Series: Featured

January 25, 2009

Christian Standard

The Testimony of a Chaplain: Ruined

By Chaplain (Captain) Craig Honbarger Since returning home after a 15-month deployment, I”m completely and perfectly ruined. Sure, I suppose I have changed””I”m not sure I would call it post-traumatic stress disorder, but still I”m ruined just the same. I”m ruined in part because all of my old hobbies don”t matter much anymore. I used to strap on spandex and Styrofoam, jump on my bicycle, and ride sometimes a hundred miles a week. Those miles did not include the back-and-forth-to-work mileage and my normal physical training with the troops. Now that I”m ruined, my bike sits with the drive chain

January 25, 2009

Christian Standard

Is It Time to Move Beyond Truth? (Part 2)

  By Robert C. Kurka Read part one   In the previous article, we observed that a new wave of “post-conservative” theology has made its mark in both the academy and the church. In large part, this nonfoundationalist approach was given shape by the 2001 book Beyond Foundationalism, coauthored by Stanley Grenz and John Franke. This defining work contributed a number of helpful insights to those committed to making an impact upon the postmodern world, not the least being a necessary caution that a previous generation”s preoccupation with “proving the Christian faith” may actually betray an unintended concession to a non-Christian

January 25, 2009

Christian Standard

The Lessons of Atheism

By David Fiensy One might well ask, “How can atheism teach Christians anything?” After all, atheists do not even have the basic starting point correct. Yet atheism holds a fascination for many people in the Western world right now, and that is the reason Christians need to think about it. This is the era of the so-called “new atheism.” This movement has spawned an in-your-face, aggressive, and even rude attitude. Even the titles of some of the books demonstrate the authors” aggression””The God Delusion and God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, for instance. Yet people seem drawn to

January 18, 2009

Christian Standard

But Did I Worship?

By Mark Atteberry Recently, my wife, Marilyn, and I went to a Tampa Bay Buccaneers” game. Shortly after we settled into our seats, four young men filed in and sat in front of us. Before the game started, one of the men turned around and struck up a conversation. He told us he was really excited because he”d never seen an NFL game in person. He still hasn”t. We marveled at how he got caught up in everything except the game. He must have gone to buy food and beer a dozen times, which, of course, led to several more

January 18, 2009

Christian Standard

Is It Time to Move Beyond Truth? (Part 1)

by Robert C. Kurka Logic . . . reason . . . rationality . . . truth.  While such terms were fairly common””and desirable””depictions of biblical faith in the literature of 19th- and 20th-century Christians (especially restorationists), they are increasingly being abandoned by theological writers during this new millennium. In fact, in today”s religious climate, if a conservative theologian ventures to talk about “absolute truth,” chances are he may be ridiculed by the evangelical academy, or at least those “younger evangelicals” (to use the late Robert Webber”s designation) who deride such language as the antiquated baggage of a bygone modernism.1

January 18, 2009

Christian Standard

Harvest of Talents: More Than Money

  By Pat Snyder Lincoln (Illinois) Christian Church”s “Harvest of Talents for World Hunger” is a unique ministry that calls on people to use their God-given talents to raise funds to fight world hunger. It is a partnership with International Disaster Emergency Services (IDES) based in Kempton, Indiana, that has sent money and food to hungry people around the world since the mid-1980s. When it first started in 1984, it included only the Lincoln church family (from toddlers to seniors), along with residents of local nursing facilities and shut-ins. It has grown to include participation from others in this country

January 18, 2009

Christian Standard

SOS: Servants of Our Savior

by Mary Miller   SOS is an international distress signal, but it is also an acronym for a group of Christians””Servants of Our Savior””whose mission is to help churches and ministries that are in distress.  The Servants of Our Savior emblem displays two hands and a willing heart. That logo shows part of what you need to be a volunteer with SOS””a willing heart and hands, and a love of God. You”ll also need an RV and some free time. Are you retired or would like to use your free time serving the Lord? Then read on, SOS may be

January 11, 2009

Christian Standard

A New Opportunity to Reach Kids with VBS

By Joni Baker   It could have happened to you last summer. You may have been stampeded by a thundering horde of children. There were lots of “em””some 13.3 million, in fact, according to a recent study.1 Where? At your church””at Vacation Bible School. It boggles the mind, but an estimate based on the three-quarters of American churches that held VBS last summer shows some 13.3 million kids attended. These churches conducted 3.3 million hours per week of learning about the Bible or 380 years of Sundays, all in one summer. What an opportunity! Who are these kids and what

January 11, 2009

Christian Standard

VBS: Testing the Best

By Diane Stortz   When you”ve already got the best VBS on the market, what do you do to stay ahead of the rest? You test. So the children”s ministry staff and volunteers and the children of LifeSpring Christian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, got a unique sneak peek at Standard Publishing”s 2009 VBS course, “Studio GO! Game Show,” as they used and tested it as their 2008 VBS. “Standard Publishing has always included focus groups and surveys as part of our VBS theme research,” says Ruth Frederick, director of children”s product. “We”ve tried to increase the amount of customer engagement

January 11, 2009

Christian Standard

AKA: Daniel Read

By Diane Stortz Combine the good looks and energy of American Idol host Ryan Seacrest with the lovable charm of Bob Barker, retired host of The Price Is Right, and what do you get? Why, Daniel Read, of course. Read, a Cincinnati Christian University senior, plays Wade Winalot, host of “Studio GO! Game Show,” Standard Publishing”s 2009 Vacation Bible School. From his taped appearances on the planning CD and theme song music video to live appearances in seven states and 11 venues in 2008″“09, Read plays Winalot with a wallop of friendliness, enthusiasm, and grace. He plays real life with

January 11, 2009

Christian Standard

VBS: The Big Thing

by Ryan Frank God has given me the privilege of connecting with thousands of children”s pastors and ministry workers. Through the ministry of KidzMatter and K! Magazine, I interact with new people in children”s ministry almost every day. One thing I”ve learned is this: everyone in children”s ministry desires to reach children for the Lord Jesus Christ. Is there anything greater one can do than to reach boys and girls for our Savior? One of the greatest ways to reach children in your church and community each summer is with Vacation Bible School. It”s the biggest thing we do at my

January 11, 2009

Christian Standard

The Power and Potential of “˜Not-Thank-You”

By Ethan Magness   My boys have a regular bedtime ritual. After a story (if there is time), a bath, teeth brushing, donning pajamas, a cup of water, and lights out, the boys and I pray. If I get rushed, there are some steps we can skip, but if I try to skip prayer, I am usually in trouble with my sons. Everyone gets a chance to pray. My youngest (3.75) is on a bit of a strike right now from praying aloud, but my oldest (6) loves to pray. Our evening prayers are mostly thank-yous.  Lately we”ve been talking

January 4, 2009

Christian Standard

Life for the Average Christian

By Doug Priest Who is an average Christian, and what does an average Christian look like? I am not using average in the ethical sense, that is, to mean one who does not sin too much, goes to church, contributes to the offering, and finds ways to serve. Nor am I referring to the average Christian in the intellectual sense of one who has a pretty good grasp of the Bible. Instead I am using the term average Christian in the demographic sense. In the year 2000 there were almost exactly 2 billion professing Christians in the world, but that

January 4, 2009

Christian Standard

Servanthood Without Star Power

By Jim Herbst   May I suggest another cable channel (since we don”t have enough already)? Let”s call it The Extreme Compassion Channel; its slogan can be, “Total Compassion Reality 24/7.” The catch with all reality shows, of course, is that they have little to do with reality. Like others, I”m moved every time Ty Pennington shows a homeowner his brand new home on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Afterwards, however, I begin to wonder why my life isn”t more sensational. My life is reality, after all. And I am compassionate. But no one applauds, cries, or hugs me when I

January 4, 2009

Christian Standard

Small Groups that Give and Live Graciously

By Brian Mavis What would happen if a church gave back to her small groups half of what the groups tithed and asked them to invest the money in ministry? I had pondered this for a few years. I wondered whether the people in the small groups would be motivated to give more, and what they would choose to do with the money. When I joined the staff at LifeBridge Christian Church, Longmont, Colorado, I shared some of these thoughts and questions with the leaders and elders, and I was floored when they said, “Let”s find out.” Before I share

January 4, 2009

Christian Standard

Common Sense

By Greg Pruett The room was a bit dark, and the West African sun had baked my sandaled feet to match the fine red dust clinging to my skin. I couldn”t help but appreciate my host as I enjoyed the hospitality of the couch in his small, tin-roofed home. Omar had a gentle spirit about him as he asked his earnest question: “How can I get the prophets of the Bible to be my intercessor on the Day of Judgment?” My reply was rehearsed, “The Bible says that only one man can be the intercessor: “˜For there is one God

December 21, 2008

Christian Standard

The Birth That Changed the World

By Victor Knowles   In Frank Capra”s acclaimed and heartwarming 1946 film, It”s a Wonderful Life, God sends an angel named Clarence to earth to show George Bailey (played by Jimmy Stewart) what life would be like if he had never been born. The moral of the movie (this is when movies had morals!) is that each person”s life has value and carries with it the potential of influencing many other lives for good.  In one sense, everyone”s birth somewhat changes the world in which he lives. But in a spiritual and eternal realm, only one birth has truly changed

December 21, 2008

Tom Lawson

worship questions

Questioning Worship

Worship often feels like a place to collect answers, but Scripture frequently leaves us with questions instead. Tom Lawson explores how those untidy questions can follow us home—and lead to fresh insight and changed lives.

December 21, 2008

Christian Standard

The Spiritually Dynamic Church

By Ken Idleman Other than the incarnation, the crucifixion, and the resurrection, what would you say is the single greatest event in human history? Is it the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492? The emancipation of slaves in 1863? The dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, to end World War II? Or is it when Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon in 1969? I would reference a more obscure event. My guess is this event would not make anyone”s Top 10 list of greatest happenings in human history. The account is found

December 21, 2008

Christian Standard

Wanted: Good Men for a Fine Work (Part 2)

By Eric Stevens The news reveals that we are a fickle people. I mean that in the worst way possible.  Large numbers of college students are involved in cheating. So are spouses””even Christians. People rage with deadly anger because of minor traffic miscues. Children appear to have never heard such courtesies as “please,” “thank you,” and “excuse me.” These symptoms in our society are related. There is an erosion of respect, not just for one”s elders, but even one”s parents, and in some cases, one”s children. The “Me Generation” has become the “Me Nation.” How does the church stem this

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