In 1953, Leon Appel wrote: "A few of the suggestions made by elders and deacons at this [Kiamichi] clinic, if taken seriously, may help the preacher to extend the term of his ministry in a given field, and enlarge his measure of usefulness." . . .
December 1, 2022
The Little Folks' New Testament Church in Ada, Okla., has their own “elders” and "deacons” and their own minister. "They observe the Lord’s Supper. They make their gifts. Best of all they do genuine personal work."
September 2, 2021
“In churches of Christ and Christian churches, is divorce the unpardonable sin?” Judy Norris asked in this column from 1980. "Have we become so Pharisaical that our own self-righteousness causes us to negate love?"
September 23, 2017
By Bob Hightchew How do you change an unhealthy church culture without any pain? How do you make necessary biblical changes without upsetting people? You can”t. If we are to serve the kingdom, we will have to fight some battles. The battle is worth it, though, if the process helps move a church to better health. I”ve learned this firsthand over the course of the last 20-plus years. South Fork Christian Church in Verona, Kentucky, has been an easy congregation for me to love. Our pews are filled with kind, generous, and loving individuals. However, when I arrived, the church
By Mark A. Taylor Sure, you enjoy reading posts at this website, but now may be the time for you to give our print magazine a try. We have an offer that gives you so much more than the posts we add to this site each month. It”s our 150th anniversary, and we have a special (read “low cost”) way for you to join the celebration. Now you can get a whole year of CHRISTIAN STANDARD delivered to your home for only $15.00. That”s way less than HALF our normal subscription price! In fact, it”s lower than almost all of
May 15, 2011
By Charles A. Lee The American Christian community is rapidly losing its love for the Bible. Studies by Barna, Gallup, and other pollsters repeatedly uncover a diminishing knowledge of the Bible among Christian adults and a consequent weakening of Bible-focused dialogue in the marketplace. In spite of the clear evidence, many churches are more interested in creating programs, developing relationships, and listening to “heartwarming stories” than in helping adult members develop a pragmatic mastery of God”s Word. Jesus told the religious leaders of his day, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of
January 17, 2010
By Wilbur Reid III Volunteer church leaders are busy. In addition to the typically demanding workweek, they have family responsibilities: driving kids to practices, maintaining the lawn, staying up with housework and laundry, and everything else that makes a healthy and happy home. On top of that, they feel a calling and responsibility to support the kingdom of God in their local church. They spend hours each week as elders, deacons, Sunday school teachers, nursery workers, and small group leaders. They maintain the building and grounds, sing in the choir, and work with the youth group. This busyness leads to
December 23, 2008
By Mark A. Taylor “Thanks, CHRISTIAN STANDARD, for being there,” one reader responded to our Year of the Elder survey published September 24. His comment was one of hundreds to support the conclusion in my first report on this survey two weeks ago: one year of articles for elders is not enough. About 400 of 600 respondents took time to give their specific answer to the question “What would help our elders do a better job?” Their replies indicate several ongoing needs among elders in our churches. Elders are facing””and sometimes failing to handle””conflict. Some replies show how disharmony is
July 27, 2008
By David Bycroft In my last article, “Evangelism Is Natural Church” (June 15), I referenced the fact that most churches see few people baptized into Christ because they fail to plan and work to see baptisms happen. According to Thom Ranier, 85 percent of all churches are in decline. That number persuades me to think we are not doing much evangelism in our churches. We need to rethink some of our principles for how and why we do church. We have a pretty good handle on Bible study and invest lots of money into Sunday school material for all ages.
October 31, 2007
By Mark A. Taylor If you read many magazines or receive many parachurch periodicals, you”ve likely been reading about the impact of recent postage hikes. Some publications are changing their trim size to cut costs or conform to new regulations. Some previously free publications are now charging a subscription price or asking for donations. Some are imploring readers to send timely change-of-address notices because of higher charges they”re receiving for forwarding issues. We”re not doing any of those things, but we are making one small change. Effective with our December issues, CHRISTIAN STANDARD and The Lookout are increasing the postage/handling
December 10, 2006
By Arron Chambers If I had an “easy” button, I would have pressed it and . . . “¢ Assembled my son”s bike on Christmas morning in just seconds””instead of spending all day on it in an episode that almost ended my marriage. “¢ I wouldn”t have dated that girl, because she would have worn a label that read, “Warning: High Maintenance!” “¢ My teeth would be straight. “¢ My wife would not have endured long months of pregnancy; instead, our four kids would have been delivered to the front door about an hour after breakfast on a Saturday morning.
November 30, 2005
In the October 2 issue, Editor Mark A. Taylor asked readers to share their thoughts about original sermons, Sunday-evening worship, and any other topic you wished to expound upon. We have received more than a dozen letters/e-mails related to original sermons and Sunday night sermons, and we are sharing them with you here. (To send us your comments, just click here.) Before we get going, here are some links that might be helpful: “The Problems With Original Preaching” by Mark A. Taylor “Integrity in the Pulpit” by Dean M. Christensen “How to Preach Like an Amateur” by Eddie Lowen Letters
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