Articles for tag: Johnson University

November 6, 2019

Christian Standard

CCU’s Trustees Apologize, Plus Other Updates about Pending Closure

As a follow-up to our story last week that Cincinnati Christian University will be closing after the fall semester, CCU board of trustees president Chris Hahn posted a letter on behalf of his fellow trustees to “apologize for the situation we are in and for how our communication of the cessation of academic operations may have caused confusion and pain.” CCU is also now providing more resources for students at its website, including a section of responses to frequently asked questions. CCU previously announced a partnership with Central Christian College of the Bible (Moberly, Mo.), which will be opening an

October 30, 2019

Christian Standard

Church Supports Women in Unplanned Pregnancies (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Jim Nieman and Chris Moon Oakwood Christian Church in Enid, Okla., has started a support program for young women in unplanned pregnancies. OCC’s local Embrace Grace program was started by Tangee Lee to help young, unwed mothers stay involved in church life, according to the Enid News & Eagle. (The national program was founded in 2012.) “We want to break that stigma that’s been built up in society that the church is judgmental and you have to be perfect to be in church,” Lee told the newspaper. Alan Seibel, associate pastor at OCC, said the program can help

October 1, 2019

Laura McKillip Wood

Laura-McKillip-Wood

Partnering for Change

By Laura McKillip Wood The 75-year-old, one of few literate Roma women in Ukraine, had read the Bible for years in Russian and Ukrainian. She spoke both languages, in addition to her own dialect of the Roma language. When translators presented to her the story of the prodigal son, newly translated into the Roma dialect, a smile spread across her face. With tears in her eyes, she said, “I have read this story many times, but this is the first time I have understood it!” This reaction underscores the importance of a new project underway that partners a Ukrainian college,

August 22, 2019

Christian Standard

THE BIG CHALLENGE FACING SMALL CHURCHES (6): Elders Wanted

By Matt Johnson If many people with leadership gifts and experience attend your church, then your pool of potential leaders is deep. If your church is comprised of people who have little leadership experience or skill, you’re facing a completely different situation. You may have great workers with great hearts, but you may not have competent leaders. It is possible this dynamic contributes to the size of the church. How can the small church cope with a dearth of potential leaders? My response is mostly anecdotal. The church I served until recently, Levittown Christian Church, is in a lower-middle-class, blue-collar

August 20, 2019

Christian Standard

Ellsworth Plans to Retire from Sherwood Oaks; Green to Replace

Tom Ellsworth plans to retire as senior minister with Sherwood Oaks Christian Church next spring after serving the church since January 1981. During his ministry, the Bloomington, Ind., congregation has grown from 80 people to nearly 3,000 people across three locations. “What a joy it has been to lead Sherwood Oaks Christian Church and to serve the Bloomington and Bedford communities,” Ellsworth said. “It’s been an incredible journey, and I’m excited for all that is ahead.” Ellsworth and his wife, Elsie—who will be retiring as Sherwood Oaks’ marriage coordinator and premarital counseling coordinator—say they want to take their years of

August 14, 2019

Christian Standard

Lincoln, Great Lakes Students Win SCJ Competition (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Chris Moon and Jim Nieman Students at Lincoln Christian Seminary and Great Lakes Christian College took home top awards in the Stone-Campbell Journal Student Paper Competition. In addition, an Abilene Christian University graduate student won the Isaac Errett Award for his paper. Andrew Nichols, of LCS, won the graduate division with a paper called “Divine Medicine: Trials According to John Cassian.” Kalman Mate, of GLCC, won the undergraduate division with a paper called “Begetting a Man: Eve’s Response in Genesis 4:1 to the Power Move Made by Adam after the Fall.” ACU grad student Joel Childers won the

August 7, 2019

Christian Standard

Churches Help in Various Ways as School Year Set to Start (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Jim Nieman and Chris Moon Classes are starting this month, and Christian churches across the country are trying to help children, parents, and schools begin the year successfully. Here are just a few examples: * * * LOUISVILLE, Ky. — More than 2,000 members of Northeast Christian Church helped spruce-up the exteriors of 32 schools on Sunday. “Volunteers laid mulch, raked leaves, and pulled weeds at schools throughout Louisville and Oldham County,” WDRB reported. The church focuses on the campus and grounds of schools because principals say that is where help is most needed, said David McKinley, marketing

June 12, 2019

Christian Standard

Northeast Dominates ‘Most Post-Christian Cities’ List (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Chris Moon and Jim Nieman Barna Group has released its list of “The Most Post-Christian Cities in America: 2019.” Eight of the cities and/or metropolitan areas are in the Northeast, while two are in the far West. The top three “Most Post-Christian Cities” are Springfield-Holyoke, Mass., followed by Portland-Auburn, Maine, and Providence, R.I./New Bedford, Mass. The Friendly Atheist website celebrated the news and referred to the list this way: “These are the cities where religion is most likely to be considered an afterthought.” _ _ _ News Briefs Two of our universities recently made Niche.com’s list of the

April 13, 2019

Christian Standard

Updated Listing of Christian College Enrichment Activities

Christian colleges have been offering numerous opportunities for fellowship and spiritual enrichment throughout the spring. We found some additional activities being offered over the next several weeks that weren’t part of the original list we posted Feb. 6. Below is an updated chronological listing of events yet to happen. “Love Your Story . . . Embrace His Glory,” the Lincoln (Ill.) Christian Women’s Conference, is scheduled for April 24. Featured speakers will include Debbie Strater Sempsrott and Sheila Walsh. Learn more at lincolnchristian.edu. Great Lakes Christian College, Lansing, Mich., will host a Women’s Spring Celebration at 6:30 p.m. April 26.

April 10, 2019

Christian Standard

Church Follows John’s Pathway to Easter

By Jim Nieman Greenwood (Ind.) Christian Church has been building up to Easter through a 21-day study of the book of John, including four sermons, daily Bible readings of one chapter of the Gospel each day with companion devotions—both written and video—shared via Facebook, and an emphasis on prayer. GCC’s approach with “Pray 21” has been both simple and surprisingly comprehensive. It’s a series capable of being carried out by much smaller churches, says Matt Giebler, senior minister of Greenwood, which averages about 1,200 for worship each week. “We’ve all been pleased with the overall level of engagement,” Giebler says.

March 25, 2019

Christian Standard

Taking a Break: Reevaluating the Post-High School Path

By Emily Drayne Education is crucial for success in life, but many students just graduating high school, and any number of students already studying at college, have no clear goal or plan for the next 30 to 40 years . . . or even the next 5. Are there other paths available besides a four-year college program? If you know someone who is about to graduate high school or who is struggling for direction in college, a new program starting up later this year might prove a good alternative. I am a millennial (born between 1981 and 1996), and it

January 29, 2019

Christian Standard

How Is ICOM Making a Lasting Impact on the Church?

By Emily Drayne Youth conferences, weeks of camp, training conferences for adults, and mission trips are all mountaintop experiences. Participants come home refreshed, revitalized, and more passionate about the things they spent time focusing on. But life inevitably slows down, the daily humdrum returns, and the fire inside begins to flicker. There is at least one Great Commission-focused event, however, from which there seems to be no post-event letdown: the International Conference On Missions. What makes ICOM different? I’m convinced it’s the on-fire vibe that permeates the conference. People attend ICOM to do something: win the world for Christ, find

January 16, 2019

Christian Standard

First Christian Church in Decatur Marks 185 Years (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Chris Moon and Jim Nieman   First Christian Church of Decatur, Ill., took a moment between regular services Sunday to mark the 185th anniversary of the congregation and 25th year of service by lead pastor Wayne Kent and his wife, Leslie. “The original home of the congregation was the log courthouse in Decatur, where Abraham Lincoln practiced law,” Morgan Arseneau, the church’s discipleship assistant, told the Herald & Review. Church members had their choice of celebratory cupcakes marked with either “185” for the church anniversary or “25” for the Kents’ silver jubilee. “The word of God never changes,

November 21, 2018

Christian Standard

Wally Rendel Honored for 58 Years in Ministry (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Chris Moon and Jim Nieman Wally Rendel was honored for 58 years of ministry at a “Celebration of Faithfulness” on Sunday at Jessamine Christian Church, Nicholasville, Ky. Rendel enters retirement after serving with JCC the past six years. Sharing messages Sunday were his son, Bart Rendel, cofounder and president of Intentional Churches in Las Vegas, and son-in-law, Bart Stone, lead pastor of Momentum Christian Church in Atlanta. Wally Rendel grew up in Miami, Ok., and was active with First Christian Church there. He started preaching while a 17-year-old student at Cincinnati Christian University. He preached on weekends for

October 25, 2018

Christian Standard

Reporting on Johnson University’s Origins

Johnson University is hosting its 125th Anniversary Celebration today through Saturday at its Knoxville, Tenn., campus. We congratulate and extend best wishes to Johnson University, and pray for their continued success. In that spirit, we thought it would be fun to look back on the first few mentions of the school in the pages of Christian Standard . . . from way back in the 1890s. But before we do that, we should provide a few historical facts not contained in our reporting. Johnson University was founded as the School of the Evangelists on May 12, 1893, by Ashley and

October 24, 2018

Christian Standard

Fastest-Growing Church Listing Includes 8 from Our Fellowship (Plus News Briefs)

Eight churches from our fellowship made Outreach magazine’s listing of 100 fastest-growing churches. Those churches include: No. 11: Eastside Christian Church, Anaheim, Calif. (Gene Appel, senior pastor); attendance of 8,665; grew by 21 percent. (Eastside’s logo is pictured above.) No. 12: Crossroads Christian Church, Corona, Calif. (Chuck Booher, senior pastor); 5,617; 24 percent. No. 19: Mountain Christian Church, Joppa, Md. (Ben Cachiaras, lead pastor); 6,118; 19 percent. No. 55: Christ’s Church of the Valley, Peoria, Ariz. (Ashley Wooldridge, senior pastor); 29,025; 7 percent. No. 56: Traders Point Christian Church, Indianapolis (Aaron Brockett, lead pastor); 8,144; 9 percent. No. 75: 2|42

August 31, 2018

Jon Weatherly

Differences

E2: Effective Elders Blog Editor’s Note: Each Friday we will publish a new blog post from our partners in ministry, E2: Effective Elders. This is our third installment. We are publishing it here simultaneous to E2’s posting on their site. The leaders of E2 write an article for our print and online magazine every month as well. Those articles are full of wisdom and practical help for elders. Please check them out! _____ By Jon Weatherly When asked to be an elder, I knew only one thing about the job for sure: I didn’t know what I was doing. That might

August 21, 2018

Christian Standard

Spiritual Post-it Notes

By Joe Harvey He forgot . . . and twice in one week. First, he forgot to arrange transportation to a doctor’s appointment. Then, while at the appointment, he forgot to regather all his possessions before leaving. Neither incident was a big deal, but it did take time to sort things out, and it did cause inconvenience and frustration. There are tools and techniques for remembering and staying on track. And these days, even phones and watches can remind us of upcoming events and chide us if we are being lazy. In this crazy multitasking world, some people need all

August 14, 2018

Christian Standard

Reflecting and Reactivating

By Joe Harvey Remembering can be powerful! Yet it all depends on how we go about it. We can remember that something happened: “Yes, I did pay that bill.” That kind of remembering is functionally useful. It answers a question or settles an uneasy feeling. That is not what Jesus had in mind when he told his disciples to “remember me” during the Lord’s Supper, however. Surely, he was calling them to a different kind of remembering—one that involves reflection and reactivation. Reflection is simple enough. It means revisiting the past and regathering the meaningfulness of that remembered moment. Jesus’

July 31, 2018

Christian Standard

Everyday Objects—Eternal Truths

By Joe Harvey Have you ever noticed the way Jesus took the most ordinary objects and attached extraordinary meaning to them? He talked about good seed and bad soil and the next thing we know, he challenges the receptivity of our hearts to the message of God. He talked about weeds to confront our priorities and treatment of others. He talked about catching fish, and he ended up calling his disciples to preach and teach the good news of God’s Messiah come. Over and over again, Jesus used everyday objects to teach eternal truths. When significance is added to the

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