Articles for tag: Gospel

March 25, 2019

Michael C. Mack

Decision Points, Pain, and Church Growth

By Michael C. Mack Why do some churches grow and multiply, some plateau, and others decline? It™s a question I™ve considered for a long time. As I studied the article and charts Kent Fillinger prepared for this month, it reinforced my theory that growing churches do certain things and have a particular mind-set largely absent in stagnant and declining churches. I™ll try to explain. In my personal life, I™ve seen a direct correlation between my physical health and my tolerance for pain. For years I lived with carpal tunnel syndrome and eventually lost quite a bit of functionality in both

March 5, 2019

Christian Standard

How to Have Influence in Dialogue with the Ignorant, Obstinate, and Belligerent . . . and with Those Sitting on the Sidelines

By Michael McCann Let me clarify from the beginning: I am addressing these comments to followers of Jesus who, accordingly, take seriously their calling as disciples to reach out to those who don’t know Jesus and lead them to become his disciples as well. Everything below is slanted toward that end. If you are not committed toward that end, these suggestions will be irrelevant to you. Social media can be fertile ground for toxic conversation, and it often bleeds over into face-to-face encounters. Someone might say, “That is my social media persona, but that isn’t the real me.” Yet Jesus

November 2, 2018

Christian Standard

Poverty Encounter

Immersive Environment Tells Poverty’s True Story   By Mel McGowan This December, the world will have the opportunity to understand poverty in a whole new light. When Children’s Hunger Fund (CHF) first told me about their idea for a walk-through attraction about poverty, I knew it would be a project like no other. Born in the mind of CHF president and founder Dave Phillips years earlier, the project had already taken shape to some degree. He and his team had brought the idea to friends within Walt Disney Imagineering for help conceptualizing the project. Then, they brought those ideas to

October 11, 2018

Christian Standard

Big Preaching

The Oct. 13, 1928, Christian Standard featured a printed version of the keynote address of George Taubman, serving that year as president of the second North American Christian Convention, then taking place in Kansas City, Mo. Taubman served as minister with First Christian Church, Long Beach, Calif., where his men’s Bible class exceeded 2,000 in attendance each Sunday. We will focus on an editorial from that week’s issue, but not anything related to Taubman or the NACC. “Big Preaching” most likely was written by then-editor Willard Lee Mohorter. _ _ _ Big Preaching When Abraham Lincoln was candidate for the

October 10, 2018

Christian Standard

Town Story, Church Story

Loving God, Loving People, and Changing Lives in Rural Illinois   By Mel McGowan Central Christian Church in rural Mount Vernon, Illinois, views church as a waypoint: a place to pause, recharge, and then prepare to go back out into the world to continue sharing the gospel. The church’s wooded surroundings are picturesque and agrarian; its people are proud of being disconnected from the hustle and bustle of city life. Central’s philosophy is that church should never be a country club, a “fort,” or a place where everything stops. Because their mission is to “love God and love people” and

September 6, 2018

Christian Standard

‘Nothing to Offer Except the Book’

CS Archive from September 8, 1923 _ _ _ The lead article in the Sept. 8, 1923, Christian Standard—an issue from 95 years ago—was “The Mission of the Church,” and it carried the subhead, “The Annual ‘President’s Address’ Delivered before the International Convention of Disciples of Christ at Colorado Springs, Col., Sept. 4, 1923.” The article/speech was written and presented by Thomas W. Grafton, minister of Third Church, Indianapolis, Ind., who served as president of that convention. I can’t begin to recap Grafton’s presentation—which ran almost three pages—or to pinpoint nuanced wording that may (or may not) have troubled some

August 27, 2018

Christian Standard

A Flickering Light

By Jacqueline J. Holness “I don’t know what to do,” she said, her voice nearly dissolving in muffled tears. The flow of cars surrounding me competed for my attention as I made my way into the confines of the city from the freedom of the expressway. A beat later, sniffles aside, she continued the phone call. “I can’t afford my children’s private school tuition anymore. I kept saying I would pay the bill, but now they won’t accept any more excuses. I’m trying to teach them at home, but I don’t know anything about homeschooling, plus I work. They’ve been

June 28, 2018

Christian Standard

Red and Yellow, Black and White

Relentless Church Answers the Call to Create a Multiethnic Congregation in North Carolina   By Justin Horey David Jones is white. He grew up in the South, went to Bible college in the South, and married his high school sweetheart. Rafael Gonzalez is of Puerto Rican heritage. He grew up in the Northeast, excelled in high school football and basketball, and came to faith in Christ at age 28. Joy Bey is African-American. She grew up in South Central Los Angeles, was saved in a Pentecostal church, and served in overseas missions before spending five years on staff at a

April 6, 2018

Christian Standard

‘Soul Winning’ Made Simple

By Dudley Rutherford The word evangelism can conjure up images and thoughts ranging from world missions to flashy televangelists. Of course, many faithful church members might say, “Evangelism? Oh, that’s something our preacher does on Sunday morning.” Well, yes . . . and no. Many years ago, I heard one of the greatest definitions of evangelism, and it has stuck with me: “Evangelism is nothing more than mouth-to-ear resuscitation!” What a great yet simple description. The gospel of Jesus comes from your mouth to someone else’s ear—and brings life to a spirit who, without Christ, is dead in sin (Ephesians

April 1, 2018

Christian Standard

‘If Christ Be Not Raised . . .’

By Mark E. Moore The resurrection is the bedrock of Christianity. If it is not true, everything crumbles. Paul testified to this, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14*). Thus the question, Did Jesus rise from the dead? is one we must answer to determine if faith in Christ is well-founded or a farce. To that end we will address two profoundly important questions: Why should I believe Jesus rose from the dead? And if this is true, then why does it matter?   WHY SHOULD

October 23, 2017

Christian Standard

Lesson for October 29, 2017: God’s Covenant with the Returned Exiles (Nehemiah 9:32-38; 10:28, 29)

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 October 22, 2017. issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  More than 500 years had passed since the events of last week”s lesson. The 10 northern tribes had been taken captive by Assyria (722 BC), and the two southern tribes had been taken captive by Babylon (586 BC). But God raised up Cyrus to send the exiles home (Isaiah 45:1). They came home in

August 21, 2017

Christian Standard

The Urgency of Sledgehammering Strongholds

(This is a sidebar to “LOVEtheLOU: Demonstrating and Declaring the Gospel in North St. Louis.”) By Walt Wilcoxson It”s not a tree you would pick to help beautify your yard. The bark on much of the trunk is gone, carved away, no doubt, by knives of North St. Louis neighborhood kids as a way to mourn the loss of a friend shot down in the street. On the bare wood are carved the initials of the victim of violence on Enright Avenue. After the shooting, the tree became a makeshift memorial, a place to remember. But over time, the gathering

August 20, 2017

Christian Standard

LOVEtheLOU: Demonstrating and Declaring the Gospel in North St. Louis

By Walt Wilcoxson North St. Louis, Missouri, is a place of contrasting realities: rich and poor, black and white, peaceful and violent, hopeful and hopeless. These distinctions are visible and well known. The term “Delmar Divide” neatly sums it up, as Delmar Boulevard divides this area”s poorer, larger African-American community to its north from the more affluent (and largely white) communities to the south. Families and young people who are among the “have-nots” of North St. Louis encounter desperation and despair every day. On this hot and humid morning just before lunchtime, Lucas Rouggly and I stood watching as a

July 26, 2017

Christian Standard

The Good Shepherd Lays Down His Life for His Sheep

By Ronald G. Davis John, in his Gospel, borrows the beautiful image of God that permeates the Scriptures: God is our shepherd. And that image may be the most common symbolic image reproduced through the Christian era. From mosaics in the second-century catacomb resting places of those first Christians in Rome to magnificent stained-glass windows in hundreds of 20th-century church buildings from Europe to Australia, the shepherd shows himself ready to protect and feed. When Jesus applies that image to himself, in John 10, he pictures the absolute devotion the shepherd maintains in every circumstance. His whole existence is given

April 3, 2017

Christian Standard

Lesson for April 9, 2017: Saving Love (John 3:1-21)

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 April 2, 2017, issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  This famous text contains the teachings of Jesus, the questions of Nicodemus, and the saving love of God. This late-night conversation between Jesus and this Pharisee led to a bright sunrise of teaching concerning saving love. Birth | John 3:1-5 In each section of our text there is a rhetorical device (verses 3, 5, and 11).

March 21, 2017

Mark A. Taylor

Immigration: My Final Word

By Mark A. Taylor It”s true for every web post, published article, or magazine cover theme: Some agree. Some object. And many ignore what has been written. That”s been the pattern for the immigration posts appearing at christianstandard.com this month (all of them lifted from the March issue of the print magazine), and your editor is tempted to reply to each response. I”ll resist, but I am motivated to give 500 or so more words to the subject. First: the positive comments, Facebook reposts, and retweets of links to the articles are gratifying. But I”ll admit that some of this

March 2, 2017

Christian Standard

When Living the Good News Gets Easy

By Susan Lawrence We boil it down to the basics: Love Jesus. Help others love him too. But we have different approaches: “¢ Preach the gospel at all times. When necessary, use words. “¢ Help people. And if you can”t help, at least don”t hurt them. “¢ Give what you can, and you will receive more. Helping others achieve their dreams will help you achieve yours. We like to boil things down to the simplest form. We like quips that affirm and encourage us. If it sounds good, we think it is good. If we can”t readily see how something

January 11, 2017

Christian Standard

Principled Pluralism

By Jim Tune When we all assumed Christianity held a special place in our society, the solution to differing views was simpler: work harder at bringing the Christian faith into the public square. We all assumed the Christian worldview was right, and that it should shape every part of culture. Things have changed. As acceptance of Christianity has diminished, we find ourselves living in a pluralistic culture. As I”ve said before, we”re no longer the home team. It”s now assumed the Christian worldview has nothing to offer culture. People value tolerance. Tolerance sounds good. The Oxford English Dictionary defines tolerance

November 23, 2016

Christian Standard

Days of Beauty

By Jim Tune A few of my friends have been participating in a project called “Days of Gratitude.” In an effort to be mindful of their blessings, each day they record, usually on social media, something for which they are grateful. It”s a useful exercise, and some have said the daily habit is having a positive effect on their disposition. On Canadian Thanksgiving (yes, Canadians have their own annual holiday on the second Monday of October), I decided to do something similar. My journey was to recognize and appreciate something beautiful every day for 30 days. I confess that this

November 5, 2016

Christian Standard

My One Life

By Jennifer Johnson I have been a Christian for 28 years, and I have not led anyone to Christ. It is painful to admit that. There were no “prodigal years” in my youth when I got off track with my faith. I never left the church, and my good friends who aren”t Christians know that I am. But I have never brought anyone into a relationship with Jesus. I don”t like that, but it”s true. When I talked to Jeff Vines about OneLife, an initiative that challenges every person to bring someone to Christ every 12 months, he quoted Andy

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