July 1, 2024
Hope for a Movement
While working on a research project for a seminary degree, I visited Bethany, West Virginia, home of Bethany College. My stay began with a tour of the Alexander Campbell's home. . . .
Articles for tag: Biblical Worldview
January 1, 2023
Truth and the Bible Worldview
By Bobby Harrington and Daniel McCoy This article could well have been only a paragraph long. We could simply have written this: A “worldview” is your overall view of the world. Having a biblical worldview means that the teachings of the Bible fill in your answers to the big questions about reality. For example: Why do we exist? If you have a biblical worldview, your answer will include how God created us to bear his image and rule over his creation. What’s the source of our deepest problems? According to the Bible, our misery stems from our decision to mistrust
September 1, 2022
Why Do We Gather?
By Kent E. Fillinger As a movement, we’ve striven from the beginning to be a church based on New Testament principles. Where the Bible speaks, we speak, and where the Bible is silent, we are silent. No creed but Christ and no book but the Bible. When was the last time your church staff or elders stopped to consider what these maxims mean when it comes to worship gatherings? When did you last study the New Testament to see what it teaches about our purpose for gathering? Have your church leaders ever considered why you do what you do when
July 1, 2022
Current Trends in Dating, Marriage, and Parenting
By Kent E. Fillinger When I was young, whenever a boy and girl played together on the school playground, the other kids typically would tease them by singing “The Kissing Song”: “[Boy’s name] and [girl’s name], sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in the baby carriage!” The order prescribed in that song is being followed less and less these days. The purpose of this article is to explore recent data on dating, marriage, and parenting to help church leaders better understand current trends to help shape future teaching and ministry possibilities. DATING
January 25, 2021
Jan 31 | Clearing Away the Fog
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount clarifies our vision with regard to prayer, truth, obedience, and others.
The Impact of Politics on the Church
By Bob Russell Imagine that a godly couple unexpectedly inherits $10 million. How should they react? Their first response should be one of deep gratitude both to the benefactor and to God, the giver of every good gift. There should also be an overwhelming sense of responsibility to be wise stewards and not squander their fortune. Unearned wealth could spoil their kids or destroy their faith if unprepared, so they need to train their children to be sensible money managers. The Bible says, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (1 Corinthians
June 22, 2019
Learning Christ: Education That Transforms
By John Whittaker I was sitting in a coffee shop with a young man I had baptized several months earlier. “I’m lost during the sermon,” he admitted. “I don’t know whether the passage comes before Jesus or after. And it feels like the preacher just opens his Bible to wherever.” Fact: Basic Bible or Christian understanding can’t be assumed anymore. Fact 2: Folks have access to infinite amounts of nice-sounding memes and inspirational junk food on social media, and because they have such a limited and shallow understanding of the Christian faith, it all gets mixed together into a sort
May 20, 2019
Changing the Scorecards
What statistics really count in the church? Baptisms? Attendance? Or something much more vital? By Jim Putman I have been in many meetings over the years with so-called âbig dogsâ in the American Christian world . . . and I have left these gatherings feeling very dissatisfied. These meetings often sound spiritual and may even come from good hearts, but they often leave me feeling like something big was missed. The purpose of meeting usually is good: How do we win people to Jesus? Most everyone acknowledges our culture is falling apart, that many Americans are leaving the faith and
January 17, 2017
Beyond Facebook
By Mark A. Taylor Last fall a Facebook friend was protesting a political comment I posted. “I”ll be glad when this election is over!” she wrote, as if she thought disagreement about politicians would end after November. But instead of retreating, the rancor has ramped up. Perhaps we should expect that from the voices talking over each other on CNN and Fox News. They, and their counterparts cluttering talk radio, keep their ratings by stirring controversy and pandering to the perspectives of their audiences. But the time has come for Christians to move on. This doesn”t mean that government is
February 17, 2016
The Limits of Relevance
By Jim Tune Relevance is a good thing. Relevance is about trying to communicate the gospel in an understandable way to a particular culture. It”s absolutely essential if we are going to reach people who don”t know Jesus. But relevance has its limits. In his new book Disappearing Church, Mark Sayers describes three cultures. The first is pre-Christian. The second is a culture that”s shaped by Judeo-Christian values. The third is post-Christian. To communicate the gospel to the first culture (pre-Christian), we need to find relevant ways to speak the gospel. The same also applies when we speak into the
October 7, 2014
Creating, Not Attacking, the Culture
By Mark A. Taylor We were visiting the beautiful Cloisters museum and gardens in New York City and browsing through its remarkable displays of 5,000 works of medieval art. Most of the paintings, sculpture, and stained-glass windows depicted Christian images, and I found myself wondering, “Centuries from now what great art from the West will the world find as a Christian witness?” Several writers at our site this month are trying to answer that question. And all of our “Christians and culture” articles appearing here present a challenge to positive culture-shaping initiatives, some of them in ways far removed from the arts.
March 1, 2014
Tips for Teaching the Bible at Home
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7). By Dan Burton When you sit at home. Our family sits together for dinner at least five times a week. This doesn”t just happen . .
June 5, 2012
More than Numbers?
By Darrel Rowland Jim Putman readily agrees that a lengthy ministry is no guarantee of spiritual success. “Just because you”re in a place a long time doesn”t mean it”s going to be effective. You”re going to have to be the right kind of leader in a long-term ministry.” But that right kind of leader can be more effective over the long haul, he says. “I think the largest churches in the United States are led by people who”ve been there for a period of time and figured out how to make an impact, and how to grow people spiritually and
February 14, 2010
NACC: Hmmm . . . Let Us Think
By Rob Kastens Recently I was given a complete original set of The Millennial Harbinger. As I read through the discolored, fragile pages of several issues from the 1800s, I was struck by the discourse and exchange around all sorts of issues. Positions were stated and confronted by Alexander Campbell as he responded to writings published elsewhere and letters he received. This exchange of views through the Harbinger and other publications, in addition to public debates and discussions, helped shape and hone our movement in its early days. In these pages, I found Christians who were committed to Scripture and
August 31, 2008
Parents Matter
By Curtis Booher and Phyllis Fox Parents matter. More than anyone””peers, teachers, youth ministers””the greatest single influence on a teen is his parents. That may shock some parents who feel like a discarded shoe when their children reach adolescence. Research proves parents have the greatest effect on their children”s choices, including their religious and spiritual practices. Teens long to be cared for and taken seriously and they need authentic relationships with their parents and other caring adults. Christian parents need support from the church and that means more than youth group and Bible studies. The alarming rate of teen church
