Series: Columns

Church Leadership

Common Threads Woven Throughout

This month we focus on the rural church and rural ministry . . . but what exactly is rural, and how are rural areas different from small towns or micropolitan communities? Before you read other stories in this issue, be sure to read “A Salute to Small Towns, Rural Areas, Micropolitan Communities: Our Attempt at a Glossary of Terms.” It takes many threads to weave a beautiful church, and I noticed four prevalent threads in many of the articles this month. And, while this issue is about rural ministry, I think these threads are important regardless of where your church,

September 12, 2017

Church Leadership

Don’t Let the Sheep Lead the Flock

By Michael C. Mack God often leads us as his leaders, and thus those we lead, on roads we never planned on traveling. Several months ago, I was leading a training event at a church in Central Illinois. As I left my home near Louisville, Kentucky, I set the route in the maps app on my phone and headed out. About two hours in, the app told me to exit the highway at least 30 miles before my next designated turn. I took the exit and then looked at my phone to see where it was taking me. It looked

September 10, 2017

Christian Living

#hustle vs #grace

By Chuck Dennie Snap a pic of you getting it done and make sure to include #hustle . . . We live in a world where we compare our lives with the highlight reels we see displayed on our social media channels. The latest buzzword #hustle has been elevated to rock-star status. #hustle has even become a platform on which some leaders are standing . . . at least until that platform crumbles. I have been that leader. I am an ENTJ with a top strength of competition on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality inventory. ENTJ + competition =Â hustle. I

September 6, 2017

Jerry Harris

Letter from the Publisher

By Jerry Harris My favorite thing about publishing Christian Standard is how much I am learning. In just a few short months, I have been exposed to stories and ministries that have challenged and inspired me greatly. But this issue has wrecked me the most. A sidebar to one of the articles describes a tree in North St. Louis. I was there on a nearly 100-degree day to speak with Lucas Rouggly and his family while we took pictures for the magazine. When we returned to the car to head home, I faced some hard reflection. For 19 years, I

September 3, 2017

Church & Ministry

An Inside Look at Urban, Suburban, and Rural Communities and Churches

By Kent Fillinger To reflect the themes this month and next””urban ministry and rural ministry, respectively””I”ve written a two-part article that captures the present realities for both and adds some insights on suburban areas as well. I”ve examined our recent church survey data and other relevant research to identify notable differences and national trends for each type of ministry location. I don”t intend to proclaim one location type as better than another, but rather to share some commonalities and differences based on research findings and facts from the larger story taking place in our country. My goal is to help

August 29, 2017

Church & Ministry Leadership Development

Feeling Inadequate for the Task? Good!

By Michael C. Mack In June at the North American Christian Convention in Kansas City, I met Marshall Hayden, retired minister of Worthington (Ohio) Christian Church. We stood in front of our Christian Standard Media booth and talked about his dad, Edwin Hayden, editor from 1957 to 1977, and the newly designed July issue. Like Sam Stone, editor from 1978 to 2003, and Mark Taylor, 2003 to 2017, two men I”ve known and respected for many years, Marshall strongly encouraged me in my new role. These three men””Edwin, Sam, and Mark””and the eight editors before them have left a legacy

August 26, 2017

Church & Ministry Leadership Development

Lead a Church Worth Imitating!

By Gary L. Johnson I remember the moment as if it happened yesterday. It was December 1966 and I was in the fifth grade. My teacher announced to the class that Walt Disney had died. Little did we know that a dream of Disney had died with him. Disney dreamed of building an “experimental prototype community of tomorrow” in the swampland of central Florida. It would be an ideal urban center””with businesses, schools, city parks, factories, shopping centers, athletic venues, beautiful homes, and even churches. Disney believed urban areas could be purposefully built and developed to serve as models for

August 22, 2017

Jerry Harris

Culture & Public Square Race

No Room for Racism

By Jerry Harris In our most recent Christian Standard digital newsletter (dated August 16), we shared a story reported in the Des Moines Register about a Glenwood, Iowa, church”s reaction to the appalling events in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 12. (As you will recall, white supremacists demonstrated, there were counter-protests and violent clashes, and then a man drove his car into a crowd of counter-protestors, killing one and injuring several others.) In response, the Iowa church changed the message on its sign to read, “White supremacy is sin. Say it.” After sending out the newsletter, we received a comment back

August 19, 2017

Church & Ministry Church Planting

Urban Church Planting: A Conversation with Eric Metcalf

By David Dummitt When I was first invited to write an article about urban church planting, I planned to write about trends, research, data, and the like. But after thinking about it some more, I decided that rather than share my thoughts, it would be more powerful to share the insights of someone in the proverbial trenches of urban church planting. I recently sat down with Eric Metcalf, a colleague, fellow church planter, and friend. Eric and his wife, Erin, are church planters in downtown Chicago. Eric is also the residency catalyst for NewThing. Their passion for the Jesus mission,

August 11, 2017

Church & Ministry Church Growth

Medium-Church Insights

By Kent Fillinger From Abingdon, Virginia, to Woodland Park, Colorado, medium-size churches are a vital part of our annual church survey. Over the last three years, 160 different medium-size churches (average weekly attendance of 250 to 499) from 37 states have participated in our research study. On average, 93 medium churches have responded each of the last three years. Most recently, 88 medium churches completed the survey. I hope to see the number of medium churches that participate grow in the future! Here”s a quick statistical overview of the 88 medium-size churches based on 2016 data. The list of these

August 9, 2017

Church & Ministry Community Outreach

Why Our Church Worshipped on 31 School Campuses Last Sunday

By Michael C. Mack Last Sunday I worshipped with a steel rake and a pair of pruners. I was not alone. At my church, Northeast Christian in Louisville, Kentucky, 2,069 volunteers gathered Sunday morning at 31 local schools to help get them ready for a new school year. Church members showed up with gloves, wheelbarrows, yard tools, paintbrushes, and their various spiritual gifts to work together as the body of Christ. One guy, a farmer, brought his tractor to the school where my wife and I served. We pulled weeds and mulched garden areas, trimmed shrubs, painted lines on parking

July 28, 2017

Church & Ministry Church Planting

4 Key Reasons Why Network Church Planting Is Succeeding

By David Dummitt Church planting has been a dynamic practice for 20 centuries, with methods and strategies morphing in response to context and culture. Modern church planting is seeing tremendous success as it shifts from “traditional” to a network church-planting model. The classic “parachute-drop” model is one of the most common methods we have seen in the last century. In this model, a church planter sets out like a pioneer to launch a church where there is no church. Typically, in this traditional, high-risk model, the church planter sets out with limited resources and few (if any) connections. In the

July 25, 2017

Discipleship & Spiritual Formation

Old Dogs Keep Running

By Michael C. Mack Some maxims should never be uttered again, especially by Christian leaders. Like this one: “You can”t teach an old dog new tricks.” I own an old dog, a black Lab named Lainey, and she still is learning new tricks. I figured she was simply smarter than the average dog. My vet, however, told me all older dogs can continue to learn, though it may take more work. Like Lainey, we as individuals and the body of Christ, regardless of age, have the capability to learn new things, be transformed, and do more of what God created

July 18, 2017

Jerry Harris

Letter from the Publisher

Letter from Jerry Harris, Publisher of Christian Standard.

July 12, 2017

Giving Honor to an Editor and Friend

By Michael C. Mack I don”t recall what the speaker said, but I”m sure his words were well-spoken and significant. I do remember, however, who that speaker was on that Sunday evening 21 years ago: Mark Taylor, who was at that time publisher at Standard Publishing Company. Mark had already played a key role in my life. When I worked in the New Products department at Standard in the early to mid-“90s, Mark was my boss. When I left to start a web-based small group ministry in 1995, he encouraged me and gave me opportunities to do freelance work, which

June 20, 2017

Worship Worship & Prayer

3 Things that Make a Worship Leader Great

By Chuck Dennie ItÂ was a beautiful spring day when I pulled into the long driveway of a church that had a large property. The pastor had asked me to spend time with the church”s worship leader. As I approached the building, I saw beautiful landscaping, a well-manicured pond, and someone mowing the grass. I was about an hour early, and the pastor greeted me at the offices. I asked if we could get started early and if he would introduce me to his worship leader. He pointed outside to the guy mowing the grass and said, “There is my worship

June 20, 2017

Church & Ministry Church Growth

Large-Church Insights

By Kent Fillinger I”m excited to share key metrics and findings of 94 large churches (average weekly worship attendance of 500 to 999) from our recent church survey. The August issue of Christian Standard will provide an overview of the 88 medium-size churches surveyed. And if you missed the big picture snapshot of the 133 megachurches and emerging megachurches, check out the May issue online. Growth & Attendance The large churches we surveyed grew 4.3 percent last year, faster than any other segment of churches. Large churches have grown an average of 4.4 percent annually over the last three years.

June 20, 2017

Church & Ministry Church Planting

5 Reasons Church Planting Should Matter to You

By David Dummitt Not long ago, when you talked to church leaders about church planting, eyes would glaze over and conversation topics would awkwardly shift. I”m excited to live in a time when this is changing. Organizations like NewThing, Stadia, Passion for Planting, Orchard Group, and others demonstrate that more and more churches are passionate about planting even more churches around the globe. Whether you lead a congregation of 50, 500, or 5,000, your engagement in church planting is critical to the mission that Jesus gave us to be and make disciples. Multiplication is a charge for each one of

June 20, 2017