Family & Relationships

Family & Relationships offers biblically grounded guidance for building healthy relationships at home and in everyday life. Explore articles on marriage, parenting, singleness, friendship, communication, conflict resolution, and cultivating a Christ-centered household. You’ll find practical wisdom for forming strong families, nurturing faith in children and teens, and navigating challenges with grace, truth, and hope. Whether you’re seeking encouragement, direction, or tools for discipleship in the home, these resources help you love well and reflect the character of Jesus in your closest relationships.

August 11, 2013

Christian Standard

Family: What’s the Biblical Ideal?

Interview a dozen people on a street corner, and you may get 12 different definitions for family. The Bible”s picture is more diverse and multifaceted than we might first realize, so let”s look at Scripture”s definitions. By Gary Zustiak People seem to have their own ideas of what constitutes a family these days. A sampling of two dictionaries shows eight and nine definitions, respectively, for the word family. I remember when I discovered some people”s concept of family didn”t match my own. Our family had just finished an early dinner. Our youngest son, who was then a junior in high school, asked

August 10, 2013

Christian Standard

A Conversation with Arron Chambers

Meet Our Contributing Editors: This month we continue a series of interviews with CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s contributing editors. Arron Chambers, lead minister with Journey Christian Church in Greeley, Colorado, talks about intimacy in marriage and intimacy with Jesus and says the two are remarkably similar. Interview by Jennifer Johnson What”s going on at Journey these days? We”ve been looking for a new facility, and a church in town has a great building that”s twice as big as ours. They suggested we buy their building and they buy ours. To raise the money, we decided to scrap the capital campaign and do something that fits

August 9, 2013

Christian Standard

A Lifetime Love

Why do some married couples grow deeper in love, while others experience more pain with each passing season of life? What can we do to keep a new love young until we”re old? By Randy Gariss As the old couple held hands and slowly rose to their feet, so did the audience. The congregation”s ovation was sweet and deafening. We were recognizing a couple in our congregation for their 71 years of marriage. And everyone could see not only that John and Phyllis”s love survived the tests of time, but they had the marriage all young couples long for. There is something winsome

August 8, 2013

Christian Standard

What About Marriage?

By Jim Street For the past 42 years, I have spoken these words in every wedding I have conducted: The sacred relationship of marriage was instituted by God. . . . The union of husband and wife in heart, body, and mind is intended by God for their mutual joy; for the help and comfort given one another in prosperity and adversity; and, when it is God”s will, for the procreation of children and their nurture in the knowledge and love of the Lord. Those words, or similar ones, derive from The Book of Common Prayer and have been in

August 6, 2013

Mark A. Taylor

Ministry and Family””They Go Together!

By Mark A. Taylor One of the questions late in our June BlogTalkRadio* program was, “How can a Christian leader get started with a missional approach to ministry?” All three of those interviewed””Jon Ferguson, Greg Nettle, and Jon Weece””agreed with the same principle: “Start by being a model of missional ministry with your own class and your own family.” Weece, especially, took up the family theme. “We”ve reoriented our whole life around serving other people,” he said. “It”s very normal, for example, for our kids to understand this is what we”re going to do on Tuesday nights; we”re going to

April 8, 2013

Christian Standard

Bad Weather at Home

By Charity M. Walker-Byers and John M. Walker The black clouds of church conflict too often create bad weather at home, too. These “clouds” can cause problems that become all-consuming and overwhelming, influencing every aspect of life. When the church leader loses his or her ability to separate church life from home life, the “black cloud” can consume his or her emotions, relationships, attitude, perspective, and all other aspects of human experience. When that happens, the home becomes a battleground and a source of unhappiness instead of a safe haven, a storm center instead of a safe harbor offering rejuvenation

April 7, 2013

Christian Standard

When Conflict Comes Home

By Tom Lawson So, how do you keep church conflict from impacting your home life? The short answer is you can”t. If you”re in church leadership, serious church conflict will, in various ways, impact your family life. Church leaders, however, are not alone in this. Nearly all employed adults in America experience tensions and conflicts in their workplace that, at times, spill over to impact their home life. Church conflicts have characteristics of both workplace conflicts and family feuds. They can be conflicts over power, programs, strategic direction, allocation of resources, and dysfunctional patterns of corporate communication. And some church

February 26, 2013

Christian Standard

Sticky Conversations: Divorce and Remarriage

THIS IS THE FIFTH AND FINAL IN A SERIES OF  “STICKY CONVERSATIONS” By Julie Gariss As commonplace as the ritual of divorce has become, it is still impossible to fully comprehend the pain that accompanies a broken marriage. That is especially true within the church. Divorces frequently are followed by remarriages. This pattern shows the deep desire by most adults to live in an intimate marriage relationship. And even though the second or third attempt may finally produce a healthy and whole union, the ghost of a marriage past still haunts. How should the church respond to the all-too-familiar cycle of divorce and

February 14, 2013

Christian Standard

Real Love, Real Joy

By Mark A. Taylor My preacher had advice for married folks in his sermon last Sunday: “As long as you”re going to be married the rest of your life, you might as well enjoy it.” His list of strategies for pursuing and discovering joy in marriage was a thought-provoking challenge even for an oldster like me (anticipating my 40th wedding anniversary in just a few months). But I was even more interested in a Wall Street Journal feature Tuesday that quoted scientific research to underscore a fact about marriage that Jesus himself might have offered. “People who put their mates” needs

September 28, 2012

Christian Standard

Interview with Bridget Schnautz

By Paul Boatman   Bridget Schnautz of Clay City, Illinois, is a Bible college graduate who has invested a two-decade career in management of a Sherwin-Williams paint factory, while pursuing a call to ministry.   Can you tell us about God”s calling in your life? There have been many benchmarks I can identify in looking back. My first church exposure came around age 8 when I was invited to VBS. Having no sense of “church protocol,” I started pounding the piano. A woman I thought was going to scold me, sat beside me and said, “Bridget, do you know that

June 15, 2012

Christian Standard

“˜Rooted in Love” Partners for Foster Care, Adoption

By Jennifer Taylor When Marcus and Julie McClure began to investigate foster parenting, they had no idea it would change not only their family, but their church and city as well. “The McClures became foster parents and ran out of room for more kids in their home, but felt a huge burden to do more,” says Chris Hornbrook, lead pastor at Momentum Christian Church in Chula Vista, CA. “They had a vision for encouraging and educating the people in our church””and the Christians across San Diego County””to get involved in foster care and adoption.” The McClures started Rooted in Love,

June 9, 2012

Christian Standard

Casual Conversation Grows into Citywide Event

By Jennifer Taylor Danielle Ott, a member at Traders Point Christian Church (Indianapolis, IN), began dreaming about the possibility of a citywide foster care/adoption event coordinated by several area churches. A conversation with one like-minded acquaintance grew to a small group of people from five churches meeting at Starbucks to discuss ideas. The Answer the Call Conference launched May 19. “There are so many people who feel God”s call to adopt or participate in the foster care system, but they don”t know where to start,” she says. “We wanted to encourage and equip them to move forward in a meaningful

April 5, 2012

Christian Standard

Virginia Churches, Others Partner to “˜Change Who Waits”

By Jennifer Taylor  Thousands of children around the country need to be adopted, and this spring”s “Change Who Waits” initiative, coordinated by churches and organizations in Virginia, is working to make adults the ones who wait. “Our goal is to recruit so many families that are willing to foster and adopt children that there are no more (kids) waiting””there are actually families waiting for children!” says the CWW website. Dozens of churches””including Area 10 Faith Community, New Venture Christian Church, and Velocity Christian Church (all in Richmond); Fairmount Christian Church (Mechanicsville); Chester Christian Church (Chester); Forefront Christian Church and Avalon

January 30, 2012

Christian Standard

A Preacher”s Kid”s Hopes for His Own PKs

By Shan Caldwell I was born a preacher”s son. As such, I felt it was my duty to help my dad out as much as I could. I thoughtfully provided sermon illustration fodder for the first 16 years of my life. I enlivened dull sermons by whispering or passing notes, obliging my father to interrupt his message by calling me out””by name””in front of the whole congregation. My dad may not have always appreciated my “help,” but I did (and do) appreciate growing up in a preacher”s family. My dad traveled in evangelistic work for the first six years of

January 29, 2012

Christian Standard

How to Help a Preacher’s Kid

By Charity M. Walker-Byers I am a preacher”s kid. Being a PK has influenced every part of my life. It has influenced my values, my self-concept, and my life goals. I have lived through the joys and challenges of growing up in a ministry family. I know what it is like to be proud of a father and mother who give all they have to the service of God. I also know what it”s like to have my family life centered on, and at times almost overtaken by, service to God. Growing up as a preacher”s kid taught me the

December 29, 2011

Christian Standard

I Have a Family

By Jim Tune My father died just a few months ago. It hasn”t been easy, and I feel the loss keenly. His death has prompted a desire to know more about my dad, his extended family, and his heritage. As a godly father and a devoted worker for Christ, he has also marked me with a legacy””one I intend to celebrate, embrace, and pass on. No one would expect any less.   The Family I Chose From a faith perspective, I also have a family. I didn”t join it as the result of a father”s will or by accident. I

August 25, 2011

Christian Standard

Tutorials Help Kids Drum Up Better Grades

By Jennifer Taylor   As the school year ended, Wendy Bennett“s fourth-grade daughter, Lily, began feeling nervous about her final math tests. Bennett, pastor of family life ministry and community connections at Everyday Christian Church (New York, NY), asked Chris Travis for help. “Chris is not only our lead pastor, but has also worked as a math teacher in Harlem the last two years,” Bennett says. “Lily”s best friend soon wanted to join the sessions; then more students expressed interest. Eventually we asked the school if we could organize group tutoring.” The team worked with the administration to coordinate the

August 5, 2011

Christian Standard

Making a Difference for Foster Care Kids

Students at Journey Christian Church (Midlothian, VA) recently received a grant from The Community Foundation, a local charitable organization, to help kids unable to live with their parents. On Sunday the teens gathered to learn about the problem from area leaders in social work and protective services; after the event Journey distributed empty luggage for the students to fill and return. The bags will be given to children in their county who have been removed from their homes. “We can make a difference for [foster care] kids in the most vulnerable and tumultuous moments of their lives,” the church writes.

June 19, 2011

Christian Standard

The Dad Who”s Not There

By Mark A. Taylor   Life without Dad can be lethal. That”s the conclusion of Anthony Bradley, posting at WORLDmag.com last year*. According to his research, “¢ 60 percent of rapists . . . “¢ 63 percent of youth suicides . . . “¢ 70 percent of long-term prison inmates . . . “¢ 71 percent of high school dropouts . . . “¢ 72 percent of adolescent murderers . . . “¢ 85 percent of youths in prison, and . . . “¢ 90 percent of homeless and runaway children come from homes without dads. He”s talking about the

February 9, 2011

Christian Standard

For Valentine”s Day . . . a Command

By Mark A. Taylor As churches everywhere capitalize on Valentine”s Day, all of us can ponder a biblical mandate more serious than hearts and flowers. Sweetheart dinners, couples retreats, and sermons about love are all great, as long as they move us beyond the frivolous expressions typical of our culture”s shallow take on deep issues. When it comes to marriage, God has spoken. His command comes three times in Paul”s epistles, twice within a few phrases of each other. “Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,” Paul tells the Ephesians. “Husbands

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