Series: Featured

May 29, 2011

Christian Standard

The Brush Run Church

By Calvin Warpula In 1809 when Thomas Campbell wrote the Declaration and Address of the Christian Association of Washington [Pennsylvania], he had no plan to start a separate church. He strongly opposed sectarianism and all human creeds and promoted unity among all believers in Christ on the basis of the Scriptures only. His son, Alexander, who arrived from Ireland later that year, agreed with and supported his father”s views. On Saturday, May 4, 1811, at its semiannual meeting, the Christian Association decided to transform itself into a local church because its calls for unity based on Scripture had been rejected

May 24, 2011

Christian Standard

Eternal Suffering or Eternal Destruction?

By Stanley J. Grenz The traditional teaching of the church””that the lost will suffer unending conscious torment in Hell””has repeatedly been challenged by “universalists” since the third century. They believe that in the end, all will be saved. After the Reformation, a third viewpoint, annihilationism, emerged as a minority position. The doctrine of annihilationism appeared in the 1660 confession of the General Baptists, and among the Seventh-day Adventists and several other Evangelical groups in the 19th century. Since 1960, several prominent British Evangelicals, as well as Canadian theologian Clark Pinnock, have embraced this view. John Stott has likewise expressed sympathy

May 23, 2011

Christian Standard

How Could a Loving God Send Anyone to Hell?

By Jeff Vines Editor”s note: Five years ago we published a series of articles by Jeff Vines that dealt with three difficult questions that are often stumbling blocks for Christians as well as nonbelievers. The articles described a long conversation Jeff had with a circle of skeptics he met in an Australian restaurant. With the current discussion about the reality of Hell, we felt it helpful to reprint the third article in this series. To get all three articles (the first are “How Can We Believe in God with So Much Evil in the World?” and “How Can You Say

May 22, 2011

Christian Standard

Rob Bell Isn”t Your Biggest Concern

By Brian Jones With the release this spring of Rob Bell”s new book, Love Wins, we finally have confirmation of what many of us have suspected for years””he”s a flipping genius. Only a brilliant thinker and writer could make heresy sound like refreshing orthodoxy. But this is in fact what he”s done, with flair. Taking something so clear and unambiguous as the reality of Hell after death for nonbelievers and replacing it with false hope, and making even the most grounded among us scratch our heads, is no easy feat. The fact is we shouldn”t be surprised””this has been going

May 20, 2011

Christian Standard

Fifty-One Miles to Faith

Going to church in this era of loud, rude bands and electronic light shows is often more of a trial to my faith than a boost to it. To get away from it all, my wife, Sharon, and I climb into my blue Crown Victoria and roll north to the little town of Leonard, Missouri, 51 miles from our home in Moberly. The sign says, “Leonard, population 200.” The church is a pretty vanilla building, resting on a pea gravel parking lot, and wrapped in a grove of towering oak trees. The inside of the building is immaculate, tastefully done

May 17, 2011

Christian Standard

More than Teacups . . . a Plea for Biblical Literacy

By Megan Gariss I was in elementary school during the mid-1990s when “Magic Eye” posters were all the rage. As you may remember, these posters produced three-dimensional images out of two-dimensional patterns. For some in my class, seeing the image was no problem””they could simply glance at the poster and quickly discern the hidden 3-D image. However, for most of the class, myself included, viewing the image was hard work. We all had different methods of looking at the “Magic Eye” poster, each guaranteed to help the viewer discover the 3-D image””be it a penguin on a raft or the

May 16, 2011

Christian Standard

Adult Education and the Challenge to Make Disciples

By Tom May Just before ascending to Heaven, Jesus commissioned the disciples to go and make other disciples“”a word that implies teaching and mentoring (Matthew 28:18-20). He also used the word teaching in those verses. With the blasting trumpet of an elephant”s screeching cry, the church is challenged to teach in such a way that the result makes disciples. It”s been the elephant in the room for years. For decades, churches have interpreted Jesus” final instructions to mean “cookie- cutter” programming””Sunday morning worship, Sunday evening service, Wednesday evening service, and an adult Sunday school program that mirrored the activities for

May 15, 2011

Christian Standard

Our Lost Love

By Charles A. Lee The American Christian community is rapidly losing its love for the Bible. Studies by Barna, Gallup, and other pollsters repeatedly uncover a diminishing knowledge of the Bible among Christian adults and a consequent weakening of Bible-focused dialogue in the marketplace. In spite of the clear evidence, many churches are more interested in creating programs, developing relationships, and listening to “heartwarming stories” than in helping adult members develop a pragmatic mastery of God”s Word. Jesus told the religious leaders of his day, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of

May 12, 2011

Christian Standard

More and Better Disciples

By Darrel Rowland Eyebrow waxing, dancing, and a full-fledged mariachi band. It”s not quite the holy trinity of women”s ministry at Mountain Christian Church. But it sure helps get the buzz going in the community. More important, it”s all part of bringing women closer to Jesus and making more and better disciples by helping them take a step on their journey with Jesus “We try to offer something to women on both ends of the spectrum of discipleship,” said Susan Owens, who is on staff with the small groups team at the Joppa, Maryland, church that averages about 4,500 in

May 11, 2011

Christian Standard

Why Women”s Ministry?

By Susan Lawrence with Darrel Rowland Editor”s note: Why have a women”s ministry? We asked women”s ministry consultant Susan Lawrence for her answers. In addition to her ministry with women”s groups in many places, Susan coordinates women”s ministry at her home church, Taylorville (Illinois) Christian. To have or not to have a women”s ministry? It”s a question every church needs to answer, but the answer won”t be the same for every church. Many churches make their decisions to have or not to have a women”s ministry for rather twist-ed reasons. For instance, continuing a women”s ministry because “we”ve had women”s ministry for

May 9, 2011

Christian Standard

Reaching Their Potential?

By Darrel Rowland Women”s ministry leaders across the country””plus a token guy””were asked: “Do most Christian churches/churches of Christ you”re aware of allow women to reach their full potential in Christ?” Paul Boatman, seminary dean at Lincoln (Illinois) Christian University Of course they do! The trick is to keep their full potential limited so that they are prevented from exercising any God-given talents that might impinge on our fantasies of masculine control. Some leadership roles just cannot be filled without testosterone! Having participated in at least a dozen ordinations of women to specialized ministries, I experience frustration at consistently seeing

May 8, 2011

Christian Standard

Women”s Ministry: Changing Views

By Darrel Rowland When Patricia Rohach surveyed Christian church women across the country as part of her doctoral dissertation on women”s ministry, she got an earful. One person she interviewed said, “Not all pastors in the different Christian churches I have attended have been positive toward women, and there have been many instances of devaluation of women through attitude and lack of addressing teaching about women. It isn”t as much a negative approach as it is an ignoring of women, by not acknowledging their existence, joking about them publicly, and treating them as the “˜little ladies.”” Another responded, “Until the

May 7, 2011

Christian Standard

Cohabitation for Idiots

By Arron Chambers OK, I can hear what you’re thinking. This is an opinion section in the Christian Standard, and you’re going to try convinciing me that living together before marriage is a bad idea. Why don’t you stop wasting my time and tell me why I’m right to believe it’s a sin for women to serve Communion? Well, because I’m not and you’re wrong, but that’s just my opinion and not the point of this opinion piece. And anyway, I’m the one who was asked to write an opinion article about something I care about and I want to

May 6, 2011

Christian Standard

Women”s Ministry in Our Changing World

By LeAnne Blackmore Martina McBride is onto something in her song “This One”s for the Girls.” Sure, women may represent several generations, come from diverse backgrounds, assert unique personalities, claim different callings, and even participate in a plethora of churches; but the truth is, we are all the same inside. And one of those “same” qualities is our need to feel valued. Maybe, just maybe, if we can wrap our heads around this central need, churches can have a more effective ministry to the women of today. As a little girl, I remember my mom leading the women”s ministry at

May 5, 2011

Christian Standard

What”s Happening with Women”s Ministry?

By Darrel Rowland So what”s a big bearded guy like me know about women”s ministry anyhow? Does it help that when I was young I helped a proud member of the Dolphin Circle””that would be my mom””wash the glass Communion cups and put them on the big wooden pegboard to dry? (Rats, the Methodists and Lutherans would beat us to lunch again.) Obviously, my experience doesn”t qualify me to know what”s going on with women”s ministry in Christian churches. So I talked to some folks who”ve traveled to many of our churches, hosted workshops or conferences, consulted with congregations, maybe

May 2, 2011

Christian Standard

Is the Church in a Recession?

By Kent E. Fillinger Financial experts disagree on the economic status of our country. Have we rebounded from the recession or are we preparing for a second dip? The economic impact has been unevenly felt across the country and in churches. Two years ago, I wrote an article titled “Sustaining Ministry in a Shrinking Economy” for the megachurch issue, so it seemed valuable to assess the current financial state of the churches in our survey by examining several economic indicators. Strap on your financial seat belt, break out your calculator, and get ready to review a detailed financial portfolio of

May 1, 2011

Christian Standard

Confronting Our Own Heresy

By Dick Alexander I became a Christian at age 9 to escape Hell. That”s not necessarily a bad thing, but it”s not the only thing, and maybe not the best thing. It took me years to get past fear and learn to love God. In retrospect, I wish I could have started with love. The quintessential evangelism question is, if you died tonight, are you sure you would be in Heaven tomorrow? But statistically, the chances are small the person will die tonight. While it”s dangerous to presume on the future, especially in the highest stakes game of all””eternity””is there

April 28, 2011

Christian Standard

Growing Church, Part-time Staff

By Kent E. Fillinger When Don Hill started a new church in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, he wanted it to appeal to ordinary people. Hill wanted people to remember that before Jesus was the Messiah, he was an ordinary carpenter. This concept was reflected in the new church”s name””The Carpenter”s Christian Church. Carpenter”s began with a core group of 30 people and held its first worship service in the show barn at Anderson Circle Farms in March 1999. In its early days, the church met in rented facilities throughout Mercer County. In August 2003, when Greg Warren became the church”s second senior

April 28, 2011

Christian Standard

MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES: The 2010 List

This listing of 47 churches that averaged 250-499 for worship in 2010 includes church name, city, senior minister, Web site, average attendance, and number of baptisms. (This is not a complete listing of such churches; it is a listing of Medium-Sized Churches that participated in our survey.) Click here to look at the chart of 2010 MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES.

April 25, 2011

Christian Standard

Restore Community Church

By Kent E. Fillinger It all began at the 2007 North American Christian Convention. Church planting was the theme of the gathering in Kansas City, Missouri, that year. And Dave Ferguson, convention vice president and lead pastor of Community Christian Church, Naperville, Illinois, had the idea of using the convention to help launch a new church in Kansas City. Restore Community Church is the result of that vision. Ferguson shared his vision with Troy McMahon, who had been serving with him as campus pastor for Community”s first multisite location, in Romeoville, Illinois, since 1998. Interestingly, McMahon had started as a

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