Series: Featured

August 10, 2008

Christian Standard

How Your Small & Midsized Church Can GROW

By Leonard Wymore Every congregation already has in place the leadership to stimulate growth””it just needs fine-tuning! Every church, no matter the size, has a staff of associates. These will relate and serve together as a TEAM (Together Everyone Accomplishes More). The preacher is the coach and the volunteers are the associates. A TEAM OF ASSOCIATES For example, even small churches usually have a leading elder whose role is shepherding the congregation, a Bible school superintendent, a youth coach, a music leader, a missions chairperson, and a preacher. Why not give associate status to all such leaders? Each could prepare

August 10, 2008

Christian Standard

Thursday Night Pursuits

By Phil Alspaw For the most part I love Sundays. I love coming to church. I love seeing the familiar faces of people that make up our extended family. I love seeing the new faces of those who are joining our family. I love the confused look on the faces of seekers as they try to figure out how to join in, and I love the look of believers as they reach out in opportunities to welcome these innocent new ones. I love the songs of worship, and I love that the Lord”s Supper is a part of our time

August 10, 2008

Christian Standard

Where the Administrative Buck Stops

By LeRoy Lawson “Oh, we”re all equal. It”s just that Roy is more equal than we are.” That was how Rex Dernovich described the relationship between elders and senior minister in Central Christian Church. The ministers at the Phoenix-area meeting might have thought he was joking, but he wasn”t. The elder chairman”s quip goes to the heart of what attracted me to accept Central”s call in 1979. The eldership had carefully thought through the leadership issue that rips apart too many churches, and decided they needed a minister who, as they said, can “lead us to become the flagship church

August 10, 2008

Christian Standard

I Choose Optimism

By Ken Idleman You”ve probably heard the story of the woman who had twin 10-year-old sons, one an incurable pessimist, the other a cockeyed optimist. One day, at her wit”s end, she asked a counselor for advice. Together they came up with this plan for the boys” birthday: get two refrigerator boxes and fill the pessimist”s box with a wonderful assortment of new toys, and the optimist”s box with manure. On the big day, the woman sent her boys to their separate rooms, where the boxes had been prepared. She shut their doors and then waited outside with the counselor

August 3, 2008

Christian Standard

A Community for the Unchurched

By Russell Jarvis The Samsons of Waterford, Michigan, are a typical American family. So are the Ortegas of Tularosa, New Mexico. The Sulemans immigrated to Centerville, Virginia, last year. The Bakers retired to Bradenton, Florida, and the Kovalenkos bought a house in Wheaton, Illinois. The Ibangas started their twins in kindergarten in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Today”s Americans are multiethnic, formed into families of various definitions, young at heart, and older on the average. They enjoy reasonably good health and hope for pleasant retirements. They have found friends at work, at dance lessons, and at the fitness center. They may

August 3, 2008

Christian Standard

Innovation and Invention

By Rick Chromey Few innovations and inventions have altered a civilized cultural landscape like the Internet. Just as Gutenberg”s printing press revolutionized our world and introduced a new concept of mass production, the World Wide Web has globally transformed social institutions from business to education to media. In the March 2008 edition of Fast Company“”an issue dedicated to the “world”s 50 most innovative companies”””the three giants standing at the summit were Google, Apple, and Facebook (in that order).1 Compiling the list involved studying hundreds of companies over several months, noting both fresh perspectives and historical commitments to reinvention. Consequently, it

August 3, 2008

Christian Standard

Questions for Servant-Leaders

By Mark Wesner Editor”s note: The following questions were distributed as a self-examination exercise at an elders and staff retreat sponsored by First Christian Church, Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. We believe they”re good for servant-leaders everywhere to consider. Spiritual Growth. In what way(s) are you more like Jesus today than you were one year ago? “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness,

August 3, 2008

Christian Standard

The Culture War Is Over

By Jud Wilhite Afew years ago I had a transformative experience on Las Vegas Boulevard. I was standing in front of a multibillion dollar hotel, knowing what Las Vegas is built on, where its roots are, and thinking of the waves of people walking past me. It was like a light came on and I realized the culture war is over””we lost. Let me repeat. WE LOST! The culture war dominated much of the 1980s and 1990s as an argumentative and aggressive political posture, mainly myopic about homosexuality and abortion. That posture led to a perception of moral and religious

July 27, 2008

Christian Standard

Lessons Learned from Christ”s Church

By Bruce E. Shields It bothers and often mystifies me to hear people talk about their faith in God and Jesus Christ and, in the next breath, their lack of interest in the church. Perhaps we professor types share some responsibility for this, since we so often deal with the Bible, church history, and Christian doctrine””yes, and even Christian ministries””as though they have little connection with real people in real congregations. We present the ideal Christian community and then send students out into real””that is, messy””congregations. I recall reading once that the church is a little like Noah”s ark. If

July 27, 2008

Christian Standard

The Christ, the Church, and the Christian

By Knofel Staton Is “Christ yes, but the church no” viable? How about, “I”ll support Christ, but not the church?” Is that really possible? The Korean War was in full swing when I graduated from high school, so I enlisted in the Air Force. During boot camp, the military career counselor told me, “Your aptitude test reveals you would make a good control tower operator; may I request that for you?” There were several things about his statement I didn”t understand: (1) I did not know I had taken an aptitude test; (2) I had no idea what the word

July 27, 2008

Christian Standard

Simple Ways to Begin to Be Intentional About Evangelism

By David Bycroft In my last article, “Evangelism Is Natural Church” (June 15), I referenced the fact that most churches see few people baptized into Christ because they fail to plan and work to see baptisms happen. According to Thom Ranier, 85 percent of all churches are in decline. That number persuades me to think we are not doing much evangelism in our churches. We need to rethink some of our principles for how and why we do church. We have a pretty good handle on Bible study and invest lots of money into Sunday school material for all ages.

July 20, 2008

Christian Standard

Christian Thinking and Christian Living

By H. Lynn Gardner Our thinking shapes our behavior. Thinking has fallen on hard times. People decide to vote for or against a candidate because they like or dislike his or her appearance. They choose a church because they like a preacher or get a good feeling from the experience. Many give more thought to choosing dog food than to deciding about Christ. Giving little attention to Christian thinking has produced superficial Christianity. Bill Hybels recently admitted the seeker approach had made a “mistake” in emphasizing church programming rather than teaching converts to be “self-feeders” through Bible study1. We must

July 20, 2008

Christian Standard

Changing the Way We Do Church

By Darrel Rowland About a year ago the founder of one of the most influential churches in modern American history confessed a need for repentance. But Bill Hybels wasn”t adding his name to the list of those succumbing to moral failures. Instead, he admitted that despite Willow Creek Community Church”s worldwide influence and 21,000 weekly attendees spread across four campuses, the church had failed. How so? By not equipping its members to become mature Christians. STALLED OR DISSATISFIED Using techniques borrowed from sophisticated consumer studies, Willow”s leaders discovered they were doing well meeting the needs of those exploring Christianity and

July 20, 2008

Christian Standard

The Bible Is the Springboard

By Darrel Rowland Few congregations face one obstacle Grandview Christian Church encounters in making disciples: Too many PhDs. Located on the south side of Johnson City, Tennessee, the church is home to several professors from nearby Milligan College and Emmanuel School of Religion. That”s an obvious advantage when it comes to filling teaching and leadership positions. What”s not so obvious is that this blessing has a flip side. “The effect of having that many PhDs is that I need to be more intentional about developing teachers in the congregation that don”t have PhDs,” said senior minister Aaron Wymer. “Their presence

July 20, 2008

Christian Standard

More Than the ABC”s

By Darrel Rowland The emphasis on making disciples is not subtle at Mountain Christian Church. It”s displayed in three-foot-high letters inside the church building. It”s in the bulletin every Sunday. It”s emphasized everywhere from new members classes to gatherings of the church”s top leadership. “The purpose of this church is to make disciples””more and better disciples.” “One thing that has helped us perhaps as much as any other thing is a crystal clear focus with a mission that everyone understands and knows,” senior minister Ben Cachiaras says. “Every line item in our budget we hold accountable to that mission, every

July 20, 2008

Christian Standard

Intentional Events

By Darrel Rowland Southland Christian Church“s approach to making disciples might seem a little counterintuitive. For instance, although the Lexington, Kentucky, church has grown to 8,000 weekend attendees in recent years, Southland actually is holding fewer, not more events. And the leadership believes the discipleship process begins before, not when, someone becomes a Christian. The number of events has been trimmed to maximize impact and quality, say Will Briggs, connection minister, and Brandon Schaefer, study associate minister. “We have been aware of the stigma and reality that some churches do entertain,” Schaefer says. “We”ve combated this by really being intentional

July 20, 2008

Christian Standard

A Simple Response With Incredible Impact

By Andy Hansen Are you weary of the never-ending swirl of bickering, negativity, and cynicism that envelopes our culture on a daily basis? Perhaps this attitude is heightened by the presidential election. Maybe the cloud we”re under grew with the ever-increasing cost of gasoline, talk of global warming, the ceaseless debate over the Iraq War, a record number of tornadoes in the United States, and devastating earthquakes in China. BAD NEWS Some of the bad news included recent coverage of an incredibly cruel video showing a group of girls pummeling another student who supposedly had posted insulting comments about them

July 20, 2008

Christian Standard

ONLINE EXTRA: Making Disciples–An Interview with Ethan Magness

By Darrel Rowland His title alone””spiritual formation pastor””is enough to tell you that Ethan Magness of Mountain Christian Church near Baltimore, Maryland, does not hold a typical ministerial position. He is a leader in Mountain”s wide-ranging effort to make disciples and the primary author of The Walk, a 226-page book to help Christians grow. Here he talks about some of the barriers and opportunities to making disciples in the 21st-century church, including the contention of some critics that too many churches are entertaining attendees instead of teaching them to follow Jesus. Is the “entertaining rather than teaching” problem new? I

July 13, 2008

Christian Standard

INTRO: Does the Restoration Movement Matter?

By Staff Who cares about the Restoration Movement? We”ve been asking that question with different groups in different ways, and this week we”ll share what we”ve been hearing. For starters, follow the links below to see how certain individuals answered. (Note from webmaster: We will try to relink these after the archiving process is completed.) We wrote one set of questions and sent them to six leaders in our fellowship. (One of them passed the list on to her son for an additional perspective.) They sent us their answers without consulting with each other, and we”re sharing most of what

July 13, 2008

Christian Standard

Restoration Movement Q&A 1

Answers from Gene Carter, Becky Ahlberg, and Eric Ahlberg Does the Restoration Movement Matter? Answers from Gene Carter, Becky Ahlberg, and Eric Ahlberg Gene Carter is retired in Playa del Rey, California, after 55 years of ministry, 25 in the Midwest and 30 in Southern California. Becky Ahlberg is worship and neighborhood engagement minister at Anaheim (California) First Christian Church and a CHRISTIAN STANDARD contributing editor. Eric Ahlberg is a member of Anaheim First Christian and a forensic structural engineer at Exponent Corporation in Irvine, California. Do you feel as strongly about being a part of the Restoration Movement today

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