Articles for tag: Grace

July 11, 2010

Christian Standard

Seven Days of Praise

By Daniel Schantz MONDAY“”My favorite seed catalog arrived today and I am astounded at the offerings. Things like cucumbers with big spikes on them, red noodle beans as long as my arm, speckled trout lettuce, watermelons with stars on them, and Asian snake melons 4 feet long. There are coal-black tomatoes, mother-of-pearl poppies, and a plant called Job”s tears that produces beads, which you can string into a necklace. I can almost hear God laughing out loud as he made these wacky plants. And I want to stand up and cheer. “Way to go, God! Cool cucumbers!” “O Lord, how

July 11, 2010

Christian Standard

The Boy with the Odd-Shaped Head

By C. Robert Wetzel Crew cuts were popular among boys in the late 1940s. What distinguished them from today”s short haircuts was that the closely cropped hair of the crew cut had to stand straight up. This necessitated at least two occasions of special care. It took a bit of thick hair gel to achieve vertical status, and a weekly trip to the barber to ensure the perfect shape. Hence all through high school, I made my Saturday visit to Charlie”s Barber Shop in Hugoton, Kansas, to nurture this dubious bit of fashion. I think I must have been about

June 27, 2010

Christian Standard

Church Ladies Spotted at Strip Clubs

By Jani Lewis Anyone sitting outside a strip club on Wednesday nights in Lexington, Kentucky, is likely to see three or four women piling out of a van with armloads of food and being welcomed by bouncers who yell, “Here come the church ladies!” For five years the managers and owners of these establishments have allowed us to serve a warm, home-cooked meal to the dancers and staff weekly. Not everyone “gets it”””there are folks in our church who don”t understand why we go, and many people inside the clubs who are just as confused by our presence. We go

June 20, 2010

Christian Standard

Lessons We”ve Learned from Eating with Sinners

By Brandon Smith The ministry I serve, the Christian Campus House at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, does not necessarily operate under what I would call a “written budget.” This mostly is because we rarely have money with which to budget. And while I am only half joking, my serious half supposes one of the biggest line items, if we did have a written budget, would be “food.” College students like to eat. A lot. And we like to feed them. We place such an emphasis on food in our ministry, not because we are gluttons, but because something

June 13, 2010

Christian Standard

Broken People Change the World

By Janet McMahon “Now with God”s help, I shall become myself.” “”Soren Kierkegaard When the phone rang, I was sitting on the couch taking care of my 4-month-old baby girl. Since my hands were full, my husband got up to answer the phone. The call was short; my husband listened a lot and finally said, “OK, I”ll talk to her.” He hung up, looked at me, and smiled. “Dave has an idea, and it involves you.” Dave is the lead pastor of Community Christian Church where my husband was on staff. Troy couldn”t wipe the quirky smile off his face.

June 6, 2010

Christian Standard

Status Quo

By Terry O’Casey The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is one of the world”s holiest sites, at the place where many believe Jesus rose from the dead. On that sacred spot, a stalemate has occurred between warring Christians. A ladder rests on the Greek Orthodox Church portion of the building, beneath the right window that is controlled by the Armenian Church. A drawing from 1834 shows the ladder fossilizing even back then. The ladder is a statement of power and control. A law called “the status quo” enacted in Palestine, first by the Turkish Ottomans in 1757 and reaffirmed

May 30, 2010

Christian Standard

What I Have Learned in 50 Years as a Theologian (Part 2)

By Jack Cottrell Previously (in the February 7 issue) I discussed what I have learned in 50 years as a theologian under two headings: Fads vs. Fundamentals, and Truth vs. Relativism. Here I will conclude by discussing Law vs. Grace. In six years of seminary work (at Westminster and Princeton), I was especially drawn to Reformation studies and was thus introduced to the doctrine of grace in ways that were new to me. I also spent much time studying the book of Romans. In my first semester of teaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary (fall 1967), Lewis Foster asked me to teach

May 30, 2010

Christian Standard

Leading People Toward Redemption and Restoration (Part 3)

By Ken Swatman “People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.” “”Audrey Hepburn, American actress Everything about Jesus””his birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection””shouts redemption and restoration to a lost and broken world. Jesus” foundational purpose was, and still is, to seek and save the lost, to purchase back that which was bartered, sold, or stolen, and to reestablish and heal our relationship to his Father. As pastors and leaders, we are entrusted with the position and responsibility of helping people navigate the deep waters of sin, repentance, redemption, and

May 23, 2010

Christian Standard

The Revolutionary Relevance of Christian Hope in Communion

By Ash Baker Last October 17, I shared Communion in Klong Prem prison (aka “The Bangkok Hilton”) for the first time. I now visit each week with Chris McCartney, a member of our team who has been going there for more than a year. It”s become a high point in my weekly routine, though not without challenges. When Chris first asked me to accompany him, I was outwardly thrilled, but quietly uncertain about how to meaningfully share Communion with these guys. Francis, for example, is in his 60s and has been in jail more than 40 years. What could we

May 9, 2010

Christian Standard

Enrolling Our Kids in the Jesus Mission

By Janet McMahon A look of disappointment, frustration, and surprise came over his face. He cried. We had just told our 13-year-old son we were leaving the only town he had ever known to move to another city and begin a brand-new church. The days and weeks that followed were full of questions, not just from our 13-year-old, but all three of our children. “Why?” “When?” “How?” “Are you sure?” At the time our kids were 16, 13, and 7, and moving kids attending high school and middle school seemed less than ideal. No doubt my children are the No.

May 2, 2010

Christian Standard

Why Do Christians Serve? Guilt or Gratitude?

By Larry W. Bailey Lady Macbeth compulsively washed her hands in a vain attempt to cleanse herself from feelings of guilt. She and her husband had conspired in the murder of King Duncan, and the “spot of blood” on her hands seemed to resist removal. Her repeated attempts to cleanse herself of blood (guilt) proved futile. She wondered aloud, “Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?” (Macbeth, act 5, scene 1). Physical actions could not relieve her guilty conscience. We all can identify with Lady Macbeth to some extent, because all

May 2, 2010

Christian Standard

You”re Not as Bad as You Think You Are

By Mark Atteberry IS GUILT WEIGHING YOU DOWN? Christians everywhere beat themselves up over sins their heavenly Father has long since forgiven and forgotten. In Let It Go, seasoned author Mark Atteberry, with his customary mix of humor and heart, leads us to let go of inferiority, perfectionism, criticism, and shame””and hold on to abundance, grace, salvation, and joy. This article is an excerpt from this helpful, enjoyable new book. Price: $12.99 “¢ Item 021530610 “¢ Available May 2010 athttp://www.standardpub.com/detail.aspx?ID=4504 or your local Christian bookstore. You may not be as bad as you think you are! I know your natural

April 11, 2010

Christian Standard

FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Focusing on Grace

By LeRoy Lawson Murray Hollis, Preacher, You”ve Got Friends (Joplin: Christian Friends Connexion, 2009). Jack Cottrell, Set Free! What the Bible Says About Grace (Joplin: College Press, 2009). Michael C. Mack, Burnout-free Small Group Leadership (Houston: Touch Publications, 2009). Roger Parrott, The Longview: Lasting Strategies for Rising Leaders (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2009). Murray Hollis has done Christian church ministers a real favor. His Preacher, You”ve Got Friends compiles 25 stories by “battle-tested Christian leaders” whose personal experiences “will fortify your faith and build your determination to face your next trial or challenge.” I know most of the writers; I even knew some of

April 11, 2010

Christian Standard

Whatever Happened to False Doctrine?

By Jeff Faull OK, I might as well admit it. I”m a peacemaker by nature, an off-the-charts shower of mercy. A lover and not a fighter. I tend to look for commonality over differences””I despise legalism. Unity is not a bad word to me. I”m a Psalm 133/John 17 guy and glad to be one. Quickly skim over the New Testament with that mind-set. It only takes a few minutes. With a cursory glance at Acts 2 and beyond””you can see it. It”s beautiful to trace the harmony that existed when the church began. Christians were doctrinally aligned””all of one mind.

March 14, 2010

Christian Standard

Friendship Matters

By Kelly Kastens Fifty years ago in a subdivision that was still under construction in Fairfield, Ohio, 12 women began to gather once a month to play bridge. The card playing was fun and getting out of the house for the night was even better! I have vivid memories of these get-togethers throughout my childhood because one of these women was my mom. I especially loved it when it was “our” turn to host. I helped clean the house, set up the card tables, and prepare the food. I was allowed to greet everyone and help fix beverages, and then

March 7, 2010

Christian Standard

God Intends Church Growth

By Stephen Bond “I will build my church . . .” (Jesus Christ in Matthew 16:18) God intends church growth. We know this because there are still people who have not yet embraced God”s grace through faith in Christ. Those people face the specter of eternal separation from the Heavenly Father. Jesus came to seek and to save these lost people. This is not the only message Jesus brings, but it is one of the most important. At the age of 21, I opened the Bible for the first time and discovered a world of truth I had never known.

February 28, 2010

Christian Standard

Leadership Coaching in the Local Church (Developing Leaders of Leaders)

By Janet McMahon “The fruit of my work grows up on other people”s trees.” (Bob Buford)1 The phone call went something like this, “I was praying for you last night; how did it go?” I was juggling my 6-month-old son on one hip while wedging the phone between my ear and shoulder. “It went OK . . . I think,” I replied. What was this conversation? This was a coaching call. I had led my first women”s small group at Community Christian Church in Naperville, Illinois, the night before. The call was from Sue, my coach. She wanted to know

February 7, 2010

Christian Standard

How One Minister Survived a Building Program

By Ken Swatman Just the thought of building and relocating to a new facility can strike fear into the heart of the most experienced and energetic of pastors, and it was no different for me. As the new senior pastor of a struggling 80-year-old congregation, I was faced with the challenge of relocate or perish. Our building was too small for even our 115-member congregation. There were too many stairs, not enough bathrooms, and a bottom floor that looked more like a dungeon than a children”s ministry center. Add to that the curb appeal of a 1950s institution and you

January 31, 2010

Christian Standard

Forgiving Ourselves

By John Mark Hicks “This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything” (1 John 3:19, 20). Self-forgiveness is a controversial topic. Many believe it is so tied to self-help and self-esteem pop psychology that it actually is a reflection of pride and lack of faith. There is no text in Scripture that explicitly commands self-forgiveness, it is said, and only God can forgive. Others, however, genuinely punish themselves by

January 30, 2010

Christian Standard

Guaranteed Returns

By Jeff Faull Can I share the talk I had with myself recently? I said, “Self, what few assets you possess are not really yours; they are God”s. And in these tough economic times you need to protect and use God”s money wisely. “But where is a safe place for God”s money? Is it the bank? Is it the stock market? Are CDs the way to go? Can it bolster my sagging 401k? Should I buy precious metals? Should I hide it under the proverbial mattress or bury it in the backyard?” Perhaps you have had similar conversations with yourself

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