Articles for tag: Jerry Harris

May 17, 2020

Jerry Harris

10 Foundation Stones of the Church—No. 2: Authority

By Jerry Harris A 2019 Pew Research Center study reveals that Americans’ attitudes about institutional authority are dropping like a rock. People are losing their trust in government, elected officials, education, journalism, health care, business, law enforcement, science, the military, and yes, religion. The younger we are, the less trust in institutions we have. This lack of trust bleeds down into its most basic form . . . trust in each other. Interestingly, most everyone knows this needs to be reversed and believes it can be reversed—they just don’t know how. The thing is, authority is essential for anything to

May 1, 2020

Jerry Harris

10 Foundation Stones of the Church—No. 1: Baptism

By Jerry Harris An American cultural phenomenon hit late in 2019. Kanye West released a gospel album and simultaneously declared he was dedicating himself to spreading the gospel message. The album, Jesus Is King, debuted at No. 1 and in its first week was streamed more than 200 million times and sold 109,000 copies! People were immediately skeptical, both of the music and the artist. There was no shortage of judgment upon West from the Christian community. The album includes some incredible worship songs, but one stood out, particularly because it addresses a disturbing trend within the church that leaders

March 21, 2020

Christian Standard

TSF Helping Ministers, Churches During Uncertain Times

By Jim Nieman The Solomon Foundation has begun hosting weekly Zoom meetings to help connect, encourage, and resource ministers across the country during these uncertain times. Doug Crozier, CEO of the church extension fund that works with Christian churches and churches of Christ, said TSF is seeking to be proactive during the COVID-19 outbreak and related financial unease by reminding ministry leaders that God remains in control. To that end, TSF connected with almost 120 ministers and/or ministry team callers during the first weekly Zoom meeting it hosted this past Tuesday morning. Among the speakers were former Christian college president

March 19, 2020

Jerry Harris

When Good Gifts Are Wrapped in Ugly Paper: How We Can Be Bright Lights in Dark Circumstances

By Jerry Harris Sometimes our greatest gifts and opportunities come wrapped in ugly paper. With our hearts and lives in distress because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it would be easy to cave in to our fears and get lost in this “lower” story. Consider Joseph in the Old Testament. He had plenty of reasons to give in to selfish emotions, but he instead chose to see his circumstances from a “higher” story point of view. This was Joseph’s attitude: “Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what

March 15, 2020

Jerry Harris

Hope in the Dark

By Jerry Harris Were you scared of the dark when you were a kid? There are two reasons we naturally fear darkness: Darkness makes us see things that aren’t really there. Darkness keeps us from seeing things that actually are there. I remember seeing scary shadows in my room at night when I was little. I needed to have a night-light on or leave my bedroom door slightly open. But the closet—that needed to be closed.  I feared the darkness of the closet . . . and the darkness under the bed. I remember imagining things were coming to life

February 22, 2020

Jerry Harris

Technology and the Church

By Jerry Harris Modern technology is an incredible thing, and it’s especially impressive to someone my age. When I was a child, I used to wonder at the people I knew who were around before airplanes, mass-production of cars, and the discovery of antibiotics. With technology developing at light speed, I have become one of those people today that young people look at quizzically. I grew up when cars had painted steel dashboards, pointy control knobs, and a shelf beneath the back window for kids to sleep on during drives. The only “airbag” in our car was my mother’s arm

February 10, 2020

Christian Standard

Christian Standard and The Lookout Merge!

For many years, Christian Standard Media has been challenged by steadily declining subscriptions to our print magazines, Christian Standard and The Lookout. The commensurate drop in revenue presented an opportunity for a non-profit ministry to purchase the magazines—and much of our Restoration Movement heritage—from a for-profit company. The change in ownership three years ago preserved the magazines and much of our heritage. Since that time, both Christian Standard and The Lookout have been retooled as we have endeavored to maintain and improve their appearance and content. We thank The Solomon Foundation for being the primary benefactor in this endeavor and

January 29, 2020

Jerry Harris

Healing the Brokenhearted

By Jerry Harris He was absolutely convinced he was doing the right thing. His indoctrination into the rightness of his position came about over many years; it was painstakingly produced through study and a network of key relationships. His animosity toward this new sect was fueled by an urgency to stamp it out quickly, before it irreparably damaged the true faith forged in a 1,500-year fire of trial and adversity. Followers of this cult didn’t deserve mercy, pity, or the benefit of due process; they didn’t deserve even a second thought because of their perversion of all things good and

December 31, 2019

Jerry Harris

The Rules Have Changed

By Jerry Harris The January issue of Christian Standard focuses on the business side of church. Leaders make decisions every day about spending, staff, volunteers, fundraising, organizational structure, leader development, staff and volunteer education, debt, facility management, marketing, media, and online presence. Yet, despite all of that, it is rather amazing how little most church leaders know about business, finance, real estate, administration, or management. Many mainly rural and small churches are closing daily because they can no longer manage their own existence. Attendance and giving might be dwindling; the churches may no longer be able to pay for a

November 2, 2019

Jerry Harris

Sacred Responsibility, Sacred Trust

By Jerry Harris I have many fond childhood memories of Christmas. I remember the silver tree we set up in our front picture window. We shined a filtered light on it that changed its color to red, green, blue, and yellow. My older brother would attempt to hypnotize me by setting me in front of it. I remember getting a Close’n Play record player one Christmas that didn’t survive the day. I remember sneaking up behind my deaf uncle, who had fallen asleep in my dad’s chair; we made a huge racket, convinced he was faking not being able to

October 18, 2019

Jerry Harris

A ‘Singular’ Mission

By Jerry Harris Some might argue it’s a fine point to draw a line between the “n” and the “s” in the word missions, but I have always felt it there. Having graduated from a Bible college that emphasized the need of going “to the uttermost part of the earth,” I felt my commitment to Christ was measured by the space between where I started and where I went. There were mission requirements for my degree, and I remember asking the head of the missions department whether he valued foreign mission work over domestic ministry. I chose a domestic path

October 17, 2019

Jerry Harris

Inaugural Spire Conference Marks New Beginning for Leaders

By Jerry Harris Leaders from all over the country descended on the Marriott World Center in Orlando, Florida, for the first-ever Spire Conference from October 8 to 10. More than 1,500 leaders from churches of all sizes gathered with their staffs to learn, network, and collaborate to inspire a movement of healthy, growing churches. One hundred three churches with weekly average attendances of more than 1,000 were represented. This gathering highlighted the Spire platform, a 24/7 tool to facilitate year-round encouragement, tools, best practices, and relationships inside the Restoration Movement. The platform also serves as an invitation into relationship for

August 22, 2019

Jerry Harris

New Leases on Life in Rural Churches

By Jerry Harris I love rural churches and communities; I have devoted virtually my entire ministry life to them. The bulk of Restoration Movement churches have been rural over our more than 200-year history. The church I serve operates in 11 rural and micropolitan communities, but the stories of two of them—Lima and Mount Sterling, Illinois—can provide hope for many others across the country. The Federated Church of Lima, located in a town of 125 about a half hour north of Quincy, Illinois, was the beneficiary of a literal windfall. After a tornado struck the church on May 10, 2003,

July 22, 2019

Jerry Harris

Righting the Wrongs of the Past

By Jerry Harris I’m a product of the suburbs. I grew up on the west side of Indianapolis in the early 1960s, part of a post-World War II migration from urban areas to planned neighborhoods that sprang up from what were formerly farm fields surrounding big cities. There were a number of reasons for this great migration. Ex-servicemen had access to loans to pursue the American dream, so they moved out of apartments in the city and purchased their own homes on their own land in burgeoning suburbs. The availability of automobiles and creation of the interstate highway system encouraged

June 22, 2019

Jerry Harris

Considering Robert Coleman

By Jerry Harris Some people we cross paths with in life leave an indelible mark. Robert Coleman is such a person for me. A few years ago, I was part of a group of leaders who were preparing the speaking lineup for that year’s Exponential conference. The focus that year was on discipleship and its relationship to church planting. Jim Putman, a preacher whose life and ministry have been devoted to relational discipleship, was chosen as a featured speaker and also selected to help write that year’s accompanying book. He and Bobby Harrington were looking for a third person to

May 22, 2019

Jerry Harris

When We Go to War in Our Movement

By Jerry Harris This past April, my wife and I had the opportunity to preach and teach at Hope Christian Church near Augusta, West Virginia. Like most, I am now fully dependent on a GPS to direct my driving in unfamiliar places, so when I heard Siri say we could save 18 minutes by taking an alternative route around an accident, I jumped at the chance. The new path took us through switchback mountain roads—not a pleasurable experience for my wife, who struggles a bit with car sickness. The detour took us right by Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, a very

April 25, 2019

Jerry Harris

The Value of Hearing from Our Past . . . and Our Future

By Jerry Harris I’ve always been an admirer of old souls in ministry. Their simple, godly lives are inspiring to me. I’ll just go ahead and say this . . . The latest book or ministry techniques typically don’t enthrall me, nor do the youngest and brightest stars of Christianity who are at the forefront of the speaking circuit. I confess to having cynical thoughts about this new breed’s sense of fashion—the tight shirts that highlight countless hours in the gym—and their huge social media followings and what seem to be nearly perfect lives. Sometimes I battle judgmental thoughts when

April 24, 2019

Jerry Harris

What Do Attendance Numbers Represent?

By Jerry Harris More than a year ago, I wrote a publisher’s column called “The Tyranny of Numbers.” As a senior pastor, when I review reports of numbers representing baptisms and budgets, and especially attendance, it has a great personal effect on me. Affirming words are a primary love language for many pastors, and since attendance, on its surface, seems to be a measure of affirmation, numbers that represent attendance feel like a metric of worth. I think that’s one reason some pastors choose not to report their church’s attendance and baptism numbers (along with other statistics) for annual surveys

April 19, 2019

Jerry Harris

How the Mighty Pastors and Preachers Fall

By Jerry Harris The announcement came in mid-January. James MacDonald, founding pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel, based in the Chicago area, was taking an immediate and indefinite sabbatical from all preaching and leadership in his ministry. The elders took this action in response to mounting criticism concerning leadership overreach, financial questions, and alleged abuse of staff and members over a 12-year period.  Stories of this sort are becoming all-too-common among megachurch pastors . . . and they show no sign of slowing. The churches that provide platforms for these leaders represent tens of thousands of people. High-visibility, powerful-personality pastors and

March 1, 2019

Christian Standard

The Most Comprehensive and Accurate List of Christian Churches and Churches of Christ Available Anywhere

UPDATE/MAY 18: The ChurchLink database is in the final testing phase. We hope to have it up and running—and ready for you to use—within the next few days. Thank you for your patience and understanding. ____________ (Christian Standard’s article from the April issue) The Center for Church Leadership and Christian Standard Media Partner to Produce an Updated—and Updatable—Digital Database By Jim Nieman  It’s taken longer than either the Center for Church Leadership or Christian Standard Media had hoped or previously promised, but a partnership to provide an updated—and updatable—online database of Christian churches and churches of Christ called ChurchLink should

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