Articles for tag: Great Commission

November 2, 2018

David Roadcup

Elders Cast Vision

E2: Effective Elders Blog Editor’s Note: Each Friday we publish a new blog post from our partners in ministry, E2: Effective Elders. We publish it here simultaneous to E2’s posting on their site. The leaders of E2 write an article for our print and online magazine every month as well. Those articles are full of wisdom and practical help for elders. Please check them out! _____ By David Roadcup The ability to craft and utilize a useful, compelling vision is one of the cornerstones in the life of an effective church. What is vision? It is developing the ability to see what is not

October 30, 2018

Christian Standard

Transforming Communities through Business as Mission

By Fenton Lewis More than 20 years ago, I found myself wrestling with a desire to serve God beyond teaching Sunday school or giving to the church. The advice I received—as have many others—was to quit my job, go to seminary, and become a pastor. But I questioned that. God had given me a unique combination of education, work experience, and spiritual gifting, and I believed he had done that for a reason. I thought my unique skill-set could be used to help fulfill the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. So, I began an adventure that took me around

October 15, 2018

Mark Scott

Lesson for October 21, 2018: The Gospel Begins Spreading in Samaria (Acts 8:5-24)

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 issue no. 11 (weeks 41–44; October 14—November 4, 2018) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ The Bible lessons now follow a scope and sequence prepared by Christian Standard Media. For more information, click here. ______ Lesson Aim: Take care that your belief transforms your heart as well as your mind. ______ By Mark Scott  Jesus geographically outlined the Book of Acts (Acts 1:8). He predicted the growth of the

September 30, 2018

Jerry Harris

The NACC: Celebrating Our Wins . . . and Starting an Inspiring New Season

By Jerry Harris The 2018 North American Christian Convention was held where it started 91 years ago, in Indianapolis. This year’s president, Drew Sherman, his team, and the NACC staff pulled together an amazing experience with inspiring speakers, incredible worship, and great accommodations. As usual at “the connecting place,” I engaged in countless conversations with like-minded leaders in our tribe, something for which the NACC is known. Some of those conversations were powerful to me. Leadership Huddles were a new addition; these ministry intensives and roundtable discussions drilled down into real issues leaders face every day in ministry. Volunteers from

July 11, 2018

Christian Standard

Project Mañana: Working Together Today for an Eternal Tomorrow

By Emily Drayne I’ve seen it happen time and again in my ministry with the International Conference on Missions. Whether committing to go on a short-term trip or enter full-time service, when people simply open themselves up to God’s plan, he guides them every step of the way.   Brian and Nebraska’s Story After his first short-term mission trip to the Dominican Republic in 2007, Brian Berman felt an urge to get involved. He fell in love with the culture and people, but he also saw a physical and spiritual need there. After leaving corporate America, he and his wife,

June 22, 2018

Christian Standard

Restoring God’s Dream for Our World

By Jon Ferguson  I first heard the phrase “helping people find their way back to God” at a small-group training conference. Author and small-group training guru Lyman Coleman would retell the story of the prodigal son at these conferences. With great conviction, he would remind us that every one of us is a prodigal, and that countless prodigals in all of our neighborhoods desperately want to “find their way back to God.” Those words resonated deep in our souls. Through the years, Community Christian Church’s mission statement has remained the same: “Helping people find their way back to God.” And

June 13, 2018

Christian Standard

Generations in Missions: Don’t Count Me Out!

By Emily Drayne  An older missionary might say, “They’ll never understand how we did it.” A younger missionary might complain, “They’re so old school.” It’s a generational issue that’s probably been around forever. Leaders err, however, when they count out those from other generations simply because of age, style of doing the job, or lack of “experience.” In missions and in ministry, it seems, there are two ways to do the job. There’s the way it’s been done for years, and then there’s the way new leaders with new ideas are doing it. So how can we carry out our

May 27, 2018

Christian Standard

From Hero to Hero Maker: A Game Changer for the Church

By David Dummitt In February I attended the Exponential conference in Orlando. It was a great week of connecting with other church leaders and church planters from all over the world. This year’s conference theme was “Hero Maker,” based on Dave Ferguson and Warren Bird’s new book by the same name. I had the opportunity to facilitate workshops alongside of Dave, Warren, and others as we talked about a shift in practices that we as leaders must make in order to carry out the Great Commission: moving from being heroes to being hero makers. This message is a game changer

November 7, 2017

Christian Standard

When You Can See the World from Your Backyard 

By James C. Book  The church I serve is located near Walt Disney World in Florida. We encounter people from all walks of life””it”s almost like having the United Nations in our backyard! Because of this, we realized we had a golden opportunity to reach people of many different cultures with the love of Jesus.  As David Hesselgrave notes in his book Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally, the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) contains a “single imperative” . . . to “make disciples of all nations.” It”s awesome to be able to do that in our own community and to have those folks

November 5, 2017

Christian Standard

Mission Trips Aren”t Working

What We Need to Do to Keep Missions Strong Among Millennials  By Haydn Shaw   Baby boomers in the 1970s wore clothing inspired by India and followed rock-and-roll groups from Europe. Their millennial children buy phone cases from online stores in China and play video games with people from all over the world.  Millennials (those who are 17 to 36 years old) have five times as many passports as previous generations (many of which are needed for short-term mission trips).   Ironically, in many churches today, millennials know more about missions than their parents do. That”s because churches talk less about missions

October 26, 2017

Jerry Harris

Letter from the Publisher

By Jerry Harris Many years ago, I took my immediate family to visit extended family in Maryland. I”m something of a history nut, so I used the opportunity to take everyone to visit Annapolis and walk the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy; we watched the midshipmen walk in formation and toured museums. During that trip, I made an unexpected discovery. After touring the chapel, I noticed a small sign directing people to the “crypt of John Paul Jones.” My family and I proceeded down a stairway to an area directly beneath the chapel. A Marine in dress uniform was

October 24, 2017

Christian Standard

The Increasing Challenge for Evangelism in India

Persecution is increasing in India. How will our churches respond?   By John Caldwell  The year was 1950 and colonial India was debating its constitution as a new, independent nation. Drafters of the constitution had written an article on freedom of religion that “each individual has the right to profess, practice and propagate his faith.” The constitutional convention engaged in much debate over that word, propagate. The Hindu majority feared that word would be used by a small Christian minority as an excuse to proselytize.   Ironically it was a Hindu delegate who stood to his feet and said the word propagate

October 19, 2017

Michael C. Mack

A Great Commission for Everyone

By Michael C. Mack As I edited this month”s articles about international missions and ministry, I noticed a trend. Most of our writers either quoted or referred to the Great Commission, namely Matthew 28:18-20, some in the first sentence or two. That makes sense. When we think about taking the gospel into all the world, we naturally think of this primary passage.   I hope this doesn”t sound sacrilegious, but we deleted that Scripture from some of the articles. Why? For one thing, we didn”t want the articles to become redundant, but also, we figure you know this verse well. I”m

August 6, 2017

Christian Standard

Hitting the Target: Measuring Success Through Outputs

A comprehensive strategy for realigning your church”s ministries, activities, and programs for fall By Tom Harper For many, August marks the beginning of a new school year and, with it, a new church year as well. Most of us now face a plethora of programs, classes, small groups, events, and holidays that stand looming like a line of horses ready to burst out of the starting gate. No matter that the pastor and his staff were supposed to enjoy a summer of rest. Dutifully, you”ll jump back in the saddle, like you always do. But before you put your feet

April 2, 2017

Christian Standard

Holy Risk

By Jeff Faull It”s difficult to find a follower of God in Scripture who did not take big risks. Look at those who brought Jesus into the world. Look at the first church and the ministry of the apostles. How can our ministries and personal lives follow their example? Famous psychologist Abraham Maslow is best known for his hierarchy of needs pyramid. According to Maslow, the most primal needs we have involve our bodily activities, like breathing, eating, or drinking. Second only to those needs is the basic human desire for security and safety. We are driven by the desire

February 16, 2017

Christian Standard

Coping with What Jesus Said

By Bob Mink I Wish Jesus Hadn”t Said That  Stephen Timmis Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014 The Hard Sayings of Jesus F.F. Bruce Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1983 Some book titles get your attention by implying they are about something you may not agree with. When I was a youth minister in the 1970s, I used Fritz Ridenour”s book How to be a Christian Without Being Religious, and was taken to task by a mother who misunderstood the title. Steve Timmis”s book, I Wish Jesus Hadn”t Said That (Zondervan, 2013), does the same thing. The title is his initial response to

December 10, 2016

Christian Standard

Take a Look at the Family Photo Album of Jesus

By Matt Proctor One of my favorite Christmas pastimes is sitting with my kids and looking through family photo albums. Almost every picture sparks a story about their ancestors: “¢ “There”s your Great-Grandpa Weede. Oh, he loved to joke. One time, he painted faces on his two big farm-fuel tanks. One had a smiley face that said, “˜I”ve got diesel.” The other had a frowning face that said, “˜I”ve got gas!” “The whole county knew his laugh . . . and his faith. He prayed every day for every grandkid by name.” “¢ “And there”s your Granny Ruth. A strong,

October 6, 2016

Christian Standard

Can I Be a Christian and a Patriot?

Four biblical principles about our earthly citizenship By Matt Proctor Full confession: I love America. I was born on an overseas U.S. Army base where my father served, and I respect the office of president, sing the national anthem, salute the flag, and own the movie Captain America. But my study of God”s Word has led me to decide how I should view my love of country in terms of my higher calling. Two summers ago, I took my 10- and 12-year-old sons on a weeklong U.S. history tour. We imagined being an immigrant at Ellis Island, marveled at the

September 4, 2016

Christian Standard

Work as Worship (Book Review)

Work as Worship: How the CEOs of Interstate Batteries, Hobby Lobby, PepsiCo, Tyson Foods and More Bring Meaning to Their Work Mark L. Russell, author and editor Boise: Elevate Faith, 2012 A book review by Matt Johnson Worship is not just a Sunday event; it is a lifestyle. Decades of worship wars often focused on worship as what happens only on Sunday mornings, but an examination of our practices and the Scriptures has expanded our definition of worship to include both nonmusical and non-Sunday events. With the proliferation of books on leadership, it was only a matter of time before an interdisciplinary entrepreneur like

September 3, 2016

Christian Standard

The Unspoken Vocational Hierarchy

By Dennis Bakke For those of us who are followers of Christ, we know our purpose is to live holy lives and glorify God. And part of glorifying God is making known his kingdom and his ways. So how does our workplace fit into such a purpose? Should it be our primary mission field where we seek to carry out the Great Commission? Is it simply a means to provide for our families and earn enough money to support our church, missionaries, and parachurch organizations? Or is secular work””even for-profit business””the principle mission to which God calls many of us?

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