Articles for tag: Cultural Relevance

January 29, 2019

A Call to Church Leaders: How to Overcome Pharisaism in the 21st-Century Church

By Jeffrey Derico Two critical challenges facing churches and their leaders today are to identify hurdles that undermine relevant ministry and then to eliminate them. The stakes are high because failure to overcome either hurdle will result in countless people never hearing the gospel, and eventually that church will permanently close its doors—and neither of these are acceptable outcomes. Yet both are becoming more common as churches across America struggle to effectively live out the Great Commission and then decline to the point they can no longer afford to pay the bills. During nearly two decades of teaching and consulting

January 29, 2015

Christian Standard

Doctrinal Issues & Debates Theology & Bible

Playing Your Cards Right

By Jeff Faull We do not always handle theological conflict fairly. Have you heard””or used””any of these arguments? Since the days of the O.J. Simpson trial, the phrase “playing the race card” has become commonplace. Accusing someone of arbitrarily “playing the race card” usually means they have bypassed the true merits of either position and trumped the validity of everything else with an accusation of racism, whether legitimate or not. To be certain, racism still exists and sometimes it”s fair to display the “race card,” but other times it is unfairly used to silence an exploration of the real issues

July 2, 2013

Christian Standard

Church Leadership

40 Under 40: Aaron Brockett

AARON BROCKETT Lead pastor,Â Traders Point Christian Church,Â Indianapolis, Indiana “Masterful” was the only word in the e-mail I sent to Aaron on a Monday morning to comment on his sermon of the day before. It was the best word I could think of to express appreciation and to convey encouragement. Actually, there are many Monday mornings that this procedure could be repeated without becoming trite or overused. Aaron”s teaching is relevant while firmly grounded in Jesus and his story . . . lengthy but highly engaging . . . delivered without notes yet extremely well-prepared. He is straightforward but

July 31, 2011

Christian Standard

Church Leadership

All Things to All Men?

By Jeff Faull It happened to me again recently. I respectfully questioned the validity of what I thought was a dubious ministry approach and was immediately and firmly reprimanded by my friends. They buttressed their rebuke with several well-worn statements from Scripture. Passionately they reminded me that we are to “become all things to all men” and that “Jesus was a friend of sinners” and that Paul quoted heathen poets on Mars Hill and that we are to do whatever it takes to engage the culture and reach the world for Jesus. It was quickly evident my friends were completely

September 10, 2008

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Church Growth

Interview with Gary Johnson

By Brad Dupray Indian Creek Christian Church (“The Creek”) in Indianapolis, Indiana, has a well-earned reputation as a church committed to expressing the truth of the gospel in creative ways through worship experiences. Gary Johnson has served as senior pastor at The Creek for 20 years, leading it from a church of 250 to 4,000 in weekend worship. Gary has been on more than 50 mission trips to foreign countries, teaching pastors and church leaders in cross-cultural settings. He has earned two master”s degrees from Cincinnati (Ohio) Christian University, a master”s degree from Lincoln (Illinois) Christian Seminary, and a DMin