Series: Blogs

June 23, 2010

Christian Standard

Loving Sinners Outside Church-as-We”˜ve-Known-It

By Mark A. Taylor In this, our second week of “Eats with Sinners” features, we”re reminded again that we may not always be comfortable getting close to folks untouched by the gospel. When we venture outside the predictability of safe relationships inside the church, we”ll probably bump into people whose lives are messy, whose choices have been bad, and whose language or appearance or habits make us ill at ease. That”s what happened when Rick Bundschuh took seriously the mandate from a church that hired him as youth minister. “Reach unreached teenagers,” they said. But they didn”t count on “unreached”

June 9, 2010

Christian Standard

Never More Movement, Never More Questions

By Mark A. Taylor I don”t remember the author of the essay or the year it appeared in CHRISTIAN STANDARD. I know it was decades ago, probably in the late “60s or early “70s. And I remember the question the writer raised: “When will the Restoration Movement start moving again?” The essay was a plea for our churches and leaders and institutions to step out of their lethargy and isolation and to actually make something happen in our world for Christ”s sake. Maybe someone listened, because no one in Christian churches and churches of Christ today is pleading for something to move.

June 2, 2010

Christian Standard

The Best Kind of Sermon

By Mark A. Taylor What sermons do you remember? I remember a sermon preached by Wayne Smith at a Talent Rally at Lincoln Christian College when I was just a teenager. God used that sermon to prod me toward vocational Christian service. I remember a sermon by Paul Jones preached at Cincinnati Bible College chapel that moved me and most who heard him to express appreciation to our parents. Another time in that same chapel building John Wilson preached about his daily prayer routine. And I”m still challenged to pray like he described. I”ve listened to sermons that have helped

May 26, 2010

Christian Standard

Campus Ministries”“A Strategy for Spiritual Growth

By Mark A. Taylor As we have for several years now, this week we”re publishing a directory of all the campus ministries supported by Christian churches and churches of Christ across the United States and around the world. Although these congregations pour millions of dollars into Christian colleges and universities, we do well also to remember the ministry on secular campuses indicated by the listings in this directory. Our support of campus ministries will include financial gifts, of course, but that”s only a beginning. Many of them eagerly look for involvement by local churches. Contact the campus minister close to you and

May 19, 2010

Christian Standard

The Case for Staying Connected

By Mark A. Taylor After hearing Scot McKnight speak at the Stone-Campbell Journal Conference in Cincinnati this spring, I was pleased to see what he wrote about the Restoration Movement at his popular blog (http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/)*. McKnight is a sought-after speaker and writer who teaches atNorth Park University in Chicago. His winsome and incisive commentary in Cincinnati on spirituality in our postmodern age showed why so many follow what he has to say. What he said in his blog post is especially encouraging: I contend that the Restoration Movement, or the Stone-Campbell movement, made up of the Christian Church and the Churches of Christ, is American

May 12, 2010

Christian Standard

A New Reason to Register

By Mark A. Taylor Why register for the North American Christian Convention? Well, for all the same reasons you ought to attend the North American Christian Convention, July 6-9 in Indianapolis. This year”s program promises encouragement, information, new experiences, and the chance to be challenged by nationally known church leaders. And the registration fees are a fraction of the costs you”d pay to attend other similar conferences. Of course, you could say there”s nothing else quite like the NACC. Nowhere else will you find as many friends and influencers from other Christian churches and churches of Christ all together in one place.

May 5, 2010

Christian Standard

Why Do Sons of Elders Become Elders Too?

By Mark A. Taylor How does a young person growing up in the home of a Christian leader decide also to become a leader? This week we suggest answers to that question as we let church leaders and the children of church leaders tell about their experiences with each other. Earlier this year, in our weekly e-newsletter* we asked elders whose sons or fathers are elders to add their insight to the mix. Their responses point up both the simplicity and the mystery of a process that may take a lifetime to complete. “I think my being asked to serve

April 28, 2010

Christian Standard

Pondering the Demands on My Abundance

By Mark A. Taylor This March I accompanied a small group of ministers as they saw firsthand the work of Christian Missionary Fellowship in Kenya. When we walked through slums in the capital city, Nairobi, all of us experienced squalor and poverty that none of us will ever forget. But as I write this, after one week home from the visit, I”m still deciding what to do with what I discovered there. Accompanied by CMF-employed social workers, Doug Priest and I visited one of the slum homes. Jane, a single mother, lives there with her mother and her two children.

April 21, 2010

Christian Standard

Tools to Help You Use the Arts

Seldom will we win a person to Christ without telling him truths of the gospel. But talking alone often is not the best first approach. This week”s writers remind us of a whole world of creativity that can engage doubters as well as disciples with the goodness of God. And I”m proud to add that Standard Publishing is getting ready to release a library of tools to help local churches use the arts in evangelism and Bible teaching. Watch for each of the following, available this June. “¢Â Stage It Right is a handbook for anyone doing drama or setting the stage

April 7, 2010

Christian Standard

It”s About More Than Just Size

By Mark A. Taylor Early in the first of his megachurch articles, Kent Fillinger gives perspective for churches of every size. The churches in this year”s list grew by an average of 4.7 percent, he reports, and points out that a church of 150 would need to add only seven to grow by the same percentage. Later, in his encouraging article about the explosion of baptisms in these churches, he calculates their 2009 baptism ratio (i.e., the number of baptisms per 100 attendees) at 7.6. To meet this standard a church of 150 would need to baptize 11 or 12 people annually.

March 31, 2010

Christian Standard

This, too, Shall Pass

By Mark A. Taylor After one of the roughest winters in memory for many Christian Standard readers, Easter and the promise of spring couldn”t have come too soon. Even as we finish preparing this issue the first week of March, the lawns of our city are still half-covered with snow. Huge hills of the stuff””dirtied by car exhaust and gravel””still tower on the edges of many parking lots. It”s difficult for us to imagine little girls in pastel dresses posing in front of daffodils and Easter lilies as we hurry about our business still trying to shrug off the cold. But we

March 24, 2010

Christian Standard

Restoration Revolution: Goals to Challenge All of Us

By Mark A. Taylor “What”s not to like when you see the values expressed in Restoration Revolution?” Ben Cachiaras asked the rhetorical question in a February presentation to Cincinnati ministers. Most rhetorical questions go unanswered, but this one deserves a response. My reaction is twofold. First: All of us can agree with the lofty visions cast by those promoting Restoration Revolution, a 10-year project that kicks off at this year”s National Missionary Convention in Lexington, Kentucky, November 18-21. The goals are contained in an easily remembered acrostic: Almighty is an invitation to prayer. Restoration Revolution challenges Christian churches around the world to

March 17, 2010

Christian Standard

Life is Hard, and That”s OK

By Mark A. Taylor I”ve thought a lot about the churches I know, the parachurch ministries I”ve seen, and the work situations I”ve experienced. My conclusion: There”s a problem with all of them. To one degree or another, they”re all broken. In fact, some are shattered messes. Every senior minister or elder or boss or chief executive has a blind spot. And some at the top are plagued by self-interest, paranoia, or a true incompetence they”re frantic to hide. Every organization chart, while conceived to solve problems, thereby creates new difficulties for those who must function within it, bound by

March 10, 2010

Christian Standard

We Want to Help You Extend Your Ministry

By Mark A. Taylor Here”s one thing we”ve learned about recessions and local churches. Local churches may be slow to feel the impact of an economic downturn, but they”re also slow to acknowledge a recovery from one. This means even if the economy is picking up (and the experts don”t agree on that point), budgets at your church are likely still tight. Here”s one thing we know about ministry during recessions: It never slows down. In fact, needs usually multiply when finances fail. We want to help. We”ve come up with a plan that allows you to extend your ministry

March 3, 2010

Christian Standard

Some Who Read This Are Homosexuals

By Mark A. Taylor Several years ago a friend asked me to read an opinion piece about homosexuality he had written for a Christian audience. Frankly, I don”t recall what he wrote, but I do remember his reaction after one comment I made to him. “We need to keep in mind that some who see this will be homosexuals,” I said. The look on his face told me he”d never thought of that. He”d probably react differently today. So would I, because as one writer this week indicates, homosexual may not even be the best word to use when we

February 24, 2010

Christian Standard

Share the Joy of Simple Christianity

By Mark A. Taylor It”s one of the greatest joys I have in life. Nothing compares to the experience of baptizing people who have become so enamored by the person and work of Jesus Christ that they choose to receive him as their Savior and leader. Their enthusiasm is genuine. Their joy is infectious. Their faith is simple. And their lives and souls are transformed forever.     That paragraph, written by Gene Appel, begins one of six articles in a new 12-page downloadable resource from Standard Publishing. It”s called Simply Christians, and it offers a winsome and persuasive apologetic

February 17, 2010

Christian Standard

My Own Holy Land Testimony

By Mark A. Taylor When I returned from my trip to Israel, my wife said, “You are NOT going to begin speeches or sermons with, “˜When I was in Israel . . .” Right?” And I guess I never have. I don”t think I”ve ever written about that trip, either. But I couldn”t resist adding my testimony after reading Marshall Hayden”s and Tom Jones”s moving pieces this week. Their experiences help me remember my own special time there. I think the majestic Sea of Galilee was my favorite stop. Although it is usually still, wind churned it into waves the

February 10, 2010

Christian Standard

A New Look at What We Need

By Mark A. Taylor Read carefully, and you”ll see there”s something different about this summer”s North American Christian Convention. President Ben Cachiaras has done more than plan a meeting of substance with excellent content””although he has certainly done that. He has done more than inject some creative and fresh elements into a program that may seem the same from year to year””although this year”s new touches give everyone a reason to attend. No, Ben hasn”t sought to polish an existing template. Instead he”s asked, “Suppose we had no North American Christian Convention? What do we need that a weeklong conference

February 3, 2010

Christian Standard

What Will Make My Next Decade Different?

By Mark A. Taylor Her question has stayed with me for weeks. At a family gathering between Christmas and New Year”s, she challenged the group at the table, “Think back to the beginning of the decade that”s about to end. What would the person you were then think of the person you are today?” A day or two later I read a Facebook update from a friend anticipating a family meeting with her husband and two school-age daughters. The agenda: to discuss individual and family goals and dreams for the coming year. As simple as this is, it strikes me

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