help our undocumented neighbors with the challenges they face here in the United States. Recently, at a church conference, the task force displayed an information table where churches and individuals signed up to receive information or to invite a speaker to talk to their church about creating such partnerships. Near the end of one day, a volunteer at our table overheard an attendee say, “We need to get away from all this talk about immigration and multiculturalism and get back Jesus.”

November 2, 2016

Evangelical Outrage

By Jim Tune There seems to be a lot of anger in our culture. People are seething about something . . . or everything! The economy, politics, the culture war””the list goes on. The “rant” has become a contemporary art form. And the church seems to have followed right along. We”re angry too. We”re mad at liberals, Democrats, Muslims, Hollywood, and homosexuals. New York Times op-ed writer Tim Kreider calls this modern epidemic “outrage porn”: So many letters to the editors and comments on the Internet have this . . . tone of thrilled vindication: these are people who have

November 1, 2016

A Look in the Mirror?

By Mark A. Taylor A church friend wrote on Facebook this week, “Why don”t all of you QUIT posting about the election?! Hasn”t everyone already decided who they”re voting for?” Certainly a majority of Americans have decided how they”ll vote””or whether they”ll vote. This year, as in most years, millions and millions of dollars are spent to sway the undecided minority. What may be different this year (in a campaign with a long, sad list of firsts), is the way some undecided voters keep switching from one choice they don”t like to the other. In the midst of all the

October 25, 2016