Series: Blogs

June 29, 2011

Christian Standard

Behind Closed Doors

By Mark A. Taylor   He is an Arab Christian with a ministry in the Middle East. And to start he says he could not speak freely with me in his home country. There our conversation would not continue, he said, until he had removed the battery from his cell phone. “Why?” I ask. “Surveillance.” “They would bug your cell phone to listen to your conversations?” I said to him in disbelief. “It happens,” he said calmly. “If I were to openly speak with a Muslim about becoming a Christian, life would become very difficult for me and for him,”

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

June 9, 2011

Christian Standard

Our Decision, Our Opportunity

By Mark A. Taylor Some in Christian churches and churches of Christ are worried about the future of our movement. Others aren”t thinking about our movement much at all””its past or its future. But regardless of whether we”re fretting or forgetting about our future, it is still before us, and we ignore it at our peril. “The future doesn”t care if you believe in it,” says marketing guru and entrepreneur Seth Godin. Godin tells his audiences they can invent their own future. Part of that process involves looking carefully at what”s happening now. Some trends to consider: Denominationalism is dead.

June 3, 2011

Christian Standard

Questions After a Dinner

By Mark A. Taylor Why attend a retirement dinner? To honor the retiree, of course. He (or she) is the focus when speakers describe accomplishments, tell a few funny stories to show his human side, and present a gift from admirers who have gathered to congratulate him. All that happened at the last retirement dinner I attended. But since then I”ve decided the greatest benefit of a retirement dinner may not come to the person or couple retiring, but to everyone else at the party. We hear the accolades and wonder, What will people say about me when I get

May 25, 2011

Christian Standard

Well Gifted

By Mark A. Taylor “What do you want for your birthday?” Believe it or not, I always have trouble answering the question. It”s not that material things don”t turn my head. But, with all my physical needs met and so many of my wants provided, nothing”s pressing for a place on my wish list. Just bake me a chocolate cake and shower me with funny cards””that”s enough to make my birthday happy. I guess I”m at that stage of life where smaller gifts””the kind usually given at birthdays””aren”t really necessary. I have more socks and shirts than I can wear

April 27, 2011

Christian Standard

Starting a Prayer Revolution

By Mark A. Taylor One of the most encouraging aspects of Restoration Revolution is the way it is motivating some churches to pray. You”ll remember that Restoration Revolution is a 10-year emphasis challenging Christian churches to share Jesus worldwide via four main strategies: prayer (“Almighty”), launching church-planting strategies (“Churches”), creating and distributing needed resources (“Tools”), and recruiting more workers (“Servants”). Dave and Kim Butts of Harvest Prayer Ministries International are spearheading “Light the Fire,” an emphasis challenging churches to spend every hour of a whole week in prayer as a part of this emphasis. “Churches, campuses, and missions organizations are

April 24, 2011

Christian Standard

After an Earthquake Bedrock Faith

By Mark A. Taylor Internet news sites always provide a ready distraction from a deadline. But when those posts contain a dozen stark videos of the unprecedented Japanese earthquake and tsunami, perhaps the procrastination can be forgiven. Each new harsh scene of ships and cars tossed together like bathtub toys, each new account of surprising survivors and shocking destruction, contributes to the jumble washing through my thoughts. Responsibility””what should I do with my plenty to help a population reduced to a struggle for survival? Reevaluation””how can I believe all my attention to what I own and what I earn will

April 6, 2011

Christian Standard

Counter Culture

By Mark A. Taylor “I”m an editor. I work with words.” I”ve used that excuse more than once when I”ve miscalculated or misunderstood or misapplied some list of numbers. (My wife says she hopes I don”t die before her, because it would take her a month to figure out what”s going on with our checkbook!) So if you prefer ideas and expressing them over numbers and analyzing them, I understand. But I urge you not to ignore all the facts and figures in posts we”re planning for the next few weeks. Here”s why: We serve a God who keeps track

March 22, 2011

Christian Standard

Another Statement About What”s at Stake

By Mark A. Taylor A longtime reader of CHRISTIAN STANDARD paid us a wonderful compliment earlier this year. “Thank you for giving us a magazine that makes us think,” he said. This likely would have seemed a small achievement just a generation or two ago. There was a day when many in the Christian churches and churches of Christ spent more energy defining orthodoxy than questioning tradition. But fresh winds are blowing today””new churches, growing congregations, multisites and multimedia and external focus””all of it energized by a crop of younger leaders sold out to finding new ways to evangelize. “It”s

March 16, 2011

Christian Standard

Clearing a Path to Life

By Mark A. Taylor Maybe by the time you read this, the threat of major snowfall in your community will have passed. And if you live in Derry, New Hampshire, maybe your city workers have resumed digging graves. Derry town administrator Jack Anderson told reporters February 7 the Forest Hills Cemetery would probably be closed for four weeks, its frozen acres buried under too much ice and snow to make digging new graves possible. This is because the gravediggers in Derry also drive the small town”s snowplows. And, given the onslaught of this winter”s storms, there just wasn”t manpower to

March 10, 2011

Christian Standard

Our Annual Campus Tour

By Mark A. Taylor Several trends are notable in our annual “campus tour” this year. Our colleges have become externally focused. The reports are rich with accounts of mission trips and community service projects. Many of these schools are thrusting their students into the world for a taste of the service they will render after they graduate. Our colleges continue to strive toward excellence. Two are changing their names to reflect a redefined mission. Others describe new degree programs, several building projects, cooperative programs with other universities, and in one case, a total campus move. Although many of these colleges

February 22, 2011

Christian Standard

We Have Met the Enemy

By Mark A. Taylor Jim Tune says in “Stake” that the NACC is better, but less necessary, than ever. His rationale resonates with that of Gary Weedman who contributed one of several “viewpoints” on the NACC for our September 21, 2008, issue. The NACC was created in 1927 as a reaction to what was seen as encroachment of liberal theology and of “open membership” practiced by missionaries. . . . The majority of the leaders of the International Convention . . . were seen to be supportive, or at least tolerant, of the theological liberalism and practice of open membership.

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

January 26, 2011

Christian Standard

Calculating Our Generosity

By Mark A. Taylor David Campbell and Robert Putnam got it right when they commented on the generosity of Evangelical churches. “Local congregations are often on the front lines of providing charitable services to the poor and needy through food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters,” they wrote in the December 10 Wall Street Journal. “Many congregations also sponsor missionaries overseas.” A visit to the National Missionary Convention underscores the truth of their conclusion, especially among Christian churches and churches of Christ. This week”s NMC review article mentions that at least 300 missionaries and other ministries brought displays to the convention

January 25, 2011

Christian Standard

Proclaiming More than Meditating

By Mark A. Taylor After we had settled on the theme for our yearlong emphasis on the Bible, someone suggested a variation that almost made us reconsider. Instead of “The Bible: Lift it up. Live it out,” he proposed “The Bible: Let it in. Live it out.” “Scripture says far more about meditating on God”s Word than defending it,” he said. By the time he wrote, we had already made our decision, commissioned a logo, and finished our plans. Would we have chosen “Let it in” over “Lift it up” if we had thought of it sooner? Maybe. But, really,

January 16, 2011

Christian Standard

Worth Discussing

By Mark A. Taylor One quote stands out among several in a news release posted some time ago on our Web site*. An impassioned member of the Stone-Campbell Dialogue reflected on the words of Christ whose prayer for unity is recorded in John 17: Apparently Christ thought the unity of his followers was the single most important evidence that he truly came from the Father, that he was divine. And this makes unity compelling””an absolutely compelling thing””not a backburner issue. Unity is at the heart of what the whole gospel is about. Unity is at the heart of the annual

January 6, 2011

Christian Standard

What to Call Our Year of the Bible?

By Mark A. Taylor What better time than 2011 to focus on the Bible? This year marks the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible, and in Christian Standard we”ll be lifting up the Bible all year long. This week”s special articles are the first of many about everything from how we got the Bible to how we teach it. Friends and advisers””our contributing editors as well as colleagues here at Standard Publishing””gave us dozens of ideas for the year. But even with all their excellent input, we couldn”t agree on what to call our year of

January 2, 2011

Christian Standard

The Essential About Opinions

by Mark A. Taylor Any parent of young adults knows two things: First, you”ll always be a parent. Just because they”re out of the house, you don”t stop worrying about their health and their choices and their future. Just because they”re earning a living, you don”t stop wondering if they have enough money. Second, and more important, the parent of young adults must keep his opinions to himself””or at least state them in a gentle way that earns a hearing. Grown children don”t respond well to lectures from their parents, especially when they passionately disagree about the issue at hand.

December 22, 2010

Christian Standard

We Wonder Too

By Mark A. Taylor Schoolchildren in a Nairobi slum sing with gusto: Jesus, what a wonder you are! Their boisterous voices reverberate inside the corrugated tin walls of their tiny classroom: Oh my Jesus, what a wonder you are! And any visitor is struck by the wonder that Jesus has moved men and women to serve in this difficult place. A host of smiling teachers stands before thousands of children in classrooms like this one, rising above a sea of 12-by-12 lean-to huts these kids call home. Meanwhile, the school”s well-dressed social workers step over running streams of raw sewage

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