July 16, 2016
Jeff Stone shares ideas to help any Christian seize moments with evangelistic potential in his summary of his workshop, “Creative Ways to Share Your Story.” Exclusive interview at the 2016 North American Christian Convention with editor Mark A. Taylor, here.
July 12, 2016
By Mark A. Taylor Like every great novel or memorable movie, your story has a cast of compelling characters. And no matter how much you may hear about telling or improving your story, it will never be about you alone. These other characters in your story set its plot even before you were born. Your parents and theirs, your siblings and your childhood have all colored and directed your story, probably in ways you don”t realize. This is why your counselor pokes and prods to know more about your family and your growing-up years. Your story is not about you
July 5, 2016
By Mark A. Taylor Last Sunday, the day before the Fourth of July, I had the chance to lead worship in my home congregation. While I don”t believe Sunday-morning worship is the place for patriotic rallies (I”ve written about this before), I do believe we should be praying for our country as Christians gathered. So I wrote the following prayer as a responsive reading for the service I led. Maybe it will encourage some readers today. And some might even personalize it to use in their own congregations. Leader: Dear God, as we think about the freedoms, privilege, and possibilities
By Mark A. Taylor The below piece, first posted here five years ago, still resonates with me as we approach the Sunday before the Fourth of July. As one commenter said when it first appeared, “Our patriotism is for our freedom and way of life in a free country; our worship is reserved only for our Creator God.” More than a decade ago, my congregation hosted a patriotic pageant each year called “Sea to Shining Sea.” We had a huge adult choir, a children”s choir, a live orchestra, actors, and dancers. We welcomed color guards from all the armed services.
June 21, 2016
By Mark A. Taylor Americans are less engaged with the Bible than ever, according to research released by the Barna Group last week. The trend is “toward biblical skepticism,” Barna President David Kinnaman reported. The report shows, for example, that only a third of Americans agree strongly with the statement, “The Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches,” down from 48 percent in 2011. Only 45 percent agree with this statement: “The Bible contains everything a person needs to know to live a meaningful life,” down from 53 percent in 2011. “With each passing year, the
June 14, 2016
By Mark A. Taylor We know at least two things about our posts about racial justice at this site this month. First, we know they are inadequate. They do not convey the scope or the whole burden of the race problem in America. “¢ They only hint at the fact that America”s fortunes were built and wealth was created on the backs of those enslaved in a land that abused them while proclaiming “All men are created equal.” “¢ They barely mention the long history of egregious statements from both church and state claiming that Africans and African-Americans are somehow
June 7, 2016
Mark A. Taylor Summer”s here””or almost, anyway. And by June, most of us, unfortunately, have given up on all those resolutions we considered January 1. Well, how about a fresh start? Summertime is the perfect time to try something new or do something special. Break the routine and give your spiritual life a boost. Here are six possibilities for fresh air this summer. 1. Â Spend the summer with Jesus. If you”ve bogged down on the Bible-reading plan you began in January, set yourself a summer goal. The Bible books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John contain 89 chapters. Start this
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
May 17, 2016
By Mark A. Taylor I was right, and I didn”t mind saying so. The decision-maker in this program was giving flawed direction and providing inadequate resources for me and the others serving in the ministry. I saw this whether anyone else did or not. When I complained to the person handling logistics for the ministry (he wasn”t the one making the decisions I didn”t like), he replied with a Scripture: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of
By Mark A. Taylor As every media outlet in the U.S. comments on this year”s most unusual election, distinctly Christian voices are seldom heard above the noise. And even though I have no expectation that CNN will be quoting CHRISTIAN STANDARD, I have decided this week to weigh in. Actually, it”s not my opinion but those of two others I feel compelled to share. The first is from our Culture Watch columnist, Joe Boyd, whose “Steps to Improve Political Discourse” appears in CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s May issue. His three points (“We can drop the labels,” “We can appeal to the best in
By Mark A. Taylor Sure, you enjoy reading posts at this website, but now may be the time for you to give our print magazine a try. We have an offer that gives you so much more than the posts we add to this site each month. It”s our 150th anniversary, and we have a special (read “low cost”) way for you to join the celebration. Now you can get a whole year of CHRISTIAN STANDARD delivered to your home for only $15.00. That”s way less than HALF our normal subscription price! In fact, it”s lower than almost all of
April 30, 2016
By Arron Chambers The mission of CHRISTIAN STANDARD from the outset was to make a positive difference in this world by lifting up Jesus Christ. The founding and first editor made this clear with his vision statement for the publication: We propose to lift up the CHRISTIAN STANDARD, as a rallying point for the scattered host of spiritual Israel; to know only “Jesus Christ and Him crucified”: His cross, His word, His church, His ordinances, His laws and the interests of His kingdom.1 And Errett”s passion for the gospel has been reflected in the ministry of the editors that followed
April 26, 2016
By Mark A. Taylor An old friend was catching me up on his career in Internet technology project management. More than once he”s been thrust into dysfunctional situations in companies struggling to reach goals and meet deadlines. These aren”t Christian enterprises, but my friend told me what he”s discovered about how to make progress: “Good management generally is a matter of Christian principles combined with common sense.” Excuses he”s heard: She”s wrong. He”s late. They”re incompetent. “That”s not what we”re going to be about,” he tells employees. “We”re all in the same boat, heading toward the same goal.” Common sense:
April 19, 2016
By Mark A. Taylor Since 1997 CHRISTIAN STANDARD has been publishing annual lists of megachurches among the Christian churches and churches of Christ. In those 19 years, the megachurch phenomenon has exploded, not only in this fellowship but across the whole evangelical world. And with the growth has come criticism, cynicism, and complaint. Two years ago I interviewed Jud Wilhite, Dave Stone, and Don Wilson for our Beyond the Standard program. Each of them led one of the largest megachurches on that year”s list. I still remember what I wrote about that experience. These three “shared practical ideas and thoughtful
April 12, 2016
By Mark A. Taylor We had a party in the CHRISTIAN STANDARD office last week, and we took some pictures to share with visitors to our website. The occasion, as all our Facebook friends have already seen, was the 150th anniversary of CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s first issue, April 7, 1866. Peter Esposito, president of Christian Standard Media (formerly Standard Publishing) brought bagels and a birthday cake, and the whole office enjoyed the refreshments from a table displaying our framed copy of that very first edition. While each of our staff members has been helping produce CHRISTIAN STANDARD for several years, our
By Mark A. Taylor “CHRISTIAN STANDARD sure isn”t what it used to be.” The Facebook comment was meant as a critical jab, but it seems more like a compliment to me. With this issue, the magazine is 150 years old, and we”re proud of many ways it is different today than in the past. We have a more attractive format today. In its earliest years, CHRISTIAN STANDARD was a dense, type-heavy newspaper filled with doctrinal essays crafted from long sentences and complex thoughts. Today”s readers, bombarded by media at every turn, need something different””more graphics, more color, shorter articles, and
March 29, 2016
By Mark A. Taylor Churches and church leaders around the world are breathing a collective sigh of relief this week. Easter is over. All the hard work anticipating big Easter attendances is finished. Larger numbers of volunteers were recruited. Worship services were added (some megachurches began Easter services on Thursday evening). Musicians practiced harder and longer; choirs and worship teams prepared their best. Preachers gave special effort to make sure their sermons were polished and ready. New churches and multisites launched on Easter Sunday, with the hope to attract newcomers on the one Sunday when tradition prods the largest
March 22, 2016
By Mark A. Taylor “Do you believe you”re serving in the place God can use you best?” A friend surprised me with that question several years ago. And maybe I was equally surprised by my answer. “Yes,” I said. My guess is that many Christians, certainly many Christian leaders, are a lot like me. We think about that question too little. We choose ministries like a young professional plotting his next career move. How will this job position me to work later for the kind of church I really want to serve? Does it pay more than I”m earning now?
March 15, 2016
By Mark A. Taylor Being a soldier can be boring. Especially when you”re far from home, in a dry, dirty, dusty place. When the assignment is to keep order among a stubborn people who resent you and all you stand for, the duty is all the more distasteful. And so, when a strange peasant called a king is assigned to your watch, who could blame you for having a little fun? Nothing about him looks like royalty, that”s for sure. So you find some thorns and make him a crown. Your buddy has a robe he took from some unlucky
March 8, 2016
By Mark A. Taylor “I have visited and prayed with many sick people,” Professor Sherwood Smith told my class at The Cincinnati Bible Seminary more than 40 years ago. “But never did I pray like I did when the patient was my wife.” For some reason that insight has stuck with me all these years, and now it comes into sharper focus as I anticipate my own surgery Thursday this week. “Lord, heal him,” the elders prayed in December, not long after my diagnosis of prostate cancer. “Lord, keep him in the palm of your hand,” the men in my
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