Articles for tag: Brian Jones

May 1, 2023

Christian Standard

Can Divergent Streams Flow Back Together?

By Daryl Reed  I saw a cartoon that pictures a church membership class. The teacher is showing a diagram titled “Churches and Christian Movements Throughout History.” On the left side of the chart a dot is labeled “30 AD,” representing the first church. To the right of that is a large tree of many successive generations of Christian movements. The teacher is pointing to a place further out on the tree and says, “So this is where our movement came along and got the Bible right.” A student responds, “Jesus is so lucky to have us.”   I’m embarrassed to say

January 22, 2017

Christian Standard

How Social Media Is Hurting Your Ministry

By Michael C. Mack “Are we willing to quit social media (and other distractions) if the temptations are too strong . . . to overcome?” Brian Jones asks this question on Senior Pastor Central (www.seniorpastorcentral.com). Jones says for years he was convinced that switching from the study of God”s Word and sermon preparation to distractions such as checking social media, text, or e-mails didn”t hurt him at all. After reading Deep Work by Cal Newport, however, he says he better understands the costs. Newport warns about what he calls “attention residue,” the lingering effects from switching back and forth between

November 30, 2015

Christian Standard

Why White Christians Just Don”t Get It

By Brian Jones If you”re angrier with rioters for looting and pillaging than with the event that preceded it””the killing of an unarmed black man by police officers””there”s a really good chance you just don”t get it. Let me explain. One of my favorite memories growing up was going to the police station with my grandfather, who was a Franklin County sheriff in Columbus, Ohio. He pretended to lock me up in cells, fed me prison food, introduced me to all the guards, and allowed me to sit in his cruiser and turn the siren on. My grandfather was a

February 7, 2015

Christian Standard

Your Church and Homosexuals: Rethinking Our Pat Answers

By Brian Jones On an episode of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart defined “the gay agenda” as . . .  “Gay marriage, civil rights protection, Fleet Week expanded to Fleet Year, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance for when it”s raining men, Kathy Griffin to host everything, and a nationwide ban on pleated pants.” I would add one more: to simply be treated with respect by Christians. Last year I did a series of blog posts on the topic of homosexuality. It was the most read, discussed, and shared topic I”ve blogged about in recent memory. What surprised me, however,

August 4, 2014

Michael C. Mack

Interviewing Pete Rose for God”s Sake

By Michael C. Mack In March, Pete Rose, Major League Baseball”s all-time hits leader, returned to the Philadelphia area where, in 1980, he helped lead the Phillies to their first-ever World Series championship. Brian Jones, senior minister with Christ”s Church of the Valley, interviewed Rose during each of the church”s three services as part of its series on “Second Chances.” This year marks the 25th anniversary of Rose”s banishment from the game as a result of allegations that he bet on baseball games, and the 10th anniversary of his admission that he bet on baseball games. Rose is ineligible for

January 4, 2013

Christian Standard

Ages 50 to 75: The Minister”s Sweet Spot

By Brian Jones I believe pastors don”t hit their ministry “sweet spot” until they”re in their mid-50s. And if they stay engaged and growing, that sweet spot will last into their mid- to late-70s. Anyone who has ever led a church, or been led by a pastor in a church, knows this. Put another way, I believe a pastor”s personal ministry effectiveness, as defined both biblically and experientially, doesn”t reach its full potential until a pastor has grandkids and starts to get AARP letters in his mailbox. You can understand my great disappointment, then, when I read my friend Kent

December 2, 2012

Michael C. Mack

How (Not) to Kill (or Split) a Small Group

By Michael C. Mack   Question: How do you kill an unhealthy group? Answer: I believe this question begins with a faulty premise. I agree that some small groups are unhealthy, but I don”t think that warrants killing them off. Perhaps the person who asked this question read Brian Jones”s controversial column in the January 23, 2011, Christian Standard titled, “Why Churches Should Euthanize Small Groups.” “Modern-day small groups are led, for the most part,” Jones wrote, “by people who have attended the church, had a conversion experience, led a reasonably moral life, and can read the study-guide questions, but

July 25, 2012

Christian Standard

Is Your Church Bloated?

By Brian Jones In all my years of following Christ, there are only two prayers I really regret praying. The first was a prayer asking God to direct me where he wanted me to serve as a missionary. “OK God,” I remember praying. “I”m going to lean back, close my eyes, and the first country that pops into my head””I promise you that I will move there and spend the rest of my life trying to reach those people.” With all the impulsive recklessness a newly converted 18-year-old with the gift of evangelism could muster, I leaned back, cleared my

May 13, 2012

Christian Standard

Seven Ways We Keep Church Hoppers from Staying at Our Church

By Brian Jones I think two of the most dangerous influences any church faces are (1) spiritual leaders who have lost their first love and (2) the onslaught of church hoppers. Having wavered before in my faith and flirted with losing my first love with God, I know firsthand how dangerous the first one can be. But that”s something we spiritual leaders have control over. The second one . . . not so much. I call church hoppers “connoisseurs of fine churches” because they”re continually on a quest to find the church that is spiritual enough for them, will endlessly

November 4, 2011

Christian Standard

Two Books about Hell

By LeRoy Lawson Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived Rob Bell New York: HarperOne, 2011 Hell Is Real (But I Hate to Admit It)  Brian Jones Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2011 In July, I met with an exciting group of campus ministers from universities around the world. These engaged and engaging young men and women never fail to challenge me with their penetrating questions about today”s leading theological issues. This time there were two issues under consideration: gay marriage (one by one the states are voting to approve it””what are

August 8, 2011

Christian Standard

You Need to Chill

By Brian Jones On August 1, I released my latest book, Hell Is Real (But I Hate to Admit It). I prayed two simple prayers as I was writing it. First, God, help Christians who are not sharing their faith with their non-Christian friends and family to get shaken out of their complacency. Second, Please God, don”t let them become pushy, obnoxious, freaky Christians in the process. Without question, one of the biggest mistakes Christians make when they realize Hell is real is to immediately come on too strong evangelistically. You can understand how it happens. If one day you”re

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