Articles for tag: Jeff Faull

August 1, 2015

Christian Standard

Because of Their Work

By Jeff Faull It was more than 20 years ago that October was designated as Clergy Appreciation Month. My experience and exposure is limited, but for most people I know, Clergy Appreciation Month is a nonevent. Some even perceive it as a “contrived holiday” kept alive by greeting card companies and Christian booksellers. Unless I miss my guess, most Christian workers don”t care much about those “appreciation days” on the calendar. I confess I had to look it up to see when it took place. October passes by with many of us remaining blissfully unaware that we missed anything. And

January 29, 2015

Christian Standard

Playing Your Cards Right

By Jeff Faull We do not always handle theological conflict fairly. Have you heard””or used””any of these arguments? Since the days of the O.J. Simpson trial, the phrase “playing the race card” has become commonplace. Accusing someone of arbitrarily “playing the race card” usually means they have bypassed the true merits of either position and trumped the validity of everything else with an accusation of racism, whether legitimate or not. To be certain, racism still exists and sometimes it”s fair to display the “race card,” but other times it is unfairly used to silence an exploration of the real issues

January 12, 2015

Christian Standard

A Healthy Church Is Doctrinally Strong

By Jeff Faull I know what you”re thinking: OK, here comes the obligatory “doctrine” article. I think I”ll pass””or else””I”ll hold my nose and take the medicine in one quick gulp and wash it down with something good and be done with it. Please don”t. Doctrine was never intended to be dry, rigid, sterile, lifeless rules and syllogisms, but rather, the stuff of life itself. So I”m asking you to consider healthy church doctrine from some refreshing and positive vantage points.   Consider Doctrine as a Framework for Story I hear a lot of people nowadays saying Christianity is a

December 11, 2014

Christian Standard

50 Ways Your Church Can Fight Poverty

By Jennifer Johnson Most Christians want to do something to address the problems of poverty. But many of us just don”t know where to start. Here are 50 ideas, shared by 15 Christian leaders from around the world, to help you show the love of Jesus to those who are poor. Almost any of us could try at least one of these strategies.   Get Practical 1. Create a community garden. Each year ours produces thousands of pounds of healthy food that is distributed to hundreds of families in our community who live below the poverty line. They are invited to

April 25, 2014

Christian Standard

Where Is Eden?

By Jeff Faull Where is the Garden of Eden? Not the actual geographical description. You can read that in Genesis 2. Where is the garden now? What happened to it? Last we knew, it was in Genesis 3. Remember? Therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:23, 24, New

April 18, 2014

Christian Standard

Passion

By Jeff Faull Did you ever try one of those love tester machines at the mall? You drop your coin in and grasp the handle as all your friends watch. The buzzers sound and the lights flash and the machine tells you your “love quotient.” You might be hot, passionate, burning, wild, mild, harmless, clammy, all the way down to cold or blah. Have you ever wasted a quarter on that? By the way, those machines came out in the 1930s and are totally random in their rating selection. Maybe that bursts a bubble for some of you, or perhaps

April 11, 2014

Christian Standard

His Story, Our Story, the Story of Christ

By Jeff Faull Imagine a child asking the apostle Paul, “Would you tell me a story?” Where would he start? He could tell about his Damascus road experience, adventures at sea, the time he was bitten by a snake, and the great basket escape. He could speak of the time Eutychus fell asleep during his sermon and fell out the window and died. Then there were the occasions he was stoned and left for dead. He could relate his vision of the third heaven. He might mention his authorship of at least a dozen books of the Bible. Paul could

April 4, 2014

Christian Standard

Still We Meet on the Lord”s Day

By Jeff Faull “I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus. . . . On the Lord”s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet” (Revelation 1:9, 10, author emphasis). Today is the Lord”s Day, but it doesn”t quite seem the same. John was being punished. We are not. John was suffering. We are not. John was alone. We”re not. John was an apostle. We”re not. John was an eyewitness. We”re not But we are trying to listen to God,

January 12, 2014

Christian Standard

Consumer Christians: Bad Bottom Lines

By Jeff Faull We used to call them “church shoppers.” It was often a pejorative term, intended to characterize those who were always looking to be served rather than to serve, to get rather than to give, and to consume rather than to contribute. Ironically, we often end up structuring the church in ways that encourage and cater to that consumer mind-set and behavior. In so doing we run the risk of reducing spiritual things to mere commodities. We dilute the gospel to palatable niceties. We obscure the concept of sacrifice and service. We run the risk of being people-centered

June 20, 2013

Christian Standard

A Conversation with Jeff Faull

Meet Our Contributing Editors: This month we begin a series of interviews with CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s contributing editors. What they have to say about the church, the ministry, our fellowship of churches, and anything else on their minds will challenge and interest our readers. Their insights and questions amply illustrate why each of these volunteers is such a valuable part of the CHRISTIAN STANDARD team.   Interview by Jennifer Johnson QUESTION: You and I both sit in on these conversations about the future of the Restoration Movement, and it seems many times they rehash the same topics and complaints. Let”s go

April 28, 2013

Christian Standard

Focusing on Good Deeds to Meet Needs

By Jennifer Johnson In 2010, leaders at Mount Gilead Christian Church (Mooresville, IN) challenged members to complete 50,000 hours of community service. The church stepped up, logging more than 75,000 hours””and sparking new discussions about what could come next. “Several people in the church were especially inspired by this,” says senior minister Jeff Faull. “One of them dreamed of a permanent building we could use as an ongoing outreach tool, and when we found a location, this individual provided much of the money for the over $1 million purchase.” The church raised another $300,000 for the building and opened the

February 26, 2013

Christian Standard

Sticky Conversations: Divorce and Remarriage

THIS IS THE FIFTH AND FINAL IN A SERIES OF  “STICKY CONVERSATIONS” By Julie Gariss As commonplace as the ritual of divorce has become, it is still impossible to fully comprehend the pain that accompanies a broken marriage. That is especially true within the church. Divorces frequently are followed by remarriages. This pattern shows the deep desire by most adults to live in an intimate marriage relationship. And even though the second or third attempt may finally produce a healthy and whole union, the ghost of a marriage past still haunts. How should the church respond to the all-too-familiar cycle of divorce and

January 10, 2013

Christian Standard

Quality People, Challenging Content

CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s contributing editors will enjoy their annual retreat January 16-18, a meeting that is a highlight of the year for many of us who attend it. The discussions each meeting focus on the magazine”s and this website”s content and appearance. What are the topics and who are the writers that must be included in coming issues?  Which are the events and trends that our readers want to read more about? This is all very serious stuff, but in the midst of it there”s plenty of laughter, an abundance of good-natured kidding, and the brand of hilarious true stories that

January 7, 2013

Christian Standard

How Do You Define Your Leadership? Jeff Faull

By Jeff Faull Defining your leadership style is a difficult assignment. There is what you think you would say, what you could say, and what you should say. I am certainly not a typical type A leader, and do not possess some of the traditional leadership gifts seen in strong leaders. However, when pressed by commitment, deadline, and the work of honest self-assessment, I believe I can reduce my leadership definition to two concepts. There is the power of following and the power of standing. Simply put, the extent of my capacity to lead anything or anybody is directly related

July 31, 2011

Christian Standard

All Things to All Men?

By Jeff Faull It happened to me again recently. I respectfully questioned the validity of what I thought was a dubious ministry approach and was immediately and firmly reprimanded by my friends. They buttressed their rebuke with several well-worn statements from Scripture. Passionately they reminded me that we are to “become all things to all men” and that “Jesus was a friend of sinners” and that Paul quoted heathen poets on Mars Hill and that we are to do whatever it takes to engage the culture and reach the world for Jesus. It was quickly evident my friends were completely

November 17, 2010

Christian Standard

The Whole Truth

By Jeff Faull It”s getting harder and harder to get the truth these days. We are constantly called to discern truth in every realm and at every level. We used to say, “Don”t believe everything you hear.” Then we said, “Just because it”s in print doesn”t make it true.” After that we said, “You found it on the Internet but that doesn”t mean you can trust it.” Now we have to say, “Seeing is not necessarily believing.” Have the photos been doctored? Am I looking at a computer-created image? There never has been such an obvious culture of spin and

August 8, 2010

Christian Standard

Safe, to Lost, to Saved? (A Response)

This article is a response to John Mark Hicks’s “Safe, to Lost, to Saved?” __________ By Jeff Faull John Mark Hicks”s thought-provoking article in this week”s “Reflections” column leads me to sympathize with him about the ambiguity that appears to exist in regard to the process of our children coming to Christ and the timing of their baptisms. His line of reasoning questions our historically accepted assertions about the entrance of children into the kingdom of God. He questions “the theological underpinnings of the notion that our children move from safe to lost to saved (once baptized).” I respect and admire brother Hicks,

August 8, 2010

Christian Standard

Safe, to Lost, to Saved?

Read Jeff Faull’s response to this article _______________ By John Mark Hicks What is the relationship of our children to the kingdom of God? Within the Restoration Movement we have historically held that children are safe (without sin) until they reach the “age of accountability,” at which time they own their sin and become sinners (guilty). At that point, as I generally understand the theology, children are not only unsafe but also outside the grace of God. They do not belong to the kingdom. Consequently, children (ranging from ages 9-13 generally) are instructed about baptism, their sin, and their need

August 8, 2010

Christian Standard

Were You Old Enough to Be Baptized?

By Mark A. Taylor A discussion of baptism in Christian Standard usually stimulates spirited response, and that will probably happen after readers digest this issue, too. As always, we welcome your letters and e-mails, but we hope readers will keep two things in mind as they write us: Remember that a fourth article, Part 2 of Theresa Welch”s “search for a new model,” will appear next week. She offers a balanced, careful approach, one that does not reject current understandings, but only serves to enrich them. You may want to read the next issue before writing us about this one.

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.

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