Articles for tag: Churches of Christ

June 6, 2009

Christian Standard

One State, Three Bible Colleges

By David Fincher Within our fellowship of churches, people are often surprised to learn Missouri has three Bible colleges. Churches in this state and region have been blessed by the ongoing ministry, Bible teaching, and ministerial training offered by Ozark Christian College (OCC) in Joplin, St. Louis Christian College (SLCC) in Florissant, and Central Christian College of the Bible (CCCB) in Moberly, Through the years, faculty, staff, and administrators of the three colleges have had cordial relationships and developed many friendships with supporters. But there remains this question, “How could the three Bible colleges in Missouri work together to reflect

May 24, 2009

Christian Standard

The 2006 Unity Efforts”“Three Years Later

  By David Faust Three years ago I had the privilege of serving as president of the 2006 North American Christian Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. Our convention theme, “Together in Christ,” highlighted Jesus” prayer for unity in John 17.  We preached the great unity texts found in Ephesians 4. We sang””with and without instrumental accompaniment””and worshiped the Lord together. We noted the historic significance of the year 2006, 100 years after the U.S. Census Bureau first listed the a cappella churches of Christ as a separate body distinct from the Christian churches. We acknowledged that in a lost and dying

May 20, 2009

Christian Standard

More Than Talk About Unity

By Mark A. Taylor Most biblical ideals are easier to talk about than to practice. I may be able to quote Bible verses about love or patience or forgiveness or grace. But just let the neighbor”s dog wake me with its barking or my coworker across the aisle talk too loud on the phone, and let”s see how I express those virtues! Perhaps no value is easier to promote and also more difficult to experience than unity. Whenever I”m called upon to explain the Restoration Movement to someone who doesn”t know us, I”m faced with this reality. Soon into my

April 29, 2009

Christian Standard

Campus Ministries”“Something Special

By Mark A. Taylor It was a typical college visit, the kind high school students across the land make in their junior and senior years. But something special happened at this one. To get a real feel for the school she was visiting, this student stayed overnight in the dorm. That evening her host invited her to a get-together on campus, a Bible study sponsored by the Christian campus ministry there. Later her parents smiled as they spoke about their daughter”s positive experience with the group of Christian students and the campus minister she met. Christian parents of new college

April 19, 2009

Christian Standard

Congregational Membership and Worshiping Community”“A Reflection on Church Polity

  By C. Robert Wetzel One of the most divisive issues to plague the heirs of the Restoration Movement was the question of “open membership.” It became a symbol for a number of growing differences that were emerging among Christian churches early in the 20th century. But in many respects it was an unresolved question from the earliest days of the movement. That history is well documented, and I will not go into it here. In its starkest form, the issue centered on the recognition that the Scriptures taught baptism by immersion of repentant believers for the remission of sins

April 15, 2009

Christian Standard

Your Vision”“and Ours

By Mark A. Taylor One sentence stands out in Kent Fillinger”s introduction to this week”s special issue. “If you copy someone else”s vision, who will accomplish yours?” Kent quotes the book Church Unique to remind us that we must do the particular work God has for us in our communities, not copy the strategies working for someone else somewhere else. So why does CHRISTIAN STANDARD devote a whole issue to megachurches every year? “¢ Megachurches are news, and our goal is to tell you news about Christian churches and churches of Christ you won”t find anywhere else. “¢ Megachurches are

March 29, 2009

Christian Standard

What Is the Glue?

  By David Faust In a 1910 lecture at Yale, Charles E. Jefferson described the difference between a church and an audience, It is to be regretted that we have come to . . . judge preachers by the number of persons who listen to their sermons. A superficial man is consequently tempted to work, not for a church, but for an audience. An audience, however, is not worth working for. An audience is a group of unrelated people drawn together by a short-lived attraction. . . . It is a fortuitous concourse of human atoms, scattering as soon as

March 15, 2009

Christian Standard

Accessibility, Affordability, and Accountability: A “˜Spellings Report” for Our Schools

By Tom Tanner Consider these three numbers: 184 million; 14,075; 33. Is this some kind of new DaVinci code? No. These are figures that factor into any conversation about the state of Christian higher education among Christian churches and churches of Christ. Based on data from this year”s annual college report (see chart on pp. 16, 17), these churches support 33 different schools scattered from Alberta to Atlanta, and beyond the Atlantic to Austria. Collectively these 33 schools last year enrolled 14,075 students and spent just over $184 million. What do these numbers mean? Are they good numbers or bad?

March 11, 2009

Christian Standard

More Than a Matter of Percentage

By Mark A. Taylor Please notice one new bit of information in this year”s Christian college summary“”and tell us what you think about it! We”re speaking of the column headed “% Restoration Movement.” We asked the schools who contribute to this report, “What percentage of your student body has roots in Stone-Campbell congregations typically referred to as the Restoration Movement?” All of them except two, who don”t track this information, gave us a figure. What are we to conclude from the wide range of percentages reported? “¢ The percentage of Restoration Movement students enrolling in these schools is not, in

March 8, 2009

Christian Standard

Understanding Four Views of Baptism

By Mark S. Krause This article is no longer available online, but all of the articles about baptism that appeared in the March 1 and 8, 2009, issues of CHRISTIAN STANDARD–plus a bonus article–are available for purchase as a single, redisigned, easy-to-read and easy-to-use downloadable resource/pdf (a fuller explanation is below).   Baptism: 7 Practical Perspectives Item 02973  “¢Â  $2.99     What does the Bible teach about baptism? What does baptism symbolize and what does it accomplish? Why is there so much disagreement? Seven writers offer their insights on this controversial but fundamental topic in this 14-page resource that””with the

March 1, 2009

Christian Standard

Not the Only Christians

  by Robert O. Fife This article is no longer available online, but all of the articles about baptism that appeared in the March 1 and 8, 2009, issues of CHRISTIAN STANDARD–plus this bonus article–are available for purchase as a single, redisigned, easy-to-read and easy-to-use downloadable resource/pdf (a fuller explanation is below).   Baptism: 7 Practical Perspectives  Item 02973  “¢Â  $2.99   What does the Bible teach about baptism? What does baptism symbolize and what does it accomplish? Why is there so much disagreement? Seven writers offer their insights on this controversial but fundamental topic in this 14-page resource that””with the exception

February 22, 2009

Christian Standard

What the Monks Can Teach Us

By J.K. Jones I acknowledge the title of this article is strange, perhaps even offensive to some. Our Christian church and church of Christ ears are not accustomed to such unusual language.  I also admit that the title sounds very Catholic. Of course, this may cause some to react negatively and stop reading. I hope not. I am a Christian whose heritage is found in and among Restoration churches. I am an immersed believer who holds no creed but Christ and has no book but the Bible. I don”t claim to be the only Christian, but I simply seek to

February 18, 2009

Christian Standard

What”s the Future for the World Convention?

By Mark A. Taylor Amid financial shortfalls and immigration problems, Nashville-based World Convention is anticipating staff cutbacks. As reported by Disciples World in a January 13 article by Ted Parks, World Convention executive director Jeff Weston will end his service with the convention later this year. Clinton Holloway, assistant to the director, concluded his six years of part-time service with the convention at the end of January. The World Convention, which first met in Washington, D.C., in 1930, is a one-of-a-kind ministry seeking to build connections among believers with a shared heritage in what is often called the Stone-Campbell Movement.

November 30, 2008

Christian Standard

The Difference Advent Makes

By Robert Hull It is 7:00 a.m. on a Thursday in mid-December. A dozen people are sitting quietly, watching the morning come up outside the church windows. Dark clouds are scudding over Buffalo Mountain, backlit now by a rising, rosy glow. Two candles burn on the Advent wreath.  The leader intones, “Our King and Savior now draws near. Come, let us adore him.” Advent prayers have begun. During the 15 minutes before we all hustle off to work or school, we will confess our sins, hear a Psalm, a text from the prophets, and a Gospel reading; we will say

November 23, 2008

Christian Standard

The Emerging Church and the Stone-Campbell Movement: Some Striking Similarities (Part 1)

By William R. Baker See the Sidebar: “The Emerging Church: A Brief History and Helpful Resources”     "Emerging churches are communities that practice the way of Jesus within postmodern cultures," say Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger.1 We might wonder, From what are these churches emerging? Simply stated, they are emerging from a modern world to a postmodern world.2    Yet, thinkers about the emerging church also want to place this mantra of “emerging” on the church generally in the past, present, and future.3 Thus, in the New Testament writings of Paul, we see the Greco-Roman church “emerge” from the

November 16, 2008

Christian Standard

Should the Minister Be One of the Elders?

By Darrel Rowland   “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching” (1 Timothy 5:17).   Does this verse mean the preacher could/should be a pastor and regarded as an elder? Three of the four churches examined this week because they have a well-functioning leadership team believe so. Bob Russell was an elder at Southeast Christian in Louisville. Robin Hart in Ohio and Eddie Lowen in Illinois are elders today. Greg Marksberry is not, although he acknowledges that a “fly on the wall” at elders

November 12, 2008

Christian Standard

The Right Decisions in a Downturn

By Mark A. Taylor Faced with economic downturns like those we”re experiencing now, many businesses make their first cuts in the marketing department. The conventional wisdom (which is often anything but wise) says we can”t afford advertising and publicity when revenue is falling behind budget. Such thinking ignores the fact that we must work twice as hard to make the sale when economic times are hard. Sometimes business should up the promotion when income is down. Unfortunately, some churches make a similar mistake. Faced with falling offerings, they retreat and retrench. They miss the great opportunity before them when tough

October 5, 2008

Christian Standard

Great Communion”“a Great Opportunity

By Douglas A. Foster Two hundred years ago next year, Thomas Campbell wrote in a foundational document of the Stone-Campbell Movement, the Declaration and Address, “that the church of Christ upon earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one. . . .” “Division among Christians is a horrid evil, fraught with many evils,” he added, and said that Christians “are . . . bound to love each other as brethren, even as Christ has loved them.” In that document, Campbell called the Lord”s Supper “that great ordinance of unity and love.” One hundred years ago next year, a great Centennial Convention

September 21, 2008

Christian Standard

NACC Viewpoints: A Subjective Observer”s Recommendation

By Gary E. Weedman I like the North American Christian Convention. I have attended since the 1960s and have many great memories of workshops, worship services, and reunions with old friends and former colleagues. I have participated in workshops and twice led morning Bible studies. I have fond memories of sermons that inspired and gave new perspective, of worship services that brought us into the presence of God, and of Communion services that helped us in “discerning the Lord”s body.” So, I”m not a completely objective observer. I”ll try, however, to put on my administrative hat and consider this project

September 7, 2008

Christian Standard

Just Asking: Five Questions for the Restoration Movement

By Jim Tune I shouldn”t be writing this article. I”ve never seen myself as a poster boy for the Restoration Movement. I”ve never been much of a joiner of causes. My early days as a preacher were marked by zeal for the ministry but ambivalence toward the movement. I”ve changed a lot. This will sound decidedly uncool to my church planting peers, but the Restoration plea as first envisaged by men like Thomas and Alexander Campbell, Walter Scott, and Barton Stone actually quickens my pulse these days. I”ll be the first to admit that the vision for unity around simple

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