Series: News

Care & Counseling

Professor Seeks to Provide ‘Ministry to Ministers’

By Jim Nieman Jody Owens says senior ministers are feeling “under the gun” because of the stress of leading during the coronavirus pandemic. The ministers are working hard to conduct ministry in a form and fashion for which they were not trained and are not accustomed, says Owens, professor of Bible and pastoral ministries with Johnson University. These ministers are making hard decisions and are dealing with other stressors, and—due to circumstances—they are “not getting the feedback and the positive comments they are used to receiving.” INTENSIVE LEARNING RETREATSOwens gleaned some of this information from ministers and church leaders—about 20

August 19, 2020

Longtime University President Bryce Jessup Dies (Plus News Briefs)

Bryce Jessup, 85, who served as president of William Jessup University in California for 25 years— until his retirement in 2010—died of a heart attack July 30 during a fishing trip to Yosemite with his son Jim. Bryce Jessup was the son of the university’s founder, William Jessup. The school started in 1939 as San Jose Bible College, was subsequently renamed San Jose Christian College, became William Jessup University in 2003, and moved from San Jose to a much larger campus in Rocklin, Calif., in 2004. “During his presidency,” WJU shared, “the university substantially improved its financial position, achieved regional

August 12, 2020

Dallas Christian Staffers Connect with Students During Road Trip

By Jim Nieman Two staff members of Dallas Christian College embarked on a 2,511-mile road trip in July to connect with as many current and future students as possible. “We were all in quarantine,” said director of student services Karla Kuhl, “and I was seeing stories of [public school] teachers who were going out and seeing their students. And I thought, Well, I have students. I could do that.” Because Dallas Christian College had switched to an online-only format in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, there hadn’t been many “connections” between students and staff for several months . .

August 12, 2020

Lipscomb Launches Lanier Center for Archaeology (Plus News Briefs)

Two renowned archaeology scholars—Dr. Steven Ortiz and Dr. Tom Davis—have founded the Lanier Center for Archaeology at Lipscomb University in Nashville. In conjunction with this, Lipscomb will be adding its first PhD program. “The Lanier Center for Archaeology plans to offer a Doctor of Philosophy in Archaeology of the Ancient Near East and a Master of Arts in Archaeology and Biblical Studies beginning in January 2021,” Lipscomb announced via a release. “In addition, the center will feature archaeological research libraries, an extensive artifact study collection and a ceramic restoration lab. It will also engage in field research projects.” Ortiz and Davis

August 11, 2020

Biographies Restoration Movement History

My Memories of Marshall Leggett

By Ben Merold As I think about Marshall Leggett, who passed away on March 2 at age 90, two personal experiences keep coming to my mind . . .

August 5, 2020

Conferences & Gatherings Organizations & Events

ICOM Changes 2020 Gathering to Both In-Person/Online

By Jim Nieman As the world has battled the coronavirus the last several months, representatives of the International Conference On Missions have repeatedly been asked the same question about their annual gathering, “Are you meeting in person or online in November?” The answer finally came this week. ICOM 2020 will be both. The gathering that attracts thousands of missionaries and mission-focused individuals each year will take place Friday and Saturday, Nov. 20 and 21, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. But (and this is important), some of the activities that draw the largest crowds—including main sessions and workshops—will take

August 5, 2020

Culture & Public Square

Best Christian Workplaces Listed (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Jim Nieman The Best Christian Workplace Institute has honored 76 faith-based organizations as Certified Best Christian Workplaces for 2020. Among those churches, mission organizations, and parachurch ministries honored: • 2|42 Community Church, Brighton, Mich. • Canyon Ridge Christian Church, Las Vegas, Nev. • Compass Christian Church, Chandler, Ariz. • Northridge Christian Church, Milledgeville, Ga. • StoneBridge Christian Church, Omaha, Neb. • CDF Capital, Irvine, Calif. • Christian Children’s Home of Ohio, Wooster, Ohio • Cookson Hills, Kansas, Okla. _ _ _ News Briefs Hope International University, Fullerton, Calif., will begin fall semester in a remote learning arrangement. In

August 4, 2020

Suspect in Deadly Shooting Arrested Inside Church as Worship Begins

By Jim Nieman A man suspected of a double shooting that left one person dead and another person injured Saturday morning in Carthage, Mo., was arrested after a scuffle inside First Christian Church in Lamar, Mo., at around 8 a.m. Sunday—as the church’s first worship service was starting. Lead minister Dru Ashwell, who had spoken with the 29-year-old suspect for “a minute or two” moments earlier, was in the sanctuary at the time with 80 to 100 worshippers, none of whom were even aware of the tussle that occurred as the man was arrested by police with assistance from five

July 29, 2020

Care & Counseling

Bailey’s Dream of Military Chaplaincy Has Covered 16 Years

By Chris Moon Sometimes, a vision doesn’t immediately come to fruition. It can take years to develop. Such has been the case for Jamin Bailey. Sixteen years ago, while he was a preaching student at Johnson University in Knoxville, Tenn., he visited his brother at a military base. While there, he saw a couple of Marines getting “dressed down” by a sergeant for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. “In the midst of this uproar came a chaplain,” Bailey told Christian Standard. “I do not know who he was or how he knew to be there that

July 29, 2020

Faber Continuing to Influence Boise Students after 40 Years (Plus News Briefs)

When Charles “Chuck” Faber began as a full-time professor at Boise Bible College, he committed three years to the school before considering anything else. Forty years later he is still at BBC, influencing young and old to study, think, and live God’s way. Faber, who grew up a missionary kid in Japan, attended Cincinnati Bible College and Seminary, where he graduated with honors. In 1980, when invited to move his family to Boise, Idaho, for his first job after college, Faber and his wife, Patti, sold their house in the Cincinnati area, rented a truck, and drove to Idaho with

July 22, 2020

Kent E. Fillinger

Stewardship & Generosity

The Financial Impact of COVID-19 on Christian Churches

(This article is excerpted from a longer feature article written for our October print magazine. We post some of the more time-critical information now for the benefit of our churches. The longer version—available at the end of September—provides a more comprehensive report.) By Kent E. Fillinger During the week of June 7, I conducted a COVID-19 Church Impact Survey to take a “snapshot” of how churches fared during the initial three months of quarantine (March to May) and what they anticipated would be happening over the next three months (June to August) as many have started regathering for in-person worship

July 22, 2020

News Briefs for July 22

Compiled by Jim Nieman Kentucky Christian University president Terry Allcorn hosts A Restoration Podcast weekly to learn from Christian leaders who are moving the Restoration Movement forward. Among those he has interviewed recently: Matt Wilson of Ekklesia Christian Church in Conway, S.C. (the fastest-growing large church in our most recent survey); Doug Crozier, CEO of The Solomon Foundation; and Douglas Foster, a leading Restoration Movement scholar. _ _ _ Restoration House Ministries’ next church plant—scheduled for 2021—will be Beacon Church in southern New Hampshire. Calvin and Tara Daly are serving as planters. A video about the plant is available at

July 21, 2020

Church & Ministry Church Staff

Church Staff Steps Up During Preacher Search, Pandemic

By Chris Moon The COVID-19 pandemic has been a difficult one for church leaders and staff to navigate. But try doing it without a senior pastor in place. That’s the reality Richwoods Christian Church in Peoria, Ill., has been living during these days of the new coronavirus. Tom Butler, the church’s executive pastor, joked that he took a class in seminary about serving in a church through a major pandemic and a recession—and without a head shepherd in place. “That class has really come in handy,” Butler said. Then, in a serious tone, he said, “This has been unprecedented in

July 15, 2020

Church Life

To Mask or Not to Mask?

Two Biblical Principles We Must Make Every Effort to Follow During This Season of Regathering By Ken Idleman “To be or not to be? That is the question.” Most of us will recognize this quotation from Hamlet, one of William Shakespeare’s famous plays. Hamlet, who spoke these words, was contemplating suicide . . . trying to decide whether it was better for him to live or to die. It’s pretty heavy stuff. (Shakespeare sometimes managed to encapsulate in a very few words ideas that take the rest of us many paragraphs to articulate.) We are currently living through a

July 15, 2020

News Briefs for July 15

Compiled by Jim Nieman and Chris Moon IDES will host a free webinar at noon July 22 for church leaders dealing with the reopening of their churches in the middle of this pandemic. The webinar will feature executive director Rick Jett along with IDES’s counseling experts, Drs. Paul Boatman, Tom Ewald, and Dawn Zywiec. The participants will share tools to help church leaders deal with the complexities related to reopening. Click here to learn more and to register for the one-hour event. _ _ _ Alums of Boise Bible College continue to share stories of their life experiences before, during,

July 14, 2020

Care & Counseling

INTERVIEW: Two Ministers Discuss How COVID-19 Diagnoses Have Affected Their Ministries

By Jim Nieman The coronavirus has proven to be a complex issue for churches and church leaders. And it can be further complicated—and even turn emotional—when there are COVID-19 diagnoses in leadership. Johnson University professor Jody Owens recently interviewed two senior ministers, Matthew Sink and Greg Taylor, who have been personally affected by COVID-19 diagnoses. Sink, senior minister with Pinedale Christian Church, Winston-Salem, N.C., is doing well after he and his three children, along with his parents—who live next door—contracted the disease. He has completed a two-week quarantine. Taylor, lead minister with Second Church of Christ in Danville, Ill., didn’t

July 8, 2020

COVID-19 Compels Chitwood, 84, to Launch ‘Encouraging Word’ Videos

By Chris Moon At 84 years old—and after 62 years in ministry—Bob Chitwood is having no problem keeping up with the times. The pastor at Brownville Christian Church in Nebraska has been using the COVID-19 pandemic to take his church’s ministry to Facebook. Each week, Chitwood produces an 8- to 10-minute video he calls “An Encouraging Word,” where Chitwood shares a gospel principle at various locations around the tiny town of Brownville. He went to a local vineyard and winery and discussed Jesus as the true vine. He went down by the Missouri River to discuss the river of life.

July 8, 2020

Kentucky Christian Hires Two New Vice Presidents (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Jim Nieman and Chris Moon Kentucky Christian University recently hired two new administrators. Calvin Lindell was hired as vice president of academic affairs. Lindell, who had been serving as interim in that position since March, “did an outstanding job throughout the transition to remote instruction in the spring term and with several other projects,” KCU president Terry Allcorn said. Lindell’s transition to vice president was effective July 1. Lindell also serves as preacher with Salt Lick (Ky.) Christian Church. He previously served 31 years with Morehead State University. Donald Damron, a 1990 KCU graduate, began serving part-time as

July 1, 2020