Articles for tag: Gilead

June 12, 2017

Christian Standard

Lesson for June 18, 2017: Jephthah (Judges 11)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the June 11, 2017, issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  In the book of Judges, the judges get progressively worse as we go along. We”ve gone from Deborah and Barak (good) to Gideon (all right) to Jephthah (not stunning) and next week to Samson (terrible). The enemies of Israel in our lessons also get progressively worse, from the Canaanites to the Midianites to the Ammonites.

April 18, 2017

Mark A. Taylor

All the Potential in an Open Book

By Mark A. Taylor Several years ago I was helping host a retreat for emerging leaders among the Christian churches and churches of Christ. One session began with the question, “What are you reading?” and every one in the circle of 25 had something different to report. These men and women were reading widely””not only books about the Bible and church leadership, but also an assortment of biography, classic literature, and fiction. It was one of several times I”ve realized the future of our movement is strong because so many young leaders in our movement are strong. This happened around

February 1, 2016

Christian Standard

Dear Aspiring Minister . . .

By Jennifer Johnson You may be attending a Bible college, a Christian college, or a Christian university. That school may be affiliated with the Restoration Movement, with a mainline denomination, or with no particular group at all. And you may dream of someday serving as a preacher, a youth pastor, or a worship leader. No matter where you are in school, no matter what your background, and no matter what your dream, consider this letter my virtual attempt to shove all five feet and two inches of myself in your face (or your shoulder) and demand you stop saying things

January 4, 2016

Christian Standard

Lesson for January 10, 2016: The Most Beautiful Bride (Song of Songs 6:4″“12)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the January 3 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  We should always interpret the Bible in light of the genre used because that sets expectations for interpretation. If I say, “Roses are red and violets are blue,” then I am using the genre of poetry. The reader interprets appropriately, expecting to see things like figures

October 23, 2015

Christian Standard

Start Reading Books Like a Christian

No matter what you”re reading, as a Christ follower and believer, you have a unique opportunity and perspective every time you open a book.  By Tony Reinke Perhaps intimidated by the intrusion of digital communications technology (Facebook, texting, Twitter), or perhaps overwhelmed by the dominant cultural force of the entertainment industry (television, movies, gaming), the church talks less and less about what it means to be a Christian reader. But Christian readers are best suited to engage books with benefit and discernment. This is true because there exists a distinctly Christian form of literacy. Christian Literacy Let me begin with

July 27, 2015

Christian Standard

Growth, Grace, and a Writer I Like

By LeRoy Lawson   Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeing God in the Crucible of Ministry Ruth Haley Barton Downers Grove: IVP Books, 2008 Lila: A Novel Marilynne Robinson New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2014 Persuasion: A Novel Jane Austen Originally published in 1817   I”ve written here before about how much I learn from my students. Many books in this column have appeared because they told me I needed to read a favorite of theirs. Ruth Haley Barton is one of those favorites. She is president of the Transforming Center, where she and her colleagues are in the business

February 25, 2013

Christian Standard

Failing, Fathering, and Falling Toward Maturity

By LeRoy Lawson   The Damnation of Theron Ware Harold Frederic Various editions; first published in 1896 Gilead Marilynne Robinson New York: Picador, 2004 Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life Richard Rohr San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2011 Pastoral ministry can be among the hardest jobs there are””or the easiest. Since pastors are granted freedom to set their own schedules and priorities, the conscientious minister tends to work too hard and the indolent one finds every excuse to take it easy. What this means is ministry attracts””or creates””the finest of characters or the worst. I”m exaggerating of course,

October 6, 2012

Christian Standard

Truth in Fiction

Whether you want to solve a crime with a gritty street detective, laugh your way to redemption, walk in the shoes of the suffering, or reflect on the beauty of God”s created order, you will be able to find a Christian novelist who is happy to be your companion on the journey. By Pat Magness I am not sure why, of all the hundreds of books in the bookstore that day, this particular book, Blue Shoe by Anne Lamott, reached out to me. I hadn”t heard of the book or the author before, but somehow I already felt part of

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