August 24, 2021
The Spire Network is in the final stages of preparation for its third-annual SpireConference, set for Sept. 14-16 in Nashville. Spire anticipates it may match or exceed the number of people who participated in their first in-person conference two years ago, which would be a "huge win," said board chairman Dave Stone.
February 19, 2016
By Dave Stone It”s the right place and the right time for all of us to discover “A Better Story.” Several years ago the North American Christian Convention called to ask me a two-part question: “Would you be willing to serve as the president in 2016 AND would you be willing to have the conference in California (where it hasn”t been in 24 years)?” Before I answered, I asked for some time to pray about it and talk with various pastors in the Southern California area. The next couple of months became a time of incredible discovery. I heard story after
August 23, 2015
By Arron Chambers Christian leaders, some of them preachers themselves, tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either. Steve Malone Steve has been in the preaching ministry for 24 years and currently is lead pastor at Maple Grove Christian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia. Steve”s Best Sermon: The best sermon I”ve heard on God”s love is by Jud Wilhite, senior pastor at Central Christian Church in Las Vegas, Nevada (www.southeastchristian.org/sermons/pursued-for-relationship). Why Steve likes this sermon: “In this message, Jud makes the story of Hosea come alive, and he does an incredible job of showing how what God
July 27, 2015
We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Lori Wilhite, founder of leadingandlovingit.com for pastors” wives and women in ministry, and pastor”s wife, Central Christian Church, Las Vegas, Nevada. ________ Julie Richard, senior pastor”s wife at Lake Hills Church, Austin, Texas, is my go-to parenting guru. With practical yet powerful parenting content, she has encouraged me like no other in my family life. Her insight in establishing a vision for
January 1, 2015
At Central Christian Church in Las Vegas, Nevada, ministry to the broken has become a main focus. The church has started ministries such as Celebrate Recovery, God Behind Bars, People of the Second Chance, and an outreach to female strippers in the city. “My philosophy is if you speak to the broken, you”ll always have an audience,” says senior pastor Jud Wilhite. “I want not only to speak to the broken, but have ministries that reach people at their point of pain and brokenness””and we”re all broken at some level.” Since beginning these ministries for broken people in the community,
September 1, 2014
By Darrel Rowland Lee Strobel has made The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, and even The Case for Christmas. At the North American Christian Convention, the popular Christian speaker and apologetics author made the case for Christian churches and churches of Christ. “This movement of churches is nothing short of miraculous,” he said the day before taking the NACC stage. “God is doing amazing things. I love their pastors””they”ve got huge hearts, they love the lost, they”re strategic, they”re prayerful, they”re culturally relevant, they”re scriptural, they”re entrepreneurial.” Strobel has appeared at several Christian churches across the country.
June 24, 2014
By Mark A. Taylor We”ve been chronicling megachurch success for more than three decades at CHRISTIAN STANDARD. But in spite of encouraging growth, both in size and number of megachurches, an underbelly of suspicion toward them remains. Our Beyond the Standard conversation May 15 with Jud Wilhite, Dave Stone, and Don Wilson, showed this. These ministers with the three largest megachurches among the independent Christian churches shared practical ideas and thoughtful strategies””always with a spirit of humility. But too many questions from listeners contained veiled accusations of compromise to achieve numbers. So when I came across a report from Leadership
May 20, 2014
By Mark A. Taylor Everyone serving the Lord struggles sometimes with tension between external actions and internal motives. Am I singing or preaching or teaching because I love to be in front of people, or because I love to communicate God”s Word? Do I give out of guilt or out of gratitude? Do I approach Bible study, prayer, or weekly worship solely out of duty, or are they a delight to me? And when it comes to ministers who lead growing churches, the tensions multiply. Am I seeking church growth to build the kingdom or to build my ego? Am
By Jud White A wise and seasoned leader said to me once, “Jud, stop trying to preach great sermons. Preach good sermons and love your people, and they will love you for it.” That may sound like odd advice. He could tell I was trying so hard to preach well that it was suffocating my loving well. His advice freed me to be more concerned about caring for people and getting God”s truth out there week in and week out, rather than hitting a grand slam each weekend in my preaching. Ultimately, it freed me to make my preaching more about
June 24, 2009
By Mark A. Taylor As Jennifer Taylor indicated in her blog May 6, it”s easy to be cynical about bandwagons. But most of us will agree with her that it”s difficult to argue with the results of what may become a trend in Christian churches: spontaneous baptism weekends. So far we”ve heard about a half-dozen churches that have hosted these events. The preacher presents Bible teaching about baptism and then invites anyone in the crowd who hasn”t been baptized to come forward on the spot. The churches don”t make provision for changing rooms and robes. Those who respond are immersed
April 19, 2009
 By Kent Fillinger A SWOT analysis is the classic model for strategic planning. It examines an organization from the standpoint of its internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats it faces. We asked three lead pastors of megachurches to comment on their individual congregations and on megachurches in general using the framework of a SWOT analysis: “¢ Jud Wilhite, 37, has been senior pastor since 2003 of Central Christian Church (Henderson, Nevada), which has an average weekend worship attendance of 12,822. “¢ Scott Enyon, 47, has been senior pastor since 1994 of Community Christian Church
September 21, 2008
By Randy Gariss “So how was the North American?” On the surface, that question seems rather innocuous, but somehow over time that simple inquiry has come to prompt a surprisingly complex and emotional set of responses. When it comes to evaluating a North American Christian Convention, you will hear every answer possible: “It was great!” “It was lacking,” “It was very helpful,” or a frustrated, “I can”t figure out where the NACC is headed!” How can there be such diverse reactions to the same experience? It is probably because our personal expectations for the convention are also extremely varied, and
August 20, 2008
By Mark A. Taylor The words of the hymn filled the Cincinnati convention center on the evening of July 1: Come, thou fount of ev”ry blessing,  tune my heart to sing thy grace. Several thousand who had gathered for the opening worship service of the 2008 North American Christian Convention sang from the heart. I joined them, moved by the blessing of being in their number. Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise. If the hymn was unfamiliar to the younger ones there, older singers compensated. But “loudest praise” washed over us in
August 3, 2008
By Jud Wilhite Afew years ago I had a transformative experience on Las Vegas Boulevard. I was standing in front of a multibillion dollar hotel, knowing what Las Vegas is built on, where its roots are, and thinking of the waves of people walking past me. It was like a light came on and I realized the culture war is over””we lost. Let me repeat. WE LOST! The culture war dominated much of the 1980s and 1990s as an argumentative and aggressive political posture, mainly myopic about homosexuality and abortion. That posture led to a perception of moral and religious
February 17, 2008
By Jud Wilhite Jud Wilhite is senior pastor of Central Christian Church, a pioneering community of faith in the Las Vegas area. More than 12,000 attend Central”s campuses each weekend. Jud is the author of several books including Stripped: Uncensored Grace on the Streets of Vegas, That Crazy Little Thing Called Love, and Deadly Viper Character Assassins. Under Jud”s leadership, Central is dedicated to helping people find their way to God. He is known for his authentic and relevant approach to teaching the Bible, and his passion is to equip people to know God and love him more. Jud and
November 7, 2007
By Mark A. Taylor “If we”d confess more of our temptations, we”d have fewer sins to confess!” That observation from a Christian counselor several years ago has never left me. And it rang in my ears again as we prepared this week”s troubling lead articles for publication. Think what could have happened if only each Christian leader mentioned here had been honest with someone about his temptations. Reputations and ministries could have been saved. Whole lifetimes of heartbreak could have been prevented. Sin could have been avoided. But we hesitate to confess our temptations””let alone our sins””for two reasons. First
July 15, 2007
By Darrel Rowland “Many are the plans in a man”s heart, but it is the Lord”s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . As a generation of longtime megachurch ministers approaches retirement age, more and more church leaders are faced with a crucial question: Who will fill their shoes? A growing number are not waiting until the preacher gives notice to start looking for
March 5, 2006
By Sheila S. Hudson Twenty-four devout believers had a dream, to deliver living water to the spiritual desert that is Las Vegas. They saw the beginning of their dream”s fulfillment with the birth of Central Christian Church in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson, Nevada, on April 29, 1962. The congregation was dedicated to a grace-filled, countercultural lifestyle. From 43 founding members, Central burgeoned to 950 in 1991. Under Gene Appel”s leadership, the church purchased 56 acres and built an auditorium seating 3,000. God had indeed blessed Central”s mission “to connect the unconnected to Christ and together grow to full
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