Series: Featured

October 11, 2013

Christian Standard

What I Want to Tell Church Planters

By Aaron Brockett Six months after the grand opening of our church plant, I hit a wall. The combination of seeing the last of the “well-wishers” depart, watching our first disillusioned family leave the church, and experiencing the drought of summer attendance was too much. I”d given everything I had to get this young church started, and now the needle of my emotional tank was firmly planted on empty. I wanted to bail. To be honest, I was irritated with the stories of church planters turned megachurch pastors who made it look so easy (or so I thought). On paper,

October 10, 2013

Christian Standard

What I Want to Tell Large Churches

By Steve Wyatt Church planters are quirky and extremely headstrong, loner types who plow into most every “church” conversation with a Mighty Mouse mind-set (“Here I come to save the day!”) They tend to have an overdeveloped sense for “the way things ought to be” and confidence they can make it happen. At least that”s the case before launch day. I can make such seemingly harsh statements because I am a church planter. Church planters, as a tribe, are seriously impaired. Consider Exhibit A: we viciously trash the current church “model”””especially megachurches””but then build our “new and improved” model by

October 6, 2013

Christian Standard

The Unpopular Answer

By Chad Ragsdale When someone asks me about God”s will for their life, my reply isn”t usually what they”re anticipating. “Be holy,” I say, for this is the Bible”s simplest solution to the problem. “So . . . I”m trying to figure out . . . what exactly is God”s will for my life?” Living and working among hundreds of Bible college students for several years, I”ve heard different versions of this question dozens of times. Where should I go to school? What career should I pursue? Whom should I marry? Should I get married at all? We can, if

October 3, 2013

Christian Standard

A Conversation with Becky Ahlberg

Meet Our Contributing Editors: This month, in our ongoing series of interviews with CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s contributing editors, we speak with one who is leading a dynamic urban ministry. Interview by Jennifer Johnson  A lot has happened since the last time we talked about your ministry. Fill me in on the latest. Anaheim [California] First Christian Church started My Safe Harbor in 2008. We discovered that 70 percent of kids who join gangs, drop out of high school, commit suicide, run away, and get pregnant are from single-mother homes, so our goal is to make a difference now and in future generations by

September 30, 2013

Christian Standard

Who Will Sing to George?

By Vangie Rodenbeck As the designated facilitator of this networking lunch, I sought to engage each member at the table in the discussion. The topic was special needs ministry, and the specific issue of discussion was how to “name” a ministry to such persons. These ministers were asking questions like: What do we call this ministry? Should we use the term “handicapped” or “disabled?” If we use language like “persons with different abilities,” will people understand what this ministry is about? But one man at the table sat quietly as the conversation whirled around him. Soon there was a lull

September 29, 2013

Christian Standard

When ‘Les Mis’ Comes to Life

By Dave Smith I remember the first time I heard songs from Les Misérables. It was 1988, and I was riding in a van to Chicago with Tim Streett and a couple other guys. Tim and I were interning at our home church, East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis. We were on our way to Chicago for a conference. Tim did not say much that day. He just kept playing songs from Les Misérables, over and over again. Many know Les Misérables as a powerful story of grace and forgiveness: but no one knows this better than Tim. Late

September 23, 2013

Christian Standard

Churches and Government: Partners in Community Development

Governments across the country have been criticized””and rightfully so””for their failings with regard to community development. Unfortunately, churches have made many of the same mistakes, but on a smaller scale. Here are some suggestions for changing this situation, and for how government and church can even work together. By Jim Herbst Basic neighborly values have declined in some places to the point that government offices have begun offering programs to reintroduce them. This is a great opportunity for churches. Jesus, after all, had a few things to say about neighbors. The post-World War II growth of the suburbs, and other

September 22, 2013

Christian Standard

The Church and the City

By Roger Boatman “There will be no large churches in this city,” thundered the city councilman of a Seattle suburb to leaders of a Christian church. At issue was land the church had in escrow to develop as its new campus. Church leaders objected, saying elected officials could not determine the size of their church. “Oh, yes we can,” the councilman replied, “because we set the parking code, and you will not be approved for this or any other large site in this city.” Not to be denied their vision for the church, the congregation backed away from that site

September 16, 2013

Christian Standard

Chicago Impact

By Tammy Melchien “We need to plant campuses in the city!” It was a simple text. I typed the eight words to Community Christian Church”s lead pastor, Dave Ferguson, and hit SEND as I was finishing an overnight getaway in downtown Chicago. I was energized by the past 24 hours in the city. I”ve always loved big cities. The energy. The life. The opportunities. Dave”s reply was simple too: “We do and we will!” It wasn”t until the car ride back to my suburban home that it hit me. I was supposed to be part of the vision to reach

September 15, 2013

Christian Standard

Boston Strong

By Dan Clymer I love Boston. Even though it is ridiculously expensive, academically arrogant, religiously skeptical, sometimes dangerous, and a place where it seems that sins are magnified and multiplied””I love this city. It has diverse worldviews and four idols called the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox. It is the focus of terrorist bombs and gangster murders, but I love this city. Why? Because God loves the people and desires to transform the soul of the city. Why plant churches in a city? In 1900 just 14 percent of the world”s population lived in cities. Today that number has

September 14, 2013

Christian Standard

City Growth, Church Growth?

By Darrel Rowland For decades Americans fled the city for suburbs, and their churches followed them. But the trend has reversed””at least for now””with more people moving into the city. Will churches return with them? That”s a key question because the statistics showing the new boom in city growth collide with findings on spiritual beliefs, such as those compiled by pollster George Barna. The country”s current demographic upheaval is stark. From 2001 to 2010 only five U.S. cities grew faster than their surrounding suburbs. Now most cities are outstripping the “burbs, which hasn”t happened since the 1920s. A U.S. Census

September 14, 2013

Christian Standard

Growing “˜Small” in Indianapolis

By Jeff Krajewski “We decided to go small.” I couldn”t believe I said it, and I felt a bit embarrassed after it came out of my mouth. The person I was speaking with smiled politely. I could hear his inner dialogue: Going small, eh? That”s what all pastors say when they can”t grow a church. In his classic Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster opens with this powerful statement. Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted

September 13, 2013

Christian Standard

God Gave Us a Heart for Pittsburgh

By Tom Fodi Toward the end of the school year in 1994, my fifth-grade teacher offered my classmates and me the opportunity to freely express our memories of the school year and dreams of the future in a self-published yearbook. She invited us to reflect on the year by answering short survey questions such as, “What is your favorite memory of this school year?” and “What are your plans for summer vacation?” Reading the thoughts of those 11-year-olds today is an entertaining trip down memory lane. But that yearbook composed almost two decades ago gives clues to the dramatic changes

September 12, 2013

Christian Standard

Leading with Love in Las Vegas

By Vince Antonucci Travis moved from New York City to Las Vegas to make money. He was a photographer and started showing up at nightclubs and strip clubs asking, “How about you make me your photographer?” Travis became the photographer for many of Vegas”s nightclubs and strip clubs, and then strippers. Before long, Travis was sleeping with the strippers. Travis”s wife found out, and she moved out with their kids. Travis began convincing strippers that they could make more money, and soon he became their pimp. Travis is the kind of person I moved to Las Vegas to reach. We

September 9, 2013

Christian Standard

Shining His Light in Canton

By Jason Lantz People don”t necessarily view Canton, Ohio, as a thriving city. Well, not yet. Like many urban areas across the country, Canton has felt the negative effects of fatherlessness, a struggling economy, inconsistencies in education, and the decline of once-thriving churches. However, throughout history, God has always called his church to go and shine the brightest in the places that seem the darkest. I am so thankful Jesus called my family to be a small part of what he”s already doing in Canton. We are a part of a four-year-old church plant called LoveCanton. We get to join other

September 8, 2013

Christian Standard

Phoenix: New Approaches at New City

By Brian Kruckenberg “Do you own this gallery?” (As a pastor of a local church, it wasn”t a question I had ever expected to be asked.) “Well, sort of. Yes.” (Not the most eloquent answer, perhaps, but an honest one.) Over the past two and one-half years, I have been asked that question, and similar ones, time and time again in a place we call the New City Studio, one of New City Church”s venues. New City Studio is the place we intersect the message of the gospel with the world of art. I am pastor of this church, started

September 7, 2013

Christian Standard

An Urban Kingdom Church Planter Entrepreneur in Los Angeles

By Thomas F. Jones Jr. I met Kevin Haah in a church planting assessment event in Johnson City, Tennessee. I was immediately impressed by this bright, but humble, Korean-American Christian. Haah”s path to church planting was not a simple one. After graduating from Cornell Law School he married Grace (also a lawyer), and they had three kids. He became partner at a prestigious law firm in Los Angeles only to give up law to pursue a master of divinity degree at Fuller Theological Seminary. Soon he became a pastor, and then a church planter. And now he is the key

September 6, 2013

Christian Standard

Broadway Stays in Downtown Lexington

By Ernie Perry “We believe God still has us downtown for a purpose.” Those were the elders” words when I interviewed for the senior minister”s position at Broadway Christian Church in Lexington, Kentucky. It was December 2010. I was in my 12th year as an associate at the suburban daughter church, Southland Christian. I”d known of Broadway since I was 6 years old, having attended children”s sessions of the North American Christian Convention there in 1963. I sang there with The Watchmen quartet when my preaching hero, Marshall Leggett, was the minister. His predecessor, and the dean of preachers, Ard

September 5, 2013

Christian Standard

Giving Up Home-Field Advantage in Memphis

By Josh Ross The local church is at its best when it gives up home-field advantage. It doesn”t mean we must neglect our buildings or that facilities are anti-gospel, but it does mean God doesn”t just stand on the stage in the sanctuary waving people into a church. He also stands in the streets waving the church into the world. On April 28, the Sycamore View Church in Memphis did what many other churches have done for 2,000 years, we left the church building to engage in service projects of restoration. We got together on Sunday, sang a few songs,

September 2, 2013

Christian Standard

Victorious: The theme needed most by the president

By Darrel Rowland The February weekend Matt Proctor found out his wife, Katie, had cancer was filled with tears, fears, and scary portents. The Sunday morning lesson he had to teach didn”t help; it was on Ruth and Naomi, both widowed when their spouses died. Emotionally wrung out by Sunday night, he suggested his kids pick out a movie and they would all gather downstairs and watch it together. The choice was the Disney-Pixar animated film Up. Within the first few minutes of the movie, the husband loses his wife. “I had tears rolling down my cheeks,” Proctor says. Less

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