Articles for tag: Inner City

December 9, 2016

By Jennifer Johnson Two mistakes are easy to make when reading B.J. Leonard“s story. The first is to think you could never do what he did””give up your dream house in the suburbs to move into the inner city with your wife and three young kids. The second is to believe you could totally do what he did because you”ve romanticized it as a sequel to The Blind Side. B.J., his wife, Mary, and his daughters aren”t reaching out to urban Decatur, IL, because it”s easy, but they”re also not doing it to experience the warm fuzzy feelings of “saving”

April 9, 2015

Christian Standard

Family & Relationships

Single Minded

By Jennifer Johnson It doesn”t surprise me that Mark Thornton is single. Not because he isn”t great””in fact, this God-loving, hard-working guy will be a catch for the right mission-minded girl. (Ladies, I have his number.) But because he”s chosen to live and work in the inner city, I guessed he was unmarried even before our phone interview confirmed it. “I”m a single guy with no kids, so I don”t mind living with sex offenders all around me,” he said during that conversation. “But I understand when people move out or don”t want to minister here.” I do, too, but

August 22, 2013

Christian Standard

Family & Relationships

The Extended Family in America

By Gregory K. Moffatt The phrase extended family largely meant the same thing for generations. These were families living under a single roof, a household that commonly included grandparents, adult children, and other relatives or close family friends. But our evolving culture has changed the meaning of extended family. This change has come about due to economic difficulties, the advent of our digital and mobile culture, and today”s ever-changing multicultural environment. The once distinct lines defining our past concept of family blend into today”s complex cultural melting pot. These changes present critical implications to the Christian church as we attempt

April 4, 2010

Christian Standard

Christian Living

Living Simply Isn”t So Simple

By Jim Herbst “I think I can. I think I can,” I said to myself. “I think I can live a simpler life.” Fresh from rereading the latest edition of Ronald Sider”sÂ Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, and other similar works, I entered the Christmas shopping season with a fierce conviction to simplify and have a better influence on the world”s poor. No longer could I preach against materialism with a clear conscience while knowing every room in my home is packed with material clutter. You may already know the harsh statistics. The U.S. accounts for 6 percent of