Series: Columns

October 26, 2011

Christian Standard

You Must Read This . . . A More Meaningful Story

By Arron Chambers A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: How I Learned to Live a Better Story By Donald Miller Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2011 I picked up this book because it was a compilation of lessons a favorite author learned while editing his life. I couldn”t put it down, devouring it on one four-hour plane flight, because it was at once both convicting and compelling. I immediately developed the book into a sermon series for my church; it had helped me find a more meaningful story, and I wanted the same for others. At the beginning of the book, Donald

October 25, 2011

Christian Standard

You Must Read This . . . A Priceless Discovery

By Mark Atteberry Moments with the Savior: A Devotional Life of Christ By Ken Gire Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998  Every summer my wife and I attend the International Christian Retail Show. We love it because we get to rub shoulders with many of our favorite authors and because we never come home with fewer than 60 or 70 brand-new, just-released books. It”s like Christmas in July. But it isn”t quite as great as it might sound. It always turns out that at least half the books we ship home aren”t worth the paper they”re printed on. For some, the problem

October 25, 2011

Christian Standard

You Must Read This . . . A Spiritual Retreat

By Becky Ahlberg Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense By N.T. Wright New York: HarperCollins, 2006 I found this gem during my search for help in writing the spiritual formation curriculum for an intensive yearlong program for low-income single mothers. As is often the case, when you teach, you learn the most. For this teacher, this book was like fresh water to a parched soul. In its simplicity and clarity it brought into bold relief how truly dry I was! Page after page the author brings to life the theology we often “know” and yet don”t understand in a personal way.

October 24, 2011

Christian Standard

Selling Art to Feed Hungry Children

By Jennifer Taylor  Last year at Thanksgiving, Todd Clark surveyed the abundance of food and was convicted of the need to provide meals for hungry children. At the same time, people began asking how they could buy copies of the photographs he was shooting and sharing on Facebook. An idea was born. “Photography is a hobby, not my livelihood,” says Clark, lead pastor at Discovery Church in Simi Valley, CA. “I wanted to use it to help others.” Last month he created Eat Art, a nonprofit organization that “artfully ends hunger” by selling photographs, paintings, postcards, and apparel and using

October 21, 2011

Christian Standard

Abba, Father

By Chris Blair I love how God uses our relationships with others to teach us about our relationship with him. There are many examples of this truth in Scripture, but few ring louder to me than Romans 8:14, 15: For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” God has privileged our family to model this truth through the adoption

October 17, 2011

Christian Standard

Challenging Men to Take the Lead in Prayer

By Jennifer Taylor  When John Seitz joined the Antioch Christian Church (Marion, IA) staff in 2000, he challenged the men to join a team committed to praying for his ministry and for the church. “Prayer is so integral in seeking guidance from God and providing spiritual protection for the pastor,” Seitz says. “We have a prayer ministry open to everyone, but I wanted this to encourage strong male leadership in the church.” In addition to praying through the week, each year the team gathers for a retreat, and each Sunday morning several of the men gather at the church building

October 17, 2011

Christian Standard

Courage for a Reluctant Leader

By Mark A. Taylor Two things amaze and encourage me when I read the story of God”s call to Moses. The first is his excuse making in response to God”s clear commands. The second is God”s equally persistent patience in the face of this whining. Initially we might understand the reluctance of Moses at the burning bush. Who wouldn”t have been surprised by what God proposed to this murderer in exile turned shepherd? Nothing in his decades of sheep tending in Midian would have appeared on the résumé for nation-deliverer. So when God said, “You will convince Pharaoh to free

October 12, 2011

Christian Standard

Remember the Children

By Mark A. Taylor “Whenever two people are together, one is influencing the other.” My adult children tell me today this was one of my favorite reminders years ago whenever they left the house to be with their teenage friends. I”ve thought about my little proverb often since then, especially as Christian Standard has taken up issues of church and culture. How is the church today influencing the values of our culture? And how are the attitudes and ideals of today”s educators, politicians, entertainers, and corporate leaders changing the church? Research seems to say the church is not prevailing. George

October 10, 2011

Christian Standard

Johnson, Other Colleges Partner for PhD Program

By Jennifer Taylor Eight Christian universities and graduate schools have partnered together to offer an online PhD in leadership studies. This new Center for Global Studies, under the sponsorship of Johnson University (Knoxville, TN), will prepare students around the world for academic or ministry leadership. The program “is an online, research-based, interdisciplinary degree that seeks to facilitate the leadership abilities and roles of Christian men and women working in inter-cultural, cross-cultural, and/or international contexts,” the center writes. The degree includes classes in ethics and research and requires focused electives in educational leadership, organizational leadership, or theology of leadership. The proposal

October 7, 2011

Christian Standard

Getting the Job Done

By Mark A. Taylor On the day after Steve Jobs died, his name was at the head of every newscast, the subject line on scores of e-newsletters and blogs, the stuff of conversation among his fans around the world. “I think I”m the only one who has NOT posted something about Steve Jobs today,” wrote a friend on his Facebook page. One of those posts linked to technology columnist Walter Mossberg”s memories at WSJ.com. “He was a genius, a giant influence on multiple industries and billions of lives,” Mossberg wrote. The coverage that day and since said nothing about Jobs”s

October 6, 2011

Christian Standard

Encouraging Male Prayer Leadership

By Jennifer Taylor When John Seitz joined the Antioch Christian Church (Marion, IA) staff in 2000, he challenged the men to join a team committed to praying for his ministry and for the church. “Prayer is so integral in seeking guidance from God and providing spiritual protection for the pastor,” Seitz says. “We have a prayer ministry open to everyone, but I wanted this to encourage strong male leadership in the church.” In addition to praying through the week, each year the team gathers for a retreat, and each Sunday morning several of the men gather at the church building

October 5, 2011

Christian Standard

Rethinking Our Delivery

By Mark A. Taylor It is nearly impossible to go anywhere or do anything these days unaccompanied by a soundtrack. Sometimes I wish they”d just turn off the music. I mean, I don”t really need to hear the latest hit blaring out of a two-inch speaker at the pump where I get gas. More often than not, I”d rather just talk to my meal mates than try to shout over the rhythm and bass blaring from the restaurant sound system. And I suspect the upbeat tempos I hear in most grocery and department stores have been scientifically proven to prompt

October 5, 2011

Christian Standard

RiverTree Providing Tools for Missional Movement

By Jennifer Taylor A number of factors began to converge, and Greg Nettle, senior pastor at RiverTree Christian Church (Massillon, OH), thought God might be up to something. There were partnerships with Stadia (Irvine, CA) and Compassion International; the launch of 18 churches and counting with Kingdom Synergy Partnership, a church planting network; the addition of Alex Absalom, coauthor of Launching Missional Communities, to the RiverTree staff; the launch of Love Canton, an urban church plant; and the transition of RiverTree from megachurch to missional movement. “It started to become clear that God was moving,” Nettle says. The RiverTree team

September 30, 2011

Christian Standard

My Appetite

By Chris DeWelt   “My food . . . “ It was quite tasty. A large whole lamb fixed in a traditional Albanian way””stuffed with rice. Really good rice. It even had some almonds and bits of liver mixed in. The college students all looked my way with some degree of uncertainty. Maybe it was because the whole lamb was present (minus the wool and hide). Fish with the head attached is one thing, but this definitely was stretching the comfort zone, and here in Durres, Albania, we had already been stretched quite a bit. Perhaps I was a bit

September 28, 2011

Christian Standard

‘Time’ Columnist Visits Joplin Church

Joe Klein, Time magazine”s political columnist, devoted Sunday”s column to reflections on a day worshipping and serving with College Heights Christian Church (Joplin, MO). He writes, “The message was simple, powerful . . . but not nearly as powerful as the sight of people of all ages, wearing white t-shirts, gathering up into work teams and spreading out around town to help people who were still suffering from the ravages of the tornado and others who were just suffering because they were poor or infirm or elderly.” The piece, part of the “Joe Klein”s Road Trip” series, is affirming of

September 28, 2011

Christian Standard

New Churches Launch

Lots of new churches launched the weekend of Sept. 17, 18! Pathways Christian Church (Cincinnati, OH) Mission Church (Ventura, CA) Community Christian Church (Edgewater location, Chicago, IL) Legacy Christian Church (Menomonee Falls, WI) Lifepointe Church (Downtown location, Raleigh, NC) And one additional church launched on Sept. 25: Reunion Church (Plainfield, IN) Did we miss any? E-mail bu**@*********ub.com if you have news to share!

September 27, 2011

Christian Standard

Feeling the Weight

 By Mark A. Taylor To a casual observer, the North American Christian Convention president”s job may look easy and fun. He gets to make many decisions about the convention program, including the speakers and the lead musicians. In the year before the convention, he is introduced as president before audiences everywhere. Once the convention begins, he flits from one session to another, encouraging leaders and speakers and bringing words of greeting. He has the honor of preaching at the convention”s opening session. But anyone who”s worked behind the scenes at the NACC sees the burden the president takes on. For

September 24, 2011

Christian Standard

Battling Slave Trade with Nativity Wrapping Paper

By Jennifer Taylor   It may be August, but for the youth group at Martelle Christian Church (Jones, IA) it”s time to think Christmas. At summer camp in 2009, the MCC youth group learned about human trafficking, the millions of people currently enslaved, and the billions of dollars captors earn from victims. “We were shocked by the horrific practice of kidnapping young girls and forcing them to work as prostitutes until they are so filled with disease they are literally thrown out,” explains Troy Titus, youth minister at the church. “I felt moved by God to do something.” The group

September 23, 2011

Christian Standard

Reconsidering Politics, Revisiting Columbine, and Rediscovering Fun

By LeRoy Lawson The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America Jim Wallis New York: HarperOne, 2008 Columbine Dave Cullen New York: Twelve (e-book), 2009 Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul Stuart Brown, MD New York: Penguin Group, 2009 I didn”t read Jim Wallis”s The Great Awakening when it came out in 2008. My “must-read” stack was pretty high then, so I opted to skip the Sojourners founder”s sequel to God”s Politics, his opinion of””and this is the book”s subtitle””Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn”t Get It.

September 23, 2011

Christian Standard

NH Church Celebrates 50th with Stadium Service

Manchester (NH) Christian Church celebrated its 50th anniversary on Sunday with a special service at the Northeast Delta Dental Stadium, home to the area”s minor league baseball team. “Preaching from home plate under blue skies, senior pastor Bo Chancey said the evangelical Christian church has become a home, family and source of hope to its members,” says a local news article. “We have a mission to change New England, to turn ordinary people into extraordinary followers of Jesus,” Chancey said. Click here to read more and to see pictures of the packed stadium!

Help Keep Christian Standard Free & Accessible with a Tax Deductible Donation

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Does Your Church Want to Support Christian Standard?

Would your church consider including support for Christian Standard in its annual missions budget? Your support would help us not only continue the 160-year legacy of this unifying ministry, but also expand the free resources, cooperative opportunities, and practical guidance we provide to strengthen churches in the U.S. and around the world.

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Secret Link