Series: Columns

February 10, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Something to Talk About!

By Mark A. Taylor If anybody should be talking about sex these days, it”s the church! That was our thought as we planned this month”s long string of posts. But frankly, sometimes I wondered if we were doing the right thing. After all, aren”t we a little tired of hearing about sex? We”ve become numb to sexual innuendo on television and at the movies. We”re weary with each week”s new “coming out” story on the news, and many of us have regrettably resigned ourselves to the growing acceptance of gay marriage. We watch sexual infidelity ruin families and damage local

February 4, 2015

Christian Standard

For Such a Time

By Jim Tune “I wish I had never seen the Ring! Why did it come to me? Why was I chosen?” laments Frodo, after discovering the power of the mysterious inheritance that has come into his possession. In response, Gandalf offers a sober appraisal: “Such questions cannot be answered. You may be sure that it was not for any merit that others do not possess. But you have been chosen, and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as you have.” In challenging Queen Esther to act on behalf of the Jews, Mordecai offers similar counsel. He

February 3, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Something Extra, Something Useful!

By Mark A. Taylor Have you listened to our monthly online interview program, Beyond the Standard? If not, you”re missing another storehouse of information and help, free from the offices of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. Each month we offer a new interview, and almost every episode is archived for you to hear and share whenever it would help. Almost two years of these hour-long programs are available. Just go to www.blogtalkradio.com/standardpublishing. First you”ll see an announcement of upcoming broadcasts. For example, later this month we”ll be interviewing noted expert Dr. Mark Laaser for a program titled “Solving Compulsive Sexual Behaviors.” Listen live,

February 1, 2015

Christian Standard

Gagology and the Gospel

By Eddie Lowen Not long ago, Drew Dyck read this inspirational quote from Oprah Winfrey on the java jacket of his Starbucks coffee cup: “The only courage you ever need is the courage to live the life you want.” The Leadership Journal editor instinctively analyzed this Oprahism. It”s exactly what you”d expect from Oprah. Or Joel Osteen. Having an eye for theological truth””more simply known as truth“”Dyck realized what was intended as inspiration was actually a giant dose of what I call gagology. He was so troubled by the misleading potential of Oprah”s message that he literally crossed-out the word

February 1, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Ideas for Easter””or Anytime

By Mark A. Taylor At our annual contributing editor January retreat, someone asked, “Why do churches always make such a big thing of Christmas?” She was reflecting on the fact that CHRISTIAN STANDARD almost always puts “Christmas” on a December cover, but sometimes we hardly mention Easter at all. Maybe we”re giving in to the culture on this.  For many people, Christmas preparations begin in the summer, and we see Christmas everywhere by the end of October. Christmas concerts, Christmas parties, Christmas gift-buying””they fill the month of December. Indeed, sometimes by Christmas Day, we”re too tired to celebrate. Churches follow

January 30, 2015

Christian Standard

Assessing a Pope, Learning about Armenia, Reconsidering Depression

By LeRoy Lawson   Pope John XXIII Thomas Cahill New York: Penguin Books, 2008 Armenia: A Journey Through History Arra S. Avakian Fresno: The Electric Press, 2008 The Armenian Genocide: Forgotten and Denied Yair Auron Valley Cottage: Contento De Semrik, 2013 My Age of Anxiety Scott Stossel New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014 On March 13, 2013, the Roman Catholic Church”s papal conclave elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina as the new pope. We commoners held our collective breath. So much depends on the character of the man, his leadership style, his ability to hold together his far-flung, disparate, often

January 29, 2015

Christian Standard

Colleges Discussing Collaboration

“Nebraska Christian College is studying the possibility of collaborating with Hope International University to begin a Christian University system with other colleges throughout the country,” according to ncinitiative2015.wordpress.com, a blog set up to  provide updates on the discussions. The blog entry goes on to say,   John Derry, the President of Hope International University (http://www.hiu.edu) reached out to Nebraska Christian College in hopes of beginning talks of mutual collaboration. This original email exchange led to two subsequent meetings between President Derry and the Executive Team of NC to discuss ways in which this collaboration could drive mission to a greater extent. We are

January 28, 2015

Christian Standard

An Inconvenient Truth?

By Jim Tune I”ve heard the axiom “Love everyone, but move with the movers!” shared by speakers at leadership conferences. There”s truth in this counsel. I”ve had to encourage people to find another church when they became obtusely stuck on some element of vision or direction. At some point, I”ve had to weigh the value of giving disproportionate amounts of energy to people who refuse to change or compromise. So yeah, there”s some wisdom in moving with the movers. That said, I”m not entirely comfortable with this approach. Sometimes in order to truly love someone like Jesus did, you just

January 27, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

It”s Not Just a Woman”s Issue

By Mark A. Taylor It”s time to broaden our discussion about women”s roles in the church. And before you click to the next article, let me assure you I”m not interested here in debating whether to ordain a woman staff member, add a woman to the preaching team, or name a woman as deacon (or elder). You”ve likely already decided about those questions, and I”m not going to change your mind with 600 more words. Instead, I think we need to back up and look at a bigger picture. While debating and discussing specifics like those above, maybe we”ve been

January 21, 2015

Christian Standard

The Ultimate Question

By Jim Tune When life delivers pain or confusion, our first response is often to look at God and shout, “Why is this happening?” This is what we are really asking, “Why did you let this happen?” Sooner or later we will all end up sitting in a hospital waiting room, funeral home, or lawyer”s office, asking ourselves, “Is God still in all of this?” When shaken by tragedy, we do well to ask ourselves if we can still believe in a God who lets bad things happen. I”ve had a few personal bouts of what Philip Yancey calls “disappointment

January 20, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

After Selma

By Mark A. Taylor About 100 people were at the 7:05 p.m. showing of Selma in the theater where my wife and I sat last Saturday night. Of that number, we were two of about 10 white folks in the house. Everyone else was African-American. This was something different from the typical weekend movies crowd. Whole families were there. And senior citizens; I saw at least two on walkers labor to their seats on the handicapped row. It would be much more than two hours of entertainment for them. We were about to see a depiction of history these folks

January 14, 2015

Christian Standard

Wild

By Jim Tune The Pacific Crest Trail is a 2,650-mile hiking trail that reaches from Mexico to Canada. Starting in desert chaparral near the Mexican border, the trail climbs along the backbone of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges. It winds through Oregon forests and skirts along the shoulders of volcanoes like Mount Rainier in Washington. In the spring of 1995, a disillusioned 25-year-old Cheryl Strayed hit the trail to lose her problems. Strayed shared her story in her best-selling memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. She had never been backpacking before setting out on

January 13, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Contributors, Indeed!

By Mark A. Taylor Today is the middle day of this year”s annual CHRISTIAN STANDARD contributing editors retreat. For all of us who attend it, this is a special gathering that enriches us in a unique way. Of course, personal enrichment is a byproduct of the meeting. Its stated purpose is to brainstorm topics and writers for future editions of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. And this is a purpose that has been wonderfully achieved, year after year. Many of the innovations and changes you”ve seen in the magazine through the years have come at the suggestion (or prodding!) of this group. Several

January 7, 2015

Christian Standard

No More Laters

By Jim Tune Sometimes I struggle with the tendency to live by the motto, “Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow.” Mark Twain took things a step further when he said, “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do day after tomorrow just as well.” There is both humor and truth in Twain”s axiom. On a more serious note, I think Dan Carruth captured the truth about procrastination when he wrote, “The biggest lie we tell ourselves in the area of action is, I”ll do it later.” The interesting thing about “later” is it can”t easily

January 6, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

The First Answer

By Mark A. Taylor Is your church healthy? Unfortunately, our quest to answer that question may send us looking in the wrong direction. Our tendency is to consider symptoms, not causes, of church health. We analyze statistics about giving or growth or participation, externals that may indicate how we”re doing but don”t tell how to make it better. What can we do to make our church healthier? The best answer””certainly the first answer””is to look in (not out), to cast our gaze upon ourselves. The function of any individual part affects the health of the whole. A quick look at

January 5, 2015

Christian Standard

Going Strong

By Jennifer Johnson “I am the least likely person to lead a trip of women,” Gayla Congdon said during our interview. “I grew up with brothers and I”m not a “˜woman”s retreat” kind of person. I want to do something that matters.” Apparently she”s not alone””the Women of Strength trips she started in 2012 have had to be capped at 65 people, and dozens of ladies have attended more than one. A significant number of the participants aren”t even Christians, but find the experience more than worth the investment of money and vacation time. Actually, Congdon does think “women”s events”

January 5, 2015

Christian Standard

Showing Their Strength and Connecting as Women

By Jennifer Johnson In 2009, Gayla Congdon attended a planning meeting for the International Conference on Missions and realized she was one of only three women in the group of more than 60 people. “Our guest speaker, a man from Wycliffe Bible Translators, pointed out the discrepancy,” she says. “Then he said one of the biggest demographic groups in developed countries, and especially in the United States, is educated women age 55 and older who have discretionary income and are looking for meaningful experiences. I was reminded of the Barna study reporting that, for the first time in U.S. history,

January 4, 2015

Christian Standard

Child Sponsorship Made Easy

By Jennifer Johnson Bruce Wydick, a professor of economics and international studies at the University of San Francisco, recently reported that sponsoring a child is one of the most effective ways to fight poverty around the world. Now Christian Missionary Fellowship (Indianapolis, IN) is making it easier than ever for churches to involve their members in child sponsorship with its new Start! program. Families, individuals, and groups can all sponsor a child through CMF, and Start! is specifically created to help churches launch events to introduce the concept and connect members to children in need. CMF provides promotional videos, sermon

January 3, 2015

Christian Standard

Do You Have Eyes But Fail to See?

By Tim Harlow I will never forget getting glasses for the first time. I was in fifth grade and was evidently in worse shape than anyone realized, because I was blown away by the clarity I suddenly experienced. I distinctly remember telling my mom, “I can see the leaves on the trees!” Until then, I had no idea there were actual individual leaves on trees. I just thought it was a big green blob on top of a brown trunk. Clarity was amazing. I was reading in Scripture the other day about another blind man, and he had an experience

December 31, 2014

Christian Standard

The War on Sleep

By Jim Tune Have you ever heard people brag about how little sleep they require? An article in The Spectator magazine highlighted this problem in modern America: Our war on sleep is hard to miss. TV interviewers ask today”s hard driving achievers how long they sleep. . . . When the guest leaves, the interviewers bat the question around with each other, boasting about pulling “all nighters” or claiming “I”m OK with five,” revelling in a festival of one-down manship. If the standard recommendation of eight hours a night gets mentioned, it is treated with genial contempt. Napoleon, Florence Nightingale,

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