Series: Blogs

Culture & Public Square Technology

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 14, 2017

Family & Relationships Marriage

A Command for Valentine’s Day

By Mark A. Taylor 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 ought to love their wives as their own bodies” (5:25-28). To the Colossians, the apostle puts it this way: “Husbands, love

February 14, 2017

Apologetics & Worldview

Reasonable Doubt

By Mark A. Taylor Confronted with doubters, some Christians display one of two unfortunate reactions. Some look away. They prefer not to think about serious skeptics. Isolated inside the church with no real relationships outside it, they are comfortable with a faith they themselves may never have questioned. They ignore the skeptic. But others attack. They can”t pretend doubters don”t exist. They”ve heard the cynical sneers about Christianity from public critics, and the arguments make them angry. They view disbelievers as the enemy, and their instinct is to defend the faith with sarcasm, condemnation, or insult. Those in either group

February 8, 2017

Culture & Public Square Technology

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

February 7, 2017

Christian Living

Advertising My Christianity

By Mark A. Taylor What does it mean to advertise a business as owned by a Christian? Evidently quite a lot to the folks running TrustBlueReview.com. With the tag line “Connecting you to trusted businesses for 25 years,” the faith-based business directory offers consumers a way to find Christian-owned enterprises in categories from “Accountants” to “Zip Lines.” TrustBlueReview”s home page claims all its advertisers make a threefold commitment: “Proclaim Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Demonstrate their faith through active involvement in a local church. Strive to operate their business according to biblical principles.” Is this a good thing?

February 1, 2017

Book Reviews Reviews

Insider or Outsider?

By Jim Tune In the book How Jesus Saves the World From Us: 12 Antidotes to ToxicÂ Christianity, Morgan Guyton includes a provocative chapter with the title, “Insiders, Not Outsiders: How We Take Sides in Conflict.” In it he refers to something known as the Valladolid debate. I had not heard of it. It seems that in the decades following Christopher Columbus”s discovery of the Americas, the conquistadors and invading Spanish colonizers had been ruthless in their domination of the native peoples, enslaving, displacing, and slaughtering tens of thousands. Troubling reports made their way back to King Charles V, who called

January 31, 2017

Culture & Public Square Politics & Government

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 25, 2017

Mission & Evangelism

Our Compelling Story

By Jim Tune Sociologists tell us societies are not held together by rules and laws, and that order cannot be enforced by swords or guns alone. People must find their motivation and meaning in powerful ideas””beliefs that justify their institutions and ideals. Writer Percy Bysshe Shelley once said, “Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” I think he was trying to say that, through their vivid imagery and memorable rhythms, poets have the power to shape how people think. In 1703 Andrew Fletcher wrote, “Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its

January 24, 2017

Miscellaneous

Leonard Wymore””Yesterday’s Hero

By Mark A. Taylor It”s fair to say the passing of Leonard Wymore represents another marker in the end of an era. Leonard, who served as director of the North American Christian Convention from 1963 to 1986, died last Thursday, January 19. He was 95 years old. Known by many as Mr. North American, Leonard had his finger on the pulse of Christian churches and churches of Christ as perhaps no one else. He traveled widely. He heard and encouraged preachers in churches small and large across the heartland. He passionately promoted unity and church growth in a fellowship of

January 18, 2017

Christian Living

Habits””Better Than Resolutions

By Jim Tune We”re not far into the new year, but our resolutions have already started to fade into the background. “I”m opening a gym called Resolutions,” someone quipped. “It will have exercise equipment for the first two weeks and then it will turn into a bar for the rest of the year.” We start out well, but our best intentions don”t survive the realities of life. Resolutions aren”t bad; they”re just not enough. According to James Clear, a writer on behavioral change, we should forget goals and embrace systems. “Goals are good for planning your progress and systems are

January 17, 2017

Culture & Public Square Technology

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

Culture & Public Square

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 10, 2017

Glimpses of Glory

By Mark A. Taylor Like one writer this month (Rick Chromey in “Why I Love the Church”), many readers have lived in the embrace of the church since birth. They know what the church is, because they see what the church is accomplishing. They can”t imagine what life would be like without the nurture, community, and accountability uniquely provided by God”s people. They”ve seen the parade of meals carried to the ill and the shut-in. They”ve experienced hours and days of quiet companionship from Jesus followers who walked with them through sickness, disappointment, or the death of someone close. They”ve

January 4, 2017

Christian Living

True Grit

By Jim Tune Much has been written about the psychology of success. Is it talent that enables success? The right connections? A positive mental attitude? In the book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Angela Duckworth argues that most success stories come down to one vital element: endurance. Toughing it out. Grit. Talent, Duckworth claims, is overrated: “We inadvertently send the message that these other factors””including grit””don”t matter as much as they really do.” Duckworth writes: To be gritty is to keep putting one foot in front of the other. To be gritty is to hold fast to an

January 3, 2017

Discipleship & Spiritual Formation

Strategies for a New Year

By Mark A. Taylor Dear Reader: This is adapted from a post that first appeared five years ago. It still seems pretty current to me, mainly because I still need to follow my own advice here! So let’s read itÂ together as, once again, we recommit ourselves to faith and ministry at the beginning of a new year. Anytime can be the right time for new beginnings, but the transition to a new year seems like a natural. If you”re looking for new ways God could use you in 2017, here are some possibilities. Enhance strengths. Instead of concentrating on

December 28, 2016

Christmas Communicates

By Jim Tune “What we”ve got here is failure to communicate,” said the prison warden in the 1967 movie Cool Hand Luke. The line has endured because communication is so tough. Marketers spend millions of dollars to communicate. Marriages have broken down due to a lack of communication. In some ways, communication is everything. The ultimate communication gap, though, is between God and us. Left to ourselves, we”d never be able to figure out what God is like. We would know that he exists, but what is he really like? Is he angry and harsh? Is he loving? Does he

December 27, 2016

Sacrifice Unequaled

By Mark A. Taylor Does anyone still use the phrase, “Not equal giving, but equal sacrifice”? It once was standard verbiage in church fund-raising campaigns, but I”ve always cringed a little when I”ve heard it. If it has become passÃ©, I”m glad. Not that the idea doesn”t spring from biblical principle. Along with exhortations to giving that is generous (Romans 12:8), cheerful (2 Corinthians 9:7), and regular (1 Corinthians 16:2), Scripture commands giving that is proportional (1 Corinthians 16:2; Deuteronomy 16:17). Many believers today still use God”s original template, the tithe (10 percent), for their giving (Malachi 3:10). Such believers

December 21, 2016

The Colors of Christmas

By Jim Tune Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too” (Luke 2:34, 35). A popular Roman Catholic devotion holds that Mary suffered seven sorrows: Simeon”s prophecy that her heart would be pierced, her flight to Egypt that Jesus might escape the infanticide, the anxious days in Jerusalem when she thought she had lost Jesus,

December 20, 2016