Articles for tag: church leadership

October 22, 2008

Christian Standard

Could We Have Been Better Prepared?

By Mark A. Taylor After the worst power outage in our community”s history, government and energy leaders are asking, “How could we have been better prepared?” When the remnants of Hurricane Ike blew through the Ohio Valley September 14, at least 90 percent of the electric customers in the Greater Cincinnati area lost power””more than 1 million users. Similar stories were told in Louisville and Columbus and many places in-between. Even on the eighth day after the hurricane-strength winds toppled trees and power lines here, tens of thousands were still waiting for their power to be restored. All this happened

October 19, 2008

Christian Standard

Hunting or Hunted?

By Don Wilson Climbing the corporate ladder is the American way. For most employees, no matter what their position, the ultimate goal is to get ahead in their career. The better an employee performs, the greater his chance of advancing, either in his current company or at another company. His advancement may come in the form of a job offer from within or without, or from his own inclination to seek another position. Whatever the case, there is potential for misunderstanding and hard feelings between the employee and his current employer. As in the corporate world, church employees who do

October 19, 2008

Christian Standard

Three Resources on Elders and the Local Church

By Casey Tygrett When I was asked to write this article, I had to admit I had not read extensively in the area of eldership for some time. It isn”t exactly vacation reading for beside the pool! Especially after reading through Alexander Strauch”s classic Biblical Eldership, I had not explored other resources on the subject because I felt he had said it all in his detailed book. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the three books featured below, because they present challenges and ideas that can only serve to strengthen the leadership and character of elders in the local church.

October 19, 2008

Christian Standard

Keys to Teamwork (Part 1): Chemistry

By Stephen Bond Steve Bond and his wife, Pam, launched Summit Christian Church in March 1998. The church met in the Sparks YMCA for 3½ years before moving to a new permanent facility on a 36-acre site. Summit”s vision is to “Love God, Love People, and Serve Others.” Over the past 10 years the church has grown to more than 2,000 people in weekend worship attendance. Approximately 1,000 adults are also involved in life groups. One of the keys to this growth has been a high level of teamwork among Summit”s staff and elders. This is the first of four

September 14, 2008

Christian Standard

He Is “˜I AM,” I am “˜I”m Not”

By Mandy Smith We”ve heard about the Spanish Inquisition and the Salem witch trials””moments in history when, with the blessing of the church, Christians stood in judgment of one another. But that”s all history, isn”t it? Why is it, then, that in national surveys of young people, the authors of the book UnChristian found that 87 percent believe modern-day Christianity is judgmental? On the other hand, their surveys showed “only a small percentage of outsiders strongly believe the labels “˜respect, love, hope, and trust” describe Christianity.”1 We may not be hunting for witches anymore, but we point out believers who

September 7, 2008

Christian Standard

Getting There Is Worth the Cost

By Gary L. Johnson Did you ever think gasoline would sell for more than $4 a gallon? The increasing cost of fuel is having an impact on driving habits. In particular, many rethought summer travel plans because of fuel costs. Long-distance travel plans were canceled. Maps were put away in favor of staying close to home. The value of a vacation wasn”t as great as the cost of getting there. Regretfully, some churches are making a “change in their travel plans” by not practicing strategic planning. “Moving” the local church strategically to a distant point in the future doesn”t happen

August 24, 2008

Christian Standard

Elders, Leadership, and Women

By Steve Edgington A dozen years ago the elders of Anaheim (California) First Christian Church invited the chairperson of the missions committee, a woman, to join with the elders, whenever they met together, as part of the church”s leadership council. She accepted, and served in this leadership capacity alongside the elders and the senior minister. Several years later another very capable woman became missions committee chairperson and, in turn, served on the leadership council. Whether this place on the leadership council for a woman is viewed as radical (“You”ve wrongly made a woman an elder in everything but name”) or

August 24, 2008

Christian Standard

Masculinity, Femininity, and Church Leadership

By Kelvin Jones The rise of secular feminism has made the subject of church leadership a sensitive one. The feminist movement entered the mainstream in the 1960s and rightly criticized the failure of men to respect women. Yet feminism, lacking a biblical worldview, defined sexual equality as the removal of gender distinctions and rejected biblically grounded feminine identity and sexual morality. Searching for spirituality, many feminists have turned to neopaganism, and goddess worship is accepted in several liberal denominations. In contrast to the mainline denominations, the majority of evangelical churches and Christians are complementarian. They believe the Bible teaches that

August 17, 2008

Christian Standard

Two Views: Complementarian””Men Are Authoritative Teachers

By Joe Harvey Joe Harvey and Lana West adapted these articles from presentations they made to a doctor of ministry class at Lincoln (Illinois) Christian Seminary.  Be sure to read Lana West”s  article. _________________________ As Christianity moves through the first decade of the 21st century, it has entered a cultural vortex pulling it toward political correctness and moral relativism. It”s only natural that students of the Bible and theology react on many fronts, and some of the most heated discussions revolve around issues of gender discrimination and “traditionalist” (presumably nonprogressive) modes of thinking. The question of women”s role in church leadership

August 13, 2008

Christian Standard

Both Sides and a Strong Conclusion

By Mark A. Taylor Some readers will remember Paul Williams”s wry column (March 2 issue) that mentioned his friend who always saw both sides of an issue. “On the Other Hand” was Paul”s title and the mantra of the friend he mentioned. “I am drawn to reflective people,” Paul wrote. “They know what they don”t know and are not inclined to speak until they thoroughly understand an issue.” Actually, I would have been pleased for Paul to tell you I”m the friend he described. But maybe what followed the above sentences is the reason he didn”t mention my name. (It”s

July 13, 2008

Christian Standard

Survey Says: We Want to Stay Connected!

By Mark A. Taylor How do leaders in Christian churches and churches of Christ feel about staying connected with others like themselves? After hearing from more than 1,200 of them in a survey conducted this spring, we feel confident of one conclusion: Leaders in our fellowship highly value their connections with each other. Seeking Connection Almost half (545 respondents, or 44 percent of the total) said it is “Very Important” to be connected with other leaders in Christian churches/churches of Christ. Another 21 percent (253 respondents) said it is “Critical.” That totals almost two-thirds of respondents, while only 11 percent

June 22, 2008

Christian Standard

What Is an Elder”s Most Important Job?

By Arron Chambers Who is an elder supposed to be? The Bible makes it clear Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God”s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall

June 18, 2008

Christian Standard

Interview with John Chace

By Brad Dupray As an elder for 28 years at Community Christian Church in Tamarac, Florida, John Chace has experienced just about everything an elder can experience, including mushrooming growth, as Community”s attendance has grown from 900 to 2,000 in the past five months. John was in the news business for 42 years, including nearly three decades with the Florida Sun-Sentinel, where he recently retired as community news editor, after also serving as city, national, international, and state editor. He and his wife of 40 years, Pat, were high school sweethearts in Cincinnati. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati

June 15, 2008

Christian Standard

Evangelism Is Natural Church

By David Bycroft A city dweller finally had enough of big-city life and decided to move his family to the country. He had also become enamored with lambs, so he decided to start raising sheep. He purchased six ewes, each with baby lambs, from a neighbor and began enjoying farm life. After a year went by and the lambs were fully grown, he began wondering why no new lambs had been born. He went back to the neighbor from whom he had purchased his small flock and asked him about it. His neighbor asked when the ram had been put

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