Discipleship & Spiritual Formation

Discipleship & Spiritual Formation focuses on becoming more like Jesus through lifelong growth in faith, character, and obedience. Explore Bible-based articles on following Christ, spiritual disciplines, prayer, Scripture reading, community, and the habits that shape a mature disciple. You’ll find practical guidance for mentoring, accountability, repentance, perseverance, and cultivating a gospel-centered life in every season. Whether you’re learning the basics of discipleship or helping others grow, these resources equip you to form disciples who love God, love people, and live on mission.

July 18, 2016

Christian Standard

People Like You and Me

By J.K. Jones Eastview Christian Church, Normal, Illinois, is a church marked by continual encounters with Jesus. I hope that doesn”t sound boastful or bombastic. We regularly witness genuine life transformation in people of all walks and stripes. That long and incomplete list includes police officers, public school teachers, insurance employees, strippers, bartenders, drug and alcohol abusers, self-righteous religious folk, gay and lesbian, black and white, rich and poor, male and female, coaches and athletes, children and elderly, and outsiders and insiders. Some are as intentional and seeking as the pearl merchant described in Matthew 13:45, 46. Others are as

July 16, 2016

Christian Standard

After Seven Years of Friendship

By Jeff Vines On the surface, it seemed as though Bill McCarthy had it all: a beautiful and talented wife, two exceptional daughters, and a prominent career in broadcasting. His career spanned more than 50 years, taking him from sports anchor to newsreader to a renowned producer and director. He anchored coverage of the 1974 British Commonwealth Games and produced broadcasts for the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Yet, despite all of his achievements, Bill could not fill the unexplainable void in his life, and like most Kiwis (as the people of New Zealand are called), he never even considered God

July 15, 2016

Christian Standard

From Vile to Victory

By Matt Proctor “I remember being in the bars at 3 years old with my mother singing in the bands,” says Juliet Rose. Juliet was born into addiction. Her mother drank heavily, and her dad was a drug addict. Her mother married another man when Juliet was 4, and “that”s when monsters became real.” Her new stepdad molested her for the next five years. She always felt alone. “I had no friends, so I quit school in the ninth grade. I had no education, no life skills.” At 16, she fled to Las Vegas, where she survived as a prostitute.

July 15, 2016

Christian Standard

Full Circle

By Raymond Bodley His name was Larry, a 20-year-old soldier who came into the church in Frankfurt, Germany, in the 1980s. When he arrived, he seemed to be running from what he thought was expected of him, while also searching for where God could use him. I wondered how he fit into the U.S. Army mold, though he was really smart. When I met Larry, he was a “gun bunny” who carried howitzer shells from point A to point B. After he dropped two or three shells, however, the command decided to make him a driver for a captain. That

July 14, 2016

Christian Standard

From the Mess to a Message of Hope

By Dave Stone Lindsay Knight remembers the hopelessness. It stalked her as a college student, when she had seen too much and been loved too little. It was in the back of her mind as she chased self-worth in being pretty, thin, a good athlete, popular, and successful. After a long string of abusive, destructive relationships left her homeless, alone, and broke, she took the one “yes” she found””to work at a local strip club. It didn”t take long for her to see life at the club wasn”t so glamorous””she didn”t make a lot of money and she didn”t like

July 14, 2016

Christian Standard

Transformed by God”s Grace

By Pat Magness The before and after photographs probably wouldn”t look that different. Both pictures would show a handsome, tall, athletic young man with a big smile. Unlike the transformation depicted in before and after pictures for a weight loss promo or exercise video, this transformation was not in looks, but in attitudes and actions. When I knew him “before,” he was self-absorbed, careless with the feelings of others. Some might have called him arrogant, and while he was never lazy, he often looked for the easy way. Perhaps most disturbing, he treated his sweetheart of a girlfriend with a

July 1, 2016

Christian Standard

Come Clean

By Nancy Karpenske The notion of “coming clean” implies a person is concealing something, not being completely honest. Coming clean is connected to guilt and shame. If someone stares you down and says, “Time to come clean,” it probably isn”t a request to wash up before sitting down at the dinner table. God invites us to dinner at his table. We have a standing invitation. Communion is a moment when we are invited to come closer to God. The bread and the juice, symbols of Jesus” torture and death, remind us in a vivid way that we have already been

April 16, 2016

Christian Standard

WHAT’S NEXT?: Look and Act Like Jesus

We asked several Christian leaders, “What should churches served by CHRISTIAN STANDARD strive to be or do or look like in the next decades?” ____ By Jeff Metzger I think the ultimate answer to this question is simple. The church should always strive to be and do and look as much like Jesus as possible! For 20 centuries, the church has always been at its best when it was most like Jesus. That will always be true. Our goal as disciples is to be like our teacher, Jesus. Here are some ways we can continue to make that happen. Jesus loves the nations.

April 11, 2016

Christian Standard

WHAT’S NEXT?: Filled with Mercy

We asked several Christian leaders, “What should churches served by CHRISTIAN STANDARD strive to be or do or look like in the next decades?” ____ By Rachel Grindle Churches should be places filled with people who love mercy””God”s mercy. Personally, I want all of God”s mercy I can get. I am grateful he doesn”t hold my sins against me and that he calls those who are far away to come near with his kindness and mercy. But when I realize that mercy is for everyone and not just me, I begin to realize, similar to Jonah, how much I actually prefer judgment to

April 8, 2016

Christian Standard

Not Defiance, but Surrender

By Mark Krause I recently read of a young mother who named her son Defy. Yes, I spelled that correctly: Defy, as in “to oppose with an attitude.” She said she wanted her child to grow up knowing he never had to accept the status quo and should always question everything. While I understand the cultural frustration that causes this sort of thing, it seems dangerous to me. If everyone in a society becomes a relentless questioner, pretty soon there is no one left to give answers, and collapse is inevitable. This can happen in the church. Is our first

April 7, 2016

Christian Standard

WHAT’S NEXT?: Get Rid of Three Spiritual Diseases

We asked several Christian leaders, “What should churches served by CHRISTIAN STANDARD strive to be or do or look like in the next decades?” ____ By Dusty Rubeck I would like to see our churches focus on eradicating three crippling spiritual diseases in the next 20 years. 1. Biblical Illiteracy I”ve been involved in ministry leadership since 1983. Over that time I have seen a steady decline in basic biblical knowledge. While it is most pronounced in our youth, it is evident at all age levels. This must change. We must move from biblical relevance to biblical revelation and transformation. Active study and

March 29, 2016

Mark A. Taylor

After Easter: the Challenge Remains

By Mark A. Taylor   Churches and church leaders around the world are breathing a collective sigh of relief this week. Easter is over. All the hard work anticipating big Easter attendances is finished. Larger numbers of volunteers were recruited. Worship services were added (some megachurches began Easter services on Thursday evening). Musicians practiced harder and longer; choirs and worship teams prepared their best. Preachers gave special effort to make sure their sermons were polished and ready. New churches and multisites launched on Easter Sunday, with the hope to attract newcomers on the one Sunday when tradition prods the largest

March 23, 2016

Christian Standard

Ingenuity

By Jim Tune One of my favorite stories in the Bible is of the paralyzed man and his four friends. We aren”t told much about him, but we know he had four deeply compassionate friends who were determined to place him at the feet of Jesus (Mark 2:1-11). This man could do very little to help himself. He was completely dependent on others to feed him, bathe him, clothe him, and care for his other needs. Fortunately, the paralyzed man had friends who cared for him. Better yet, his friends also had initiative and ingenuity. They took him to the

March 22, 2016

Mark A. Taylor

Where Will God Use You Best?

By Mark A. Taylor “Do you believe you”re serving in the place God can use you best?” A friend surprised me with that question several years ago. And maybe I was equally surprised by my answer. “Yes,” I said. My guess is that many Christians, certainly many Christian leaders, are a lot like me. We think about that question too little. We choose ministries like a young professional plotting his next career move. How will this job position me to work later for the kind of church I really want to serve? Does it pay more than I”m earning now?

March 15, 2016

Mark A. Taylor

Missing God

By Mark A. Taylor Being a soldier can be boring. Especially when you”re far from home, in a dry, dirty, dusty place. When the assignment is to keep order among a stubborn people who resent you and all you stand for, the duty is all the more distasteful. And so, when a strange peasant called a king is assigned to your watch, who could blame you for having a little fun? Nothing about him looks like royalty, that”s for sure. So you find some thorns and make him a crown. Your buddy has a robe he took from some unlucky

March 14, 2016

Christian Standard

Eat, Pray, Love?

By T.R. Robertson Is there a difference in the way we Christians talk about calling versus how the rest of our culture pursues calling?  It”s certain many outside the church today have great interest in calling and identity. How can Christians be missionally purposeful in relating to that interest, especially when non-Christians may talk about calling with the same words Christians use? Oprah Winfrey is a touchstone of all that is popular in the culture at large. If it”s cool, she”ll be talking about it. If it”s not cool yet, she makes it cool by bringing it up. Winfrey has

March 9, 2016

Christian Standard

Soul Work Is Slow Work

By Jim Tune Paul Sparks, a cofounder of the Parish Collective, likes to refer to the reverse Prayer of Jabez. I find his twist on things refreshing: God, Shrink our territory, And narrow our boundaries That we might truly be a blessing to all. Yeah. Like that would be a best seller or catalyze a 40-day program for the typical Evangelical church. Most preachers and church planters struggle with impatience. We have goals to achieve, targets to hit. Wherever we are, it seems, we are itching to leave. Here and now is never enough. We want to get to some

January 6, 2016

Christian Standard

Kingdom Power

By Jim Tune Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water in a basin and began to wash his disciples” feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him (John 13:3-5). There was never any question regarding appropriate etiquette. It was the privilege of the most powerful person in the room to never need to worry about his

December 31, 2015

Christian Standard

The Spiritual Discipline of Play?

By Joe Boyd Last week I sat across from a good friend and trusted adviser at a LaRosa”s Pizzeria in Cincinnati. (He”s also a clinical psychologist, so I can sometimes get therapy for the price of a pizza.) I was telling him all the good things that were causing anxiety in my life: my growing kids, growing business, and growing church responsibilities. He looked at me and asked, “What are you doing for fun?” Almost without thinking, I replied, “I don”t have time for fun at this time in my life.” His look said it all. I knew the glaring

October 23, 2015

Christian Standard

Start Reading Books Like a Christian

No matter what you”re reading, as a Christ follower and believer, you have a unique opportunity and perspective every time you open a book.  By Tony Reinke Perhaps intimidated by the intrusion of digital communications technology (Facebook, texting, Twitter), or perhaps overwhelmed by the dominant cultural force of the entertainment industry (television, movies, gaming), the church talks less and less about what it means to be a Christian reader. But Christian readers are best suited to engage books with benefit and discernment. This is true because there exists a distinctly Christian form of literacy. Christian Literacy Let me begin with

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