Articles for tag: Churches of Christ

Leonard Wymore””Yesterday’s Hero

By Mark A. Taylor It”s fair to say the passing of Leonard Wymore represents another marker in the end of an era. Leonard, who served as director of the North American Christian Convention from 1963 to 1986, died last Thursday, January 19. He was 95 years old. Known by many as Mr. North American, Leonard had his finger on the pulse of Christian churches and churches of Christ as perhaps no one else. He traveled widely. He heard and encouraged preachers in churches small and large across the heartland. He passionately promoted unity and church growth in a fellowship of

September 27, 2016

Church & Ministry Small Groups

Back to the Middle

By Mark A. Taylor “We need to rediscover the midsize groups of 20-50 people,” Alex Absalom told our interviewer Kent Fillinger not long ago. When I read that quote, I knew I wanted to know more. For years I”ve grieved the virtual abandonment of adult Bible fellowships””Sunday school classes””by most local churches. Among the many reasons for their demise is the fact that few Christian church/church of Christ leaders were taught how to use adult Sunday school as something more than a place for often-mediocre Bible teaching. Early in my ministry I was trained to use such adult groups as

August 25, 2016

Stories to Savor, Stories to Share

By Mark A. Taylor Convention President Dave Stone rallied California Christian churches and churches of Christ to join brothers and sisters from around the world at the Anaheim Convention Center in an exuberant gathering July 12-15. Here, close to the center of storytelling for much of our culture, Christians gathered to tell “A Better Story.” The spirit in each session was upbeat, energized by a crowd of Californians for whom this was their first NACC. Main session preaching centered on encounters with Jesus recorded in the Gospel of John, and each sermon offered hope and help for Christians and church

August 12, 2016

Colleges & Seminaries Organizations & Events

Christian Colleges, 2015-16 (Chart)

Our annual chartÂ provides attendance and faculty figures, income and expenditures,Â contact information, and more for 29 colleges affiliated with Christian churchesÂ and churches of Christ. Click here to view the 2015-16 college chart.

August 4, 2016

Restoration Movement History

DCHS Archivist Named

Shelley L. Jacobs began serving as full-time archivist with the Disciples of Christ Historical Society, Bethany, WV, on July 25. DCHS is the repository for church files, personal papers, records, books and journals, artifacts, and memorabilia related to the three streams of the Stone-Campbell Movement. Jacobs”s primary responsibility is to organize that material so it is available for research to congregations, institutions, and individuals. Jacobs is a native of Saskatchewan, Canada, and a lifelong member of the churches of Christ. She received her BTh from Western Christian College (WCC) in Saskatchewan, and majored in church history focusing on Restoration studies

July 20, 2016

An Interview with Gene Appel

Contributing editor Ben Cachiaras speaks with Gene Appel, minister with Eastside Christian Church, Anaheim, California, about next year”s North American Christian Convention (he”s president), why he loves the “tribe” of Christian churches/churches of Christ, and how to lead change in a local church. See this exclusive interview here.

July 19, 2016

An Interview with Dudley Rutherford

Dudley Rutherford, pastor with Shepherd Church in Porter Ranch, California, paused to talk with CHRISTIAN STANDARD Editor Mark Taylor during the 2016 North American Christian Convention. In this exclusive interview, he shares how his Dream of Destiny came about, and what he thinks about progress in Christian churches and churches of Christ to achieve racial diversity.

July 18, 2016

An Interview with Dave Stone

Dave Stone, 2016 North American Christian Convention president, shares where this year”s theme, “A Better Story,” came from. In this exclusive interview with contributing editor Ben Cachiaras, Dave thanks California churches for the convention”s success and shares reactions to Christian churches and churches of Christ he”s receiving from Christian leaders outside that fellowship. (Click here to view the interview.)

July 8, 2016

Christian Living

City Planning

By Jennifer Johnson My friend Abby and I love to visit museums. Recently we spent the afternoon at the Philadelphia Art Museum, looking at our favorites””the modern art wing and anything by Van Gogh””and enjoying lunch in the cafÃ©. Next month we”re planning a girls” trip to the ballet. Abby is 7. To say she”s a little brighter than her peers is like saying the current American political scene is a little dysfunctional. In addition to sampling the best culture of Philadelphia, Abby also loves going to New York City, just a short train ride away. She especially loves Broadway

July 7, 2016

Book Reviews Reviews

Miracles, Marvels, and the Vulnerable Minister

By LeRoy Lawson The Miracle of Dunkirk Walter Lord New York: Open Road Media;Â for Kindle, 2012 The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and theÂ Age of Amazon Brad Stone New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2013 The Vulnerable Pastor:Â How Human LimitationsÂ Empower Our Ministry Mandy Smith Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2015 Just about everything I thought IÂ knew about the “evacuation” of Dunkirk (read “retreat”) was wrong. Or at least wildly romanticized.Â I could picture the thousand-plus boats of all sizes and types crossing the English Channel to rescue soldiers fleeing for their lives from the Nazis. My mind”s eye saw them push up against the

June 10, 2016

Culture & Public Square Race

Racism Is a Spiritual Issue: An Interview with Jerry Taylor

By Gincy Hartin My first encounters with Dr. Jerry Taylor took place back in the 1970s and “80s, when I was a child growing up in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area. My family”s spiritual roots are in the historically black a cappella churches of Christ, and throughout my childhood, we frequently attended gospel meetings, singing fellowships, and other activities at numerous church of Christ congregations throughout that area. It was at these gatherings we would often hear the deep, rich baritone voice of Jerry Taylor””sometimes leading songs, sometimes preaching the gospel, and on numerous occasions, doing both.Â In every case,

May 22, 2016

Culture & Public Square Politics & Government

Steps to Improve Political Discourse

By Joe Boyd I”ve been writing this column on culture for nearly a year now. The big idea is to look at what is happening in America to see what good or bad ramifications it may have for the local church. It”s not always easy to decide what to write about each month. Over the last several months I”ve been tempted to broach a specific subject, only to talk myself out of it. I can”t avoid it any longer. It”s politics. Though I”m sure some will look for clues to my political leanings in what I write, I”m not going

May 19, 2016

Church & Ministry Church Leadership Pastoral Transitions & Succession

Resources for Succession Planning

By Kent Fillinger Books for Church Leaders and Churches “¢ Next: Pastoral Succession that Works by William Vanderbloemen and Warren Bird (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2014) “¢ Passing the Leadership Baton: A Winning Transition Plan for Your Ministry by Tom Mullins (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2015) “¢ The Elephant in the Boardroom: Speaking the Unspoken About Pastoral Transitions by Carolyn Weese and J. Russell Crabtree (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004) “¢ Transition Plan: 7 Secrets Every Leader Needs to Know (for Kindle) by Bob Russell and Bryan Bucher (Minneapolis: Publish Green, 2010) “¢ Before You Move: A Guide to Making Transitions in

March 21, 2016

Mission & Evangelism

The World Comes to India

By Gary Holloway “The experience changed my life.” “I saw more of what God is doing in the world.” “Our churches will never be the same.” These are statements from people who have attended a Global Gathering of the World Convention. The World Convention of Churches of Christ serves the Stone-Campbell churches (Christian, Churches of Christ, and Disciples of Christ) found in 199 countries and territories, with about 10 million total adherents worldwide. World Convention seeks to connect those churches everywhere, every day. One way it connects is through a Global Gathering every few years, with the next one scheduled

February 2, 2016

Christian Standard Updates News & Updates

Our Continuing Ministry

By Mark A. Taylor CHRISTIAN STANDARD’sÂ contributing editors are a diverse group of men and women from across the country who serve from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives. They do not all see everything the same way, but all of them are leading significant ministry among the Christian churches and churches of Christ as they express a deep commitment to Jesus as Lord. Readers will regularly see most of them named as authors of articles and columns in the magazine. But that”s not the only way they contribute. Even more significant is the input they offer about writers and

December 11, 2015

Worship Worship & Prayer

Beyond Information

By Tom Lawson We”re still living with the aftermath of the Protestant Reformers who cleansed worship spaces of every piece of art. But doesn”t the Bible give us examples and a mandate to use all the arts in worship? In 1524, the great GrossmÃ¼nster cathedral in ZÃ¼rich was just a shell of its former glory. The statues had been smashed and all the artwork had been removed. Initially, even congregational singing had been discarded, along with the statues and frescoes. What was left was a nearly empty room, except for a towering pulpit, for plain and unadorned Christian worship. In

December 1, 2015

Culture & Public Square Race

Moving Beyond “˜Color Blind”

By Mark A. Taylor Many thoughts have threatened my internal comfort zone since I attended a daylong conference on racial unity outside Baltimore, Maryland, last month*. I came face-to-face with the reality of racism that still flourishes in my country. I came to understand the privilege that comes automatically, systemically to white people in America. And I was forced to consider how that privilege has benefitted me and hurt others. I came to see that Jesus” prayer for unity will not be answered when Christians of different races distrust or blatantly denigrate each other. (Nor will it happen when members

November 19, 2015

Church Leadership

Race, Unity Topics at Stone-Campbell Dialogue

On Nov. 14 about 90 attended a daylong seminar titled “Addressing Race and Racism Within the Church and Society” at Mountain Christian Church, Joppa, MD. Sponsored by the Stone-Campbell Dialogue, and partnering with the Racial Unity Leadership Summit, the event shared insights on how to develop sustainable steps for greater racial unity and justice. The event was the centerpiece of this year”s annual meeting of the Stone-Campbell Dialogue. The Dialogue continued Nov. 15 with debriefing and planning among 17 members of the Dialogue”s national team, followed by a unity Communion service that evening, hosted by Westside Church of Christ, Baltimore,

October 22, 2015