July 16, 2013
Interview with Joni Eareckson Tada
Joni Earekson Tada talks with CHRISTIAN STANDARD Editor Mark Taylor about coping with pain, confession in marriage, and her international ministry. Click here to see the interview.
Articles for tag: Mark A. Taylor
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
Our Own Defense of Marriage Acts
By Mark A. Taylor Last year, just before my daughter”s wedding, a friend e-mailed me about the big day. “My daughter”s wedding was the most exhilarating and exhausting day of my life,” he said, and soon I would know what he meant. But it occurs to me that exhilarating and exhausting describe the whole gamut of married and family life. For example, it”s exhilarating finally to hold a newborn baby, especially after an exhausting labor and drawn-out pregnancy. Likewise, each milestone of the new preschooler”s life is exhilarating: first words, first steps, first everything! And keeping up with her is
July 2, 2013
40 for Today and Tomorrow
By Mark A. Taylor We liked the sound of “40 Leaders Under 40″ when we first started playing with the idea late last year. But could we even find 40 parachurch or local church leaders making an influence outside their own community or constituency? We immediately thought of a few men and women all of us should be watching. They”re setting trends, living as examples, blazing new paths, and at the same time lifting up the ancient gospel with fresh images to attract a new generation. But 40 of them? We didn”t think so. And then we started asking. We
June 25, 2013
Better Than a Vacation
By Mark A. Taylor “It”s hard to imagine no crying and no mourning.” The statement came from a group member when our weekly Bible study was nearing the end of Revelation. We had stopped to ponder the significance of Revelation 21:3, 4: And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God”s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. “˜He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death” or mourning or
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
June 11, 2013
From Fad to Phenomenon
By Mark A. Taylor Is “missional” just a fad? Will church leaders and seminar speakers still be talking about “missional” a decade from now? We can hope the answer to both questions is no. As churches everywhere begin to believe the missional approach is basic, natural, necessary, and biblical, the need to define and discuss it may fade away. Maybe someday church leaders everywhere will see “missional”””just like “evangelistic” or “loving” or “Christ-centered”””as central to the very definition of church. Matt Smay and Alan Hirsch express some concern about overuse and misuse of the word. Just like “externally focused” or
Getting It Lived
By Mark A. Taylor We were talking about truth and grace. It was toward the end of a lively conversation during our first blogtalkradio program, Beyond the Standard; this episode was about how to influence life change. George Ross, Tim Harlow, and Brian Mavis discussed the challenges of standing for the truth while standing with the sinner. How do we love and listen to people, leading them to the truth without hitting them over the head with it? Brian told about a friend of his with “grace” and “truth” tattoos, one on each wrist. “Since I”m right-handed, “˜grace” is on my
Help in a Complicated Age
By Mark A. Taylor We live in a complicated world and a troubling age, which is one reason many come to a website like ChristianStandard.com. Here you find encouragement for your Christian walk, Bible teaching to help you confront ungodly influences, and models for Christian living today. And that”s not all. CHRISTIAN STANDARD offers you a connection to other nondenominational Christians around the world as well as strategies and ideas for making your ministry more effective. But while CHRISTIAN STANDARD focuses on leaders, our sister publication, The Lookout, and its website, LookoutMag.com, aims squarely at everyday Christians, regardless of their
Now You Can Go “Beyond the Standard”
By Mark A. Taylor Beginning this week, CHRISTIAN STANDARD is offering a new, free monthly radio program available to you via the web at BlogTalkRadio.com. Log on and listen in to “Beyond the Standard” this Thursday, May 23, at 11 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time to see what I mean. Listeners that day will hear and interact with three contributors to our website. (Each of them also wrote for the May issue of our monthly print magazine.) George Ross, North Vernon, Indiana, talks about developing disciples, regardless of their past or the challenges of their current situation. He”s demonstrating a refreshing
Pondering a Digital Future
By Mark A. Taylor “Misery loves company,” the old saying goes. And, while attendees at the annual Evangelical Press Association conference, May 1-3 in Nashville, seemed to relish each other”s company, their mood was everything but misery. This group of magazine editors, writers, marketers, and designers clearly enjoyed the chance to talk shop together. Workshop sessions covered most aspects of Christian journalism””everything from interviewing skills to photography techniques. The digital revolution was in the background of many conversations. And, while most of these editors are extending an online presence, all are working as if print isn”t going away anytime soon.
By the Numbers (Buy the Numbers!)
By Mark A. Taylor CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s annual megachurch report has taken many forms since it was first introduced in 1997. Since 2008 Kent Fillinger has served us by presiding over the megatask of getting reports from more than 100 megachurches. Our issues have offered more information about this growing group of congregations than any other single source. In 2009 we began reporting numbers from more than just the largest churches in the fellowship of Christian churches and churches of Christ. That year we published statistics from 66 churches whose worship attendance averaged 500″“999 in 2008. In 2010 we expanded the
April 30, 2013
Defining Normal
By Mark A. Taylor It”s been two weeks since the Boston Marathon bombings, April 15. The cable news channels and major web portals continue to report on the aftermath with any shred of related content they can muster. But most of us have turned away from the horror of that day and are concentrating, instead, on the demands of this one. What other choice do we have? We must be about our jobs, our families, our churches””our kids, our spouses, our parents, our neighbors. And besides the press of our own responsibilities, there”s another factor that pushes us to
April 23, 2013
In Contrast to the Ugliness
By Mark A. Taylor Robert Randolph, minister with the Brookline Church of Christ in Boston, described Monday, April 15, as a “terribly emotional day” for Boston. Christian Chronicle reported that Randolph was providing an energy drink for his daughter Margaret Randolph a few miles from the finish line when the first bomb exploded. She had sprained her ankle and was running slower than usual. Otherwise, “we would have been at the finish line when the bombs went off,” Randolph said, according to the Chronicle. Hank Wilson, pastor with REUNION Christian Church in Boston, met with his ministry team early Tuesday, the
Better Than Leaving
By Mark A. Taylor Last week I came across a quote by a famous poet (although I hadn”t heard of him), and it resonated with an issue I”ve been pondering awhile. Rod Padgett, writing in How to Be Perfect, said this: “Forgive your country every once in a while. If that is not possible, go to another one.” At first we might call the advice absurd. “I can”t go to another country. My family is here. My work is here. I was born here, and things should change so I can be happier here! After all, I”m right about what”s
April 9, 2013
You Are What You Choose
By Mark A. Taylor All of us who have heard, “You are what you eat” can agree to a corollary for the spirit and emotions: “You are what you choose.” Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos underscored the truth of this as he addressed Princeton University”s graduating class, May 30, 2010: When you are 80 years old, and in a quiet moment of reflection narrating for only yourself the most personal version of your life story, the telling that will be most compact and meaningful will be the series of choices you have made. In the end, we are our choices. Build
Downloads
CHRISTIAN STANDARD offers a growing library of downloads that are inexpensive, easy to order, and valuable for teaching, preaching, or personal study. Students are using these in their classes. Local church leaders distribute them as handouts or file them for study. To order, click on the links below, or go towww.standardpub.com and search for them by the item numbers provided. Please note:Â These items are downloads only; no product will be shipped. _________________________ 2012 Christian Church Report–Deluxe Edition A thorough listing and analysis of a wide range of data from 344 congregations associated with
April 2, 2013
Embracing Conflict, Spreading the Gospel
By Mark A. Taylor As much as we might like to avoid the subject of conflict at church, the fact is we can”t. In fact, if your church is not experiencing conflict now, it”s safe to say it probably has. Or it will. Our best strategy is not to pretend conflict doesn”t exist or to assume all conflict is wrong. Instead, we”ll do well to anticipate conflict and find godly ways to handle it. The first step may be to embrace the potential of conflict. It”s OK to disagree with each other. Too many Christians harbor the notion that unity
March 19, 2013
A New Kind of Leadership?
By Mark A. Taylor Today Pope Francis, the first Pope from the Americas, will be formally installed in a mass that will headline news reports everywhere. Many nondenominational Christians will ignore the ceremony, while some will take the occasion to express their disdain for the abuses or errors of the church that claims 1.2 billion adherents worldwide. But we need not agree with Roman Catholic tradition or dogma to learn something from the unpretentious man who now heads that church. News of his unassuming humility is everywhere. Christopher M. Belitto, writing for CNN, described Francis”s first appearance to the masses
Time to Change
By Mark A. Taylor I”ve been thinking this week about change. Not the pennies and nickels in my pocket, but the change that most of the country observed Sunday at 2:00 a.m. That”s when Daylight Savings Time kicked in, leaving many of us yawning the next morning. Even though 49 of 50 U.S. states observe Daylight Savings Time (somehow most of Arizona has stayed exempt), some of us still chafe under the mandate to lose an hour of sleep each March. “The change in the spring is always hard for me,” a friend said Saturday night. We had been trying
