February 17, 2025
Your Will Be Done
Discipleship requires surrender—ceasing our battle of the wills and voluntarily submitting ourselves to the Lord.
Articles for tag: Frederick Buechner
A Calling Wrapped in Failure
By Chris Philbeck I recently read an article by Lewis Allen called “10 Things You Should Know About Preaching,” published at Crossway.org. One point in the article stood out to me: “Preaching is a calling wrapped in failure.” That may seem a little shocking to someone who isn’t a preacher, but let me share a couple things to think about. First, here’s the reality: We are imperfect beings trying to speak for a perfect God. On our best day, we’re going to fall short. I have sometimes said, “There are things in the Bible I believe and experience, and there
June 14, 2020
Open for Business . . . No Laughing Matter?
By Alan Scott In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis in April, I met a good friend at a restaurant because we could. We needed to. But nobody else was there. I felt fear and dread still creeping through the streets as I trekked toward our favorite eatery. A masked host seated us at properly distanced chairs outside on a patio. Apparently, innumerable state restrictions allowed restaurants to open, but with all the fun taken out. It was weird. But sitting outside in the warm sun and laughing wasn’t weird. I thought of Paul’s great theological words, “Rejoice in the
March 14, 2016
Eat, Pray, Love?
By T.R. Robertson Is there a difference in the way we Christians talk about calling versus how the rest of our culture pursues calling? It”s certain many outside the church today have great interest in calling and identity. How can Christians be missionally purposeful in relating to that interest, especially when non-Christians may talk about calling with the same words Christians use? Oprah Winfrey is a touchstone of all that is popular in the culture at large. If it”s cool, she”ll be talking about it. If it”s not cool yet, she makes it cool by bringing it up. Winfrey has
May 28, 2014
A Conversation with Ben Cachiaras
Interview by Jennifer Johnson Meet Our Contributing Editors: The senior pastor of Mountain Christian Church in Joppa, Maryland, shares his passion about Christian witness in a post-Christian culture, especially how we relate to gays and lesbians. From an ongoing series of interviews with CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s contributing editors. At our recent meeting of CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s contributing editors, you described the 21st-century American church as an exilic community. What did you mean by that? There was a time when Israel was large and in charge, enjoying prominence in the promised land. But the tide turned significantly. Eventually they were chased out of town and
April 3, 2012
A Room Called Remember
By a Lifelong Christian Church Member (ANONYMOUS) In 2006, the Barna Group conducted a study about church attendance and found that most twentysomethings leave the church after being active through their teen years. The data showed that “61 percent of today”s young adults had been churched during their teen years but are now spiritually disengaged, i.e. not actively attending church, reading the Bible, or praying.” One of the insights David Kinnaman, the director of the research, offered was, “Every teen has different needs, questions and doubts, so helping them to wrestle through those specific issues and to understand God”s unique
Five Ingredients Sir Winston Churchill Used in Every Speech
By Max R. Hickerson A glance at The Sir Winston Method by James Humes gives us an insight into what made Churchill a compelling speaker. Churchill”s approach can help every Bible teacher and preacher. The following outline, borrowed from the book, shows us how. 1. A STRONG BEGINNING Refuse to start your message, “It is a pleasure to be here to speak.” Invent your own quotable line. Start with a quotation or a question that provokes thought: “What would you do for a million dollars?”; “What is your favorite adventure story?”; “Which is more important to you, 9/11 or 11/9?” “A
February 12, 2006
The Hidden Wound and the Healing Table
By Robert F. Hull Jr. The Hidden Wound is a wonderful book by Wendell Berry.1 It’s really an extended essay he wrote in 1969 during a fellowship at Stanford University. The reflections in the book were touched off by protests going on around him during the racial unrest of that era. He came to realize his family and community in rural Kentucky had inflicted a wound on him, hidden until he became old enough and experienced enough to give that wound a name. And then he knew that the wound was called racism. His parents and grandparents were not bad
