Series: Columns

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

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

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

How I Got Here . . . on God”s Path

God knows what we need before we ask him, and he knew I needed Mike Mack. As the new publisher of Christian Standard Media, my first major responsibility was finding a qualified, passionate editor for Christian Standard. The Lord provided a writer, editor, minister, and disciple maker who already had a great relationship with the magazine, and I”m excited to have him tell you a little about his story. “”Jerry Harris _ _ _ By Michael C. Mack God drastically changed my life in 1988. I found Jesus, found a great church, was baptized, lost my job, started seminary, and

June 19, 2017

Restoration Movement History

A Plea for the Restoration Movement

By Jerry Harris It”s foolish to want all Christians to be in unity if we can”t be unified in our own brotherhood. We need to fight for relationship in all the issues that could potentially divide us. Otherwise, no one should take this Restoration Movement seriously. The first-century church had more difficult challenges that threatened deeper divisions than we do now. We must learn the same lessons of living out the fruit of the Spirit that they did. We can”t allow ourselves the prideful position of proving ourselves right over the greater need of loving each other. If we can

June 19, 2017

Church & Ministry Church Leadership Preaching

The Best Sermon I”ve Ever Heard (24)

By Arron Chambers Christian leaders tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either. DavidÂ Mehrle David Mehrle serves as lead pastor with Southwest Christian Church in Fort Worth, Texas. He became a Christian while he was in junior high. He has served the church in student ministry and as a lead pastor for more than 22 years. He graduated from St. Louis Christian College and received his master”s degree from Indiana Wesleyan University. David”s Best Sermon: The best sermon I have heard is “Speak! Against Culture” by Dr. Shane Wood, professor of New Testament at Ozark Christian

June 13, 2017

What to Expect from CHRISTIAN STANDARD

By Jerry Harris Why is the survival of CHRISTIAN STANDARDÂ so important and what does it offerÂ that other magazines don”t?Â Other magazines like Relevant, Outreach, and Christianity Today offer lots of good commentary and resourcing for churches and leaders in general, but they represent no actual tribe. CHRISTIAN STANDARD is critical to the Restoration Movement because it serves a vital role unique to us. We are comprised of about 5,300 churches, all autonomous, without any denominational support to hold us together. It”s one of our greatest strengths, but without something connecting us regularly, we can lose much of the potential of

June 8, 2017