December 3, 2008
Big Ideas for Smaller Churches
Mark A. Taylor highlights how the Energizing Smaller Churches Network encourages leaders in smaller congregations and shares the spring and summer 2009 ESCN conference schedule.
Series: Columns
November 26, 2008
How Will We React to Economic Slowdown?
Mark A. Taylor urges church leaders facing economic pressure to protect mission priorities, resist survival-mode budgeting, and trust God’s provision in difficult financial seasons.
November 19, 2008
Thankful for Our Riches
Mark A. Taylor reflects on gratitude during financial uncertainty, reminding Christians that God’s riches in Christ remain steady even when the economy, retirement accounts, and circumstances do not.
November 12, 2008
The Right Decisions in a Downturn
Mark A. Taylor urges churches not to retreat during economic downturns, but to see hard times as an opportunity for mission, benevolence, and faithful stewardship.
November 9, 2008
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Returning from the Dark Side
LeRoy Lawson reviews books by Gordon MacDonald, Gary Kinnaman, and Richard Jacobs, reflecting on pastoral failure, depression, restoration, and the grace needed to walk through darkness.
If You Feed It, It Will Grow
Mark A. Taylor reflects on growth, nourishment, and the essential role of reading in keeping the soul, mind, and leadership effectiveness alive.
October 29, 2008
Giving a Shrug About Politics
Mark A. Taylor reflects on Christian uneasiness during a presidential election and reminds readers that voting matters, but no candidate can solve the country’s deepest problems.
October 22, 2008
Could We Have Been Better Prepared?
Mark A. Taylor reflects on Hurricane Ike’s power outage and urges elders to prepare for church crises with accountability, character, prayer, and wise shepherding.
October 12, 2008
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: China: Refreshing, Intriguing, Confusing, Unsettling
LeRoy Lawson reviews Rob Gifford’s China Road and reflects on modern China, Chinese Christianity, missionary legacy, and the sobering historical context of The Opium Wars.
October 8, 2008
Church Health and Attendance Numbers How Do They Relate?
Mark A. Taylor considers whether church health should be measured by attendance alone, weighing numerical growth against relational healing, discipleship, and congregational stability.
October 1, 2008
An Opportunity Too Important to Miss!
Mark A. Taylor calls churches to prepare for Great Communion, a bicentennial opportunity to remember Christ together and bear witness to unity across divided Restoration Movement streams.
September 24, 2008
A Simple Survey by, for, and About Elders
Mark A. Taylor invites readers to complete a survey about elders in their congregations ahead of his workshop at the Indianapolis Congress of Elders.
September 17, 2008
Should Anything Change About the NACC?
Mark A. Taylor reflects on NACC viewpoints, conference costs, cultural shifts, attendance concerns, and whether the North American Christian Convention can remain sustainable for future years.
September 14, 2008
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Five by Oliver Sacks, MD
LeRoy Lawson reflects on Oliver Sacks’s books, especially Musicophilia, and considers how music, the brain, suffering, communication, and worship intersect in deeply human ways.
September 10, 2008
New Name, Consistent Service
Mark A. Taylor introduces Diane Jones as Christian Standard’s new magazine production coordinator and thanks the staff members who guided the magazine through a season of transition.
September 3, 2008
Our Online Review of a Best-seller
Jennifer Taylor reviews The Shack, weighing its literary weaknesses against the theological ideas that helped the book connect with readers far beyond the Christian fiction audience.
August 27, 2008
Meaningful Connections and Maturing Disciples?
Mark A. Taylor considers concerns from Brian Jones and Mike Mack about small group ministry, asking whether churches are creating meaningful connections and maturing disciples.
August 20, 2008
A Week of Blessing for a Life of Grace
Mark A. Taylor reflects on worship, preaching, and ministry fellowship at the 2008 North American Christian Convention in Cincinnati, where “Come, Thou Fount” framed a week of encouragement and accountability.
August 13, 2008
Both Sides and a Strong Conclusion
Mark A. Taylor reflects on women in church leadership, differing biblical interpretations, and the Restoration Movement principle of liberty in matters of opinion.
August 10, 2008
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Defending Our Faith, Holding Our Attention
LeRoy Lawson reviews books by Timothy Keller and Charles Colson, weighing their apologetic value against the enduring influence of C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity.
