Series: Blogs

January 27, 2010

Christian Standard

Ever Heard a Minister Talk About Himself?

By Mark A. Taylor Usually he”s talking to us about us. He”s asking us about our health or commenting on our children”s good looks. He”s thanking us for our solo or help with the food drive or leadership of VBS. Or he”s telling us why we”d be perfect for the job he has in mind. Sometimes he”s listening to our latest complaint about volume, color, people, or policies. But seldom does the minister talk to us about himself. His job is to serve us, after all, and we”re usually glad to just let him. Either we don”t know him well

January 20, 2010

Christian Standard

Don”t Let Us Forget

By Mark A. Taylor When I was a young parent, I cared a great deal about the children”s ministry at my church. Every week I asked my kids what they”d learned in their classes. I fretted over the issue of child care vs. Bible teaching for young children. I questioned whether lessons were appropriate for their ages. When I was a Christian education staff member at my church, I gave a great deal of attention to children”s ministry. I struggled to find enough workers, and the right workers. I labored over choices of curriculum. I tried to figure out how

January 13, 2010

Christian Standard

Time-Consuming . . . and Effective!

By Mark A. Taylor One of the most time-consuming methods for developing volunteers is also one of the most effective””and most overlooked. Some call it discipleship. Lately the popular word has been mentoring. Both terms describe a similar approach: ongoing, individualized attention to a person for the purpose of helping him or her grow spiritually and discover his call to Christian service. A number of methods, strategies, and approaches are out there. But I”ll never forget the advice Dr. Steven Hancock gave me and the rest of his Christian education students in seminary many years ago. “Whenever you do anything

January 6, 2010

Christian Standard

All Work and No Play?

By Mark A. Taylor “The brain in its relaxed state is more creative, makes more nuanced connections and is ripe for eureka moments.” In other words, according to author Carl Honoré, boredom can be good, especially for children. That”s one of many golden points in Time magazine”s November 30 cover feature, “The Case Against Over-Parenting,” by Nancy Gibbs. Honoré, who wrote Under Pressure: Rescuing Our Children from the Culture of Hyper-Parenting, says boredom gives children “space to think deeply, invent their own game, create their own distraction.” That usually takes the form of play, the kind of play not stimulated

December 30, 2009

Christian Standard

Leading the Discussion

By Mark A. Taylor As the new year begins, here at CHRISTIAN STANDARD we”re gearing up to serve you with 48 issues full of thoughtful insight, encouraging news, and prodding analysis. We”re committed to leading the discussion among Christian church readers about what”s happening in our movement and what it means to all of us. For starters, we”re once again planning 12 special, thicker issues to deal with timely themes: January 10: Vacation Bible School and Children”s Ministry February 14: NACC Preview March 14: Christian Colleges April 11/18: Megachurches May 9: Family June 6: Preaching July 18/25: “Beyond”””NACC Theme Issue

December 16, 2009

Christian Standard

We Can Be the Gift

By Mark A. Taylor Some readers will say we”ve saved our best “Get Your Hands Dirty” article for last. The feature appearing this week, “Season of Love,” makes more than 30 “Get Your Hands Dirty” articles we”ve published in 2009. The good deeds these pieces have reported are a thrilling overview of outreach and service performed by members of our fellowship: everything from overseas sacrifice to inner-city outreach. Browse through the items listed under this heading in our index, and you”ll be reminded how churches everywhere are serving the oppressed and helpless. But the Christmas stories in this final feature

December 9, 2009

Christian Standard

Surrender Comes Slowly

By Mark A. Taylor Surrender Comes SlowlyI”m keyboarding this column with an Ace bandage wrapped tightly around my right hand. It covers a small incision in my palm, an area responding to the pressure of my fingers on the keyboard with a small ache to accompany each keystroke. Tomorrow the bandage and dressing come off, to be replaced by a smaller, store-bought, self-applied variety. It will be the third day since the carpal tunnel surgery that most likely was required because of many earlier computer keyboarding sessions. This is only the latest in a series of coincidental maladies that convinced

December 2, 2009

Christian Standard

An Issue to Discuss, a Resource to Consider

By Mark A. Taylor We like to think every issue of Christian Standard is a winner, of course, but we believe this week”s content is especially useful. Church staffs, elders, evangelism committees, or anyone interested in reaching the lost will find help here. Read Kent Hunter”s strategies for evangelism and decide which of them is most urgent for your church to adopt. Look at the experience of Marcus Bigelow and Paul Williams and agree on the implications for your congregation and for your personal approach to non-Christians. Consider David Bycroft”s experience and approaches and how you could use them where

November 25, 2009

Christian Standard

Daily Choices and the Ultimate Test

By Mark A. Taylor US Airways Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger doesn”t view himself as a hero. The celebrated pilot of the January 15 Flight 1549 successfully landed his Airbus A320 in the Hudson River shortly after its engines were stalled by a bird strike. The feat soon became known as “The Miracle on the Hudson.” But, as Jeffrey Zaslow writes in the October 14 Wall Street Journal, “that description never felt right to Sully.” Of the many letters of gratitude and congratulations Sully received after the incident, it is significant which are his favorites. Zaslow, who is cowriting Sullenberger”s book,

November 18, 2009

Christian Standard

Meeting the Needs by Providing the Wants

By Mark A. Taylor What people need and what they want are not necessarily the same. For example, children need their vegetables, but they don”t always want to eat them. Creative moms find ways to combine good food in dishes that taste good too. Church leaders do this too. People want practical help for everyday problems. They need instruction from God”s Word and the advice of experienced Christians. One way to provide both is by giving them CHRISTIAN STANDARD and our sister publication, The Lookout. For example, we saw the Sunday-morning bulletin from a small Christian church in Tennessee. The

November 11, 2009

Christian Standard

The Most Important Leadership Task

By Mark A. Taylor Say leader to someone who is not a leader, and he”s likely to picture a public person: the convincing speaker, the meeting chairman, the decision-maker with the last word or the authority to sign-off. Those who actually lead, however, know much of their work happens in private, behind the scenes, one-on-one, or even alone. But leaders as well as followers sometimes miss one dimension of leadership, and that”s the responsibility highlighted in this week”s issue: Leaders must develop new leaders. The leaders writing this week know this. They speak in the context of a new church,

November 4, 2009

Christian Standard

Like a Good Neighbor?

By Mark A. Taylor Neighbor is one of those words supposed to evoke warm nostalgia. The quietest children”s TV star, Fred Rogers, gently invited viewers, “Won”t you be my neighbor?” And a national insurance company seeks to seem close and personal with “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there!” But my first thoughts aren”t always positive when I hear the word neighbor. I remember the frat house atmosphere across the street from where we lived 30 years ago””the loud music, the girls coming and going with their clothes in plastic garbage sacks, my mailbox knocked over by someone too

October 28, 2009

Christian Standard

Tell Us Your Read!

By Mark A. Taylor He”s a writer who was talking to booksellers about reading. Everyone in the room listened keenly to his points, partly because it was their business, and partly because most of what he had to say is bad news. “Only 5 percent of the American public ever sets foot in a bookstore,” he said. “The average man in America won”t read another book after the day he leaves high school. We”ve become addicted to screens, whose message is, “˜Let me entertain you.”” He quoted statistics that say half of the world today is illiterate, and then, “But

October 21, 2009

Christian Standard

A Life that Matters

By Mark A. Taylor After Lewis Foster died several years ago, David Faust spoke of his last visit with him in the hospital. “I read John 14 to him from the New International Version and then said, “˜It”s a little humbling to share this with you, because, after all, you translated these words.”” Then Dave told Dr. Foster all his scholarship had meant to him and how much he had learned as his student. The professor looked up at Dave from his hospital bed and said, “You make it all seem worthwhile.” Think of it. The great New Testament scholar,

October 14, 2009

Christian Standard

No Laughing Matter

By Mark A. Taylor Have you caught The Jay Leno Show, NBC”s new weeknight offering? It premiered September 14, a few days after this issue went to the printer, so this is no review of its content. But I couldn”t help thinking about the work the church does as I read about the work Leno did this summer to get ready for his new show. An August 21 Wall Street Journal piece pointed out that Leno”s move to 10 pm from 11:30 was a big risk for him as well as the network. Leno is trying something largely abandoned years

September 30, 2009

Christian Standard

Tell Us About Your Celebration!

By Mark A. Taylor As we finished this issue in the final days of August, we continued to hear news about Great Communion celebrations planned for October 4 in community after community. “We started planning for the Great Communion in 2005,” Glenn Carson, president of the Disciples of Christ Historical Society, wrote. “And what we expected from the beginning is now occurring.” Many have posted details about their celebrations at www.greatcommunion.org. Yet we”ve also received notes from some who have searched in vain for a Great Communion service in their area. “I am profoundly disappointed that nothing is happening close

September 23, 2009

Christian Standard

What We Do, Why It Matters

By Mark A. Taylor Actually what we do at the North American Christian Convention is not dramatic. We talk. We eat. We laugh. We sing. We pray. We listen to sermons, some of them excellent. Some of us go to meetings. Often we encounter people with names we recognize, but we”ve never actually met them before. How could we, when we live across the country from each other and they”re busy with their ministries while we”re occupied with our own? This is how it has been through the decades. The beauty of the NACC is its simplicity, its predictability, its

September 16, 2009

Christian Standard

Put on Your Shoes

By Mark A. Taylor Claudia Cain ran into the house to moan about the latest crisis in her young teen life. Her dad, Doyle Cain, minister at the local Christian church, took her into his arms to let her cry and give her comfort. And then he said something that at first seemed strange. “Oh, Claudia, just put on your shoes.” He soon reminded her of the story in Acts 12 that tells how the angel miraculously released Peter from prison. “That angel was powerful enough to break through that cell and tear off those chains, but he still told

September 9, 2009

Christian Standard

Read the Report, Get the Deluxe Edition

By Mark A. Taylor Late last year when Kent Fillinger, Ben Simms, and I were planning our annual megachurch issue, Kent and Ben had a new idea. “Why don”t we do the same research with a group of smaller churches?” I thought that idea sounded interesting, and the result is the issue you”re holding in your hands. As is always true with projects of this kind, getting churches to send us their data is the most difficult part. For this issue, we invited churches in repeated printed and e-mailed announcements. Kent and Ben made several personal contacts. We fell short

September 2, 2009

Christian Standard

Reflecting Our Desire to Serve a Diverse Fellowship

By Mark A. Taylor How does one institution or instrument serve a fellowship like ours? Consider our diversity: “¢ Geographic: We exist all over the world, stronger in some countries than in the United States. “¢ Cultural: We thrive in small towns and at rural crossroads. But we”re growing in urban centers, too, and some of our most prominent congregations are in the suburbs. “¢ Size: Most congregations average less than 300 on Sundays. But we have the highest number of megachurches per capita of any denomination in America. “¢ Political: Even though some would never see it, we”re not

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