Series: Featured

July 13, 2012

Christian Standard

How Shall We Face the Future?

By Mark A. Taylor “Refreshed in the Future” was Bob Russell’s sermon topic at the closing session of the North American Christian Convention in Orlando, Florida, Friday morning, July 13. And even though he’s a little skeptical about predicting the future, he observed that “one sure way to get attention” is to try. But in spite of future predictions that have not come true (By the 21st century we will will have colonies on the moon) and those that have (Automobiles will be guided by satellite systems), he reminded us of one thing we do know: American culture is growing

July 13, 2012

Christian Standard

A Widow’s Faith

By Karen Wingate On May 22, 2011, an EF-5 tornado bulldozed through the south side of Joplin, Missouri, demolishing a regional hospital, nine schools (including the high school and adjoining tech school), several large stores, churches, businesses, and more than 8,000 homes. Hundreds were injured, and 163 died. In the ensuing months, relief came from across the country. This is the story of just one of those efforts, as churches in 21 small western Illinois communities helped a young widow rebuild her home. As they worked, they saw God rebuild relationships and restore faith. After the violent storm subsided, Stephanie

July 12, 2012

Christian Standard

Discussions Just Begun

By Mark A. Taylor “Wherever two or three are gathered together . . . someone’s wrong!” That was one of a hundred one-liners Chonda Pierce delivered during her alternately hilarious and heart-touching monologue during the Thursday-night evening session at the North American Christian Convention in Orlando, July 12. Chonda hadn’t attended two special seminars I heard earlier that day. But each of them contained questions and ideas that at least someone in the church would call wrong. This is one more thing good about this year’s North American Christian Convention. It stretched us by challenging us with ideas we may

July 12, 2012

Christian Standard

Just One NACC Story

By Mark A. Taylor Meet Tyrone Benson, minister with the  Pontoon Beach (Illinois) Christian Church, not far from St. Louis Missouri. Tyrone graduated from St. Louis Christian College this spring, and this is his first ministry. This is his first North American Christian Convention too. He’s at the event in Orlando, Florida, this year because of convention president Rick Rusaw’s idea to honor new ministry graduates at a special service during the convention’s closing session Friday morning. Tyrone is one of several dozen such ministers who will be singled out then. I can’t imagine a candidate more deserving of our

July 12, 2012

Christian Standard

Barnabas Day

By Tyler Edwards It”s no secret in the world of restaurant employees that Sunday morning is the worst shift. The problem is not missing church, it”s serving the people who went to church. Sunday morning consistently boasts the rudest, most demanding, least patient, and cheapest people.1 I once heard a waiter say, “When I work Sundays and I see a group bow their heads to pray, I know I can kiss my tip good-bye.” Having been a server for five years, I can say these critics have a point. I”m embarrassed that we, “the church crowd,” have earned this reputation.

July 11, 2012

Christian Standard

It’s All About the Connections

By Mark A. Taylor When the North American Christian Convention advertises itself as “the connecting place,” it’s not false advertising! Just try getting through the halls quickly from one event to another. Inevitably you’ll be stopped by people you know, friends from former ministries, or old college classmates. And if you’re not stopped, you may be doing the stopping as you see a favorite college professor, the guest preacher who visited your church, or the workshop leader who gave your church a new vision for ministry. Happy chatter is the norm in the hallways, around the exhibits, in the elevators,

July 10, 2012

Christian Standard

The Start of a Refreshing Week

By Mark A. Taylor “We”re inviting you to be refreshed by our amazing God,” said Tim Foot as he opened the first worship gathering of the 2012 North American Christian Convention in Orlando, Florida, Tuesday evening, July 10. Several thousand had gathered at the Marriott Orlando World Center Resort in two expansive ballrooms that had been turned into a worship center. The worship was heartfelt and substantive. Foot”s team augmented their music with creative video that portrayed the spirit and the message of each song we sang. The music was a comfortable mix of newer and older worship choruses, highlighted

July 10, 2012

Christian Standard

Externally Focused AND Evangelistic?

By Staff Most churches have heard about the “externally focused” emphasis that has prompted Christians everywhere to get out of their church buildings and into their communities to serve. Meanwhile, the attractional/missional debate has also prodded the push to be about going out instead of inviting people into the church. We talked about this trend at the annual CHRISTIAN STANDARD contributing editors retreat to explore the effect of this service emphasis on the church”s vision and mission. Can we effectively help and heal bodies AND save souls? CHRISTIAN STANDARD editors gathered the following leaders for this discussion: Ben Cachiaras, senior pastor

July 9, 2012

Christian Standard

Christian Standard Is Becoming a Monthly!

Nation’s longest-running Protestant weekly magazine strengthens mission, moves to monthly format CINCINNATI ““ July 6, 2012 — After 146 years, Christian Standard magazine, believed to be the nation”s oldest Protestant weekly in continuous publication, will move to a monthly schedule starting in September 2012. The Christian Standard has been continuously published since its first weekly issue rolled off printing presses on April 7, 1866.  It has produced issues every single week for 146 years, except for two weeks in 1937 when a flood put its presses underwater. Most of the time when a publication announces a change, it shuts down

July 6, 2012

Christian Standard

The President & Immigration

By Darrel Rowland As citizens of the U.S. prepare either to re-elect Barack Obama or elect Mitt Romney as president of the United States, one issue some will consider is the candidates” positions on immigration.   President Barack Obama (Democrat) “¢ Says the U.S. Border Patrol is better staffed than at any time in its almost 90-year history, with more than double the agents from 2004 (much of the hiring happened under President George W. Bush); unmanned aerial surveillance covers the border from California to Texas; some 650 miles of the southwestern border has been fenced, including about 300 miles

July 5, 2012

Christian Standard

A Ministry to Immigrants in Canada

By Jennifer Taylor “When you first get here, even the most basic things can be difficult,” says Javier Bustillos, who is originally from Cali, Colombia, and lived in the United States before arriving in Toronto, Canada, in 2003. “You don”t know where to shop for food, what school your children should attend, where to live. It”s a confusing time.” Bustillos and a small group of other Spanish-speaking members from Churchill Meadows Christian Church (also in Toronto) began visiting a local shelter to become friends with the refugees and immigrants. “We didn”t begin with a plan,” he admits. “We just listened

July 5, 2012

Christian Standard

You May Not Know You Know Me

By Mandy Smith Meet Marco Saavedra-Mendez, a young man as “American” as any you”ll meet. An undocumented immigrant with an uncertain future. I”m an immigrant to this country. I first came on a student visa, then had a temporary work visa, then a permanent work visa (or “green card”), before becoming a citizen. I read the fine print, filled in all the right forms, provided all the required information, consulted legal professionals, paid the visa application fees. And waited. Many times. So when the immigration issue comes up, my initial thought is often something like, I had to go through

July 4, 2012

Christian Standard

The Immigrants, My Friends

By Jim Phegley Let me introduce to you to some wonderful people I will never be able to forget. Twenty-seven years ago, my wife and I came to New York with our two children expecting to start one Hispanic congregation and then return to our home in Michigan. Now our children have made the Northeast their home, and we have two grandchildren. We will have roots in the Northeast the rest of our lives. Most undocumented immigrants arrive with the same expectation, go north for a few years, and return home. Then children are born, friends made, and lives established.

July 3, 2012

Christian Standard

What I”ve Learned, What I Believe About Immigration

By Gayla Cooper Congdon and Erin Illingworth As a resident of an international border city, I encounter immigration issues on a regular basis. Every time I drive down Interstate 805 to my office in San Ysidro, California, a warning sign reminds me to watch out for people running across the freeway. That sign is there to protect those who cross the border on foot and are in danger of being hit by cars. Each time I travel to our camp in Mexico near the border towns of Tijuana and Tecate, I see a fence that was constructed to keep people

July 1, 2012

Christian Standard

The Other Side of the Fence

By Fernando Soto-Dupuy Was it right and legal when Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob crossed the Canaanite border on several occasions? The Canaanites would have said no. Was it right and legal when the children of Israel crossed the border into the promised land? The Philistines and Ammonites would have said no. Was it right and legal when the Assyrians and the Chaldeans crossed the Israelite border? The Israelites would have said no. Was it right and legal when the Greeks crossed the western border of Persia? According to the Persians, the answer would have been no. Was it right and

June 30, 2012

Christian Standard

Liberty & Love

By Troy Jackson Sadly I”ve discovered that our country”s heart and the church”s compassion for the immigrant are much smaller than I would have imagined. Twenty years ago, I set out on an East Coast road trip to look at potential seminaries and graduate schools. Reared in Indiana, I had never been to New York City, Philadelphia, or Boston. I was excited to see those great American cities and some of the iconic landmarks of our nation. As I rambled down the New Jersey Turnpike, approaching New York, I caught the city”s famous skyline in the distance. As the traffic

June 29, 2012

Christian Standard

Immigration: What”s a Christian to Think?

By Alan F.H. Wisdom In spite of widespread advocacy for immigration reform by some Christian leaders, Christians remain divided on this crucial issue. Unfortunately, there are no simple answers. There is no biblical passage that lays out the details of a just immigration policy for 21st-century America. In spite of this, a chorus of voices from Christian leaders with many different groups has called for liberalized immigration measures. As a result, many Christians might be left to wonder how there could be any doubt on the issue. But there is doubt. Polls show church members deeply divided, or even inclined

June 28, 2012

Christian Standard

Immigration: What Does the Bible Say?

By M. Daniel Carroll R. The immensity of this human dilemma should drive Christians to the Scriptures to see what God might have to say about engaging the stranger. Immigration has been a hot political issue in this country for the last several years. Some in the media can be a bit shrill, labeling newcomers as part of a “tidal wave” or an “invasion” of foreigners. Heated and exaggerated rhetoric, of whatever persuasion, is not helpful and is not becoming for Christians. What might a self-consciously Christian position on the topic look like, one that doesn”t consist simply of a

June 25, 2012

Christian Standard

My Thorn

By Matt Rendulic Severe bipolar affective psychosis. It”s a condition I”m learning to live with. It”s a weakness I”m learning to thank God for. It”s a companion to every day of my ministry. Paul seems a bit anxious and reluctant as he starts the 12th chapter of his second letter to the Corinthian church, “This boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord” (v. 1).* Then Paul begins to describe a time he was caught up into Heaven. Upon initial reading, one probably says, “Awesome! I wish

June 21, 2012

Christian Standard

Strategies to De-stress Leadership

By Sheila S. Hudson “Put the big ones in first,” my father-in-law advises. Pop-Pop, as the great-grandchildren have dubbed him, is a very wise man. He has been an elder in the church as long as I can remember. I ponder his advice. Today Pop-Pop is in his element with his 14 great-grandchildren as his audience. He lets each of them try filling a jug with rocks, sand, and water. After putting sand, pebbles, and water in the jar, however, the children discover the larger rocks won”t fit. Then Pop-Pop shows them the secret: When you place the big rocks

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