July 5, 2021
July 11 | Discovery
What do you learn about leadership and cultural change in the examples of Asa and Josiah?
Articles for tag: Corporate Worship
May 28, 2021
Churches Need to Hit ‘Play’
Every church with which I’m acquainted pushed PAUSE at the start of the pandemic in hopes of hitting PLAY after the pandemic. Sadly, many have yet to hit PLAY. Here are three steps every church can take.
May 24, 2021
Five Ways to Bring Families Back to Church . . . Eventually
I've discovered five healthy ways to view people who are not physically at the church building, along with ways to help bring families back.
March 20, 2020
A Megachurch Pastor's Letter to His Congregation
Editor’s Note: Jeff Vines, lead pastor of ONE&ALL Church in San Dimas, Calif., shared these thoughts concerning the COVID-19 outbreak with his church. With his permission, we have decided to share it with our readers. _ _ _ By Jeff Vines I love my church, although ONE&ALL church does not belong to me. I love the people who attend, the staff who diligently make this engine run, and the executive team and elders who give so much of themselves to the cause of Christ. During this coronavirus pandemic, our leaders and servants have stepped up to lead and serve. I’m
February 11, 2016
Thinking Theologically
By Mark A. Taylor Our theology affects all our actions and decisions“”how we live and serve and react and decide. But do most Christians and Christian leaders define their decisions by their theology? Can we do this? How? Why should we try? For answers we talked with four church leaders and Bible scholars: “¢ Ben Cachiaras, senior pastor with Mountain Christian Church, Joppa, Maryland “¢ Frank Dicken, assistant professor of New Testament at Lincoln (Illinois) Christian University “¢ J. K. Jones, pastor of spiritual formation with Eastside Christian Church, Normal, Illinois “¢ Jon Weatherly, dean of the School of Bible
May 6, 2014
Four Ways to Enrich Your Prayer Times
By Mark A. Taylor Most Christians, especially mature Christians, tend to pray the way they”ve always prayed, worship the way they”ve worshipped for years, “do devotions” the same way week after week, pursue the spiritual disciplines””or ignore them””according to their longtime habits. Maybe that”s OK, but if you have a hunch that your prayer times could be richer, that your relationship with God could be closer, that your own spiritual growth could continue, then here are some tips from David Butts and Ken Read. “¢ Pray the Psalms. Butts tells what happened when he first decided to spend more prayer
April 8, 2012
Style Conscious
By Nathan Smith A few years back, I led worship on a regular basis at a midsized suburban church that was made up primarily of white, middle-class Americans. I often would speak with the pastor, a good friend, about the church”s “brand” and where he felt God was leading it. The worship gatherings were musically and aesthetically appealing, but I couldn”t get over the fact that we were “selling” a product completely disconnected from the worshipping body. The services were being designed for visitor Q rather than the Christian church member. (A bit of a disclaimer here, I do believe
November 8, 2011
Using the Word in Worship
By Scott Dyer Just as in any recipe, worship suffers when a key ingredient is missing. I believe a foundational element in God-honoring worship is Scripture. And there are more ways to use Scripture than asking one of the ministers to read it. Here are some ideas we”ve tried. My wife, Vonda, and I are big fans of cooking competition shows. You know, the shows where they pick 15 aspiring chefs and pit them against one another to determine who is the best cook. The shows often put the contestants in difficult challenges that are almost impossible to accomplish, just
March 29, 2011
In Praise of Congregational Participation
By Becky Ahlberg Contrary to what you might think, “worship wars” have been going on for centuries. I”ll not slip back into my music history professor role and bore you with all the details, but suffice it to say that, from early church days, how we worship has been the topic of a lively, ongoing debate. As is the norm for humans, we tend to swing the pendulum from one extreme to another, rarely finding that center of balance. I suppose if we carry through with that analogy, though, the good news is that it is the swinging pendulum that
February 28, 2011
Lesson for March 6, 2011: Worship Guidelines (1 Timothy 2)
This week”s treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson (for March 6) is written by Jeremy Lawson who serves as minister with Mount Pleasant Church of Christ in Williamstown, Kentucky. ____________ Worship Guidelines (1 Timothy 2) By Jeremy Lawson In a majority of churches, the worship service goes something like this: someone welcomes the congregation and worship begins. After a few songs, there is a time of Communion and offering. After that, one or more persons sing a special number that everyone will clap for regardless of its quality. The preacher then takes the stage and 20 to 30 minutes
November 10, 2010
Worshipping . . . or Watching?
By Mark A. Taylor David Faust touched a bigger issue when he asked, “Whatever happened to congregational singing?” In his September 26 column in The Lookout* he reflected on a recent worship experience in a congregation he visited: The worship leaders” skill and preparation were obvious. Every guitar riff was well played, every vocal note well toned, every PowerPoint slide properly displayed. The band members played with personality and passion, and there was no reason to question their sincerity or motivation. But hardly anyone in the congregation sang. . . . My concern is not about “traditional” versus “contemporary” music.
NACC “˜Beyond”: Beyond the Misguided Spiritual Disciplines
By Brian Jones Whenever people talk about moving beyond facilitating conversions to making disciples, someone will inevitably say that teaching and practicing the spiritual disciplines will be vital to making this happen. I couldn”t disagree more. Years ago Richard Foster released a perennially best-selling book called Celebration of Discipline. In it he outlined 12 disciplines Christians have engaged in over the last 2,000 years to help them live more spiritually abundant lives””meditation, prayer, fasting, study, simplicity, solitude, submission, service, confession, worship, guidance, and celebration. The church should be profoundly grateful for that book, and profoundly ticked off. Someone said a person”s greatest
October 14, 2007
Finding and Focusing on Living Water
By Greg Allen Jesus had traveled half the distance between Judea and Galilee, and was resting in Samaria beside a very famous well. A Samaritan woman arrived at the same well. We do not know her name, but I call her Sam. Jesus and Sam had a short conversation about water, which gave Jesus the opportunity to tell Sam something that could change her life. He told her if she continued to drink only well water, she would continue to be thirsty. But if Sam would drink from the living water Jesus gives, her thirst would be quenched . .
June 10, 2007
Communion: Weekly or Weakly?
This article is no longer available online, but articles about the Lord’s Supper that appeared in the July 12/19, 2009, and June 10, 2007, issues of CHRISTIAN STANDARD–plus more–are available for purchase as a single, redisigned, easy-to-read and easy-to-use downloadable resource/pdf (a fuller explanation is below). The Lord’s Supper: A Memory and More Item D021535209 “¢Â $2.99 If you keep doing something often enough, long enough, it will change you. Take, for example, the Lord”s Supper. If we practice the Lord”s Supper in a meaningful way, week after week, it will change us for the better by helping us grow closer
June 5, 2005
Exploring Biblical Worship
Knofel Staton argues New Testament worship is humble service and a life submitted to God—not platform roles or a single music style. He calls churches to pursue unity amid diversity and shape corporate worship around what God values.
