April 9, 2024
In 1996, Joe Putting and his elders at Tomoka Christian Church (Ormond Beach, Fla.) asked a simple question: "What would saying an emphatic yes to the Great Commission look like?" They came out of that season of prayer and reflection with an almost obsessive desire to profoundly impact all the nations of the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. . . .
April 28, 2017
By Mark Atteberry Some of Jesus” parables are epic in scope, like one about the prodigal son. Others are quite short, like this one about a farmer and his two sons: “There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, “˜Son, go and work today in the vineyard.” “˜I will not,” he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, “˜I will, sir,” but he did not go” (Matthew 21:28-30). The kingdom of God is hindered by people
April 21, 2017
By Mark Atteberry Philo T. Farnsworth. You should know who he is. You don”t, but you should. He made a gigantic contribution to mankind, one that most people experience every single day, often for hours at a time. But I suspect you couldn”t find one person out of a thousand who could tell you what he did. On January 7, 1927, Mr. Farnsworth, then a 19-year-old farm boy, filed a patent on an invention called “television.” A few years later, he transmitted a Mickey Mouse cartoon, Steamboat Willie, from his Philadelphia laboratory to his home a few miles away. Ironically,
April 16, 2017
By Mark Atteberry During World War II, ordinary citizens were asked to make a contribution to the war effort in whatever way they could. Many bought bonds, saved and recycled raw materials, assisted friends and neighbors in need, and planted what came to be known as victory gardens. Urban and rural people alike planted fruits and vegetables, not only to provide for their own needs but also to ship to our troops around the world. When people spoke of the “national war effort,” they were right on target. While many were fighting with guns and ammo, many more were fighting
April 7, 2017
By Mark Atteberry The world has little patience for a misfit. Show up at a swanky country club in jeans and flip-flops and you won”t be allowed to play. Let your grass grow too tall or park a junk car in your driveway and the homeowners” association will impose a fine. Cheerfully work above and beyond your job description and your fellow employees will resent you for making them look bad. Let”s face it. Life is less painful if you fit in. We even drill this into our children, starting with the uniforms we force them to wear when we
September 10, 2015
Six seasoned church leaders share appreciation testimonies. I”VE FELT MOST appreciated when offered opportunities to move to a larger church or a bigger salary. Those moments forced me to reflect on my current situation and to realize I would never find a church that loved me more or treated me better than the one I am in. I”ve been with this congregation more than a quarter of a century, mostly because of the way I”ve been treated. “”Mark Atteberry, preaching minister Poinciana Christian Church, Kissimmee, Florida ___ I FELT MOST appreciated when, during a time of crisis and great stress, the entire eldership
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 Tom Ellsworth, senior minister with Sherwood Oaks Christian Church, Bloomington, Indiana. ________ Theology: Jack Cottrell Devotional study: Max Lucado, Ken Gire, Mark Atteberry A deeper challenge: N.T. Wright, Dallas Willard Cultural study: Thom Rainer Inspiration and perhaps my all-around favorite: John Ortberg
March 24, 2015
By Mark A. Taylor I remember a conversation 30 years or more ago about book publishing by writers in the Christian church and church of Christ. “Evangelical publishers won”t publish books by Christian church writers,” a Standard Publishing salesman said. “And if Standard Publishing publishes books by Christian church writers, Christian bookstores won”t sell them.” I don”t know if that was true then, but I can promise you it”s not true today. Last year we published essays about book writing by Mark Atteberry, Arron Chambers, Dave Ferguson, Anne Milam, Daniel Overdorf, and Jamie Snyder. Each of them is a leader among Restoration Movement churches.
October 24, 2014
By Mark Atteberry Toward the end of a lengthy prayer, shortly before his arrest, Jesus said, “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one””as you are in me, Father, and I am in you” (John 17:20, 21, New Living Translation). Jesus prayed for unity among his people because he understood that bickering Christians preaching love would be about as effective in spreading the gospel as a 300-pound man recommending a new
October 18, 2014
By Mark Atteberry If you want to write a book, you should give it a try. But here are some things you should know going in. First, if you haven”t read lots and lots and lots of books, you”re not going to be successful. There”s no such thing as a successful author who isn”t also a reader. In my opinion, reading 20 books is more helpful to an aspiring writer than flying across the country to attend the most highfalutin writer”s conference. And cheaper too. Second, the competition is fierce. Millions and millions of people want to write a book,
October 17, 2014
By Mark Atteberry You probably don”t recognize the name Jacob German, but he should be famous. In 1899 he was the first to experience something that has become a common occurrence “” so common I suspect most of the adults reading this have experienced it, probably more than once. On May 20, 1899, German was stopped for speeding. A taxi driver for the Electric Vehicle Company, German was tooling around New York City at the wildly inappropriate speed of 12 mph. People were aghast he would be so reckless. If they”d had driver”s licenses in those days, his almost
October 10, 2014
By Mark Atteberry Every team and every player has a bad day now and then. No matter how good you are, sooner or later you’re going to get schooled by an opponent. When it happens, conventional wisdom says you should just forget about it and move on. But not everyone agrees. Enter Pat Summitt. From 1974 to 2012, Summitt coached the University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team to 1,098 wins, 16 SEC titles, and 8 NCAA Championships. If anybody knows what it takes to win, she does. (Summitt, who has Alzheimer’s disease, now serves as head coach emeritus.) In
November 3, 2011
By Brad Dupray Mark Atteberry”s enthusiasm for reading has shaped his life and improved his preaching. He has been in the preaching ministry for 37 years, beginning while he was a student at St. Louis Christian College. For the past 22 years Mark has served as senior minister with Poinciana Christian Church in Kissimmee, Florida. He has written eight published books, including Free Refill, Let It Go, and So Much More Than Sexy, all available from Standard Publishing. Two more in the works include his first novel, a romantic thriller. Read more about Mark and his books at www.MarkAtteberry.net.
October 25, 2011
By Mark Atteberry Moments with the Savior: A Devotional Life of Christ By Ken Gire Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998Â Every summer my wife and I attend the International Christian Retail Show. We love it because we get to rub shoulders with many of our favorite authors and because we never come home with fewer than 60 or 70 brand-new, just-released books. It”s like Christmas in July. But it isn”t quite as great as it might sound. It always turns out that at least half the books we ship home aren”t worth the paper they”re printed on. For some, the problem
June 22, 2011
By Mark Atteberry It happened on my last day of Bible college. It was a ceremony dreamed up by several members of our senior class, something inspirational to do as a part of our final chapel service. Each senior would walk to the podium and call the name of a member of the junior class. The junior whose name had been called would then stand and listen as the senior read a specially chosen verse of Scripture. Several of my classmates thought it would be a good way for us to say goodbye. When the idea was sprung on me,
January 15, 2011
By Mark Atteberry The elders at my church very graciously gave me seven weeks off, a kind of mini-sabbatical. It was during the summer and my wife and I had a trip planned anyway, so we laid out a plan to visit a different church every weekend. We chose a mixture of large and small churches, city and rural churches, and Restoration Movement and denominational churches from Florida to the mountain west. Overall, it was a positive experience. We heard some fine sermons, met some nice people, and picked up a few good ideas. There was, however, one big surprise
October 29, 2010
By Mark A. Taylor “Do you publish books?” It”s a fair question for Standard Publishing, because our company is known for so much more than books: Sunday school courses for every age, a best-selling and award-winning VBS, classroom supplies, youth material, electives for children and teenagers and adults, small group resources, teacher-training materials, and much more. But amid all these Bible-teaching resources is a growing library of books that many adults have come to savor and share. Some of them are best-sellers, too. All of them inspire and entertain and teach. You”ll find many good reads among the books we”ve
October 28, 2010
By Mark Atteberry My wife introduced me to my love affair with books. And now they”ve been my companion in life for decades. When you walk into my office you”ll notice a unique smell. No, I don”t have an aversion to personal hygiene. Nor do I burn incense, smoke cigars, eat junk food at my desk, or keep my clothes in mothballs. The smell is a mixture of paper, cardboard, glue, and ink. That”s because my office is full of books. Some are old and a little musty, while others have that distinctive new smell. Whatever they may smell like
May 2, 2010
By Mark Atteberry IS GUILT WEIGHING YOU DOWN? Christians everywhere beat themselves up over sins their heavenly Father has long since forgiven and forgotten. In Let It Go, seasoned author Mark Atteberry, with his customary mix of humor and heart, leads us to let go of inferiority, perfectionism, criticism, and shame””and hold on to abundance, grace, salvation, and joy. This article is an excerpt from this helpful, enjoyable new book. Price: $12.99 “¢ Item 021530610 “¢ Available May 2010 athttp://www.standardpub.com/detail.aspx?ID=4504 or your local Christian bookstore. You may not be as bad as you think you are! I know your natural
November 1, 2009
 by Mark Atteberry By definition, a platitude is a trite remark, uttered as if it were fresh or profound. I heard a classic just an hour ago. I was driving home from an appointment and heard a radio preacher assure me that my life had value. He said that no matter how bad I may feel about myself, I am definitely worth something. Why? Are you ready for this? “Because God don”t make no junk.” Any minute I expected him to remind me that God moves in mysterious ways and that there are no atheists in foxholes. The first
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