September 2, 2024
September 8 Study | Be Faithful
Christ's message to the church of all ages is that it must be faithful, even to the point of death.
Articles for tag: Jon Weece
October 5, 2022
‘Together for the Mountains’ Summit Next Week in Kentucky (Plus News Briefs)
Churches in Eastern Kentucky will gather for “Together for the Mountains” from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. next Tuesday at the Appalachian Wireless Arena in Pikeville, Ky. The new summit aims to celebrate faith and fellowship with folks from across the region. Plus briefs from Milligan University, CICM, Louisville Bible College, and more.
March 1, 2021
Truth + Love: The Balancing Act
My wife, Beth, and I had just met a young couple as we were leaving church. After visiting with these strangers for a few minutes, we invited them to go eat lunch with our family. We found ourselves laughing and devouring sandwiches and getting to know them. And that’s when it got awkward. After asking Matt what part of town he lived in, I innocently proceeded to ask the same question of Stacie. In between bites, in matter-of-fact fashion, she replied that they lived together. Two voices in my subconscious immediately began whispering to me. One unwavering, firm voice said,
February 1, 2017
Ozark Christian College to Celebrate 75th Anniversary
Nationally known speakers and hundreds of alumni and friends will converge on the campus of Ozark Christian College in February as the college honors its 75th anniversary. OCC”s annual Preaching-Teaching Convention will take place Feb. 20″“22 on its campus in Joplin, MO. This year”s convention, “A Jesus People,” welcomes best-selling authors and Ozark grads Kyle Idleman and Jon Weece, as well as the college”s former president, Ken Idleman, among many others. The convention begins Monday evening and includes a special 75th anniversary celebration at the annual President”s Banquet on Wednesday. The convention also offers events for college alumni, networking lunches,
August 16, 2016
Writers You Know
By Mark A. Taylor Here”s one more indication that Christian churches and their leaders are having an impact on America: many today are sought-after book authors. I remember a conversation with a Standard Publishing salesman two or three decades ago who said this would never happen. Christian church preachers and professors just would not be accepted in the general Evangelical world, he explained. I don”t remember all his reasons, but I thought of him when I skimmed through the latest edition of a little catalog called Pastor Resources. The 62-page digest-size booklet contains ads for everything from Christian camps to
July 20, 2016
Wayne B. Smith Remembered for His Wit, Love, Faithfulness
Wayne B. Smith, 87, who helped start Southland Christian Church, Lexington, KY, in 1956 and served as her senior minister until 1995—growing the church from 152 to 3,700 weekly—died June 29, 2016. He remained faithful to the end, even encouraging a gathering of ministers in Jessamine County, KY, the day before his death. Smith, a resident of Sayre Christian Village in Lexington, was once dubbed “the Bob Hope of the Ministry.” He joked that he remembered more jokes than Scriptures. His laugh was infectious. He was known to take buckets of KFC chicken to the needy, friends, and church visitors.
May 24, 2016
The First Step Toward Unity
By Mark A. Taylor What does Christian unity look like? Sometimes it takes the form of two or three preachers getting together just to talk and share common experiences, dreams, and convictions. Often this leads to joint ministry projects and worship services between congregations creating new associations where once there was only suspicion and separation. Maybe the sweet aroma of unity will create a longing for it among others ready to include more people among “us” and fewer as “them.” And that can create an expression of unity in a large, public event attracting hundreds of separated brothers and sisters
March 22, 2015
Lessons from Lexington
By Sean Plank I”ve always enjoyed watching TV preachers. I know that sounds weird, because most people can”t stand them. To be clear, I”m not talking about the ministers who preach exclusively on TV (a lot of those guys are kind of shady). I”m talking about the pastors and ministers who broadcast their regular worship services on TV. Growing up in Lexington, Kentucky, I would sit in front of the TV on Sunday mornings and watch a couple of guys on the local ABC station, known to me only as “channel 36.” One of the guys I watched was an
December 11, 2014
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
August 6, 2013
Ministry and Family””They Go Together!
By Mark A. Taylor One of the questions late in our June BlogTalkRadio* program was, “How can a Christian leader get started with a missional approach to ministry?” All three of those interviewed””Jon Ferguson, Greg Nettle, and Jon Weece””agreed with the same principle: “Start by being a model of missional ministry with your own class and your own family.” Weece, especially, took up the family theme. “We”ve reoriented our whole life around serving other people,” he said. “It”s very normal, for example, for our kids to understand this is what we”re going to do on Tuesday nights; we”re going to
August 5, 2013
Victorious! — A Review of the 2013 NACC
By Darrel Rowland The woman who can never stand up got a standing ovation simply for guiding her wheelchair onto the stage. Why did the entire hall of thousands of Christians rise to applaud Joni Eareckson Tada””an honor given to no other speaker during this year”s North American Christian Convention in Louisville, Kentucky””even before she uttered a syllable? Perhaps because her life embodies the theme of the 2013 gathering: “Victorious.” Convention President Matt Proctor”s decision to spend July 9-12 plowing through the book of Revelation may have generated skepticism beforehand, but the reaction afterward was overwhelmingly positive. “I think this is
July 27, 2013
Interview with Jon Weece
Jon Weece explains his church’s missional approach to ministry and reflects on suffering, the topic of his North American Christian Convention sermon. “We should anticipate suffering,” he says, “but also remember it is only temporary.” Click here to see his interview with CHRISTIAN STANDARD Editor Mark Taylor, recorded in July at the NACC in Louisville, Kentucky.
July 20, 2013
40 Under 40: Jon Weece
JON WEECE Lead follower, Southland Christian Church Lexington, Kentucky The new pope is giving hope to many because he”s a Jesuit. He”s humble and cares for the poor. He”s named for St. Francis. Jon Weece gives me the same hope. He has the heart of a missionary and the humility and leadership of Moses. He comes from some of the finest stock in the Christian church and carries the Weece name proudly. Southland is innovative, but not to be chic. The church exhibited its innovation by starting a huge campus in the middle of an under-resourced area, which has enabled
July 16, 2013
The Best Part for Me
By Mark A. Taylor I have a confession to make about the North American Christian Convention. The preaching hasn”t usually been my favorite part. Oh, I”ve always attended main sessions, and in my three-plus decades of attending NACCs, I know some sermons have moved and taught me. But what I”ve anticipated about each year”s gathering””and what I”ve promoted most when encouraging others to attend it””was not the preaching. I talked, instead, about the fellowship. I”ve always played up the “connecting place” angle of the NACC where we reignite longtime friendships and make new ones. Ministries and missions agencies and all
June 18, 2013
Real Churches, Missional Ministry
By Mark A. Taylor Of all the articles about missional ministry we”ve posted this month, I like the stories from churches most. Maybe you agree. Although we”re energized by the insights of missional leaders like Matt Smay and Alan Hirsch, their ideas come to life in the strategies, experiences, successes, and failures of local congregations. Rivertree Christian Church, Massillon, Ohio; Community Christian Church, Naperville, Illinois; and Southland Christian Church, Lexington, Kentucky, encourage us with the new paths they”re blazing. And now you can hear leaders from these three churches discuss their ministry. We”re bringing them to you via CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s
February 19, 2013
Victorious (Previewing the 2013 NACC)
By Matt Proctor Someone wrote that 10 years ago our world had Bob Hope, Johnny Cash, and Steve Jobs. Now we have no Jobs, no Cash, and no Hope! Maybe you”ve experienced those moments of “no hope.” The normal challenges of life””financial shortfall, physical illness, family conflict””are tough enough. But for believers, life can be even harder. In John 16:33, Jesus promised, “In this world you will have trouble.” In Acts 14:22, Paul said, “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” You may know those hardships very well: You”ve struggled to get free of a
February 19, 2013
2013 NACC Schedule of Events
TUESDAY, JULY 9 8:30 a.m.””Preconference events (some are ticketed) Noon””Exhibit Hall opens 7:00 p.m.””Evening Main Session (Matt Proctor speaking) 8:30 p.m.””NACC President”s Opening Night Reception 10:00″”Exhibit Hall closes WEDNESDAY, JULY 10 7:30 a.m.””NACC Ministry Networking Breakfast (ticketed) 8:30 a.m.””Bible Study with Mark Scott 9:00 a.m.””Exhibit Hall Opens 10:00 a.m.””Morning Main Session (Aaron Brockett and Randy Harris speaking) Noon””NACC Seniors” Luncheon (ticketed) 1:30 p.m.””Seminars 3:30 p.m.””Seminars 5:15 p.m.””NACC President”s Banquet with Ken Davis (open to all, ticketed) 7:00 p.m.””Evening Main Session (Jon Weece speaking) 8:30 p.m.””Receptions 9:00 p.m.””Exhibit Hall closes THURSDAY, JULY 11 7:30 a.m.””NACC Ministry Networking Breakfast (ticketed) 8:30
June 20, 2012
A Young Minister”s Heartbreak
By Darrel Rowland At 38, Jon Weece, senior pastor of Southland Christian Christ in Lexington, Kentucky, is one of the younger leaders of our megachurches. But listen to him speak his heart with the wisdom of years on why long-term ministries can be so difficult: I fear what our limited metrics do to many faithful servants in the kingdom. For those servant leaders who are experiencing explosive numeric growth in the ministries they”ve been entrusted with, I fear a loss of humility may visit their hearts. For those servant leaders who are not experiencing explosive numeric growth in the
June 8, 2011
Read the Bible
By Jon Weece Of all the books our children will read in their lifetimes, none will prove more valuable than the Bible. But the Bible has been exiled from far too many Christian homes. I love to read. Always have and probably always will. When I was in the third grade my older brother, Jud, introduced me to the book My Side of the Mountain. It chronicled the life of a boy who ran away from home and lived in a hollowed-out tree in the Catskill Mountains of New York. At the age of 9, I did not possess the
November 18, 2009
Meeting the Needs by Providing the Wants
By Mark A. Taylor What people need and what they want are not necessarily the same. For example, children need their vegetables, but they don”t always want to eat them. Creative moms find ways to combine good food in dishes that taste good too. Church leaders do this too. People want practical help for everyday problems. They need instruction from God”s Word and the advice of experienced Christians. One way to provide both is by giving them CHRISTIAN STANDARD and our sister publication, The Lookout. For example, we saw the Sunday-morning bulletin from a small Christian church in Tennessee. The
