Series: Columns

January 7, 2011

Christian Standard

God”s Word””the Life Shaper

(This essay is the first in a series called “The Bible, My Guide” that will appear throughout 2011. In it, Christian leaders will present testimonies about how the Bible has changed them. This essay, and all subsequent ones in this series, may be accessed by clicking on “The Bible, My Guide” in the drop down menu under “Features” on the home page.) By Marshall Hayden I didn”t understand the TV commercial the first time or two. But now every time I see it I get a warm feeling the advertiser no doubt wanted to plant in my subconscious. When we

January 7, 2011

Christian Standard

Hope Partnership Kids Making the Grade in Kenya

This past week, Christian Missionary Fellowship (Indianapolis, IN) received word that of the 96 kids from the Hope Partnership who sat for their high school entrance exam, 93 passed””a 97 percent pass rate! This is the second consecutive year that 97 percent of Hope Partnership students passed, in a country with an average pass rate of 40 percent. “These kids are all from the slums,” says Executive Director Doug Priest. “None of them are children of privilege.” The Hope Partnership is an initiative that serves the poor in Nairobi, Kenya, with Community Health Evangelism, a microfinance program, child sponsorship, and

January 6, 2011

Christian Standard

What to Call Our Year of the Bible?

By Mark A. Taylor What better time than 2011 to focus on the Bible? This year marks the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible, and in Christian Standard we”ll be lifting up the Bible all year long. This week”s special articles are the first of many about everything from how we got the Bible to how we teach it. Friends and advisers””our contributing editors as well as colleagues here at Standard Publishing””gave us dozens of ideas for the year. But even with all their excellent input, we couldn”t agree on what to call our year of

January 4, 2011

Christian Standard

Changed Lives, Reformed Hearts

By LeRoy Lawson The Brain that Changes Itself Norman Doidge, M.D. / New York: Penguin Books, 2007 Dark Journey/Deep Grace: Jeffrey Dahmer”s Story of Faith Roy Ratliff and Lindy Adams / Abilene: Leafwood Publishers, 2006 In the 1950s Norman Vincent Peale”s The Power of Positive Thinking became a surprise best seller. Robert H. Schuller took up his mantle a generation later with a host of self-help books with a variation on the theme, the power of “possibility” thinking. It has been pretty easy for cynics to dismiss Peale and Schuller and their ilk. Too easy, too Pollyannaish, so much “pie

January 2, 2011

Christian Standard

The Essential About Opinions

by Mark A. Taylor Any parent of young adults knows two things: First, you”ll always be a parent. Just because they”re out of the house, you don”t stop worrying about their health and their choices and their future. Just because they”re earning a living, you don”t stop wondering if they have enough money. Second, and more important, the parent of young adults must keep his opinions to himself””or at least state them in a gentle way that earns a hearing. Grown children don”t respond well to lectures from their parents, especially when they passionately disagree about the issue at hand.

January 1, 2011

Christian Standard

Playing It Forward for Families, Churches

By Jennifer Taylor The team from Cartwheels & Coffee has been asked to open new locations in Colorado, Kentucky, and even Portugal. “The best ideas come from creative solutions to problems,” says Chris Barras, lead pastor at Area 10 Faith Community (Richmond, Virginia). The idea was doubling the use of a rented space to both minimize costs and maximize community engagement. When Barras and his team planted Area 10 in 2008, they were fortunate to score the famous Byrd Theatre as a meeting place. But the location had no room for a children”s ministry. “We wanted to have low overhead

December 30, 2010

Christian Standard

New Members Light Candles

This past Sunday, Crossroads Christian Church (Newburgh, IN) celebrated the year and encouraged new decisions for Christ. After covering the stage in the worship center with unlit candles, church leaders invited all those who had become a Christian or a CCC member over the last year to come forward and light one of the candles. At the end of his sermon, senior pastor Ken Idleman extended an invitation for anyone who wanted to make one of those decisions that morning to also come forward and light a candle.

December 27, 2010

Christian Standard

FROM MY BOOKSHELF: From My Vacation, for Your New Year

By LeRoy Lawson The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves Matt Ridley / New York: HarperCollins, 2010 Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker / Carol Stream: Tyndale House, 2009 Why Does E=MC2? Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw / Cambridge: Da Capo Press, 2009 How the Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In Jim Collins / New York: HarperCollins, 2009 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got that Way Bill Bryson / New York: Perennial, 1990 This column”s books have one thing in common: They provided my entertainment on a recent trip to Europe.

December 24, 2010

Christian Standard

Church Offers Year-End Offering Opportunity

“Being a part of this church has changed my life! I am in a very difficult financial place right now so finding an extra $20 is hard. I do, however, have these rings to give. Thank you, I have been able to make it through the darkest time because every Sunday you are all here for me.” Inspired by this note, the team at 2|42 Community Church (Howell, MI) created a special year-end offering opportunity””“The Original Christmas Gift.” Just as the wise men gave gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to Jesus, members were encouraged to bring their gold (in

December 23, 2010

Christian Standard

Canadian Church Hosts Celtic Christmas

Churchill Meadows Christian Church (Ontario, Canada) held its annual Celtic Christmas celebration this past weekend. The event features fiddlers, bagpipe music, authentic step-dancing, and other ancient elements. Popular Celtic songs and traditional Christmas carols are performed and CMCC minister Jim Tune shares a Christmas message.  Read more about this and other ways churches are celebrating Christmas in this week”s Buzz!

December 23, 2010

Christian Standard

Churches Provide Mission Opportunities at Christmas

Sherwood Oaks Christian Church (Bloomington, IN) created a Global Christmas Market catalog to provide opportunities for missional giving this season. The catalog included information about the local and global missions supported by SOCC, as well as specific “wish list” items for each ministry: food for the hungry, a week at camp for a needy child, mosquito nets, and many more. Participants could designate their financial donation toward any item and the church also provided gift acknowledgement cards for them to explain their donation to recipients. Common Ground Christian Church (Indianapolis, IN) also created a way for members to give to

December 22, 2010

Christian Standard

We Wonder Too

By Mark A. Taylor Schoolchildren in a Nairobi slum sing with gusto: Jesus, what a wonder you are! Their boisterous voices reverberate inside the corrugated tin walls of their tiny classroom: Oh my Jesus, what a wonder you are! And any visitor is struck by the wonder that Jesus has moved men and women to serve in this difficult place. A host of smiling teachers stands before thousands of children in classrooms like this one, rising above a sea of 12-by-12 lean-to huts these kids call home. Meanwhile, the school”s well-dressed social workers step over running streams of raw sewage

December 18, 2010

Christian Standard

Churches Celebrate Our Savior”s Birth

By Jennifer Taylor So many churches, so many different ways to celebrate the birth of our Savior! Each December for the last three years, My Safe Harbor (Anaheim, California)“”a nonprofit organization providing education and support for low-income single moms and their children””has coordinated a Christmas brunch for teachers at four local elementary schools. From homemade treats and decorations to music and gifts, the MSH team provides a special time of appreciation for these hard-working teachers. Members at Anaheim First Christian Church, which helped launch My Safe Harbor, sign thank-you cards and donate money for presents (including refills for the Keurig

December 16, 2010

Christian Standard

A ‘Reel/Real’ Christmas Celebration

“Tis the season for Christmas concerts, and this year Rocky Mountain Christian Church (Niwot, CO) tried something new! This past weekend the church presented “Reel to Real,” a celebration of Christmas movies (reel) and the real meaning of Christmas. The event included clips from favorite Christmas movies on a giant screen while a chorus and live orchestra provided the music and a red carpet and “paparazzi” created the feel of a movie premiere.

December 15, 2010

Christian Standard

‘Pink Slip Christmas Party’ Held

On Dec. 14, Meridian Christian Church (Okemos, MI) hosted its first-ever “Pink Slip Christmas Party.” The party, an opportunity for the unemployed to meet with potential employers, included food, workshops, and networking. The church”s Community Ministries organization partnered with area businesses, agencies, and career specialists and provided the “ultimate career event and holiday celebration” free of charge. Click here to read more.

December 13, 2010

Christian Standard

A Constructive Way to Help Churches

By Jennifer Taylor Kent Hawkins, senior minister with Cornerstone Christian Church, is driving to the site of the congregation”s new building in Vero Beach, Florida. It”s almost dinnertime, and church members are preparing and serving a meal to the volunteers working on the framing of CCC”s new building. In just a little over two weeks, these electricians, contractors, and carpenters””all of them members of Jack Ballard Church Builders“”will donate thousands of hours to build this new facility””and save the church around $100,000. Jack Ballard Church Builders was founded in 1971 after members at Mount Carmel Christian Church (Stone Mountain, Georgia)

December 13, 2010

Christian Standard

Church on Tour

By Jennifer Taylor Crossroads Christian Church (Newburgh, Indiana) encourages its thousands of members to participate in churchwide outreach events, volunteer with ministry partners like Habitat for Humanity, and attend seminars on generational poverty, evangelism, and more. But Eric Cummings, community outreach pastor at Crossroads, says the church”s “inner-city van tours” are the most valuable educational tool they”ve developed. Each month, 10-12 adults participate in the two-hour experience, seeing the reality of crime, poverty, and homelessness while also stopping at many of the schools, government agencies, and ministries working to help the city”s residents. “We don”t get out of the van,

December 12, 2010

Christian Standard

Blind Copies

By Mark A. Taylor Maybe you”ve noticed, as I have, the remarkable sameness greeting travelers at each stop along United States Interstates. Parachute a blindfolded visitor before the assortment of franchised restaurants assembled at any random exit, and ask him whether he”s landed in Kansas or Kentucky. He probably won”t be able to tell you. With a few regional exceptions, the same stuff is on the menu just about everywhere. And it”s true in churches too. Every October churches large and small, from California through the Bible Belt, promote Trunk “n” Treat as a Halloween alternative. Soon Christian Standard will

December 8, 2010

Christian Standard

“˜Making a Mess” Book a Finalist for Cover Design Award

Standard Publishing’s new book, Making a Mess and Meeting God, is one of three finalists for the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association 2010 Book Covers Award in the small publishers category. The book, written by Mandy Smith, helps readers discover new and deeper ways ordinary activities and daily life can teach us about God. Winners will be announced in a free webinar next Tuesday, Dec. 14, at 11 a.m. Eastern time.

December 8, 2010

Christian Standard

Two Ohio Pastors Support Undocumented Immigrant, DREAM

By Jennifer Taylor Last week, a Canton, OH-area newspaper reported the story of a Cincinnati teen and the local pastors championing his cause. The student, Bernard Pastor, was brought to the United States as a 3-year-old and taken into custody last month as an undocumented immigrant. Greg Nettle, senior pastor at RiverTree Christian Church (Massillon, OH) and Troy Jackson, senior pastor at University Christian Church (Cincinnati, OH) are among the leaders calling for the passage of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. “At the heart of all of this, we’re talking about caring for children,” Nettle

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