October 30, 2025
Lesson for the Holidays
In the exuberance of merriment that characterizes the holiday season, there is always danger, more or less, of being swept into excesses.
Articles for tag: Homeless
December 4, 2023
Dec. 10 Application | ‘So What?’
The tiny word 'so' plays a role in the much-loved verse, John 3:16. What does it mean to say, “God so loved the world”? . . .
Love Must Be the Foundation of a Disciple-Making Culture
By Brandon Guindon Our living room buzzed with conversation. Most of it focused around a new couple, James and Sara, who came to visit our small group. My wife, Amber, and I have led small groups for 20 years, and this was one of those evenings that will always stick with me. Before I called everyone together to begin our Bible lesson, I stood back and observed. I could not help but wonder what this new couple was thinking. What were they feeling as people greeted them, shook hands, even hugged? The room was filled with a relational warmth, and
December 12, 2022
December 18 | Application (Caring for ‘the Least of These’)
In Matthew 25, Jesus compares himself to a shepherd separating the sheep from the goats. This Scripture passage teaches important truths about the Lord, and it has practical implications for us.
September 1, 2022
Who Are You?
How to Respond When the World Tries to Dismantle Your God-Given Identity By Wes Beavis “I hear voices inside my head.” This statement raises the sensitivities of a clinical psychologist. Hearing internal voices can be a sign of schizophrenia, which can drive people into homelessness. But schizophrenia is not just limited to the down and out. John Nash, a brilliant mathematician, would carry on conversations with people inside his head. His story was made into a movie called A Beautiful Mind. Despite suffering from schizophrenia, Nash’s intellectual capacity and achievements led to him being awarded a Nobel Memorial Prize in
April 25, 2022
May 1 | Application
Bad Samaritans evidently can become good ones. That’s why Jesus wanted the gospel to be preached in Samaria (Acts 1:8), and when it was, many Samaritans accepted Christ and were baptized (Acts 8:5-11).
November 1, 2021
How COVID-19 Is Changing Christian Missions
Missionaries and mission organizations share their stories.
September 1, 2021
The Equality Act: Its Impact on Churches and How We Should Respond
On May 14, 1974, a spunky U.S. representative from New York named Bella Abzug introduced the first version of what we now know as the Equality Act. Even though the bill was co-sponsored by another New York representative and was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary, the bill had little support and never saw the light of day. For the next 45 years, the Equality Act, in one form or another, found its way back in front of Congress. In 2019, the Equality Act passed the House for the first time. Even though it died in the Senate,
SPOTLIGHT: Westside Christian Church (Bradenton, FL)
Thanks to COVID-19, Church Culture Changes For years, lead pastor Tim Boyd and the leaders at Westside Christian Church in Bradenton, Florida, felt called to increasingly engage with the surrounding community. The people of Westside periodically participated in small service projects and the church had a relationship with a local nonprofit called Downtown Ministries, but community involvement had never been a defining characteristic of the congregation. Until 2020. In the early days and weeks of the pandemic, Boyd remembered being surprised at how quickly things shut down. Westside suspended its in-person worship, prerecorded its Sunday services for streaming online, and
Aroma of Christ
Consider that Jesus' sacrifice was on a cross, which smelled like blood and grime and torture and the bile of humiliation. And yet it was fragrant to God.
March 1, 2021
Truth and Tone in an Age of Fake News
One of the disorienting realities of living in the United States today is not knowing where to go for truth. Think about it—who do you go to for truth? Politicians? The media? The church? Christian Twitter? Google? The irony is we have more access to content and commentary than ever, but who can we trust? Trust has completely eroded in our society. A 2018 research study conducted by the Pew Research Center cited these statistics: 75 percent of Americans say trust in the federal government is shrinking 64 percent say trust in other Americans is shrinking 61 percent say you
January 14, 2021
The Origins of IDES
Rick Jett, who just transitioned to the role of executive director emeritus of IDES (International Disaster Emergency Service), wrote about the origins of the organization in a Christian Standard article from exactly 30 years ago. Jett has a 35-year association with IDES. He served on the organization’s board of trustees for 16 years leading up to his hiring as executive director in 2002. David Stine took over for Jett as executive director Jan. 1. (Click here to read that story.) Jett’s 1991 article is about how and why Milton B. Bates started IDES. Bates was Jett’s father-in-law. (Jett married Milton
December 9, 2020
Myrtle Beach Church Launches Projects to House Vulnerable People
By Chris Moon In honor of its late pastor, Joel Wilson, Myrtle Beach Christian Church in South Carolina is working to help and house vulnerable people in its community. The church recently opened a shelter for mothers in crisis, such as those who come out of abusive relationships or who are homeless. The shelter is located in apartment units adjacent to the church. The church also is planning 24 senior apartments on its property. It plans to build the first 5 to 10 units next year. “To God be the glory. You write that,” senior minister Danny Banks told Christian
SCJ Conference Rescheduled for September (Plus News Briefs)
Compiled by Jim Nieman and Chris Moon The COVID-19 outbreak forced the rescheduling of the 2020 Stone-Campbell Journal Conference. The event, originally set for March 20, 21, has been rescheduled for Sept. 11, 12. The location—Johnson University Tennessee in Knoxville—has not changed. The theme “Politics and the Stone-Campbell Movement” will be developed by the originally scheduled speakers: Shaun Casey, director of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and Public Affairs and professor in Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service; Jess Hale, attorney with the Tennessee General Assembly; and Richard Cherok, professor of history with Ozark Christian College. Stone-Campbell Journal
March 15, 2020
A Story 31 Years in the Making
By Laura McKillip Wood It was the 1980s, and civil war loomed on the horizon in the African nation of Liberia. Missionaries Ken and Carolyn Vogel and their children worked with Liberian medical workers at a clinic. One day, a man appeared at the clinic carrying two tiny babies. His 2-week-old twins, a girl and a boy, were fighting for their lives. His wife had fallen into a coma shortly after giving birth. Their aunt, who had a 10-month-old of her own, had been trying to nurse them, but her milk supply could not keep up with the demands of
December 25, 2019
The Importance of Women, and Women’s Ministry, in the Church
By Megan Rawlings As a young girl, I always wanted to be just like my mom. Whether it was cutting jeans into shorts, teasing my bangs, or thanking veterans in the grocery store, if she did it, so did I. One time, I saw Mom get eye level with a homeless man, hand him a sandwich, and say, “Jesus loves you.” That moment—the small act of telling a nameless person about the love of God—cemented the woman I wanted to be. At the age of 3, “Jesus loves you” was my mantra. I wasn’t a prodigy of the Primary Department.
November 13, 2019
Barbara Rendel Continuing to Scatter JOY after Many Years in Ministry
By Chris Moon Barbara Rendel shows few signs of slowing down. She served many years in ministry alongside her husband, Wally—former pastor of Southern Acres Christian Church and Jessamine Christian Church in Kentucky—and since 2012 has been leading a multifaceted ministry program that serves families in need in central Kentucky. ScatterJOY Inc. partners with the public school system in Jessamine County, Ky., to provide food, clothing, and shelter for students and their families. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg for the organization. The group also holds events to support people coming out of addictions. It does work in
August 22, 2019
2018 SPECIAL CHURCH REPORT, PART 3: Small and Very Small Churches
By Kent E. Fillinger This is the final installment of a three-part series sharing the research findings from our annual church survey. The May issue focused on 2018 data from megachurches and emerging megachurches. The August issue covered large and medium churches, and now we conclude the series with statistics from 78 small churches and 47 very small churches. This was the second year of surveying small and very small churches, so I will include some year-to-year comparisons, while acknowledging more data is necessary before identifying trends. Statistical Snapshot Small and very small churches had the slowest growth rates of
July 22, 2019
Planting Roots in the City (Los Angeles)
By Andrew Alesso “Wait. So, you’re a minister, right?” she blurted out in the middle of our book club’s group discussion. “Ha ha. Yeah, something like that,” I responded nervously. “I’m surprised you’re being so nice to me,” she said. And then—with no hint of sarcasm—she asked, “And you really don’t hate me?” I’d recently started the book club as a way to meet people in my city. I moved to Los Angeles to facilitate conversations like this. She had just told the group she was an evolutionary biologist. I had just acknowledged she must have a fascinating job. “Wait.
March 25, 2019
Restoring the Least, the Last, and the Lost
By Mel McGowan Who are the least, the last, or the lost in our society? Most people would say the poor, homeless, or prisoners. Some might even say the sick, elderly, or children. Let me ask another question: What do you think about cafeterias at homeless shelters, prisons, hospitals, nursing homes, and schools? I think most people envision cold, stark, institutional-type places, bad smells, monotonous rows of benchlike seats, and people being herded in an orderly fashion. Given the choice, most probably would avoid eating at that kind of cafeteria on a daily basis. How about you? Restoring Hearts and
