July 1, 2023
‘A Miracle of God’s Grace’—A CS Interview with Dr. John Castelein
Paul E. Boatman Talks to Dr. John Castelein About His Crisis of Faith
Series: Christian Standard Interview
June 27, 2018
Christian Standard Interview: Back at the NACC
Why Nathan Loewen and other gospel-believing Disciples of Christ pastors are attending the North American Christian Convention in Indianapolis this year. By Michael C. Mack Much has changed and much has remained the same in the Restoration Movement over the past 90-plus years. The separation was set in motion, many say, over a two-year period beginning with the 1926 Disciples of Christ convention in Memphis, Tennessee, and then the response by the more biblically conservative church leaders who organized the first North American Christian Convention in 1927. Over the next 45 years or so, the two groups drifted apart
A Christian Perspective on Immigration
A conversation with immigration attorney Land Wayland By Justin Horey President Trump”s election in November left many Americans wondering: Will he really “build that wall,” as his supporters chanted at campaign rallies? Will our new president follow through on his campaign promise to deport millions of undocumented (illegal) immigrants? Will he institute a ban on Muslims entering the United States? The 2016 presidential campaign brought the issue of immigration back into the news and back into the minds of many American voters. It also left millions of people in fear of imprisonment, deportation, or worse because of their immigration status.
December 15, 2016
Training the Next Generation of Women in Ministry: An Interview with Anne Menear
By T.R. Robertson The back of Anne Menear”s office door is covered with dozens of photographs of smiling young people, mostly women. “Those are all my kids,” she says, with a proud smile. “The ones over there,” she adds, pointing to more photographs arranged on a world map, “are all in missions. They”re all the girls that I”ve had contact with that are working in places like Germany, Japan, and Mexico. “It was great to have seen them graduate and now they”re grown-up adults, and to see them as such””it”s cool.” As director of the Christian Education department and dean
December 8, 2016
An Incomprehensible Grace: Interview with Naomi Zacharias
By Jeff Vines Her work with abused and suffering women worldwide has spread hope and helped her experience healing herself. Naomi Zacharias blew into the foyer of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) 10 minutes late. She had been caught in a typical Atlanta, Georgia, traffic snarl. With a large drink and a half-eaten sandwich in her hands, she was on the move. She greeted me and then escorted me to her office, making sure the door was left open to remove any question of impropriety. I was immediately impressed. I wondered if Naomi, the daughter of perhaps one of the
October 21, 2016
It Takes a Library: An Interview with C. Christopher Smith
By Jennifer Johnson In Reading for the Common Good: How Books Help Our Churches and Neighborhoods Flourish, C. Christopher Smith makes a compelling case for the importance of reading as he discusses our reading with others and using what we”ve learned to discern our call and our identity as faith communities. CHRISTIAN STANDARD recently interviewed Smith about some of the big ideas in his new book. _____ One of the themes running throughout your book is that the church needs to become a learning organization. Can you give us a brief definition of what that means and explain why reading
September 11, 2016
Releasing Others to Serve: An Interview with Alex Absalom
By Kent Fillinger Alex Absalom leads Dandelion (www.dandelionresourcing.com), which empowers leaders, churches, and networks to build missional and naturally supernatural disciple-making cultures. He is a pastor at Grace Church in Long Beach, California, and previously spent five years on the leadership team at RiverTree Christian Church in Massillon, Ohio, where he led the church in transitioning from a purely attractional to an attractive missional model, which included the starting of about 70 midsize missional communities. We spoke with him about how churches today are unleashing their members to use their spiritual gifts””and how they can do this better. What is
June 10, 2016
Racism Is a Spiritual Issue: An Interview with Jerry Taylor
By Gincy Hartin My first encounters with Dr. Jerry Taylor took place back in the 1970s and “80s, when I was a child growing up in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area. My family”s spiritual roots are in the historically black a cappella churches of Christ, and throughout my childhood, we frequently attended gospel meetings, singing fellowships, and other activities at numerous church of Christ congregations throughout that area. It was at these gatherings we would often hear the deep, rich baritone voice of Jerry Taylor””sometimes leading songs, sometimes preaching the gospel, and on numerous occasions, doing both. In every case,
February 22, 2016
An Interview with Mike Prior
By Jennifer Johnson The president of Financial Planning Ministry since 1994 explains what FPM does and why it”s important. So let”s start with an overview of what Financial Planning Ministry is all about. Ultimately FPM is about helping people be better stewards. We accomplish this by educating people about their estate planning options and providing an estate planning solution called a living trust that allows them to easily avoid huge costs in probate and pass that “saved” money along to family members and ministries they care about. What”s a living trust? How is it different from a will? A will
December 6, 2015
An Interview with Randy Gill
By Jennifer Johnson Randy Gill is the worship and creative arts minister at Otter Creek Church, a noninstrumental church of Christ in Nashville, Tennessee. He is also a songwriter and arranger for the ZOE Group. He talked with us about worship as spiritual formation, why exuberant worship experiences aren”t enough, and how the use of instruments makes worship planning more difficult. Let”s start by talking about some big-picture values for corporate worship before diving into the specifics of different artistic forms. You”ve said that worship is not about emotional catharsis or having an “experience”; it”s actually about spiritual formation. There
October 19, 2015
What Does Restoration Look Like?
An interview with John Walker By Alan Ahlgrim What would you like a struggling leader to know? First of all, they need to know they”re not alone. Everyone has struggled, is struggling, or will struggle with a life-limiting or ministry-threatening issue. Everyone. Sadly, too many not only struggle, but fail to the point of falling out. Is there a pattern to the failure situations you”ve seen in ministry? Not really, except to say that to some degree, sooner or later everyone messes up or gets stuck. We”re not about blame, shame, or punishment. We”re concerned about restoration and healing. That”s
August 2, 2015
Following Jesus on Campus
By Greg Swinney Richard Nixon was president, a first-class postage stamp cost 6 cents, Neil Armstrong said, “That”s one small step for man,” and Gary Hawes began as campus minister at Michigan State University in East Lansing. It was 1969. We spoke with Gary earlier this year, after his 45 years of fruitful labors and nearly 4,000 university students baptized into Christ. How did you decide to enter campus ministry? Who influenced you? It was late in the 1960s and it was a wonderful time to get started in campus ministry. The Jesus movement was really moving. They held an entirely different
Can a Polygamous Man Be an Elder in the Church?
By Doug Priest Dan Crum and Joe Cluff, along with their families, have served for many years as missionaries among the Maasai people of Kenya. They were interviewed by CHRISTIAN STANDARD contributing editor Doug Priest. When did each of you arrive in Kenya and what has been your ministry through the years. DAN CRUM: We arrived in Kenya in 1988, and lived in rural Maasailand for 10 years in the ministry of evangelism, church planting, and leadership training. The next three years were focused on producing written materials in the Maasai language, followed by seven years as team leader.
A Conversation with Jennifer Johnson
Meet Our Contributing Editors: In this final interview of CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s contributing editors, we talk with the writer who interviewed all the others. This worker and watcher of the church talks about small churches, megachurches, and the failings and future possibilities of our movement. Tell us who you are””not a recitation of your résumé, but what makes you tick. My parents like to tell the story of coming to pick me up from the toddler”s room at church one Sunday morning and discovering me hiding under a crib, calmly looking out at everybody. That kind of sums it up””I”m an
July 4, 2014
Interview with Tim Harlow
By Paul Boatman Tim Harlow, the senior pastor of Parkview Christian Church, Orland Park, Illinois, is president of the 2014 North American Christian Convention. Tell us about your work with the North American Christian Convention. My mother carried me in her womb to my first NACC. In the 52 years since then, I have attended 46 of the conventions. It really has always been a part of my life. In 1990, when I began a difficult ministry with this church, the convention was a lifeline for me. I got the empowering messages, the pats on the back, the “juice”
June 18, 2014
Interview with Gary Johnson
By Paul Boatman Gary Johnson serves as lead pastor/elder with The Creek, formerly Indian Creek Christian Church, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Â How has your approach to God been altered over the years? Growing up, I went to church week after week without ever realizing that one could have a personal walk with God through his Son, Jesus Christ. I was following a religion, not pursuing a relationship. Leah”s family introduced me to a relationship with Jesus. And has your approach to Christian leadership changed too? About 15 years ago I went through a period of deep introspection. We
June 15, 2014
An Interview with Ravi Zacharias
By David Faust Why have you devoted so much of your life and ministry to Christian apologetics? I come from India, where the Christian faith is clearly a minority.1 When you believe something out of deep conviction that has cost you quite a bit and is not in the mainstream, then you have to answer the questions that arise. There is no escaping it, internally or externally. You are constantly surrounded by deep-seated questions of truth. I myself had many questions as a young person, and came to Christ on a bed of suicide at the age of 17. Thus,
A Conversation with Ben Cachiaras
Interview by Jennifer Johnson Meet Our Contributing Editors: The senior pastor of Mountain Christian Church in Joppa, Maryland, shares his passion about Christian witness in a post-Christian culture, especially how we relate to gays and lesbians. From an ongoing series of interviews with CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s contributing editors. At our recent meeting of CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s contributing editors, you described the 21st-century American church as an exilic community. What did you mean by that? There was a time when Israel was large and in charge, enjoying prominence in the promised land. But the tide turned significantly. Eventually they were chased out of town and
April 24, 2014
Ministry When the Tornado Rumbles
By Paul Boatman Shortly after 11 a.m. on Sunday, November 17, 2013, an EF-4 tornado, with winds nearing 200 mph, cut a devastating quarter-mile wide swath through Washington, Illinois. Jeff Browning, lead pastor, and Jon Pittman, worship/youth minister, were leading services at Washington Christian Church as the storm roared through the city, narrowly missing the church building. This interview took place two weeks later. Tell about your experience. Jeff Browning: When we heard tornado sirens after Sunday school, we got people into tornado shelter areas, but when an ominous dark cloud blew past and the sky appeared to be
March 28, 2014
A Conversation with Glen Elliott
Meet Our Contributing Editors: Glen Elliott, minister with Pantano Christian Church in Tucson, Arizona, talks about the fruit of faithfulness in a city with stagnant growth and a culture oriented toward “success.” Interview by Jennifer Johnson Your life motto is “Faithfulness, not success.” What do you mean? Arizona is one of the fastest-growing states, but after the recession, our county experienced almost zero growth. That affected our church. There weren”t any huge problems with me or my staff, but for a couple years our church didn”t grow. Pretty soon, a few elders started asking questions, and critics became more critical.
