Series: Columns

March 1, 2022

Laura McKillip Wood

Laura-McKillip-Wood

Julio and Arminda Arria: From Mission Field to Missionaries

Noni stretched her back as she straightened from her work. She’d been putting in long hours at the café she owned trying to pay off debt incurred when the café was closed during the worst of the pandemic, but she still owed money and worried she would not be able to pay it. She thought of her son, who had been pressuring her to let him move to live with his father. Her eyes teared up as fear filled her heart. The future seemed uncertain, and she wondered what would happen to her and her family. Just then, the door

March 1, 2022

Rudy Hagood

Authentic Marriage: The Relationship Between Intimacy and Conflict

Our definition of marital authenticity is “the pursuit of marriage as it existed before the fall while also acknowledging that we, as individuals, are flawed and fallen.” We live in a culture that models and promotes inauthentic relationships. The inability to be authentic causes many marriage issues and creates anemic intimacy in our unions. As a result, issues fester and eventually explode. We believe deep relationship comes from learning to navigate conflict and tension. Compliments matter as much as conflict, but in this article we will focus on the correlation between intimacy and conflict. When a couple leaves intimacy and

March 1, 2022

Megan Rawlings

Megan Rawlings

The Quest for Authentic Identity

By Megan Rawlings “Tell me about yourself.” There was a long, long pause. “Well,” she finally said, “I’m a 2.” “A 2?” I asked. “Yeah, on the Enneagram. It’s this test that tells you who you are and so much about yourself . . .” This conversation and others like it spurred me on to contemplate the emotional and mental state of young adults in our country. Although I cannot speak for the masses, in my experience, millennials (those born 1981–1998) and Generation Z (born 1999–2015) are longing to find their identity and purpose. There appears to be a chasm

March 1, 2022

Chris Philbeck

Chris Philbeck

The Most Important Thing

By Chris Philbeck My wife and I recently attended a pastors and wives retreat just outside of Phoenix. It was a great experience for both of us. While we’ve been married for almost 40 years, it’s always good to get away from the busyness of life to reconnect. The retreat also included some times when the pastors and wives split to focus on separate topics. One session for the pastors began with the question: What do you think is the most important thing in good preaching? Hearing the various answers—such as connection, engagement, relevance, vulnerability, etc.—was interesting. At one point

January 1, 2022

Laura McKillip Wood

Laura-McKillip-Wood

A Bright Future for Resident in Intercultural Ministry

As Katie Hughes made her way to her car at the end of another long school day, she reflected on her day in the classroom. After years of studying to become a teacher like her mom and other family members, she felt disappointed and exhausted in her student-teaching experience. The more time she spent in the classroom, the more she questioned her decision to become an educator. Was this really what God had planned for her? A New Plan Katie talked with her parents and began to take an inventory of the gifts and interests God had given her. She

January 1, 2022

Wes Beavis

‘Lead Like You Are the Colorado River’

If not for the obstacles standing in the way of the Colorado River, there would be no Grand Canyon. Without these natural barriers, the river would not have created dramatic ravines, horseshoe bends, and whitewater rapids. Instead of a Grand Canyon, we would have a “Grand Trench.” How awe-inspiring would that be? Not very. If I could give any counsel to Christians and ministry leaders in today’s world, it would be this: Lead like you are the Colorado River. Anticipate impediments to your progress. Don’t expect the way to be free and clear of obstacles. No matter what the barrier,

January 1, 2022

Kent E. Fillinger

Kent E. Fillinger

The Preacher Pipeline Problem

A ministry friend recently worked with the Slingshot Group, a church staffing firm, to find a new ministry, and they told him he was one of 19,000 candidates they were helping. I imagine this represents people from a multitude of denominations and backgrounds, as well as those seeking a variety of church ministry roles. Either way, it’s clear there’s a sizable number of people currently in ministry who are looking for something different or somewhere new to serve. But what does the future “preacher pipeline” look like based on who’s leading our Christian churches today? A Long-Term Look at Lead

January 1, 2022

Rudy & Osharye Hagood

A Caseload of One: Keep Seeking to Know Her

When I was being trained as a minister, one of the primary points of emphasis was expositional preaching. I remember the concept “context is king” being drilled into my head like it was yesterday. It went a little like this: “Rudy, we must know what it meant to them to know how it applies to us today. Rudy, what’s the historical distance? Exegete the text, Rudy! Think exegetically, Rudy! Preach expositional sermons, Rudy!” OK, OK, OK, I got it. When it comes to our marriages, however, we are not taught to seek to understand our spouses to the same degree.

January 1, 2022

Gary L. Johnson

The Leadership Pipeline Crisis

Alyeska . . . Keystone XL . . . Colonial. Each is a commercial pipeline, and each has a unique crisis in its story. Alyeska is the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, which now transports less oil than in years past. Keystone XL is the pipeline that was once under construction from Alberta, Canada, south to Nebraska; it has now been officially shut down. The Colonial Pipeline made news recently when it was the victim of a ransomware attack that completely shut down its oil flow. Similarly, we face a crisis in the local church, and it has everything to do with

January 1, 2022

Tyler McKenzie

Tyler McKenzie

Wrestling with Deconstruction and Doubt

I recently read a book on the deconstruction of one’s faith called After Doubt by A.J. Swoboda. I’d highly recommend it. In it, he suggests everyone goes through three phases in their faith journey: Construction  Deconstruction  Reconstruction. The Construction Phase The construction phase is when we first come to faith (usually as kids) and receive what Swoboda calls precritical beliefs. We don’t ask questions, we don’t wonder why, we simply accept what adults teach us. When I was a kid, I was told that Jesus rose, and I believed even though I knew dead people stay dead. I

January 1, 2022

Chris Philbeck

Chris Philbeck

What They Didn’t Teach Me in Bible College

I am thankful for my time in Bible college. I enrolled at Ozark Christian College in the fall of 1976 and while there I developed lifelong friendships, a greater understanding of the Scriptures, and a deep love for preaching. Don DeWelt was my homiletics professor, and every class was memorable. That course provided me with a better understanding of how to preach, and it awakened my love for preaching. But it wasn’t just my homiletics class, it was also the opportunity to hear great preachers in chapel services and at special events. I learned about preaching with passion by listening

January 1, 2022

Megan Rawlings

Megan Rawlings

Delighting Dad

They were turning off the lights and beginning to lock the doors after worship at church this past Sunday. The crowd stuck around longer than usual because, well, I’m not really sure why, but I know it’s a sign of healthy and growing churches, so I was not upset. Anyway, my niece, Carter, knocked on the office door where I help count the offering so she could say goodbye before she made a trip with her parents to the next town over. “Bye, Mimi. I just really miss you,” she said. “Well, Bug, why don’t I come along so we

November 1, 2021

Jim Estep

Doing Ministry During the Holidays

By Jim Estep Christmas is undeniably the most celebrated season of the year. It used to begin with Thanksgiving (the time my wife allows me to set up the tree and decorate the house), but it seems like we begin seeing Christmas items on television and on store shelves earlier and earlier. QVC began having Christmas specials in July! Society may be better prepared for Christmas than the church, although for different reasons. The holiday season, particularly from Thanksgiving to Christmas, offers the church an unprecedented opportunity to minister. However, like most opportunities, we can fail to make the most

November 1, 2021

Kent E. Fillinger

Kent E. Fillinger

How Churches Are Serving Their Communities

By Kent E. Fillinger Some churches create “holy huddles” that are internally focused and address only the needs of their own members. Their mantra could be, “Us four, no more, close the door!” Other churches are more externally focused and spend time, energy, and resources serving their local communities and meeting practical needs. Church leaders should periodically ask, “If our church were to close today, would our community realize it and miss us?” Answering that question will help a church assess where they fall on the internally focused versus externally focused spectrum. Local Community Involvement Our annual church survey for

November 1, 2021

Jerry Harris

The Greatest Love Song of All Time

By Jerry Harris What is the greatest love song of all time? Ask 10 people and you’ll probably get 10 different answers. It’s said music is the language of emotion, and if true, then singing is its spoken word. Our emotions come directly from being made in God’s image because our God is an emotional God—a God who feels. Our God not only feels emotions, but he also invented them . . . and some of the best emotions are called the fruit of the Spirit. That list in Galatians 5 begins with the greatest and highest of all emotions:

November 1, 2021

Michael C. Mack

Restoring the Power of Pentecost

By Michael C. Mack Every day you and I face many challenges, and biggest of them all may be how we choose to perceive them. As the apostle Paul put it, we can fix our eyes on what is seen or what is unseen, on what is temporary or what is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). Our perspective makes an incalculable difference in our lives and, by extension, the lives of those around us. How you view the articles in this issue will make a difference, too. A main theme for this issue is missions. One article describes how COVID-19 is

November 1, 2021

Chris Philbeck

Chris Philbeck

Relevance

By Chris Philbeck One of the great blessings of my life over the past 40 years has been the privilege of leading a church plant, a turnaround church, and a megachurch. And while these churches have been incredibly different, the one constant has been the opportunity and responsibility to preach. I was 23 when I started, and I’m 63 today. To be honest, I’m not sure I would have wanted to listen to my 23-year-old self every week in that first church. But I am forever grateful for a group of people who loved me and gave me the opportunity

November 1, 2021

Megan Rawlings

Megan Rawlings

Hard Truths for Modern Times

By Megan Rawlings Our world is in chaos. It seems as if major bad news breaks every day! As this chaos occurs, society seems increasingly to be motivated by materialism and comfort. When the church was young, the people of Galatia turned away from God, and this did not escape Paul’s attention. In fact, he penned one of his harshest letters to the Christians there. While reading that letter, I realized Paul’s reprimand is applicable to us in modern times. I’ll borrow from his Epistle to the Galatians to state some hard truths surrounding our current status. I am astonished

November 1, 2021

Laura McKillip Wood

Laura-McKillip-Wood

Serving God in the Second Half

By Laura McKillip Wood Amy and Terry Ruff visited a friend soon after arriving in Ghana. During that visit, the Ruffs struck up a conversation with another guest. As they got to know one another, the man told the Ruffs, “You need to meet my friend, Solomon*.” He gave Solomon’s phone number to Amy and Terry, and they called him to set up a meeting. Solomon told the couple where to drive and said he would wait for them by the side of the road. After driving several hours, the Ruffs repeatedly thought they had reached the rendezvous site, but

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