January 1, 2026
Leading Through the Hand-Off: Lessons in Pastoral Transition
With careful planning, clear communication, financial foresight, and sensitivity to personalities, churches can not only survive transitions, they can thrive through them.
Articles for tag: Blessing
December 28, 2021
Dallas Christian’s Basketball Team Drops Game to Texas A&M
Dallas Christian College’s men’s basketball team lost to Texas A&M University 102-52 on Monday, in a matchup that came together quickly after Tulane University had to cancel a game vs. the Division 1 Aggies due to COVID-19.
December 3, 2017
Life Lessons Learned from My Grandfather
By Matt Merold Some of the greatest lessons in life are caught, not taught. They”re learned by what is observed in us, not what is heard from us. Sometimes the teacher isn”t even aware that school is in session. I”m not entirely sure if my instructor””my grandfather, Ben Merold””is fully aware of all the ways he”s taught me, in both simple and sophisticated ways. His lessons have gone beyond anything I could ever learn in a classroom. You”re Never Too Important to Take Out the Trash. It was hot . . . Missouri hot! Anyone who had been outside
December 2, 2017
‘I Showed Up’
Mandy Harvey”s journey from hearing loss to the finals of AGT, and the family who wouldn”t give up on her. By Joe Harvey As I write this article, my wife, Val, and I are sitting in a hotel room in Los Angeles busying ourselves with work as we await the contestants” final performances on America”s Got Talent for 2017. Tonight, our daughter Mandy Harvey will sing another original song and play her ukulele. Val and I will sit in the lower balcony, stage left, and watch in wonder, sometimes literally holding our breath, as the grand finale unfolds before us.
November 29, 2017
The Blessing of a Love for Ministry
By Rusty Russell My parents, Bob and Judy Russell, raised two sons who love the church and are involved in ministry. I”ve served as lead pastor at New Day Christian Church in Port Charlotte, Florida, since 2010. My brother, Phil, is a deacon and on the worship team at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville where we grew up. My parents” seven grandkids all love the church. Their oldest grandchild””my 22-year-old son, Charlie””is a graduate of Johnson University and is in full-time ministry in Chicago. On one hand, it”s not surprising that I was drawn to ministry. I grew up in
November 26, 2017
The Blessing of Daily Faithfulness
By Kyle Idleman Initially I was reluctant to write this tribute. I was hesitant not because my parents are undeserving or because I”m ungrateful. I was reluctant mostly because I”ve already written to my parents most of the things I”ll write here. I”ve already expressed my appreciation to them. And this is the sort of thing that makes my parents feel awkward. If you asked them to tell you about passing on “the blessing” to the next generation, they wouldn”t point to their example, but would be quick to speak of God”s goodness. They would tell you his grace is
November 25, 2017
The Blessing Freely and Naturally Given
By Dave Stone No one has any say into which family he or she is born. But someday I intend to thank the Lord for the parents he gave to my brother, Jeff, and me. Sam Stone has been known to many by a variety of titles: Preacher, Seminary Dean, Editor, Brotherhood Leader, and North American Christian Convention President. But I”ve been fortunate to just call him Dad. What a blessing! When asked why we chose to go into the ministry, Jeff and I typically give the same response: “Because our dad was the same man in the home as
November 18, 2017
Stand: When You Did Not Receive Your Father”s Blessing
By Michael C. Mack “Stand up if you grew up without a father . . . if you never knew him . . . if he was abusive or inept or spiritually vacant and unavailable . . . even if he was around, but not really there . . . if you knew him but weren”t known by him . . .” I and six other members of my men”s group had traveled to the RCA Dome in Indianapolis for the Promise Keepers conference, joining some 62,000 other men worshipping God and being inspired to live godly lives. On the
November 17, 2017
Letter from the Publisher
By Jerry Harris I was at the same Promise Keepers event in Indianapolis that Mike Mack describes in his article, “Stand: When You Did Not Receive Your Father”s Blessing,” in this issue. I remember evaluating the blessing I had received, while men to my immediate left and right, as well as all around the stadium, stood and admitted that they had never received a blessing. As I scanned tens of thousands of men standing at that Christ-centered men”s event, the grave implications began to sink in. I wondered how many husbands and fathers were left to wing it in their
December 10, 2015
Art in the Worship of the Church
By Paul M. Blowers Worship in the church”s context has never been artless, any more than it was artless in Israel”s ancient temple. Worship is already, in one sense, a ritual “performance.” The biblical revelation is our ultimate “script,” and Christian believers are both the “actors” and “spectators” who, through various formal actions””such as singing, proclaiming, praying, confessing, offering, blessing, and eating””remember and replay the mighty deeds of God. Indeed, we join ourselves to a “cast of thousands,” the “cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1) who have come before us as players in the living drama that is the Christian faith.
August 26, 2015
Behind My Back
By Jim Tune I wasn”t intending to eavesdrop. It just sort of happened. I had left the company of two close friends, but realized minutes later I had left a personal item behind. My friends were still talking when I returned, and they were talking about me. I wasn”t trying to eavesdrop, but I couldn”t keep from listening as they discussed a very personal decision I had shared with them earlier. There was nothing mean-spirited in anything they said. I made my presence known almost immediately. I had heard enough to feel a flash of betrayal and embarrassment. When I
October 21, 2013
Lesson for October 27, 2013: The Blessing Passes to Jacob (Genesis 27, 28; 32:22-30; 35:9-15)
By Sam E. Stone Last week”s lesson concluded with Isaac becoming extremely prosperous (Genesis 26:13). He and his family moved south toward Beersheba, where his father Abraham had lived. Genesis 27 describes how Jacob tricked his father into giving him the special blessing that normally would have gone to his elder brother, Esau (27:1-40). When Esau learned of Jacob”s deception he cried, “Isn”t he rightly named Jacob? He has deceived me these two times: He took my birthright, and now he”s taken my blessing!” (v. 36). Esau planned to kill him after his father died. When his mother, Rebekah, learned
