Series: Featured

June 7, 2009

Christian Standard

My Journey Toward Self-Discovery and Understanding the World

  By Derek L. Duncan When I was young I thought I knew it all. Not all in the comprehensive sense of understanding every idea and value of the universe, but all in a specific sense. Give me information, a book to read or a television show to watch, and I didn”t need anyone else”s help to interpret it.  I would like to blame this arrogance on my parents, but it is a problem deep within my heart. I make quick judgments and think I know what I am talking about when I don”t. I don”t take time to check

June 7, 2009

Christian Standard

What I”ve Learned While Serving Single Moms

  By Nancy Karpenske It”s what the church is supposed to be doing. It takes longer than you think. Their backgrounds and situations are not all similar. Their problems are large and expensive. Their hurts are deep. Their children are their priority. Many have little knowledge of God”s plans for marriage and family. Many have little grasp of God”s love and grace. Many have been turned away from their church, either because the small church can”t meet their financial needs or because that church punishes those who get divorced. Many have a hard exterior that covers a wounded heart. Many

June 7, 2009

Christian Standard

The Bible Mandate for Single Mom Ministry

  By Nancy Karpenske “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27)*. In today”s society, homes led by single mothers are one significant expression of “orphans and widows.” In Acts 6, one of the first problems in the early church centered around neglect or unfair treatment of widows in a basic necessity: daily food. The apostles” response shows it was important to respond to the need and care for these individuals and families. The apostles invited the church to select seven of their best

June 7, 2009

Christian Standard

A Single Mom”s Story

  By Nancy Karpenske What are they like, the single moms who participate in Surviving & Thriving as a Single Mom, LifeBridge Christian Church”s ministry to single moms? Here is a composite sample: J.C. is the typical single mom. She is nearing 40. Her husband found someone else and left. He is supposed to pay child support but rarely does. J.C. was a stay-at-home mom. Her job skills are limited. She works at a preschool so her younger child can be with her. She works 9 am to 3 pm so she can pick up her older son from elementary

June 6, 2009

Christian Standard

One State, Three Bible Colleges

By David Fincher Within our fellowship of churches, people are often surprised to learn Missouri has three Bible colleges. Churches in this state and region have been blessed by the ongoing ministry, Bible teaching, and ministerial training offered by Ozark Christian College (OCC) in Joplin, St. Louis Christian College (SLCC) in Florissant, and Central Christian College of the Bible (CCCB) in Moberly, Through the years, faculty, staff, and administrators of the three colleges have had cordial relationships and developed many friendships with supporters. But there remains this question, “How could the three Bible colleges in Missouri work together to reflect

May 31, 2009

Christian Standard

Simple Church: Returning to God”s Process for Making Disciples

An Overview of “Simple Church” by David Ray “Tis the gift to be simple,  “tis the gift to be free,  “tis the gift to come down where you ought to be, And when we find ourselves in the place just right,  It will be in the valley of love and delight.1    If today”s church leaders were to tell the truth, many would admit they arenot “in the place just right,” because most churches have become anything but “simple,” and the stress in leading them is nothing like finding yourself in any “valley of love and delight.” Why? Because churches have

May 31, 2009

Christian Standard

Simply Courageous: Churches Cut Clutter in Order to Focus

  By Krista Petty In the early 1970s, McDonald”s had 13 menu items. Today, there are about 50. Thirty years ago, the city of Houston had five television channels. Today, there are more than 185. America is home to more than 1 million SKUs (standard stocking units, aka bar codes); according to marketing guru Jack Trout, an average supermarket has 40,000 SKUs but the average family gets what it needs from only 150. “That means there”s a good chance we”ll ignore 39,850 items in that store,” writes Trout.1 All this illustrates the explosion of options available to the average person.

May 31, 2009

Christian Standard

Clearing the Clutter: An Honest Conversation with a Church in Process

  By Krista Petty What”s it like to be in the middle of the Simple Church process? Matt Bortmess, senior associate minister at Rochester (Illinois) Christian Church, is reading and discussing Simple Church with staff and leaders. They are halfway through the book and already seeing that the tough work is not reading the book, but applying its principles and taking action.     What is it like being in the Simple Church process? Matt: We are learning we have more focus now than five years ago. However, the focus has not been clearly refined or defined. We have a

May 31, 2009

Christian Standard

The Day I Went to Church and Ended Up in a Closet

  By Mark Atteberry My wife and I were vacationing in a city that is home to one of our brotherhood”s greatest churches. I won”t mention the church”s name for reasons that will become obvious as you read. Suffice to say, we couldn”t wait to worship there. We”d heard so many good things we just knew we”d have an unforgettable experience.  We did, but not in the way we expected.   WHAT HE SAID When we arrived at the sprawling campus I parked beside a woman who”d just locked her car and was heading for the nearest entrance. Having no

May 24, 2009

Christian Standard

Restoring, Rethinking, Remembering

By Dale Brown In an Indiana factory town in the 1950s, my family labored as a backbone piece of the Madison Avenue church of Christ. (They insisted on the small “c” for “church” as they were not a denomination””not by a long shot.) Evangelicals commonly talk about where and when they “met the Lord,” and I suppose a “meeting” of that sort happened to me in that Madison Avenue venue””not a commercial center by any stretch””but a fake tan brick building on the wrong side of the tracks where most of the important stuff of my young life came together.

May 24, 2009

Christian Standard

To Know and Speak

  By Joe Bliffen I am a Disciples of Christ pastor. I am “certified by the Christian Church in Ohio”s Commission on Ministry as a clergy person who has standing with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)” (from a letter confirming this recognition dated October 2004). I also believe the 66 books of the Bible are the inspired, inerrant revelation of God and that the 27 books of the New Testament are the only authority for the faith, practice, morals, and ethics of both individual Christians and the church. I believe creation took place over the course of six 24-hour

May 24, 2009

Christian Standard

What We Learned from Hard Times

  By John Plunkett Thirty-two years ago, when I was interviewing for a ministry position with Creve Coeur (Illinois) Christian Church, it quickly became clear the church was dependent on the workforce of Caterpillar. My wife, who was invited to sit in on part of the interview process, asked a simple question: What happens if Caterpillar goes on strike?  The answer was reassuring: Caterpillar had not been out on a strike in years and the company was enjoying the best of economic times. I accepted the position, and 18 months into our ministry, Caterpillar union employees went out on strike.

May 24, 2009

Christian Standard

The 2006 Unity Efforts”“Three Years Later

  By David Faust Three years ago I had the privilege of serving as president of the 2006 North American Christian Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. Our convention theme, “Together in Christ,” highlighted Jesus” prayer for unity in John 17.  We preached the great unity texts found in Ephesians 4. We sang””with and without instrumental accompaniment””and worshiped the Lord together. We noted the historic significance of the year 2006, 100 years after the U.S. Census Bureau first listed the a cappella churches of Christ as a separate body distinct from the Christian churches. We acknowledged that in a lost and dying

May 17, 2009

Christian Standard

Leading Older Adults to Find Places of Service

  By Amy Hanson VolunteerMatch, an organization that helps to connect people with community groups, commissioned an extensive research study in 2006 and discovered that more than half of adults 55 and older are interested in volunteering. The challenge is that many of them are having difficulty finding the right way to share their skills and experience. As leaders, what can we do to help people in the second half of life discover their unique place to serve?   Connect people to God so he can lead them. A few years ago I met a man named Hal who was

May 17, 2009

Christian Standard

Helpful Resources for Older Adult Ministry

  Compiled by Amy Hanson “¢ Christian Association Serving Adult Ministries (CASA): A national organization that provides resources for church leaders who are ministering with people in the second half of life. See www.gocasa.org. “¢ Building Adult Ministries: A blog affiliated with Christianity Today and CASA that shares relevant articles regarding ministry with adults 50 and older. CLICK HERE. “¢ Churches Responding to the Age Wave, Creating New Opportunities for Older Adults to Serve, and Breaking Down the Age Barriers: These are concept papers by Amy Hanson available at www.leadnet/encoregeneration.org. These papers share insights and examples from a number of

May 17, 2009

Christian Standard

How Some Churches Are Ministering to and with Older Adults

    By Amy Hanson Today”s older adult ministries are much different than 30 years ago. There is no longer one single approach that makes a 50-plus ministry successful; rather, there are a variety of methods being used to reach this rapidly growing age demographic. Here are just a few of the innovative and effective strategies being used by churches across the country.   Small Groups as a Tool for Evangelism Community Christian Church (www.communitychristian.org), a multisite church in Naperville, Illinois, has a site at Carillon, a 55-plus living community. Earl Ferguson, pastor at Carillon, says small groups have been

May 17, 2009

Christian Standard

Dispelling the Myths

  By Bill Tennison   Want to be effective in your ministry with adults over 50? Then get rid of these commonly held myths about older adults.       Seniors think they have “done their time” and don”t want to participate in the life of the church.    “It”s a myth that senior adults no longer want to contribute,” wrote David P. Gallagher in Senior Adult Ministry in the 21st Century: Step-By-Step Strategies for Reaching People Over 50. “It”s equally untrue that senior adults don”t want to be actively involved. Senior adults do want to be involved.” In a

May 17, 2009

Christian Standard

The Point of Christianity 2: Racial Reconciliation

  By Douglas A. Foster Racial division continues in Christ”s body””despite the shedding of his blood. To state it plainly, there is a deep and abiding divide between white people and people of color, in society and in Christ”s church.  Events in our national and religious history seared racial suspicion deep into our subconscious. Two events serve as illustrations of the evil of racism in its most blatant form.   BAD DECISIONS In 1857 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (in Dred Scott v. Sandford) that the slave Dred Scott remained a slave even when taken into a “free” state. The

May 17, 2009

Christian Standard

What Church Leaders Need to Know About Ministry to Aging Baby Boomers

  By Amy Hanson Chances are you”ve heard some of these statistics, but try to take a fresh look and really let them soak in: “¢ Americans 65 and older are the fastest-growing segment of the population. “¢ In the past century, the number of people in the United States under the age of 65 has tripled; however, the number of people over 65 has increased by more than a factor of 12. “¢ Today, there are approximately 78 million baby boomers in the U.S., with the oldest boomer turning 63 this year (2009). “¢ By the year 2030 there

May 10, 2009

Christian Standard

We Had a Revolution!

By Becky Ahlberg “How did you get all these people to do this?” That was the question of the morning.  We had 165 workers set up all over the school”s campus doing everything from fiber arts and woodworking to a variety of sports, rocket launching, and gardening. It was a veritable beehive of activity with wide-eyed children going from activity to activity wondering what could be next. How did we get all those people? We invited them to a revolution. That”s what we called it”””Revolution!”””a new way to connect with kids. It was a Sunday morning. We met early for

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