Articles for tag: Call to Ministry

October 30, 2016

Christian Standard

God Spoke through the Sermons

What I learned from a year”s break from preaching By Dustin Fulton A few years ago, after a difficult season of ministry, my wife and I sensed a definite call to plant a church. Since we were weary, we were advised to take a sabbatical, as well as quit our jobs, sell our house, move out of town, and wait to see where God was leading us. Of the many aspects of the sabbatical, one that really excited me was getting to refresh my preaching skills by hearing from as many preachers as possible during my year”s break from the

July 22, 2016

Christian Standard

Carrying to Completion

By Earl Winfrey I can”t remember a time when church was not part of my life. I was baptized into Christ at 12 and felt the call to ministry and started pursuing a deeper knowledge of the Bible at the age of 14. Unfortunately, I got mixed up with the wrong crowd during my senior year of high school. I got married two weeks after graduation, and we had our baby five months after the wedding. For the first year and a half, I lived in denial, thinking my marriage was good. Then one day I woke up to find

July 14, 2016

Christian Standard

Transformed by God”s Grace

By Pat Magness The before and after photographs probably wouldn”t look that different. Both pictures would show a handsome, tall, athletic young man with a big smile. Unlike the transformation depicted in before and after pictures for a weight loss promo or exercise video, this transformation was not in looks, but in attitudes and actions. When I knew him “before,” he was self-absorbed, careless with the feelings of others. Some might have called him arrogant, and while he was never lazy, he often looked for the easy way. Perhaps most disturbing, he treated his sweetheart of a girlfriend with a

March 22, 2016

Mark A. Taylor

Where Will God Use You Best?

By Mark A. Taylor “Do you believe you”re serving in the place God can use you best?” A friend surprised me with that question several years ago. And maybe I was equally surprised by my answer. “Yes,” I said. My guess is that many Christians, certainly many Christian leaders, are a lot like me. We think about that question too little. We choose ministries like a young professional plotting his next career move. How will this job position me to work later for the kind of church I really want to serve? Does it pay more than I”m earning now?

January 22, 2015

Christian Standard

What I Learned When I Asked about Healthy Churches

By Brad Walden A longtime friend reported on the latest developments in the church where he had invested years of service. He seemed excited, but also concerned about the changes. So I asked, “Do you think your church is healthy?” He answered, “Oh, yes. We are healthy. We have the largest bank balance in our history.” So that”s it? A healthy church has a healthy cash reserve?  That got me to thinking. How would I define a healthy church? Is your church healthy? Can you invite new neighbors to attend your church with total confidence they will find a healthy environment? Will involvement

October 19, 2013

Christian Standard

You Are Called to Plant a Church

By Carl Kuhl The No. 1 rule of church planting is dead wrong. This rule is repeated in books, at conferences, at boot camps, and everywhere you turn. I believe God has put thousands of people in places across this country and millions around the globe for the purpose of rising to the occasion of planting a church. However, there is one huge problem: they are told they can”t do it. The first rule in church planting is that you must be called. And the people who say this seem to have Scripture on their side. They tell of God”s

December 31, 2011

Christian Standard

The Word Got Ahold of Me

By Byron Davis “The Bible transforms lives! You better believe it! Don”t let the Bible get ahold of you because when you do, you”ll never be the same! “Amen! Amen “˜Pastuh.” Preach it. Preach the Word!” I was 13 when I heard these words shouted through the cheap sound system at Good Shepherd Baptist Church in East Cleveland, Ohio. That Sunday morning was cold and rainy, and I couldn”t wait for service to start because that”s when the preteens were allowed to actually sit in service with the adults. I was not as excited to hear the sermon as I

January 31, 2011

Christian Standard

A Light for the Way

By Larry Travis When I was a young boy in Mount Vernon, Kentucky, my Sunday school teacher, Joe Henderson, taught our class a song and a pledge . . . to the Bible. The song went like this: “The B-I-B-L-E, yes, that”s the book for me, I stand alone on the word of God, the B-I-B-L-E.” The pledge to the Bible was spoken in unison and with open hands . . . palms up. With all our hearts we would all proclaim, “I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God”s Holy Word . . . a lamp unto my feet and

October 21, 2010

Christian Standard

This is Everybody”s Job (an Interview with Bob Russell)

By Dean Collins Since Bob Russell”s retirement from Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2006 he has encouraged ministry in the local church in a variety of ways. This year, he partnered with our Christian college presidents in the Just One Challenge. Shortly after the North American Christian Convention in July, I talked with Bob about his passion for recruiting the next generation of kingdom workers. DEAN COLLINS: What role should local churches play in recruiting kingdom workers, both to our colleges and to the harvest field? BOB RUSSELL: One of my regrets, when I look back, is that

August 1, 2010

Christian Standard

Interview with Derek Lauer

By Brad Dupray Pastoral ministry is sometimes daunting, sometimes exhilarating, but nearly always challenging. In his 30 years of ministry, Derek Lauer has seen the peaks and valleys and learned how to meet the challenges along the way. Derek served in youth ministries in California and Arizona, and has been a senior pastor for the past 17 years, first in Arizona, and now at Northeast Christian Church in Rockford, Illinois. He holds an undergraduate degree from Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and a master”s from Cincinnati (Ohio) Christian Seminary. What”s the hardest thing about being in the ministry? <laughs> Floyd

September 4, 2005

Jim Herbst

senior saints

God and Little Old Ladies

Senior saints carry long stories of prayer, hospitality, and perseverance. Jim Herbst reflects on how overlooked faithfulness in Pittsburgh strengthened his ministry and reminded him that God’s slow work is relentless.

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