Series: Columns

February 25, 2019

Jerry Harris

Our Move to Not-for-Profit

By Jerry Harris It happened quietly in 2018. The owner of Christian Standard and The Lookout took on not-for-profit status for the first time ever. For about 150 years, the magazines were guided by Standard Publishing, which did business like most of the working world . . . as a for-profit. The company encouraged churches to buy and pass out their magazines for free and to purchase their books and other helps for teaching. That system endured for years, even as the business was bought and sold four times. Then, in early 2017, a church-centric organization purchased the magazines, and

February 23, 2019

Christian Standard

Greekaholics Anonymous

From After Class Podcast Sponsor: Welcome, everyone, to this week’s meeting of Greekaholics Anonymous. The purpose of this support group is to help those of us who are helplessly addicted to using biblical languages in our sermons—even though we really don’t know what we are saying and most listeners have no idea what we’re talking about. Let’s begin with our GA preamble. Everyone: Preachers who don’t know Greek shouldn’t use Greek in their sermons. Sponsor: Would someone like to be the first to share with the group? Pastor Strong: Hello, my name is Jim and I’m a Greekaholic. Everyone: Hello,

February 2, 2019

Christian Standard

It All Boils Down to Faith

By Emily Drayne Organizations and missionaries face an uphill battle with regard to donations. When we see a photo of a half-clothed child, a disaster-torn house, or a village that lacks clean water, our natural reaction is to want to help. Sadly, there are many needs, and not every single one can be captured in a photograph. Missionaries and their families need everyday support . . . so their children can get glasses . . . because the cost of living in their chosen part of the world is high . . . because they are starting a new ministry

February 2, 2019

Kent E. Fillinger

Kent E. Fillinger

Church Multiplication Scorecard

By Kent Fillinger  A new question on our last annual church survey asked, “Using the scale created by Exponential.org, which of the following best describes your church in 2017?”              Level 1: Declining (attendance going down) Level 2: Holding Even (attendance largely unchanged) Level 3: Growing (attendance growth by 5 percent or more) Level 4: Adding/Reproducing (we directly launched another new campus or church plant) Level 5: Multiplying (a campus or church we helped to start has itself become a reproducing church) In Exponential’s e-book Becoming a Level Five Multiplying Church Field Guide, Todd Wilson, Dave Ferguson, and Alan Hirsch provided

February 2, 2019

Christian Standard

Rewritable

By Brian Jennings “Man, I don’t have any rewritable CDs. I don’t think anyone still has rewritable CDs.” My words failed to calm him down. De-escalation seemed impossible. He got louder and angrier. He took a step forward and I was thinking, It’s about to go down—right here, right now. Twenty minutes earlier I’d asked my friend, José, if he wanted to walk from our office to my favorite lunch spot in the neighborhood. I was in the mood for Korean food—I’m always in the mood for Korean food. About a half-mile of worn-out parking lots and side streets separated

February 2, 2019

Gary L. Johnson

3-D Church Finances

By Gary Johnson  Most Americans welcomed in the new year by making a resolution. By far, the most popular resolution is to lose weight by exercising more and going on a diet, and most of us do not enjoy either of those. Likewise, money issues are a necessary part of church life that needs periodic attention. As elders, we enjoy dealing with church finances about as much as we enjoy diet and exercise. Like it or not, money is an everyday aspect of ministry. Bills (salaries, utilities, insurance premiums) must be paid. Missionaries need our support, and ministry programs must

February 2, 2019

Michael C. Mack

Financial Issues: Don’t Be Discouraged!

By Michael C. Mack The statistic is alarming. According to a Christian university study reported by the Center for Church Leadership, over a 10-year period 70 percent of ministers drop out of ministry. And some of the biggest reasons for that high attrition rate are financial. CCL’s September 2016 State of the Ministry research study of Christian church/church of Christ ministers reveals that 74 percent of responders who serve in vocational ministry have debt. It also found that 54 percent of churches do not provide retirement benefits and 47 percent don’t offer health/medical insurance. No wonder the survey determined 85

February 2, 2019

Christian Standard

Eyes on the Community: Bayside Church

By Mel McGowan  We serve a God of purpose and strategy, and we are called by him to be strategic with our resources and the stories we tell the world. The leadership of Bayside Church in Northern California found itself in a property predicament. The church owned three types of land: property that needed developing, property it was leasing, and property it didn’t make sense to sell. These properties all required strategic money management and planning to transform them into spaces that honored God and were inviting to the community. So pastor Ray Johnston created an ambitious master plan designed

January 29, 2019

Kent E. Fillinger

Kent E. Fillinger

Transformational Trends

By Kent Fillinger Since transformation is a main theme of this issue, I decided to explore three trends that are reshaping culture and will likely re-create the look and feel of our churches. My goal is not to stir up controversy but to change the questions we are asking in order to spark new conversations among church leaders.   The Single Situation “Half of Americans ages 18 and older were married in 2016, a share that has remained relatively stable in recent years but is down 9 percentage points over the past quarter-century,” according to the article “8 Facts about

January 29, 2019

Christian Standard

Becoming Postmodern Wells

Demonstrating the Wild, Open-Hearted Love of God in Las Vegas   By Mel McGowan  I have been studying a story from the Bible that speaks directly to my heart—the story of the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. She was getting water, doing chores, going about her day. Then Jesus came to her in the midst of her daily activities. It offers a powerful picture of how the people of God should function as the church—loving people right where they are. We must be the well, inviting people who are going about their daily lives, from all different backgrounds, to come

January 29, 2019

David Roadcup

The Ultimate Goal: Spiritual Transformation

By David Roadcup   This month I want to stir the church leadership pot with three pertinent questions: 1. What does God want from us with regard to shaping the lives of church members? In other words, what is to be the ultimate outcome of our ministry? Someone might say, “Why, evangelism, of course!” Evangelism is absolutely critical in God’s plan, but we need to go deeper. Someone else might say, “Discipleship and nurture.” Also true. Evangelism and discipleship are the two engines that drive us to fulfill God’s plan for his people. But God’s ultimate goal for his church

January 29, 2019

Christian Standard

Learning the Ministry of Receiving

By Daniel Schantz The best thing about teaching in a Christian college was that someone always needed me for something. “Professor, help! I need ideas! I’m teaching junior high boys in camp!” “Dan, you’re up for devotions in the faculty meeting tomorrow.” “Hey, Schantzy, you’re the car guy around here. . . . Is it normal for a transmission to smell like burnt pepperoni?” Now I have retired to a subdivision outside of town, where I have suddenly gone from being needed to being needy. The 10 families who live out here are rather independent. Only my wife needs me

January 29, 2019

Christian Standard

SimulServe Christian Church

By After Class Podcast Life is short. Who has time to work, sleep, exercise, entertain oneself, and go to church? Here at Simulserve Christian Church, we feel your pain. Come join us and experience transformative worship in the company of fellow believers each week without neglecting everyday tasks that simply must get done. Our state-of-the-art, multilevel worship silo is designed to serve busy people like you. Speedy elevators and moving walkways that surround the perimeter of our innovative 360-degree silo provide quick and ready access to a wide variety of personalized Simulsuites. Inside each one, you will enjoy front-row visibility of

January 29, 2019

Christian Standard

How Is ICOM Making a Lasting Impact on the Church?

By Emily Drayne Youth conferences, weeks of camp, training conferences for adults, and mission trips are all mountaintop experiences. Participants come home refreshed, revitalized, and more passionate about the things they spent time focusing on. But life inevitably slows down, the daily humdrum returns, and the fire inside begins to flicker. There is at least one Great Commission-focused event, however, from which there seems to be no post-event letdown: the International Conference On Missions. What makes ICOM different? I’m convinced it’s the on-fire vibe that permeates the conference. People attend ICOM to do something: win the world for Christ, find

January 3, 2019

Christian Standard

Amazing Grace: How One Sunday in a Small, Dying Iowa Church Changed My Life

By Rick Chromey   “Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me.” I’ve been singing that hymn my whole life, yet never captured what it truly meant until one frigid Sunday morning. I was a student at Nebraska Christian College. For extra money, I’d occasionally preach for churches in need, and this particular weekend, I agreed to speak for a small church about two hours from school. It was a brutally cold Sunday. The tiny, white, clapboard and steepled church was miles from the nearest town, saddled by snowbanks, and guarded by Iowa cornfields. Only a

January 3, 2019

David Roadcup

How to Deal Effectively with Difficult People

By David Roadcup How we react to difficult people and their behavior is a test of how well we’ve implemented Scripture’s relational principles. The Word tells us how to respond when difficult situations present themselves. Effective leaders follow the teachings of patience, forbearance, self-control, careful thought, and action. When called upon to deal with a difficult person, our patience and forbearance will be strengthened as we do the right thing in dealing with those who need help. Dealing with difficult people is always a stretching experience. As James 1:2-4 instructs us, difficult situations, especially those prompted by difficult people, prompt

January 3, 2019

Christian Standard

Cloud Church: Space for Diversity, Relationship, and the Kingdom

By Mel McGowan Imagine you’re rearranging your office. You move your desk to one corner, your bookshelf to another. You move the lamps around to get the light just right. You adjust the couch so you can see your guests better. At the end of the day, you look around with satisfaction that all your office furniture, equipment, and supplies are in the right places. Why is this so important to us? Because the furnishings of our offices are tools that facilitate things like ideas, hard work, and skills. It should come as no surprise, then, that your sacred space

January 3, 2019

Christian Standard

Instill the Importance of Missions

By Emily Drayne What happens when our missionaries come off the field? Someone enters the mission field to replace them, right? At least we hope that’s what happens. We’re seeing many veteran missionaries who are ready to retire, but they are having a harder-than-expected time finding someone to take over their work. Are fewer people interested in entering the ministry as full-time missionaries? We need to pass on the importance of missions to our churches, families, and students. Here are four approaches that can help.   Highlight Your Missionaries Churches often fail to highlight their missionaries to the entire congregation

January 3, 2019

Michael C. Mack

Racial Reconciliation: Strides in the Right Direction

By Michael C. Mack Most of us can agree on a few facts about racial prejudice, division, and conflict. It’s real. It has existed in our culture and in our churches in the past. It persists today. And it will likely  continue to be an issue for some time. Thank God, it will not exist in Heaven. I think we’d all agree it’s wrong. It’s unbiblical. It’s definitely not Christlike. Most of us know the Bible verses: Matthew 28:19; Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11; 1 John 4:8-11; Revelation 7:9; and others. Many of us know something I didn’t. Most Restoration Movement

January 3, 2019

Kent E. Fillinger

Kent E. Fillinger

Giving Insights for the New Year

By Kent Fillinger Sermon series on giving, stewardship, and generosity are often popular to start a new year. To help church leaders gain a broader perspective on giving, here are some important research results.   The State of Charitable Giving According to Giving USA 2018: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2017, Charitable giving reached record levels for the fourth consecutive year in 2017. Total giving in the United States rose 5.2 percent, ringing in a new all-time high of $410 billion. Over the course of a decade, charitable giving increased by nearly $100 billion. Studies show the

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