Articles for tag: Environmental Stewardship

February 26, 2015

Christian Standard

Paradise Lost, Maybe

By Jay Engelbrecht Is there a link between the way we care for the earth and our closeness to the creator? Put another way, can we serve Christ and sully his creation? The link between mankind”s spiritual health and the vitality of the earth courses through Scripture. John Milton, though blind, saw the connection. In his classic Paradise Lost, Eve, seduced by the idea of becoming a god, disobeys her creator, and nature “gave signs of woe.” A short time later, Adam opts to defy his creator and follow Eve. The rebel couple “fancy that they feel Divinity within them

November 29, 2010

Christian Standard

Green Rooms

By Jennifer Taylor Renewal, a student-led creation care movement based in Minneapolis, recently recognized Abilene (Texas) Christian University for its environmental stewardship emphasis. ACU established a “sustainability pledge” in 2008 that asks students to commit to at least three new habits like installing fluorescent bulbs, walking or biking instead of driving, recycling, and taking shorter showers. Abilene also created “ACU Unplugged,” a residence hall competition encouraging students to reduce their personal energy use. www.acu.edu

January 4, 2009

Christian Standard

Life for the Average Christian

By Doug Priest Who is an average Christian, and what does an average Christian look like? I am not using average in the ethical sense, that is, to mean one who does not sin too much, goes to church, contributes to the offering, and finds ways to serve. Nor am I referring to the average Christian in the intellectual sense of one who has a pretty good grasp of the Bible. Instead I am using the term average Christian in the demographic sense. In the year 2000 there were almost exactly 2 billion professing Christians in the world, but that

November 9, 2008

Christian Standard

Books We Recommend

    We asked CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s Contributing Editors to “tell our readers about a book that”s made a difference in your life this year.” Here are their recommendations:     William Glasser, Reality Therapy: A New Approach to Psychiatry (Harper, 1975).   I was not prepared for the impact reading William Glasser”s Reality Therapy would have on me. It was an easy, fascinating read, but more than that, I found myself having so many “aha” moments I had to go back and take notes. I read it because of our work with single mothers recovering from substance abuse. It was

October 26, 2008

Christian Standard

Five Guidelines for Doing Good and Feeling Good Every Day

By Victor M. Parachin Several years ago, Collin Perry was living the American dream. He had a thriving construction business, a comfortable home, two new cars, a sailboat, and was happily married. Then the business climate soured, eroding his savings. He lay awake at night knowing he couldn”t make ends meet. Just when he thought things couldn”t get worse, his wife declared she wanted a divorce. With no idea what to do next, he boarded his sailboat and literally began to “sail off into the sunset.” He started by following the coastline from Connecticut toward Florida, but somewhere off the

August 19, 2007

Christian Standard

Kingdom Entrepreneurs: Business as Mission

By Doug Priest In the Majority World, formerly called the Third World, one comes into contact with abject poverty, particularly in urban areas. In many such places, income is less than $2 a day. Youth roam the streets as their parents have succumbed to HIV/AIDS. Unemployment is rampant. There is sewage, toxic waste, hunger, despair, and a lack of hope. How can the good news be communicated in the midst of such squalor? Can anything be done? As the church, do we have a role? The answer is a resounding “Yes!” Rich, an elder serving with a church in Colorado

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