Series: Featured

July 14, 2016

Christian Standard

From the Mess to a Message of Hope

By Dave Stone Lindsay Knight remembers the hopelessness. It stalked her as a college student, when she had seen too much and been loved too little. It was in the back of her mind as she chased self-worth in being pretty, thin, a good athlete, popular, and successful. After a long string of abusive, destructive relationships left her homeless, alone, and broke, she took the one “yes” she found””to work at a local strip club. It didn”t take long for her to see life at the club wasn”t so glamorous””she didn”t make a lot of money and she didn”t like

July 14, 2016

Christian Standard

Transformed by God”s Grace

By Pat Magness The before and after photographs probably wouldn”t look that different. Both pictures would show a handsome, tall, athletic young man with a big smile. Unlike the transformation depicted in before and after pictures for a weight loss promo or exercise video, this transformation was not in looks, but in attitudes and actions. When I knew him “before,” he was self-absorbed, careless with the feelings of others. Some might have called him arrogant, and while he was never lazy, he often looked for the easy way. Perhaps most disturbing, he treated his sweetheart of a girlfriend with a

July 11, 2016

Christian Standard

Bad News or Good News?

By T.R. Robertson The narrative of bad news dominates our culture, a culture that increasingly sees religion as a major purveyor of bad news. “We”re living in a day and age that the news media is a drug-pusher. And negative news is their drug,” says Dr. Peter H. Diamandis. “And on every device that we get””our cell phones, our smart phones, our laptops, our newspapers, our radios””we are fed negative news 24 hours a day, seven days a week, over and over and over again.” Diamandis, speaking in 2013 at a conference called “Global Future 2045: Towards a New Strategy for

July 10, 2016

Christian Standard

The Gospel: God”s Better Story

By Rubel Shelly The Bible is a six-act drama reflecting the light of our Creator. Ivan Illich (1926″“2002) was an Austrian philosopher and former Catholic priest. As he became increasingly critical of modern education, consumerism, health care, and Western social values in general, he pondered the larger question of how to change society. When asked whether violent revolution or gradual reform was the better way to effect change, he replied: Neither revolution nor reformation can ultimately change a society, rather you must tell a new powerful tale, one so persuasive that it sweeps away the old myths and becomes the preferred story, one so inclusive

July 4, 2016

Christian Standard

Is There a Christian Nation?

By Robert F. Hull Jr. God of our fathers, known of old”” Lord of our far-flung battle line”” Beneath whose awful hand we hold Dominion over palm and pine”” Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget””lest we forget! This is the first stanza of the poem “Recessional,” written by Rudyard Kipling for Queen Victoria”s Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Although British might was still so “far-flung” that it was said “the sun never sets on the British Empire,” in his poem Kipling worried that the nation might become “drunk with sight of power” and forget the God

July 1, 2016

Christian Standard

Climbing Half Dome

By Stephen B. Bond It all began as an innocent conversation. I was turning 60 years old and someone asked what was on my bucket list. I thought for a moment and offhandedly said, “I”d like to climb Mount Whitney! I”ve never done it before and it would be a challenging adventure!” (Mount Whitney rises 14,505 feet above California, making it the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States.) As soon as the words left my mouth, they seemed to take on a life of their own. It wasn”t long before the elder team at my church jumped on board

June 30, 2016

Christian Standard

The Look, Smell, and Feel of Healthy Multiethnic Ministry

By Adrian Wallace Collaboration is the key aspect to effective inner-city ministry that, in turn, creates healthy multiethnic Christian community. Some of the main reconciliatory agents in Lexington, Kentucky, have been the joint efforts of churches of different denominations, parachurch groups, nongovernmental organizations, and civic organizations. Help has come from ministry partners like the Lexington Leadership Foundation, whose mission is to connect, unify, and mobilize the body of Christ. For example, LLF assisted Broadway Christian Church in creating an urban ministry. Quasi-governmental organization Partners for Youth, the Fayette County Public School system, and others have helped bridge gaps that have

June 27, 2016

Christian Standard

Trust Talks

By Delonte Gholston On a Saturday last April, a group of pastors and other faith leaders brought together a broad cross-section of the downtown community to talk about a rash of officer-involved shootings in Los Angeles and the rest of the country. Under the banner of the Downtown Los Angeles Clergy Council, they called this gathering the inaugural meeting of the Trust Talks. These first talks, hosted at the Last Bookstore in downtown, gathered more than 100 business owners, loft dwellers, residents in single resident occupancy hotels (called SROs), homeless people, community activists, service providers, faith leaders, and Los Angeles

June 26, 2016

Christian Standard

Diversity by Design

By Pat Magness In 2006, ethnic minority students made up only 5 percent of the Milligan College student body. By 2010, that figure had increased to 14 percent. (In raw numbers, there were 19 ethnic minority students in 1998 and 121 in 2012.) This dramatic increase was no accident. It began in prayer and was energized by a deep commitment to the idea that diversity is God”s intention and desire, that Milligan College needed to take a proactive role in bringing about diversity, and that a multipronged approach would be necessary. The desire to be “a strong, vibrant, and diverse

June 25, 2016

Christian Standard

A Church Family for All People

By Brian Jennings and José Heredia If you walked around our urban neighborhood, you”d find a mix of ethnicities, cultures, and skin colors (about 30 percent minority and growing). You”d meet widows who”ve lived in their homes for 40 years and couples restoring the floors of their first home. You”d also see lots of apartments, several of which house people with poverty, hunger, disability, or struggles with mental illness. A few years ago, the Holy Spirit began compelling us to take steps toward ethnic, generational, and socioeconomic diversity. We have a great church of loving people, but we acknowledged that issues

June 24, 2016

Christian Standard

Small Church, Big Vision

By Matthew McGue After planting a multiethnic, community-impacting church in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2004, God clearly called my wife and me to plant another intentional multiethnic church in Jackson, Mississippi. We launched One Church on March 23, 2014. Planting an intentional, multiethnic, gospel-centered, community-impacting church in a very traditional, Deep South city with historic segregation might seem crazy. It can be even more challenging as a Northerner, affectionately referred to as a “Damn Yankee,” with no local relationship connections. As a church planter, you had better be sure the Lord is calling you to a specific place, especially when

June 23, 2016

Christian Standard

Intentional Church Planting

By Mike Goldsworthy In 2007, I was sitting in a room filled with other pastors from Long Beach, California. We were a predominately Anglo audience listening to an expert describe the city”s rapidly changing demographics. According to the last two census reports, Long Beach is one of the most diverse large cities in the United States. This in a city that for many years had been fondly referred to as “Iowa by the Sea” because of the large number of residents who are migrants from Iowa. As I sat in that room, I was in the midst of a two-year

June 20, 2016

Christian Standard

We Have a Dream!

By Dudley Rutherford The idea for Dream of Destiny came to me in the summer of 2007 after I downloaded a photograph of Dr. Martin Luther King speaking to the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., during his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Attended by some 250,000 people on August 28, 1963, it was the largest demonstration ever seen in the nation”s capital, and one of the first to have extensive television coverage. I made this iconic photo my computer”s screensaver and noticed something I had not been aware of previously. I noticed there were many Caucasians

June 19, 2016

Christian Standard

Love Is the Universal Language

By Becky Ahlberg The problem with discussions about race relations is that we too often start with the differences and not the things we have in common. It”s easy to make hasty generalizations and base our thinking on stereotypes or other people”s experiences. Depending on where you live, you may not encounter many people who are different from you, and it can be difficult to make a fair and objective assessment of them. Let me give you an example. In Anaheim, California, where I live, we have one of the most diverse populations in the country. More than 50 different

June 18, 2016

Christian Standard

Our Ministry to Hispanic Immigrants

By David G. Fish “Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 10:19, English Standard Version). This verse first impressed me (see parallels in Exodus 22:21; 23:9) during my undergraduate days, before I had any significant contact with the people those Scriptures would identify as sojourners. I lived the experience of the sojourner during the better part of two decades while serving as a missionary in Chile (though I recognize many would point out that my sojourn was different, in that my relative position was one of privilege rather than poverty). The truth, however,

June 17, 2016

Christian Standard

A New Church for a New America

By Steve Blake Catalyst of Austin is a new church plant in the fastest-growing city in the country, Austin, Texas. My prayer in starting Catalyst of Austin was that God would allow us to be a multiethnic church that advances his kingdom in our city and beyond. To God”s glory, within a few short months of the church”s launch, there are approximately 15 ethnic backgrounds and nationalities represented, including Filipino, Chinese, Indian, Puerto Rican, African-American, Jamaican, Honduran, Nicaraguan, Mexican, Norwegian, German, Hawaiian, Russian, and Spanish. Several of these people are first-generation immigrants, like myself, while an equal number are second-generation.

June 16, 2016

Christian Standard

Movie Nights

By Glen Elliott The church has struggled to find ways not to settle with the comfort of sameness. Significant portions of the New Testament letters deal with racial division (see Ephesians 2 and James 2 as examples) and the unity that is to be a hallmark of God”s people. That”s why Paul reminds us, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Paul says those who have been baptized and put on Christ are one in Christ regardless of ethnicity, economic status,

June 16, 2016

Christian Standard

Who Will Lead Racial Reconciliation in Your City?

By Glen Elliott Evangelical leaders have been very intentional about creating unity among the faith community to make a spiritual, social, and economic difference in our city, Tucson, Arizona. Our combined prayer is the one Jesus asked us to pray: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, in Tucson as it is in Heaven.” Even after seeing huge progress among the white and a few of the Hispanic churches, we realized the racial divide still exists. So about three years ago, a group of white and black pastors decided to meet. One of the black pastors agreed to host the

June 13, 2016

Christian Standard

Read More About Religion, Racism, and Practical Steps Forward

Compiled by Travis Hurley Divided By Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America, by Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000) “” Despite its age, this remains essential reading for anyone looking to get a grasp on evangelical religion and the problem of race in America. There are helpful historical summaries of the church and race in America in early chapters, and once you understand their explanation of the “white evangelical tool kit,” you”ll start to see how using these tools actually hinders reconciliatory progress before it even begins. Reconciliation Blues: A Black Evangelical”s

June 12, 2016

Christian Standard

Racism: A Sin Problem

By David Anderson Racism is not reserved for one color or culture of people. The sin of racism is an equal opportunity destroyer. Racism is not simply a skin problem but a sin problem. While this may sound like a cliché, we must continue to sound the alarm that sin is what God hates, but sinners are whom God loves. Continual reminders of the spiritual impact sin has on people, like racism, is important so everyone can see the negative consequences that affect many. All have sinned, and all can sin, regardless of race. Therefore, it is important to note

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