Think Outward
Every church will tell you they have an outward focus because they know that's Jesus' Great Commission, but the truth is that many are not.
Articles for tag: COVID-19
January 1, 2026
Succession: The Things You Need to Know but Others Won’t Tell You
We need to start thinking and planning for succession earlier rather than later, knowing that the stakes are high, the process takes time, and that we are following a biblical mandate.
January 1, 2026
Retirement, Ministry, and Learning to Let Go: A Pastor’s Wife’s Perspective
Retirement doesn’t mean ministry is over. It just means it looks different. The way we influence and serve may change, but God still uses us.
January 1, 2026
Bridging the Leadership Gap: Essential Steps for Church Succession
Elders and pastors need to intentionally work to identify and develop future pastors and leaders, viewing this as both a calling and a priority.
January 1, 2026
Serving in the Shadows
If your main motivation is to please other people, and your self-worth depends on others’ approval, you will be frustrated and disappointed.
January 1, 2026
Pastoral Transition: Succession or Interim?
When done with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, succession and an intentional interim create the smoothest path to pastoral transition.
November 6, 2025
Love’s Persuasive Power
Love has persuasive power. Compassion makes our arguments more convincing, but without love, our arguments sound hollow.
January 30, 2023
Charlie Russell Continues to Make Strides with COVID-19 Recovery
Charlie Russell’s recovery from COVID-19 and multiple attendant health challenges during weeks of hospitalization in 2021 has gone better than expected—much better. . . .
CIY Returning to ‘Full Steam,’ but Facing Inflation Pressure
Christ In Youth could see record attendance at its conferences this summer after suffering two lean years because of COVID-19. But inflation pressures—including the price of diesel fuel for the tractor trailers that transport its gear to various venues—mean that challenges remain.
January 26, 2022
Charlie and Faith Russell Share Their COVID-19 Journey
Not long after Charlie and Faith Russell celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary, and only days before the birth of their first child, Charlie came down with COVID-19. That was in late July 2021. Charlie was hospitalized for weeks; he calls his recovery "a miracle."
January 26, 2022
Rusty Russell: Preaching the Gospel While Helping Care for an Ailing Son
Rusty Russell thought his son, Charlie, would recover quickly when his boy was hospitalized with COVID-19 in August. That wasn't the case. Rusty, who preaches in Florida, traveled back and forth to Tennessee weekly to help during Charlie's long ordeal.
December 28, 2021
Dallas Christian’s Basketball Team Drops Game to Texas A&M
Dallas Christian College’s men’s basketball team lost to Texas A&M University 102-52 on Monday, in a matchup that came together quickly after Tulane University had to cancel a game vs. the Division 1 Aggies due to COVID-19.
November 12, 2021
Illinois Preacher Explores Pandemic, Isolation, and God’s Presence in New Book
Bob Beckman's first book, "Presence in Solitude: The Pastoral Promise of the Pandemic," takes readers “on a brief journey through the New Testament with others who were seemingly alone in grace circumstances.”
November 3, 2021
Book Seeks to Encourage Pandemic-Scarred Church Leaders
What have been the most challenging aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic? What are the greatest challenges you face moving forward? A new ebook from BiblicalLeadership.com seeks to answer these questions.
October 28, 2021
Study Finds No Change in Senior Pastors Leaving Ministry, Despite COVID-19 Challenges
A comparison of Lifeway Research studies from 2015 and 2021 indicates that, despite the challenges of COVID-19, there has been virtually no change in the number of evangelical and historically Black Protestant senior pastors leaving the pulpit each year.
October 21, 2021
Charlie Russell’s Condition Greatly Improved
Thousands of people and scores of churches who have been praying for Charlie Russell during his two-month battle with COVID pneumonia received very encouraging reports in recent days.
September 29, 2021
Mission Groups Monitoring COVID-19, but Not Requiring Vaccinations
Leaders of some of the largest independent Christian church mission organizations say they monitor COVID-19 closely, but none requires their missionaries be fully vaccinated against the disease, a step recently taken by the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.
July 27, 2021
Pandemic Inspires Minister to Start Backyard Church
Before COVID-19, minister Matt Dabbs might have spent his Sunday mornings before church straightening chairs and vacuuming the carpet. Today, he gets out his leaf blower to dry the dew off the grass in his backyard—because that’s where the church meets.
July 21, 2021
Journey Christian Facing ‘a COVID Crisis,’ Hampton Says
Journey Christian Church in Florida announced it will suspend in-person worship services for a third straight week. Lead Pastor John Hampton estimated that 60 to 70 staff members and volunteers have tested positive for COVID-19.
July 14, 2021
CIY President: ‘It’s Good to Be Back’
After 15 months without holding a single event because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Christ In Youth is back. In late May, the Joplin, Mo.-based organization resumed its summer conference season for middle and high school students.
