April 1, 2025
I want to speak to those, like me, who once upon a time made a commitment to serve. I thought that chapter had closed. My commitment that summer circa 1993 may not have panned out how I expected, but I think that through the working of the Spirit, the love of the Son, and the guidance of the Father it is still something I'm called to do.
October 19, 2023
"The closing hour of the Evangelistic Rally at Lincoln, Ill., Feb. 23 and 24, marked a culmination that will be of wide interest," Christian Standard reported in March 1944. "The announcement by Earl C. Hargrove, minister at Lincoln, that a new preacher-training school would be opened there in September sent a thrill over the great crowd. . . ."
November 28, 2022
Dave Butts, 69, who started Harvest Prayer Ministries with his wife, Kim, in 1993, died Saturday morning, Nov. 26. He served in full-time prayer ministry for almost 30 years.
November 16, 2022
Ben Merold, 96, a beloved minister in Christian churches and churches of Christ for almost three-quarters of a century, died Wednesday morning. Merold was known as a church builder and a friend of the small church.
February 8, 2022
Dr. James B. North, 81, longtime professor of church history at Cincinnati Christian University, frequent lecturer on church history, and a man who wrote extensively on the history of Christian churches and churches of Christ in America, died on Monday after battling cancer.
August 20, 2019
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
February 9, 2018
By Kelly Carr Ben and Pat Merold—most folks seldom say one of their names without the other, and that’s just fine with them. When they talk, you hear their love for one another, the joy they feel together, and the immense pride they have about the other’s ministry. One could easily declare that Ben and Pat Merold are who we all hope to be when we grow up! Ben and Pat share their story of a lifelong love for serving the Lord and for each other. Jumping into Ministry The year was 1948. Pat, a freshman at Johnson
April 17, 2017
Five Christian leaders tell what God did when they took a surprising step of faith. By Greg Lee My riskiest move ever? It was 20 years ago. God was faithful, and that step established a way of life and a way of leading that has stayed with me ever since. I was 21 years old, six months from getting married, and five months from graduation at Lincoln Christian College. I was from a small town and liked it. I wanted to preach (anything but youth ministry)! I wanted a full-time job to support my new family. Then I met John Wasem.
July 31, 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 Chuck Sackett, preaching minister with Madison Park Christian Church, Quincy, Illinois. ________ Slavic Prochavska was a preacher in Prague, Czech Republic, who died a few years ago. I first met Slavic on the platform at the train station in Praha (Prague). Slavic was a leader in the days when Communist leaders punished him for being a preacher by withholding his asthma
February 22, 2015
By Trevor DeVage I never dreamed preaching is what I would be doing. I had my sights set on living out the “American dream.” I was going to be an attorney. I had prepped my entire adolescent life for that path. In high school, I worked for an attorney”s office, was on the mock trial team at our school, and watched Law and Order and Matlock. Preaching was never on my radar””it just couldn”t generate income the way busting criminals would. But something happened during my junior year of high school. I was visiting a friend in the hospital and
July 14, 2014
By Eleanor Daniel (From our series “The Best or Worst Advice I’ve Ever Received.”) I think the best advice I ever received was the response I received to one question in a survey I did while in graduate school at Lincoln (Illinois) Christian College. The survey”s purpose was to ascertain the function and future of the work of the Christian education director/minister. My mentor insisted I include a question, “What is the future for women in this vocation?” One reply from a prominent minister on the West Coast was clear and concise, “There will be a future, and it isn”t
May 5, 2014
By Paul Boatman Darryl Bolen recently celebrated 40 years as a minister at Greenville (Illinois) First Christian Church. Forty years? How did that happen? I never would have guessed. I was a Bible college student at Lincoln Christian College when my baseball coach, Dr. Marion Henderson, told me about a youth ministry opportunity at this church two hours away. Tom Van Meter, the preacher, and the elders talked with me. On October 1, 1973, I began a relationship that is still going. Big doors swing on small hinges. You transitioned from the youth ministry fairly soon. In 1977 the
March 7, 2013
By Jennifer Johnson For more than 35 years, Pioneer Bible Translators has offered opportunities for people from the Christian churches and churches of Christ to gain an in-depth understanding of taking God”s Word into new contexts through translation, church planting, and community development. The Pioneer Mission Institute began on the campus of Lincoln (IL) Christian College (now Lincoln Christian University) and is now held at the International Linguistics Center near Pioneer Bible”s main stateside office in Dallas, TX. This year”s weeklong event is scheduled June 9-14. In addition to the discovery program that introduces people to the ministries of Pioneer
September 18, 2010
From Starter Church to Lifetime Opportunity By Kent E. Fillinger Perhaps you”ve heard about starter marriages. Some people these days enter their first marriage expecting it to be one of several short-term experiments rather than a lifetime commitment. Some ministers fresh out of Bible college view their first ministry with similar feelings. Perhaps no one calls them starter churches, but the minister”s mind-set often is to get some experience at his first congregation and then to move on to bigger and better ministry ventures. When Rod Nielsen graduated from Lincoln (Illinois) Christian College in 1981, God called him to serve as the
By Mark A. Taylor What sermons do you remember? I remember a sermon preached by Wayne Smith at a Talent Rally at Lincoln Christian College when I was just a teenager. God used that sermon to prod me toward vocational Christian service. I remember a sermon by Paul Jones preached at Cincinnati Bible College chapel that moved me and most who heard him to express appreciation to our parents. Another time in that same chapel building John Wilson preached about his daily prayer routine. And I”m still challenged to pray like he described. I”ve listened to sermons that have helped
By Brad Dupray Mike Claypool was 30 years old when he and his wife, Cindy, attended “Summer in the Son” at Kentucky Christian College as youth sponsors. The preaching there convicted them to make the life-changing decision for Mike to leave the printing industry and attend Lincoln Christian College to pursue his passion to preach. Mike loved the teaching he received from mentors like Chuck Sackett at Lincoln, and has served as preaching minister at First Christian Church in Newburgh, Indiana, for 18 years. Mike and Cindy have celebrated 35 years of marriage and have two grown children, C.J. and
December 31, 2009
(Listed alphabetically) Gerald D. “Jerry” Bright, 94, died March 2, 2009, at the Stanton (KY) Nursing Home. He was born March 27, 1914, in Akron, OH, to Henry Proctor Bright and Minnie Shoup Bright. The 1938 graduate of Kentucky Christian University (known then as Grayson Normal Institute) also attended Butler University School of Religion, Indianapolis, IN. In 1938 he began his first full-time ministry with the Church of Christ in East Liberty, OH, during which time he met his wife, Mabel, of Bluffton, OH. They married June 15, 1941, and he continued as minister there until 1944. They served churches
November 29, 2009
 by Bill Weber Had Bob and Phyllis Mills not enrolled at Lincoln Bible Institute1 in the 1940s, their incredible 47-year adventure in Africa would never have happened.2 Phyllis grew up as a missionary kid on the Tibetan border of China.3 Bob was a farm boy from southern Illinois. Phyllis”s cross-cultural childhood with her family and Bob”s traveling the world as a sailor in the Navy ignited in each of them a commitment to foreign mission service. This was a match made in Heaven. The Millses met, fell in love, married in 1950, raised four daughters, and spent their lifetime of ministry
April 15, 2009
By Brad Dupray Gene Appel became senior pastor at Eastside Christian Church in Fullerton, California, on October 1, 2008, after serving as lead pastor with Willow Creek Community Church”s South Barrington (Illinois) campus. In many ways, he has come full circle, having served as an intern at Eastside while a 20-year-old student at Lincoln (Illinois) Christian College. At 25, Gene became senior minister at Central Christian Church in Las Vegas, Nevada, and led the church from average weekly attendance of 400 to 8,000 during an 18-year ministry. Gene and his wife, Barbara, have three children, Jeremy, Alayna, and Jenna, with
March 8, 2009
By Mark S. Krause This article is no longer available online, but all of the articles about baptism that appeared in the March 1 and 8, 2009, issues of CHRISTIAN STANDARD–plus a bonus article–are available for purchase as a single, redisigned, easy-to-read and easy-to-use downloadable resource/pdf (a fuller explanation is below).  Baptism: 7 Practical Perspectives Item 02973 “¢Â $2.99   What does the Bible teach about baptism? What does baptism symbolize and what does it accomplish? Why is there so much disagreement? Seven writers offer their insights on this controversial but fundamental topic in this 14-page resource that””with the
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