Series: Blogs

January 2, 2012

Christian Standard

The First Step Toward Unity

By Mark A. Taylor Christian unity, like so many other grand doctrines of the Bible, is something none of us would repudiate. Just as all of us are for love, joy, peace, patience, and self-control””just as all of us would lift up the ideas of mercy, grace, or forgiveness””all of us, if asked, would agree we”re for unity. But deciding to discuss unity is something else. When I talk about unity, my notions of it are challenged. I must sit across the table from a fellow believer who disagrees with me and yet acknowledge that I want unity with him.

December 13, 2011

Christian Standard

A New World for Missions

By Mark A. Taylor “Missionaries are no longer Americans who come to show slides of “˜foreign” countries, but are those who bring the gospel from all over the world,” wrote Gary Holloway, executive director of World Convention, after attending the second Global Christian Forum in Manado, Indonesia October 3-7. His summary reminds us of new opportunities and strategy for missions today. Consider: South Korea sent out 22,000 missionaries to 176 countries last year. Nigeria plans to send 50,000 workers to other nations by 2015. Han Chinese plan to send out 100,000 missionaries to other countries in the next few years.

November 27, 2011

Christian Standard

Beyond How-to

By Mark A. Taylor Roy Lawson once wrote at this site that he generally avoids books about leadership. I haven”t pressed him, but I”m guessing his point is something like this: There must be some substance beneath our leadership methods. “Casting vision” and listening to the team and being decisive, along with a dozen other useful tactics, don”t mean much from a would-be leader who is not himself a person worth following. So let”s read books that nourish the soul and expand the mind before we go looking for technique. And yet many among us devour leadership books and seminars

November 16, 2011

Christian Standard

What Do You Want?

By Mark A. Taylor All of us know people who never stop wanting. They”re always after the next trend, the newest gadget, the latest fashion, the next promotion. They”re like a dog chasing a porcupine. The hunt is exciting, but the catch doesn”t satisfy. And so they”re perpetually pursuing another challenge, a goal or a goodie they want even more than the last one they grabbed. It”s easy to criticize people who want the wrong things. But some Christians are burdened by an unexpressed fear that it may be wrong to want anything. After all, the Bible lessons and sermons

November 7, 2011

Christian Standard

Negatives We Can”t Ignore

By Mark A. Taylor A quick skim of the newspaper on a Friday in September reminds me of other correspondence I had seen earlier in the week. “¢ A Wall Street Journal report quotes the Pope who warned against increasing apathy toward religion in Germany. “We are witnessing a growing indifference to religion in society,” he said in Berlin. “¢ A column appearing a few pages later chronicles and decries efforts of the Obama administration to promote sermonizing by rabbis on such topics as the President”s jobs bill, the impact of budget cuts on the poor, and the country”s need

October 30, 2011

Christian Standard

Good Writers, Universal Truth

By Mark A. Taylor  What makes a good writer? American novelist William Faulkner in 1950 gave his answer to the question. Faulkner accepted the Nobel Prize in literature in 1950, a time when the world lived with a growing fear of nuclear holocaust. “There are no longer problems of the spirit,” he said then. “There is only the question: When will I be blown up?” He encouraged the young writers of his day to forget “anything but the old verities and truths of the heart, the old universal truths lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed””love and honor and

October 17, 2011

Christian Standard

Courage for a Reluctant Leader

By Mark A. Taylor Two things amaze and encourage me when I read the story of God”s call to Moses. The first is his excuse making in response to God”s clear commands. The second is God”s equally persistent patience in the face of this whining. Initially we might understand the reluctance of Moses at the burning bush. Who wouldn”t have been surprised by what God proposed to this murderer in exile turned shepherd? Nothing in his decades of sheep tending in Midian would have appeared on the résumé for nation-deliverer. So when God said, “You will convince Pharaoh to free

October 12, 2011

Christian Standard

Remember the Children

By Mark A. Taylor “Whenever two people are together, one is influencing the other.” My adult children tell me today this was one of my favorite reminders years ago whenever they left the house to be with their teenage friends. I”ve thought about my little proverb often since then, especially as Christian Standard has taken up issues of church and culture. How is the church today influencing the values of our culture? And how are the attitudes and ideals of today”s educators, politicians, entertainers, and corporate leaders changing the church? Research seems to say the church is not prevailing. George

October 7, 2011

Christian Standard

Getting the Job Done

By Mark A. Taylor On the day after Steve Jobs died, his name was at the head of every newscast, the subject line on scores of e-newsletters and blogs, the stuff of conversation among his fans around the world. “I think I”m the only one who has NOT posted something about Steve Jobs today,” wrote a friend on his Facebook page. One of those posts linked to technology columnist Walter Mossberg”s memories at WSJ.com. “He was a genius, a giant influence on multiple industries and billions of lives,” Mossberg wrote. The coverage that day and since said nothing about Jobs”s

October 5, 2011

Christian Standard

Rethinking Our Delivery

By Mark A. Taylor It is nearly impossible to go anywhere or do anything these days unaccompanied by a soundtrack. Sometimes I wish they”d just turn off the music. I mean, I don”t really need to hear the latest hit blaring out of a two-inch speaker at the pump where I get gas. More often than not, I”d rather just talk to my meal mates than try to shout over the rhythm and bass blaring from the restaurant sound system. And I suspect the upbeat tempos I hear in most grocery and department stores have been scientifically proven to prompt

September 27, 2011

Christian Standard

Feeling the Weight

 By Mark A. Taylor To a casual observer, the North American Christian Convention president”s job may look easy and fun. He gets to make many decisions about the convention program, including the speakers and the lead musicians. In the year before the convention, he is introduced as president before audiences everywhere. Once the convention begins, he flits from one session to another, encouraging leaders and speakers and bringing words of greeting. He has the honor of preaching at the convention”s opening session. But anyone who”s worked behind the scenes at the NACC sees the burden the president takes on. For

September 9, 2011

Christian Standard

Beauty from Ashes

By Mark A. Taylor Time and again we see and feel God”s presence most clearly in the midst of human tragedy. It”s as if we need to strip away all our pretense of self-sufficiency before we can fully submit to God, who was the only one in control all along. Consider the ongoing reports of Christians at work in the aftermath of the terrible Joplin tornado. What besides such a crisis would have stimulated the outpouring of service and generosity that Joplin residents have received at the hands of Christians from across the continent? What else could have brought the

September 7, 2011

Christian Standard

A Future Filled with Joy?

By Mark A. Taylor Not everything on Facebook is true, but I want to believe the picture posted there several weeks ago is real. It depicts an announcement board in a church hallway, with white plastic letters pushed into a black background. At the top we read: Evenings at 7 in the Parish Hall. Then this menu follows: Monday: Alcoholics Anonymous Tuesday: Abused Spouses Wednesday: Eating Disorders Thursday: Say No to Drugs Friday: Teen Suicide Watch Saturday: Soup Kitchen And then, below all this: Sunday Sermon 9 a.m. “America”s Joyous Future.” The irony made me laugh out loud, but lately

August 30, 2011

Christian Standard

A Perfect Place for Disciple-Making

By Mark A. Taylor As parents of 3 million college freshmen send them off to school this year, it seems they have plenty to worry about. How will we pay for it? College costs are increasing by almost 8 percent per year, more than 6 times the rate of inflation. Many of today”s graduates are facing the job market deep in debt (an average of $26,100 for the 65 percent of grads from nonprofit private colleges last year who had student loans). Will it be worth it? The New York Times reported this spring that only half the jobs taken

August 21, 2011

Christian Standard

A Clear Choice in a Coarse Culture

By Mark A. Taylor How do God”s people live in an ungodly world? The answer we”ve repeated most often usually includes the formula, “In the world, but not of the world.” Not as often have we enunciated specific guidelines for how to know whether the church is influencing culture more than culture is influencing the church. Perhaps there was a day when the issue wasn”t as critical as now. Some of us remember a time when the messages of our culture seemed to reflect biblical values. People didn”t swear or shack up on television. Unwed mothers and gay activists weren”t

August 11, 2011

Christian Standard

Get Ready for the Adventure!

By Mark A. Taylor Believe it or not, many church leaders have already started thinking about NEXT summer”s Vacation Bible School! That”s why Standard Publishing announced the 2012 VBS theme this July. Next year we”ll partner with you to bring “Adventures on Promise Island” to your church, and we can hardly wait. I”m excited about this course because . . . “¢ It”s biblical. Each lesson features a Bible story with powerful reminders of God”s life-saving love: I Am With You (Isaiah 41:10). Look how he protected Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3:1, 4-28). I Care About You (1 Peter

August 4, 2011

Christian Standard

Inexpensive Downloads to Help Your Ministry

By Mark A. Taylor Here”s a reminder about a whole host of inexpensive, downloadable resources available for your church now. As you anticipate the after-summer ramp-up of activities and ministries, which of the following would help your ministry most? For new members and nonmembers””Our most popular “What Kind of Church Is This?” gives you 8 full-color pages that explain the unique and beautiful nondenominational position of Christian churches and churches of Christ. “Simply Christians,” which originally appeared in The Lookout, is a 12-page overview to accomplish the same purpose. One user called “Simply Christians” “the best short-form overview of the

July 26, 2011

Christian Standard

Read It for the Stories

By Mark A. Taylor   I”m reading Unleashed, Dudley Rutherford”s brainchild and Standard Publishing”s new release based on the sermons at this summer”s North American Christian Convention. And I”m a fan. I expected the book to be full of solid scriptural teaching. But I didn”t expect the book to draw me in so that I didn”t want to put it down. I didn”t expect it to make me laugh out loud or fight back tears. Unleashed will be purchased for many reasons, but my advice is, get the book for its stories. You”ll share them with your spouse. You”ll use

July 11, 2011

Christian Standard

Their Guide, and Yours

By Mark A. Taylor   Haven”t you been enjoying our 2011 Bible feature “The Bible, My Guide”? Many of the entries, although by known writers, share details about their lives or conversions or spiritual practices new to many of us. We can”t list every one of them here, but as I reflect on the columns we”ve printed so far, several stand out in my memory:   Nancy Karpenske Janet McMahon Pat Magness Doug Lucas Chris Travis Tony Twist Diane Stortz Brandon Smith Kay Moll Michael Sweeney Wayne Shaw   If you missed any of these, you”ll do yourself a favor

July 2, 2011

Christian Standard

“˜God Bless America”

By Mark A. Taylor More than a decade ago, my congregation hosted a patriotic pageant each year called “Sea to Shining Sea.” We had a huge adult choir, a children”s choir, a live orchestra, actors, and dancers. We welcomed color guards from all the armed services. We sang every patriotic song you know, including one that invited veterans from every branch of the service to stand and receive the cheers of the crowd. Fireworks accompanied the songs, and after the last note, everyone sat with necks craned to the sky and enjoyed 20 minutes of the rockets” red glare. Our

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