Series: Columns

August 28, 2012

Michael C. Mack

What”s the Point of Your Small Group?

By Michael C. Mack Why does your small group exist?  What”s your purpose? What are your goals? Bill Willits, director of group life at North Point Community Church, Alpharetta, Georgia, tells what happened when that church first began meeting in the convention center in Atlanta. The electronic marquee that thousands of people would see every day advertised the church as “No Point Church.” The sign engineer could not fit the entire name on the marquee, so he took some creative liberties. Of course, Willits says, this became the joke of the night, but it also provided Andy Stanley an opportunity

August 27, 2012

Christian Standard

How to Obey a Simple Command

By Mark A. Taylor Over lunch with a visiting missionary friend, we spoke of the latest alerts she and her team had received from the U.S. State Department. Her particular region was not threatened””yet. But the possibility for terrorist activity was coming closer. The waitress tended to us carefully (“More water?” “Everything taste OK?”) while our guest spoke of her contingency plans in case of an emergency evacuation. Hiding places among local natives, secret rendezvous sites, and options in case the closest airport was compromised””these were the details she shared while we savored the restaurant”s service. I couldn”t help but

August 24, 2012

Christian Standard

Church Becomes Part of City’s Arts Community

By Jennifer Taylor New City Church (Phoenix, AZ) launched the New City Studio to participate in the area”s “First Friday” art walks, host small gatherings, and serve the local urban community. The studio, originally a historic home built in the 1920s, has hosted exhibits about filmmaking, fashion photography, vintage clothing, and more. A “Shopping with Purpose” night featured handmade jewelry, bags, and quilts. Often the studio encourages donations for a specific cause or local nonprofit group related to each month’s exhibit. This past spring, when Good Friday was also a first Friday of the month, the studio hosted an exhibit

August 21, 2012

Christian Standard

Ten Ways You Can Strengthen Campus Ministry

By Mark A. Taylor Every year we publish a directory of campus ministries like the one in this issue. Every year we include stories of dynamic, life-changing influence provided by these ministries. And every year I learn something new about outreach to young people forgotten or ignored by too many local churches. Obviously, many Christian churches and churches of Christ care about taking Christ to college students. Could we do more? Look at my list, and decide for yourself. 1. Choose a ministry. From our directory, find a campus ministry either (a) close to your local church, (b) on the

August 19, 2012

Christian Standard

Pondering Religion, the Bible, and How to Grow a Church

By LeRoy Lawson   Roadside Religion: In Search of the Sacred, the Strange, and the Substance of Faith Timothy Beal Boston: Beacon Press, 2005 The Rise and Fall of the Bible: The Unexpected History of an Accidental Book Timothy Beal Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011 God-Size Your Church John Jackson Colorado Springs: Biblica, 2008, 2011 Timothy Beal, professor of religion at Case Western Reserve University, is a new discovery. A good friend recently sent me two of his books without explanation or recommendation, so I read them without expectations. Well, that”s not quite right. When I started Roadside Religion my guard

August 14, 2012

Christian Standard

Just Stick with It

By Mark A. Taylor Everybody”s heard that America is getting older, a fact not lost on me since I and most of my friends now qualify for seniors discounts at movie theaters, museums, and many restaurants. But even though I”m glad to take the deals, I don”t think of myself as old. Old people are 70-something, maybe, or 80; 90-year-olds certainly qualify. But not me. I doubt my kids see it that way, though. In fact most adults, regardless of their age, define “old” as at least 10 years older than themselves. I thought about this again late this spring

August 12, 2012

Christian Standard

Churches Partner to Offer Hope to the Homeless

By Jennifer Taylor Damon Mendel was once homeless and broke, sitting on a street corner in Las Vegas, Nevada. Today he helps lead 249 & Hope, a ministry to the homeless on Texas Highway 249 in Cypress, Texas. Mendel, his wife, Jackie, and Dave Chavez, missions pastor at Cy-Fair Christian Church (also in Cypress), launched the ministry in November 2010. Each Saturday morning volunteers from Cy-Fair and partner church Graceview Baptist meet to load cars with hot food, hygiene kits, new socks, and other donations. The volunteer teams visit eight different street corners each Saturday. “Sometimes we”ll also have sleeping

August 9, 2012

Christian Standard

Producing the Next Generation of Elders

By John Ashenfelter How long do we want Christ”s churches to last? God built the church to last forever. But local congregations do not last unless Jesus is the cornerstone. To last, the leaders from generation to generation must be committed to and submissive to Jesus, his leadership, and his mission. Local congregations do not last without leaders who are submissive to the Word of God and to his Spirit. One characteristic of such leaders is their devotion to reproducing leaders with this commitment and submission. Churches are always just one generation away from disappearing. With the church”s future in

August 8, 2012

Christian Standard

Church Outreach Extends to Self-Service Laundries

By Jennifer Taylor Once a month, volunteers from Crossroads Christian Church (Lexington, KY) serve others. But instead of washing feet, they”re washing clothes. Brent Barger, outward focus lead pastor at the church, started Crossroads” “Laundry Love” outreach after successfully implementing it at a church plant in northern Ohio. “It”s simple,” he says. “We visit a local self-service laundry on a Saturday morning and do people”s laundry for free.” Each volunteer has a specific assignment, from welcoming customers to keeping track of each person”s laundry to roaming the room with rolls of quarters. They don”t load laundry into the machines””most of

August 5, 2012

Christian Standard

It”s All About the Mission

By Mark A. Taylor Sometimes we discover truth from an unexpected source. Not long ago, I pondered the implications for the church in a Harvard Business Review blog post by a columnist for Time magazine. Joel Stein shared a conclusion he had reached as he did research for his new book, Man Made: A Stupid Quest for Masculinity. “I learned that my vision of what makes a good leader was all wrong,” he wrote.*   I spent hours working alongside fire chiefs, army captains, Boy Scout troop leaders, and others who guide teams. To my surprise, the best of them

August 2, 2012

Christian Standard

Ohio Prophetic Voices Promotes Biblical Justice

By Jennifer Taylor Fifteen years ago, University Christian Church (Cincinnati, OH) was the first white, Evangelical church to join The Amos Project, a group focused on developing the leadership skills of low-income and working families. This spring, University Christian pastor Troy Jackson helped launch a new initiative called Ohio Prophetic Voices, a collaboration of more than 100 faith leaders across the state. “For the last five or six years I”ve been growing in my passion for biblical justice and trying to figure out how to be salt and light,” Jackson says. “I want to see Evangelicals engaged in a way

July 29, 2012

Christian Standard

Here”s What Monthly Means

By Mark A. Taylor As we announced earlier, Christian Standard, published weekly since 1866, will become a monthly publication in September. What does this change mean? Well, there are several things it does NOT mean. This change does NOT mean Christian Standard readers will get less than they received before. Instead of 16 pages 48 times a year, they”ll receive at least 64 pages (plus a four-page cover) every month. Meanwhile, Paul Williams and I will continue to write weekly””find our columns every week at ChristianStandard.com. The weekly Sunday school lesson will appear there too, along with weekly Communion meditations

July 28, 2012

Michael C. Mack

Don”t Lead Alone!

By Michael C. Mack How many people can you effectively lead, shepherd, and disciple? Let me ask the question another way: If you want to see true transformation of people”s lives, into how many people can you invest your life? How about Jesus? How many people did he disciple? Three of his four disciples, Peter, James, and John, became Jesus” inner circle or what could be called his core team. Jesus poured his life into these three men, investing into them and modeling a life surrendered to the Father. He took these three away with him to pray and heal, as well

July 28, 2012

Christian Standard

Church “˜Blessing Teen Parents” from Area Schools

By Jennifer Taylor When Caleb Kaltenbach became the senior pastor at Valley View Christian Church (Dallas, TX), he challenged members to get more involved in local outreach. “My wife, Marla, and I led a life group and began discussing what we could do,” says John Latvatalo, an elder at Valley View. “My daughter, who is a teacher, told us about a teen mom who was struggling to stay in school. We wanted to help but didn”t know where to start.” The couple contacted the school district”s parenting program, planning simply to give money. “But the school told us these girls

July 24, 2012

Christian Standard

An Important Step Forward

By Mark A. Taylor This is one for the history books! After being published weekly since April 7, 1866, Christian Standard will become a monthly magazine in September this year. It will be in the mail mid-August, 68 pages of information, encouragement, news, and commentary””all of it by, for, and about our dynamic fellowship of Christian churches and churches of Christ. We”re looking forward to the change! Here”s why. The new monthly will be more appealing. Each month”s edition will provide several articles around important themes, and longer, more substantive articles when the subject warrants it. You”ll read and keep

July 22, 2012

Christian Standard

DCC Offers Scholarships to Family after Father Dies

By Jennifer Taylor Diane Aulger was only two weeks from her due date, but when she realized her husband, Mark, had only a few days to live, she decided to induce labor so Mark could meet his new daughter. Five days after baby Savannah was born, Mark died from pulmonary fibrosis. Diane and her five children live a few miles north of Dallas, TX, and Dallas Christian College President Dusty Rubeck knew he wanted to help. On April 30, during an episode of the TV show The Doctors featuring the Aulgers” story, Rubeck made a special announcement on behalf of

July 19, 2012

Christian Standard

Preaching, Prevailing, and Seeking

By LeRoy Lawson The Collected Sermons of Fred B. Craddock Fred B. Craddock Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2011 When You Come Home: The True Love Story of a Soldier”s Heroism and His Wife”s Sacrifice Nancy Cavin Pitts Kingsport: Christian Devotions Ministry, 2011 The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach the West . . . AGAIN (10th Anniversary Edition) George C. Hunter III Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2010 I”ve known of Fred Craddock almost as long as I”ve been preaching, but I”ve never met him. When I was a guest preacher at the Christian Church in Newport, Tennessee, his ghost filled the church. He wasn”t dead,

July 18, 2012

Christian Standard

Their Questions, Your Answers with These Two New Titles

By Mark A. Taylor Questions are good. We can welcome questions when they come from a person with honest doubt. Most people we”ll meet with questions about our faith are not at peace with their uncertainty. They want answers. They want time to ponder our conclusions and the reasons we believe. But sometimes Christians are threatened when confronted by questions from folks who don”t believe in God, can”t accept the Bible, or consider Jesus as nothing more than a great teacher. Sometimes Christians take the questions as a personal attack. Sometimes we react with anger or derision because we don”t

July 15, 2012

Christian Standard

Megachurches: Storm Clouds Ahead?

By Brian Maris It”s not all smooth sailing for the megachurches. Church leaders I interviewed foresee some storms on the horizon. In my previous column (May 27), I shared seven positive trends megachurches are experiencing. These were gleaned from interviewing nine authors, academics, megachurch pastors, and missional church planters. These nine were overwhelmingly optimistic about the future of megachurches. But not everything they see is positive. Today, we”ll look at three concerns that were mentioned in those interviews.   1. Overfishing in Other Churches” Ponds “There are two kinds of megachurches,” states Eddie Gibbs, senior professor of church growth at

July 15, 2012

Christian Standard

Milligan to Begin Offering Political Science Major

By Jennifer Taylor This fall, Milligan College in Tennessee will begin offering a political science major to prepare students to study law, work in government service, research, or teach in a school setting. Both a general track and an international politics track will be available. The general track is designed for students who desire a broad foundation in all areas of politics within the United States, while the international politics track prepares students to engage political realities within the context of global studies. The curriculum in the political science major provides a broad foundation in the study of American political

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