Series: Columns

March 21, 2012

Christian Standard

The Challenge Is for All of Us

By Mark A. Taylor Gary Weedman”s analysis deserves careful reading and thorough discussion among church leaders everywhere. Here”s why: Most of us attend congregations led by ministers and other staff members who graduated from one of the schools listed on pages 14, 15. Most of us attend churches that send financial support to one or several of them. Many of us have urged our own children to attend one of these schools. We have strong emotional, philosophical, and financial ties to these colleges and universities. They deserve our support: they continue to serve faithfully, they continue to improve the quality

March 15, 2012

Christian Standard

Film Festival Aims at Raising Water Awareness

By Jennifer Taylor The mission of Journey”s Crossing Christian Church (Gaithersburg, MD) is to “meet people where they are and help them find their way back to God.” This summer the church will continue taking steps to accomplish its mission by hosting a film festival to connect with local artists and provide clean water in Africa. In partnership with Food for the Hungry, Journey”s Crossing will host the Reel Water Film Festival on June 16. Aspiring filmmakers may submit short films (ranging from 5 to 25 minutes) by April 30, and a panel of judges will select winners in a

March 15, 2012

Christian Standard

The Landing

By Tim Harlow I qualified for my AARP card this year. I”ve heard this is the point in my ministry career when I will start to slack off and stagnate. The stats tell us at age 50 most ministers will stop taking risks and become complacent””especially if they”ve been at the same post for many years. I was with Dr. John Walker of Blessing Ranch and a few other pastors recently and the discussion was about “finishing well.” The dialogue centered on being able to walk away from our ministry and say with Paul, “I have fought the good fight,

March 12, 2012

Christian Standard

We Know Leaders Like Those the World Is Seeking

By Mark A. Taylor “Go down with the ship? Not in this century.” So observed commentator Robert Marquand as the world learned details this January about the cruise ship disaster off the coast of Italy. The hull of the 117,000-ton Costa Concordia was torn open by rocks in shallow water Friday night, January 13. And soon the world was treated to the excuses of captain Francesco Schettino, who said he fell into a lifeboat and was unable to reboard the ship. Despite the fact that thousands of passengers were screaming and scrambling to save themselves from the chaos on the

March 8, 2012

Christian Standard

Emmanuel Offers Web-based Degree Completion

By Jennifer Taylor Last month, Emmanuel Christian Seminary (Johnson City, TN) began offering a new independent study course called “Current Trends in Theological Education” to help students complete unfinished degrees. The online course is designed for previous Emmanuel students who have been absent from course work for more than five years and have completed every degree requirement except the thesis. The new course covers each of the five academic areas studied at ECS””Old Testament, New Testament, church history, doctrine, and Christian ministries. In each area students will complete about 400 pages of reading, review lectures by various faculty members, and

March 8, 2012

Christian Standard

IDES Working to Help Tornado Victims

International Disaster Emergency Service (IDES) is working with churches around the country to help victims of last week”s tornadoes. “We are encouraging Christian churches and churches of Christ to hold a moment of prayer this coming Sunday to pray for the victims and the volunteers and to take up a love offering for IDES,” the ministry shares. Make donations online or mail checks/money orders marked “U.S. Disasters” to P.O. Box 60, Kempton, IN 46049-0060. In southern Indiana, IDES will be setting up a base camp to help with disaster relief. Although it does not yet know if it will be

March 5, 2012

Christian Standard

Orlando in July? Can”t Wait!

By Mark A. Taylor In the spirit of full disclosure, let me make my bias perfectly clear: I love Orlando. I love the palm trees and the fountains and the flowers. I love the theme parks with their manufactured adventures and one-of-a-kind experiences. I love the restaurants and the shops and the souvenirs. So when I heard the North American Christian Convention was meeting in Orlando this year, I became an instant advocate. “We”re going to Orlando for the NACC,” I told my wife and anyone else who would listen. And no possible objection has fazed me. “It will be

March 1, 2012

Christian Standard

Lifeline, Southland Work Together for Haiti

By Jennifer Taylor This past December, 6,000 people gathered at 12 packing stations for five days to pack more than 1 million meals for the people of Haiti. Participants packed a specially formulated, fast-cooking, rice-based combination of vitamins, soy, dehydrated vegetables, and other nutrients that provide, in one serving, about 75 percent of a child”s daily requirement for a healthy diet. Lifeline Christian Mission (Westerville, OH) worked with Southland Christian Church (Lexington, KY) to coordinate the event. Lifeline”s ABC (All Because of Christ) food packaging events are opportunities for churches and organizations to meaningfully address issues of world hunger in

February 27, 2012

Christian Standard

An “˜Incredible Group” for an Important Mission

By Mark A. Taylor In just under 48 hours each year our contributing editors meet in an annual retreat to consider the future of this magazine. We discuss a wide range of issues””from the lofty (“How should young leaders in our fellowship view it?”) to the specific (“What should a Christian Standard app contain?”). All of it is aimed at improving Christian Standard”s service””its content, its appearance, even its means of distribution. The group suggests topics the church needs to consider and writers who have something to say about them. They critique our past year”s product and react to future

February 26, 2012

Christian Standard

Provocative Approaches to Purity, Dementia, and the Afterlife

By LeRoy Lawson Unclean: Meditations on Purity, Hospitality, and Mortality Richard Beck Eugene: Cascade Books, 2011 Turn of Mind Alice LaPlante New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2011 Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives David Engleman New York: Pantheon Books, 2009 Richard Beck”s Unclean is not a nice book. It”s about the disgusting things that shape our spirituality. While most people like their religion neat and clean””it”s what we usually mean by “holy”””life isn”t neat, and many of the people Jesus sends his disciples to reach aren”t clean. What then? The author, a professor at Abilene Christian University, is convinced that

February 21, 2012

Christian Standard

‘Promise Island’ VBS Earns Top Honors

  Standard Publishing again received top honors for best Vacation Bible School in the nation for its 2012 curriculum, “Adventures on Promise Island.” Lynda Freeman, editor of the popular blog “About the Children”s Department,” chose “Adventures” as her top pick. “This VBS has solid Bible content and a strong focus on living what you learn by serving others,” she writes. “Combine this with a fun island setting and great music from Yancy [and] you have a VBS which will impact and change lives!” “Adventures on Promise Island” uses the fun of surf, sand, and island adventure to introduce God”s lifesaving

February 18, 2012

Christian Standard

Heritage Center Ready to Add to Collection

By Jennifer Taylor   In the fall of 2009, Pepperdine University opened the Churches of Christ Heritage Center on its campus in Malibu, CA. Today the collection of books, photographs, congregational histories, speeches, and other documents fills a room in the school”s library. “Many of these “˜artifacts” are connected to Pepperdine, like the catalog from the school”s first year in 1937,” says Jerry Rushford, director. “But there are also unusual pieces like a device from the 1920s used to fill Communion cups. A church in Idaho donated it to us.” In fact, the collection was created primarily with donations from

February 17, 2012

Christian Standard

The Candidates and Causes We Worship

By Mark A. Taylor In her post this week, Eleanor Daniel offers one warning as we face the claims and counter claims leading up to another U.S. national election: Look carefully for the truth instead of believing the latest rumor or accusation. In his powerful little book Counterfeit Gods, Timothy Keller suggests another: Be sure you avoid the error of some people who have turned politics into an idol. Keller”s thesis is that even good things become counterfeit gods when we look to them for the fulfillment, security, salvation, or hope that can come only from God. He speaks incisively

February 7, 2012

Christian Standard

The Lodge and the Lord”s Supper

By Mark A. Taylor I”m not sure now why I attended the monthly meeting of the local lodge. I had been invited by someone, maybe to pray or see him installed into some office. I don”t recall who he was or any specifics about the evening. I only remember my reaction to being there. The whole service was meaningless to me, in spite of the sober demeanor of the lodge members who participated in it. They somberly went through the motions, careful to complete the program “decently and in order.” But none of it communicated anything to me. Many of

February 4, 2012

Christian Standard

Church Continues with Katrina Recovery Efforts

By Jennifer Taylor   Although Hurricane Katrina doesn”t make the news much anymore, Biloxi (MS) Christian Church has not stopped caring for its victims. Biloxi Christian sprang into action immediately after Katrina hit in 2005, opening its building and organizing volunteers and supplies. Today, more than six years later, BCC continues to have an open door for the effort and has partnered with another area church to form New Life Disaster Relief. “People from all over the country and every denomination come to work, and we house them in our building,” says minister John Wester. “We”ve turned our classrooms into

February 2, 2012

Christian Standard

Sherman Interviews President Bush

By Jennifer Taylor   After former President George W. Bush spoke at the Real Choices Pregnancy Center Banquet Nov. 17 at the Irving (TX) Convention Center, he sat down for an onstage interview with Drew Sherman, lead pastor of Compass Christian Church (Colleyville, TX). The candid conversation covered such topics as the presidential experience, post-presidency life, 9/11, faith, and much more. There were serious and somber moments, but also many instances when the former president showed off his good humor. Thousands of people attended the banquet to benefit Real Choices. Sherman asked Bush about the day of the 9/11 attacks.

February 2, 2012

Christian Standard

Lipscomb University Adds Benefit to Prison Program

By Jennifer Taylor Five years ago, Lipscomb University (Nashville, TN) established the Lipscomb Initiative for Education (LIFE) program to provide opportunities for their students and inmates at the Tennessee Prison for Women (TPFW) to learn and grow together. Each semester as many as 30 Lipscomb students enroll in a liberal arts course held at the prison; classes have included art history, Christian ethics, and conflict management. Both students and faculty travel to the prison for classes. The Lipscomb students work toward their bachelor”s degrees and, until recently, the inmates worked for credit hours to be applied toward a future degree

February 1, 2012

Christian Standard

The Homes Where Preachers Live

By Mark A. Taylor Most of us have heard stories or read books about preacher”s kids gone bad. We know about unwed pregnancies, unsavory addictions, and other unwise choices among young people who grew up in a parsonage. Without a doubt, the preacher”s home may face unique pressure and scrutiny. That”s why it”s appropriate for us to dedicate several posts to the problems and possibilities shared only by preacher”s kids. But I”m glad to say this week we present far more of the latter than the former. All these articles were written by preacher”s kids who are happy about their

January 28, 2012

Christian Standard

Looking Upward, Outward, and Inward

By LeRoy Lawson The Day We Found the Universe Marcia Bartusiak New York: Pantheon Books, 2009 The Next Christians: The Good News about the End of Christian America Gabe Lyons New York: Doubleday, 2010 The End of Sexual Identity: Why Sex Is Too Important to Define Who We Are Jenell Williams Paris Downers Grove: IVP Books (InterVarsity Press), 2011   Many years ago I read that naturalist William Beebe was a guest of President Theodore Roosevelt in his Sagamore Hill home. At the close of an evening, the two went out on the lawn, searched the skies, and Roosevelt said,

January 26, 2012

Christian Standard

Giving Plate Food Ministry Growing Exponentially

By Jennifer Taylor Gary and Debi Kelso, members at Real Life Christian Church (Bend, OR), created The Giving Plate in 2010. After beginning with just a few cans of tuna and a few loaves of bread (really!), the food relief and outreach ministry now provides more than 2,200 local families with a 50-pound box of food every month. Each box is prepared specifically for each family with consideration for food allergies and dislikes. “We have served the hungry and homeless for years,” say the Kelsos, who work full-time””without pay””for the organization. “We have a call in our hearts to serve

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