Series: Featured

November 1, 2022

Victor Knowles

Communion: The Crown Jewel of Worship

Communion: The Crown Jewel of Worship

By Victor Knowles  The Lord’s Supper is the crown jewel of worship. It should be the central act of our Christian worship. In his foreword to the book The Lord’s Supper: Remembering and Proclaiming Christ Until He Comes, Christian educator David S. Dockery wrote,   The highest form of corporate Christian worship is the Lord’s Supper. The celebration of the Supper directs our attention backward to the work of Christ on the cross and also encourages a forward look to the Second Coming of Christ. In addition, it provides a time for believers to examine their own personal relationship with God

September 1, 2022

Christian Standard

Allies

Allies

By Renee Little with Marshall Mead and Daryl Reed   I sit through long meetings to review and approve loans twice each month. We review financials, discuss property location and value, and debate ratios of risk in order to decide whether to approve funding. As a lending institution, due diligence is required, but as lovers of Jesus, we have an even larger responsibility to review and discuss doctrine, leadership, and church direction. We are more than a lender; we are, in fact, a ministry partner. Our mission is to honor God, and the best way to honor him is not just

September 1, 2022

Christian Standard

Ethnic Identity and the Multiethnic Church

Ethnic Identity and the Multiethnic Church

By Tokishia Dockery-Ragland  What part should one’s ethnicity play in their faith? Or should it play any role at all?   These are huge resounding questions for me, especially over the past 20 years, during which I’ve served or been a part of three multiethnic churches (and been part of multiethnic ministry staffs). But these questions certainly are not new. If we’re honest, these questions, this discussion, predates us all.  How Does Ethnicity Affect Faith?   I believe ethnicity should be acknowledged and that ethnicity does play a part in our faith. Merriam-Webster defines ethnicity as “ethnic quality or affiliation” and ethnic

September 1, 2022

Christian Standard

The Ministry of Being Misunderstood

The Ministry of Being Misunderstood

By Emily Richardson   You’re not that great. I apologize if that’s a blunt way to start, but I think it needs to be said. If it makes you feel any better, I’m not that great either.   If you know Jesus, it shouldn’t hurt to hear the brutal truth that you’re not that great. It should make you laugh, because much of Scripture highlights human sin and depravity and mess. Yet somehow, we still often buy into the lie that who we are and what people think about us is of utmost importance, that our identity is constantly on the line.

September 1, 2022

Christian Standard

When Stories Collide: How CRT Addresses Identity . . . and Ultimately Falls Short of Jesus’ Answer

When Stories Collide: How CRT Addresses Identity . . . and Ultimately Falls Short of Jesus’ Answer

By Matthew McBirth   My grandad is from the South. While my dad grew up during the Civil Rights Movement decades of the 1950s to 1960s, Grandad was raised during the age of Jim Crow. I have a vivid memory of watching a home video of Dad and Grandad visiting Grandad’s childhood community in the rural South during midsummer. While watching the highlights of the trip, the video showed Grandad next to a massive field covered in white. Upon seeing this, preteen Matthew (me) said aloud, “Wow, it snowed while y’all were there?” With a slight chuckle, Dad responded, “No, that’s

September 1, 2022

Christian Standard

The White-Jesus Myth

The White-Jesus Myth

The Historical Reality of the ‘Whitewashing’ of Christianity in America and Why It Matters  By Jerome Gay Jr.  On February 15, 1974, the TV show Good Times aired an episode called “Black Jesus.” Good Times featured a strong Black family with loving parents, creative children, and caring neighbors living in a Chicago housing project. The main character in the show was the flamboyant James “J.J.” Evans Jr. with his rousing signature wail, “Dy-no-miiiite!” In this episode, Florida (J.J.’s mother) became terribly upset when Michael (J.J.’s brother) hung J.J.’s painting of a Black Jesus on the wall next to the family’s

September 1, 2022

Osharye Hagood

Who Are We? (A Crucial Question for Women in the Church)

Who Are We? (A Crucial Question for Women in the Church)

By Osharye Hagood  A godly woman knows what God says about her and that she does not have to wait until she is thin enough, smart enough, perfect enough, strong enough, or socially accepted enough to add value to the church. A woman needs a place that understands and accepts her inevitable failings along the journey, just as a man does.   Jesus learned obedience through suffering, and women will do so as well. We need to experience that the church is not a culture of shame but a family of love, acceptance, and support. Yet, for so many women, this

September 1, 2022

Wes Beavis

Who Are You?

Who Are You?

How to Respond When the World Tries to Dismantle Your God-Given Identity  By Wes Beavis  “I hear voices inside my head.” This statement raises the sensitivities of a clinical psychologist. Hearing internal voices can be a sign of schizophrenia, which can drive people into homelessness. But schizophrenia is not just limited to the down and out.   John Nash, a brilliant mathematician, would carry on conversations with people inside his head. His story was made into a movie called A Beautiful Mind. Despite suffering from schizophrenia, Nash’s intellectual capacity and achievements led to him being awarded a Nobel Memorial Prize in

September 1, 2022

Ben Cachiaras

What’s the Problem with Politics in the Church?

What’s the Problem with Politics in the Church?

By Ben Cachiaras  Over the last two years I have listened to pastors and witnessed churches across the country share sad stories. They tell of congregations splitting, longtime members leaving, and pastors getting fired. I’ve seen tight-knit small groups blow apart, families feud, and longtime friendships abruptly end.   Has this happened primarily because of major scandal in the church or moral failure? Or was it false doctrine—a refusal to recognize the divinity of Christ? Or perhaps a mishandling of Scripture?   No. It was politics.   We can barely even discuss politics anymore. We polarize over every issue, demonize those with differing

July 1, 2022

Kent E. Fillinger

Current Trends in Dating, Marriage, and Parenting

Current Trends in Dating, Marriage, and Parenting

By Kent E. Fillinger When I was young, whenever a boy and girl played together on the school playground, the other kids typically would tease them by singing “The Kissing Song”: “[Boy’s name] and [girl’s name], sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in the baby carriage!” The order prescribed in that song is being followed less and less these days. The purpose of this article is to explore recent data on dating, marriage, and parenting to help church leaders better understand current trends to help shape future teaching and ministry possibilities. DATING

July 1, 2022

Ben Cachiaras

What Should the Church Do about the Mental Health Crisis

What Should the Church Do about the Mental Health Crisis

By Ben Cachiaras We have a problem. Emotional well-being is in serious decline. It’s a palpable crisis that was bad before the pandemic. The isolation, social upheaval, polarization, and massive changes with work, school, and life have exacerbated the crisis, creating an extended ambiguity and heightened stress that’s a perfect cocktail for burnout and emotional struggle. (I first heard it put that way by Paul Alexander, president of Hope International University.) No wonder the World Health Organization’s recent scientific brief states that the global prevalence of anxiety and depression has increased 25 percent since the pandemic’s arrival in early 2020.

July 1, 2022

Tyler McKenzie

The Slavery of the Digital World

The Slavery of the Digital World

How to Break the Chains and Build a Tech-Wise Life for You and Your Children By Tyler McKenzie I believe history will remember 2007 as a defining year. Why? In 2007, a nuclear-sized tech explosion occurred. Facebook transitioned from a college to global phenomenon. Twitter went global. “The cloud” took off. Hadoop began expanding the ability of any company to store and analyze enormous amounts of unstructured data (which enabled big data and cloud computing). Amazon released its first Kindle. Google introduced Android. And (drumroll please) Steve Jobs introduced the first-generation iPhone. As I mentioned in my May/June Engage column

July 1, 2022

Matt Merold

The Vital Signs We Must Measure

The Vital Signs We Must Measure

By Matt Merold In every hospital room, sitting right by the patient’s bed, is an electronic vital signs monitor. Most of these monitors display the four main vital signs that are regularly checked by medical professionals. A vital signs monitor is a quick and simple way to assess the patient’s current health. Body temperature, pulse rate, blood pressure, respiration rate—if all four of these are in the normal range, the patient is assumed to be stable and healthy. Based mostly on vital signs, a physician will describe the patient’s condition with just one word: good, fair, serious, critical, or dead.

July 1, 2022

Ken Idleman

Healthy Churches Are Built on Trustworthy Leaders

Healthy Churches Are Built on Trustworthy Leaders

By Ken Idleman In 2011, New York Times best-selling author Tina Rosenberg published Join the Club: How Peer Pressure Can Transform the World. The question she addressed in her secular book was, How do you get people to change for the better? How do you get them to live healthier lives . . . to diet, exercise, and not drink excessively? In short, how do you get individuals to grow in a positive direction? She concluded that the masses don’t change simply because they desire to change or by getting more information. Virtually everyone who smokes knows smoking is bad

July 1, 2022

Doug Crozier

Make Sure You and Your Ministry Are Healthy

By Doug Crozier You can’t avoid it. The health of your ministry is tied to your personal and professional health. Many leaders (me included) have learned this lesson too late; we continue to push harder because we passionately want to grow God’s kingdom. Working hard is one thing; overworking is another. Since transitioning from the corporate world almost 30 years ago, I have dedicated my life and ministry to the Restoration Movement. It was a big change, but I have never regretted it. After many periods of burnout in my life, I began to develop a plan to break these

July 1, 2022

Christian Standard

How Can We Move from Independence to Connection?

How Can We Move from Independence to Connection?

By Chris DeWelt “O would some power the giftie gie us to see ourselves as others see us!” —Robert Burns (“To a Louse”) Many years ago, Carol and I were learning Spanish while temporarily living in Costa Rica and attending a school that specializes in helping missionaries prepare linguistically for life in Latin America. Not long after we arrived, the school’s director invited us to his office to get to know us. “So what agency are you with?” was his first question. “We are direct-support missionaries,” I happily replied. His face turned quizzical, and then he asked, “What church are

July 1, 2022

Matt Proctor

Can Our Churches Continue to Grow and Bear Fruit?

Can Our Churches Continue to Grow and Bear Fruit?

By Matt Proctor The movie Apollo 13 tells the true story of astronauts James Lovell, Fred Haise, and John L. “Jack” Swigert. On their way to the moon in April 1970, an explosion left them in a crippled spacecraft 200,000 miles from Earth—low on power, losing cabin heat, flight trajectories off. “Houston, we have a problem.” As John Ortberg relates the story in Everybody’s Normal Till You Get to Know Them, suddenly, these three astronauts needed a community of NASA scientists to save them, and these scientists were not your normal movie heroes—no chiseled good looks or superpowers. They were

July 1, 2022

Alan Ahlgrim

The Rhythms of a Well-Lived Life: Being Healthy Is Your Responsibility

The Rhythms of a Well-Lived Life: Being Healthy Is Your Responsibility

By Alan Ahlgrim Too many times in my life my “stinkin’ thinkin’” and substandard theology led me to patterns that failed to improve my well-being. A few examples: I once determined to read the entire Bible out loud over the course of a year. That drained me more than blessed me. I once committed to a schedule that included both evening appointments and early morning meetings. Burning the candle at both ends left me flamed out. I was depleted by weariness and self-pity. I once adhered to a daily jogging regimen in all weathers. That led to injuries, especially when

May 1, 2022

Renee Little

Higher, Faster, Stronger, Smarter

Compiled by Renee Little Four church leaders who have worked with or are working with The Solomon Foundation on building projects offered to share their experiences. Here’s what they had to say. HIGHER Chad Goucher, The Refinery in Phoenix, Arizona Many times in my life I’ve felt as if, from a leadership perspective, I was hitting my head on the ceiling. I knew there was something “higher,” something more, something I couldn’t tap into on my own. As a pastor leading a church charged with helping people find and know Jesus, being able to break through that ceiling and finding

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