Articles for tag: Jim Tune

September 21, 2016

Christian Standard

14 Observations about Church Today

By Jim Tune As a pastor and leader, I”ve noticed some changes in the spiritual climate of North America. Here are some of my observations about the current situation. 1. There”s very little nominalism anymore. This is a good thing. Cultural Christianity is dying. If someone attends church, it”s usually because he or she is investigating Christianity or committed to it. 2. Attending church isn”t on people”s minds. We used to talk about building churches with programs that would attract unbelievers. No matter how good your music, sermons, parking, or programs, most people won”t even think of coming. 3. People

September 14, 2016

Christian Standard

Christianity Is More Than

By Jim Tune I wonder how often we fall for forms of Christianity, ideas that capture us because they fit well within the borders of our comfort zone. We truncate our faith when we redefine it in ways that are less than, more than, or even outside the essence of Christianity. Thus this list of things Christianity is more than: 1. Christianity is more than religion. Many people have so long identified the words religion and Christianity that many consider them to be synonyms. Religion emphasizes systems, propositions, piety, rules, observances, and human effort. “Religion,” according to Christian author and

September 7, 2016

Christian Standard

Love and Reconciliation

By Jim Tune On Sunday, September 15, 1963, four members of the Ku Klux Klan planted and then detonated at least 15 sticks of dynamite beneath the front steps of an African-American church in Birmingham, Alabama. The firebombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church killed four girls, prompting Martin Luther King Jr. to make one of the most radical statements imaginable: “At times life is hard, as hard as crucible steel. In spite of the darkness of this hour, we must not lose faith in our white brothers.” To insist on faith in the humanity of an enemy and to

August 31, 2016

Christian Standard

In ALL Things, Love

By Jim Tune For as long as I can remember, our movement has gravitated toward a familiar slogan: “In essentials, unity; in opinions, liberty; and in all things, love.” Still, we often find it difficult to offer liberty when our opinions clash, and the list of essentials varies from person to person and from church to church. One might expect that familiarity with such a gracious slogan would tilt us strongly toward accepting one another”s differences and respecting the cherished convictions of brothers and sisters who see things differently. However, our movement has been as vulnerable to division, splits, and

August 24, 2016

Christian Standard

Come to the Table

By Jim Tune Claudia and I enjoy our annual trek to Cape Breton Island for summer vacation. Our cabin is at least six hours away from the nearest independent Christian church. There are very few churches in this remote part of Nova Scotia, and the few that can be found are all part of mainline denominations. At best these churches offer Communion quarterly, making it very easy to miss Communion entirely if the date for it doesn”t fall during our stay. I find myself keenly aware of its absence during our visits to the local Anglican church. I”m grateful to

August 17, 2016

Christian Standard

Genuine Community

By Jim Tune How would you like a church in which everyone gets along, people are able to share intimate details of their lives, and conflict is minimal? It sounds good, but according to the late M. Scott Peck, this church would be a disaster. In The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace, Peck described community as having four stages. The first stage looks attractive, but it”s deadly. He calls this level pseudocommunity. At this stage, people are pleasant, and conflict is avoided. The problem? If you”ve experienced this, you”ve probably enjoyed it, but then realized that something”s missing. It”s

August 10, 2016

Christian Standard

Loving Through Listening

By Jim Tune I”m pretty good at talking. It”s a big part of what I do for a living. When I look for leaders, I look for someone who can communicate. I”m convinced, though, that speaking and writing are only part of what it takes to be a great leader. Leading also involves listening. “Listening comes first,” writes Adam McHugh in his new book The Listening Life. We started listening before we were even born. Listening is a key part of what it means to be human. “Somewhere along the way we start to violate the natural order of things,”

August 3, 2016

Christian Standard

Ending the Shame of Mental Illness

By Jim Tune In the early years of our church plant in Toronto, one of our staff members preached a message about mental illness and faith. He made himself vulnerable as he shared about a season of significant depression in his life. The story he told was courageous and honest. I remember it as a defining moment in our new church”s development. Mental illness was, and still is, a topic that rarely is discussed head-on in churches. In sharing his story, our speaker brought mental illness out from behind the curtain of shame and exposed it to a liberating light.

July 27, 2016

Christian Standard

Embracing the Imperfection of Being Human

By Jim Tune Those around men like Jean Vanier usually anticipate they will do great things. He is the son of Major-General Georges Vanier, who became the 19th governor general of Canada, serving from 1959 until his death in 1967. And his early years wrote a resume that depicts greatness. In his youth Jean Vanier received an elite education in Canada, England, and France. He served admirably in World War II and was a close companion to members of England”s royal family. After resigning his naval commission, he went on to complete a PhD in philosophy from the Institut Catholique

July 20, 2016

Christian Standard

Risk or Rust

By Jim Tune You probably haven”t heard of Andrew and Debbie Jones. Together, they have five kids. They”ve served all over the world. In 2015 alone, they worked in Jordan, Israel, Turkey, Egypt, Serbia, Croatia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Hungary, Poland, and Germany. They”ve done some work recently with Syrian refugees. Andrew calls himself a thinker and a nomad. He was an early and influential voice in Christian blogging. Debbie worked with hippies, refugees, social activists, and spiritual seekers. As I write this, Andrew is recovering from African diseases, including malaria. He”s had four blood transfusions and countless needles.

July 13, 2016

Christian Standard

Give Yourself a Break

By Jim Tune I heard about a pastor who took a day off. He set his e-mail to respond automatically with this message: “I”m out of the office today. I”ll respond to your e-mail upon my return.” When he returned to work, he found this e-mail: “Don”t bother. You”re a loser for taking a day off. People will probably die and go to Hell because you thought you needed a day off. Do you think God takes a day off? Are you better than God?” Of course, the e-mail was a joke. The man who wrote that e-mail is a

July 6, 2016

Christian Standard

Ministry Success

By Jim Tune “I experienced success in ministry,” the speaker said, “but it wasn”t worth it.” I was attending a church planting conference. The speaker had served as pastor and as a leader of two national church planting networks. He had written books. At one point, he worked 364 days a year. (He took most of Christmas off.) This guy is, and was, a big deal. In hindsight, he said, it wasn”t worth it. He wanted us to learn from his mistakes. In the years I”ve served as pastor and leader, I”ve seen many rise to the top. They are

June 29, 2016

Christian Standard

An Enemy at the Gate

By Jim Tune Paul Kalanithi, a nonsmoking neurosurgeon, was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer at the age of 36. He chronicled his experiences in his memoir, When Breath Becomes Air. Kalanithi wrote: Death, so familiar to me in my work, was now paying a personal visit. . . . Standing at the crossroads where I should have been able to see and follow the footprints of countless patients I had treated over the years, I saw instead only a blank, a harsh, vacant, gleaming white desert, as if a sandstorm had erased all trace of familiarity. Death makes life seem

June 22, 2016

Christian Standard

A Better Story

By Jim Tune In just a few weeks Claudia and I will be on our way to Anaheim, California, for the 2016 North American Christian Convention. President Dave Stone has put together a great program, and the theme, “A Better Story,” is especially appropriate considering the convention is happening in Walt Disney”s backyard. Walt Disney loved a good story and devoted his life to helping people imagine a better world and a magical future. He was tireless in his optimistic vision of a better tomorrow. The creation of Tomorrowland at Disneyland (and later at Walt Disney World) was the realized

June 15, 2016

Christian Standard

Number 100!

By Jim Tune Just over two years ago Mark Taylor asked if I would write for Christian Standard regularly. He offered me the back page and the opportunity to write on a weekly basis online and once a month for the print edition. That”s 450 words, 52 times a year. Occasionally I sail up over the 500-word mark. Brevity is always a tough challenge for me. Mark and I kicked around a couple of possible titles for my column. I submitted four or five suggestions, but we ended up going with Mark”s title: “A Different Tune.” It really is a

June 8, 2016

Christian Standard

“˜American Idol” Comes to Church

By Jim Tune The tension was almost unbearable. Fourteen anxious people awaited their turn to perform. The audition would be rigorous. Most of them had been through tryouts before. Nearly all of them were young, fit, and attractive. Every single one of them could sing or play an instrument proficiently, but only one would make the cut. After all, this was the church and only the exceptionally gifted would be chosen to perform on Sundays with the worship team. I think our contemporary culture has developed an unhealthy obsession with discovering talent. From youth sports to spectacular TV shows like

June 1, 2016

Christian Standard

Perfectly Executing the Wrong Vision

By Jim Tune In his acclaimed book Why Smart Executives Fail, Sydney Finkelstein describes a fictional situation about a meticulously planned military operation. In his scenario, a special forces unit moves in with devastating efficiency and successfully accomplishes every objective; the forces kill or capture everyone in the base they were attacking. The unit suffered very few casualties. There was only one problem. The target they had attacked and captured belonged to friendly forces. Central command launched a massive investigation to figure out what went wrong. Several missteps were eventually identified. Operational protocols were reviewed, changed, and corrected. The only

May 25, 2016

Christian Standard

Memo to the Blessed

By Jim Tune It”s staggering. We can buy Bible software that contains 2,000 Bible resources. We can read and search blogs of today”s top Christian leaders. We can attend conferences and hear the best speakers, or plug in our earbuds and listen to them preach. We can direct-message great leaders on Twitter. The resources at our fingertips are amazing. Not only that, but we can write and publish whatever we want. A few years ago we could read only those fortunate enough to be published. Now anyone can start a blog, post a video on YouTube, or publish a book.

May 18, 2016

Christian Standard

The Edge of Fear

By Jim Tune A great power is unleashed when a person confronts her worst fears and steps out in faith anyway. As an example, consider Katharine Graham. She ran the Washington Post during the Watergate era, taking on President Richard Nixon and the White House at considerable professional risk. Long before Watergate, Graham was a 46-year-old housewife when her husband, Phil, committed suicide in 1963. Though grieving, she took control of the family company at a time when there were few women in senior positions anywhere in the corporate world. She was, in a word, terrified. She had no female

May 11, 2016

Christian Standard

Creating Culture

By Jim Tune Pixar founder Ed Catmull had always dreamed of using computers to create a great animated movie. He achieved this with the release of Toy Story. “We”d been the first to make a movie with computers,” he wrote in his book Creativity, Inc., “and””even better””audiences were touched, and touched deeply by the story we told.” The problem? “Now that this goal had been reached, I had what I can only describe as a hollow, lost feeling.” Running a company didn”t seem to be enough. Catmull began to scratch beneath the surface, and realized things weren”t as healthy at

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