Series: Featured

September 11, 2012

Christian Standard

Giving It Away

By Darrel Rowland Mounting a successful fund-raising drive is challenging enough for any church, especially in these difficult economic times. But two churches not only carried out smashing one-day giving campaigns earlier this year, they turned around and gave it away””all $176,000 of it. In fact, most of the money went to places not even associated with the church. Leaders of both churches say your congregation should try it, too. Launched in 2005, Forefront Church in Manhattan began an annual giving event called Celebration Generosity in 2009. That first year, members chipped in about $27,000 for various social service organizations

September 10, 2012

Christian Standard

Generous Churches

By Kent E. Fillinger “Generosity needs to be a thread woven through the fabric of the entire congregation,” said Leadership Network development director Chris Willard, “because generosity is a cultural issue.” Here”s how four churches are creating a culture of generosity among their members.  In their new book, Contagious Generosity: Creating a Culture of Giving in Your Church, Chris Willard and Jim Sheppard define generosity as “a lifestyle in which we share all that we have, are and ever will become as a demonstration of God”s love and a response to God”s grace.” Willard is the director of generosity initiatives

September 9, 2012

Christian Standard

Spreading the Gospel, Unleashing Compassion

By Justin Horey This summer, as Eastside Christian Church celebrated five decades of dynamic ministry in Southern California, senior pastor Gene Appel emphasized “Eastside”s second 50 years” as much as its first. Later this year, Eastside is scheduled to complete one of the largest, most expensive, and most ambitious relocation projects ever undertaken by a Christian church””with a total project cost of more than $50 million. The church”s leaders believe the project will “carry forward the congregation”s spiritual passion by positioning Eastside for exponential impact in its second 50 years.” Shortly after Eastside Christian Church began meeting in 1962, the

September 8, 2012

Christian Standard

Giving Up!

By Alan Ahlgrim Picture this: Your church launches a new campus with a state-of-the-art, 70,000-square-foot building on 30 acres””just before the economy implodes in the greatest recession most of us have experienced. Meanwhile you are fighting for the church”s life in a lawsuit that costs you $2 million to win. This creates a loss of momentum that results in staff reductions and the departure of many members to another congregation nearby. What do you do in such a situation? Alan Ahlgrim, pastor of Rocky Mountain Christian Church in Colorado, faced all those challenges and more. As he shares in this

September 7, 2012

Christian Standard

STEWARDSHIP: What Have We Done to This Word?

By E.G. “Jay” Link If word abuse were a crime, many Christian leaders and teachers would be in jail for how they have abused one of our most important biblical terms””the word stewardship. If you were to poll your congregation and ask what stewardship means, I suspect the overwhelming majority would say it has something to do with money and giving. Part right and part wrong. And, as my grandmother would say, “If something is partially wrong, it is all wrong.” I spent eight years in Bible college and seminary where I majored in theology. In all those years, I

September 2, 2012

Christian Standard

Demographic Darwinism and the Church

By Robert Hull I was born in 1943. Demographers are eager to put me in my place, but I”m not sure exactly where that is. They tell me if we stretch the boundaries a little, I”m considered a Baby Boomer (or just a “Boomer”). From the reading I have done lately, I think that”s bad news. Any day now Generation X is going to wrest power from me and my decrepit fellow Boomers, throw us all under the church bus (uh, van), reinvent the church we have loved and served with our idealism, strength, time, and money, and replace it

August 31, 2012

Christian Standard

Bigger Issue than Same-Sex Attraction?

By James Engelbrecht Individuals with same-sex attraction make up as much as 6 percent of the male population and 4.5 percent of females (though some studies estimate half that). Those are not insignificant numbers, especially when same-sex attraction involves you or someone you love. Thus began Mark Moore”s February 12, 2012, column, “How Should the Church Relate to Those with Same-Sex Attraction?” Here”s the rub. As a follower of Christ, I hear Christians say: “Keep your nose out of my private life.” “It”s my body.” “Christians aren”t called to be judgmental.” “It”s not a sin. I”m this way due to

August 28, 2012

Christian Standard

Scripture and Homosexual Practice

By Robert A.J. Gagnon While many Christians are firm in their objection to homosexual activity, our culture continues its trend toward normalizing it. While many Christians are certain homosexual activity is wrong, fewer Christians can answer secular claims that the Bible doesn”t really forbid it. Here is a concise (although longer than usual for this magazine) treatment of five key issues raised by defenders of homosexual practice. You will hear, or have heard, some of these claims. Until now you may not have read the straightforward reasons to refute them.   Issue: JESUS Claim: Jesus had no interest in maintaining a

August 27, 2012

Christian Standard

Do We Believe What We Sing?

By Tom Lawson Calvinism, largely through the influence of the Church of Scotland between 1600 and 1900, has become the dominant position of the majority of English-speaking Evangelical Protestants. The Stone-Campbell Movement, along with groups such as the Cumberland Presbyterians and Freewill Baptists, represent non-Calvinistic groups that have emerged within this broader majority. Since the hymns and songs used in Christian worship are widely shared across denominational lines, it is not surprising that many popular Christian songs come from dedicated Calvinists. In many cases the doctrinal distinctives of Calvinism do not emerge in the lyrics of a song, even if the

August 27, 2012

Christian Standard

Milligan Mourns Death of Don Jeanes, Former President

Milligan College in Tennessee is mourning the death of its 14th president and chancellor, Dr. Donald R. Jeanes, who died unexpectedly on Monday morning, Aug. 27, 2012. “This comes as a great shock to us all,” said Milligan President Bill Greer. “As our 14th president and chancellor, Don”s presence at Milligan has been deep and far-reaching. His influence helped reshape the college physically, academically, financially, and relationally with the community and churches. Don was a great personal friend to many of us, and this is a great loss.” The Milligan community will gather Monday at 12:15 p.m. in the Mary B. Martin Auditorium

August 26, 2012

Christian Standard

Calvinism: A Chronicle and a Warning

By Stephen Richardson Popular print media, both religious and secular, have reported the resurgence of Calvinist theology, especially among young Evangelical Christians. Perhaps we ought to review Calvinism”s basic tenets and consider cautions about its implications. Known generally as Reformed Theology, Calvinism has been a prominent feature of Protestant Christianity since the 16th century. The extent of John Calvin”s influence upon Christian thought is incalculable and cannot be ignored””nor should we desire to overlook him. Both Calvinists and those who are not recognize his stellar mind represented in prodigious literary output and stimulating contributions to Christian theology. We must give Calvin

August 25, 2012

Christian Standard

The Half-Inch Solution

By Daniel Schantz One of my Bible college students came flying out of chapel, shielding her eyes with her hand. “Are you OK?” I asked. She shook her head. “It”s the music””it”s so loud it gives me headaches.” I can”t tell you how many times I have heard church members say, “Sometimes I just hate going to church because the music is so loud.” It”s not the type of music they are objecting to so much as the volume. Solve the volume problem and I strongly suspect the worship wars would soon die down. Music ministers seem to think that

August 22, 2012

Christian Standard

Mining for Diamonds

By Greg Swinney A few months ago, I found myself sitting at a roadside taco stand in Mexico. I could hardly believe where I was and what I was doing. A three and one-half hour church service had just ended and those who helped lead the service were hungry. They invited me to go “out to eat” with them. It was 10 p.m. and I was ready for some food, but I had no idea it meant sitting on white plastic stack chairs along the side of the dusty road and eating out of the back end of a brightly

August 21, 2012

Christian Standard

Called to Be Faithful

By Tommy and Jennifer White “Jesus hasn”t come through for me. There is no “˜Savior.” We save ourselves,” said Craig, a University of Utah student who was baptized into Christ in spring 2010. He read the Bible and prayed. He worshipped in community and served in a local church. He struggled with addictions. He expected Jesus, and other believers, to provide the perpetual high he craved. Today he”s angry and has walked away from Jesus. After three years of seeking to establish a body of Christ followers on college campuses in Utah, we”ve realized””sometimes through disappointment””we may not see measurable

August 20, 2012

Christian Standard

List of Campus Ministries for 2012

Click here to download the 2012 Campus Ministries List for more than 100 campus ministries in the United Stands (and a handful of international campus ministries). For your convenience, we are also listing the campus ministries below (with active links). ________ ALABAMA Auburn University Auburn Christian Fellowship 334-821-3963 Perry Rubin www.auburnchristianfellowship.com au***********************@***il.com   ARKANSAS University of Arkansas Christ on Campus 479-521-8358 Mike Armstrong www.christoncampus.org co**@************us.org   University of Arkansas””Fort Smith Christ on Campus 479-452-1901 Jeff Miller je**@*******fs.org   COLORADO Colorado School of Mines/Red Rocks Community College Rocky Mountain Campus Ministry 303-988-1024 Ext. 5 Art Heffron   Colorado State University Impact@CSU 970-449-3716 Matt Harris www.impactingcsu.com

August 20, 2012

Christian Standard

Here They Come . . . and There They Go

By Mike Armstrong College campuses across the country will soon be flooded with the next class of new students. Also arriving will be thousands of the most promising students from around the world, with more than half of these coming from the world”s least-reached nations. Both American and international students will arrive with dreams and plans for their college careers and their futures. But what most will not realize is that when they arrive on campus, God is already there. Many of these students will encounter God in ways that will change their lives. Saying “hello” to these new students

August 17, 2012

Christian Standard

A Voice from Long Ago

By Jewell Johnson When my husband retired after 42 years as a minister, a time of adjustment followed. As LeRoy reflected on his years in ministry, he began to second-guess all the time he had spent working for God. Did I do any good? he asked himself. Is there any lasting fruit from those years? Did I help even one person? A few years after retirement, LeRoy and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. That”s when we received a special phone call. “Does a Pastor Johnson live at this number?” a hesitant voice asked. As LeRoy talked on the phone,

August 16, 2012

Christian Standard

Deployed

By Kavan Rogness Several months ago at University Christian Church in Manhattan, Kansas, we came up with an idea to get the church involved in the community. The bulk of the inspiration came from a staff member who attended the February 2011 Preaching and Teaching Conference at Ozark Christian College. There he heard about Vince Antonucci”s book Guerilla Lovers and the “guerilla” assignments Antonucci developed to encourage Christians to get outside their comfort zones and show God”s love through acts of kindness. We decided to challenge our congregation with the idea. The result was a military-themed sermon series called “Deployed” that not

August 15, 2012

Christian Standard

Is Modern Israel the Key to God’s Plan?

By Jon Weatherly Is the founding of the modern state of Israel a sign that Jesus will return soon? Does God judge today’s nations based on how they treat Israel, or Jews in general? Does the Bible teach Christians always to side with Israel in conflicts with its neighbors? Many American Christians would answer all of these questions in the affirmative. Through the influence of popular preachers and writers, they have come to believe the modern state of Israel plays a clear and crucial role in the Bible. They are therefore prepared to give unconditional, unqualified support to the nation

August 13, 2012

Christian Standard

Introducing Standard Lesson Resources

By Jon Underwood This year marks 60 years of publishing the Standard Lesson Commentary. While that sounds impressive, it barely scratches the surface of Standard Publishing”s tradition of publishing Sunday school resources. The Adult Bible Class is in its 137th year of publication, and Bible Teacher and Leader is in its 114th. Since the beginning of the Uniform Series in 1872, Standard Publishing has been involved. Our founder, Isaac Errett, served on the Lesson Committee from 1884 until his death in 1888. Standard Publishing has a proud history, but it”s not living in the past. This year we are introducing

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