Articles for tag: MinistryLife

September 22, 2020

Michael C. Mack

Why Wait?

By Michael C. Mack After our wedding in 1990, Heidi and I moved into a 40-unit apartment building in Cincinnati. We wanted to lead an investigative Bible study to reach out to people who lived there, so I asked Glen, a minister at our church, to tell me how to start. “I don’t think you should do a Bible study . . . at least not yet,” he said. The tilt of my head and subconscious furrow of my brow must have given away my concern; I was eager to start this study right away and allow God to use

June 14, 2020

Alan Scott

Open for Business . . . No Laughing Matter?

By Alan Scott In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis in April, I met a good friend at a restaurant because we could. We needed to. But nobody else was there. I felt fear and dread still creeping through the streets as I trekked toward our favorite eatery. A masked host seated us at properly distanced chairs outside on a patio. Apparently, innumerable state restrictions allowed restaurants to open, but with all the fun taken out. It was weird. But sitting outside in the warm sun and laughing wasn’t weird. I thought of Paul’s great theological words, “Rejoice in the

March 15, 2020

Rick Chromey

Resurrection Matters: How One Desperate Moment Carved a New Life

By Rick Chromey Sometimes an entire life boils down to a single moment. For me it was a solitary night of divine deliverance and holy intervention that changed everything. It happened in the spring of 1982, about the time of Resurrection Sunday. I was a freshman in Bible college. I was also clinically depressed, struggling with sin, school, finances, family, and friends. I wallowed in selfishness, loneliness, pity, and apathy. I was a thousand miles from home, living alone in a dorm room that increasingly felt like a prison cell. For weeks I contemplated my life. Who am I? Why

January 2, 2020

Halee Wood

Eternity with a Child Molester

By Halee Wood Hatred . . . Love. Despair . . . Hope. Rejection . . . Acceptance. Contradictory emotions filled me as I stood face-to-face with a child molester. Despite having been abused by a much older boyresulting in pregnancy and abortion by age 14God had provided me with a story of redemption that sparks emotion and hope, especially among those who share a similar history and for those living with a spouse who shares my experiences. When I share my testimony publicly, it is not uncommon for someone to discreetly wait around until the room is all but

December 16, 2019

Daniel Schantz

The Jewel Tree

By Daniel Schantz “Don’t bother to buy a Christmas tree,” my wife, Sharon, said as she peered out the window at our neighbors who were struggling to get an oversized tree through their front door. “No one is coming to see us this season, so what’s the point?” She sounded disappointed. “Yeah, you’re right,” I agreed. “I think this is going to be the Christmas that wasn’t.” This Christmas would be a special trial for me—my first since I retired after training student-leaders for world service for 43 years. All that time, I “lived” in the classrooms of Central Christian

December 2, 2019

Christian Standard

Yet We Continue

By Clayton Hentzel Ministry is tough; that’s why it’s not for everyone. We minister to people who lie, overpromise, and underdeliver. It seems every time we leave the 99 to go after the one, the one says thanks, but doesn’t serve or give, and the 99 complain we didn’t visit their uncle in the hospital, even though no one told us he was there. Ministry can be especially tough in our post-Christian culture. Society is changing. Extracurricular activities are increasing while frequency of attendance is declining. Political chaos abounds. Abortion has become mainstream and people march in favor of it.

October 1, 2019

Rick Chromey

When Life Gives You Leamons

By Rick Chromey It was a blustery, cold Thursday in January 2005. My meeting with Bill Leamon—the maintenance manager for Kentucky Christian University—was scheduled for 3 p.m. I initiated the meeting to announce my resignation from the youth worker team for Bill’s mission trip to Mexico. My daughter had roped me into going. Our church youth group annually traveled to Ciudad Acuna to serve impoverished families. The trip of 1,400 miles was a grueling, nonstop, 24-hour, one-way drive from Grayson, Kentucky. My daughter’s enthusiasm had proven contagious. I said yes. But I never wanted to go. Mission work, I believed,

August 22, 2019

Christian Standard

A Little Boy’s Prayer

By Micah Stephen Bedtime is one of my favorite times of the day. Not because of my kids going to sleep, but because I get to wrap up the day with them. On one particular evening, however, as I walked across that squeaky old floor toward the kids’ bedroom, I was hoping bedtime would be easy. The routine includes a story, a quick prayer, kisses goodnight, and saying “I love you” to one another. At bedtime, I can forget my daily stress. No bills. No problem-solving. But, for whatever reason, on this night I just wanted “me” time. Little did

July 22, 2019

Christian Standard

Whelpish

By Lancelot Schaubert We had just learned we failed to secure government approval, so we would not receive a grant in time to start a project and program one of our neighbors—an artist—had been counting on. I had worked painstakingly on the grant for months, haggling with four state governments. After all of this, our artist friend came to our house with his bulldog, refused to sit and eat, and told us he was pulling the plug. I don’t blame him; he couldn’t afford to wait it out. What was most upsetting, however, was he ignored everything we’d done to

June 22, 2019

Christian Standard

Get Moving

By Stephen Brownlow I was new to the desert and didn’t know what to expect, other than what I’d always heard: “It’s a dry heat.” I parked my car at the base of the mountain and looked over my supplies: backpack (check); copious amounts of water (check); sunscreen (check). I opened the car door and stepped onto the scorching-hot pavement. I thought the soles of my boots might melt before I reached the trail. The climb was hot—very hot. I paused in the shade of a saguaro cactus, an unexpected but welcome relief. I drank water though I wasn’t thirsty.

May 22, 2019

Tyler McKenzie

The Toilet Paper Ministry

By Tyler McKenzie and Adrienne Feldmann TYLER (11:55 p.m. Saturday): Here I was, a grown man, a pastor nonetheless, about to commit a felony. I coasted quietly down the neighborhood street, lights off, car in neutral, toilet paper in hand. It was essential I not get caught. ADRIENNE: I have always gone through seasons of depression. A few months ago it was especially frightening. I called in all kinds of reinforcements just to survive my day-to-day. I constantly fought off suicidal thoughts. Reaching out was difficult, but it was my last hope. I needed my friends. They were reluctant to

April 21, 2019

Christian Standard

Listening on the Road

By S. J. Dahlman I met Peter a few weeks after arriving in Platt Bridge, then a down-at-heels village just outside Wigan, in northwest England. When we crossed paths one chilly March day and said hello, my accent caught him off guard. (Wigan wasn’t exactly a tourist town.) “Are you American?” he asked. “Yes,” I answered. “What brings you here, then?” I told him I was the new minister at the Church of Christ on Victoria Road. “Fancy that,” his wife chimed in. We introduced ourselves and stood chatting for a half hour. That was the beginning of an off-and-on

March 25, 2019

Christian Standard

It’s God’s Kindness

By Vince Antonucci One time after a church service a lady bounced up to me and said, “Hey!” I said, “Hey!” “My name’s Sandy,” she said very quickly, “but not for long it isn’t. I’m changing it! It’s been a bad year for Sandys—Hurricane Sandy, Sandy Hook Elementary.” I nodded, a bit confused. “So, hey!” Sandy continued, “I just wanted to thank you for keeping it positive.” I asked what she meant. “I went to church a few times growing up, and I’ve gone a couple times as an adult, and I hate it. Hate it!” Sandy said. “You always

February 2, 2019

Christian Standard

Rewritable

By Brian Jennings “Man, I don’t have any rewritable CDs. I don’t think anyone still has rewritable CDs.” My words failed to calm him down. De-escalation seemed impossible. He got louder and angrier. He took a step forward and I was thinking, It’s about to go down—right here, right now. Twenty minutes earlier I’d asked my friend, José, if he wanted to walk from our office to my favorite lunch spot in the neighborhood. I was in the mood for Korean food—I’m always in the mood for Korean food. About a half-mile of worn-out parking lots and side streets separated

January 29, 2019

Christian Standard

Learning the Ministry of Receiving

By Daniel Schantz The best thing about teaching in a Christian college was that someone always needed me for something. “Professor, help! I need ideas! I’m teaching junior high boys in camp!” “Dan, you’re up for devotions in the faculty meeting tomorrow.” “Hey, Schantzy, you’re the car guy around here. . . . Is it normal for a transmission to smell like burnt pepperoni?” Now I have retired to a subdivision outside of town, where I have suddenly gone from being needed to being needy. The 10 families who live out here are rather independent. Only my wife needs me

December 23, 2018

Christian Standard

The Christmas Vision

By Daniel Schantz  I was a high school freshman in 1957 when the Russians stunned the world by launching Sputnik, the first artificial Earth satellite. I was living in the little town of Sabina, Ohio, where my father was minister of the church of Christ. My brother Tommy and I were like the rocket boys in the movie October Sky. After school we would stuff homemade propellant into cardboard tubes and fire our miniature missiles high into the air, where they would disappear, never to be found. But we wanted to go higher, farther into space, so one evening my

August 27, 2018

Christian Standard

A Flickering Light

By Jacqueline J. Holness “I don’t know what to do,” she said, her voice nearly dissolving in muffled tears. The flow of cars surrounding me competed for my attention as I made my way into the confines of the city from the freedom of the expressway. A beat later, sniffles aside, she continued the phone call. “I can’t afford my children’s private school tuition anymore. I kept saying I would pay the bill, but now they won’t accept any more excuses. I’m trying to teach them at home, but I don’t know anything about homeschooling, plus I work. They’ve been

July 20, 2018

Christian Standard

Whatever It Takes

By L. Mackenzie I gawked at the preacher, raised my eyebrows, and asked, “You want a what onstage for the sermon?” He calmly looked at me, fingers interlaced, and replied, “A scapegoat. Oh, and a Passover lamb before Easter. See what you can find.” What was I to do at T-minus-four weeks? What rancher would be willing to lend us valuable and tame animals for a live broadcast in front of 10,000 people? So many things could go terribly wrong: the goat could dive into the crowd, the lamb might pee on power cords; things could explode. Do we have

June 29, 2018

Tyler McKenzie

Love Is the End

By Tyler McKenzie   “If we never become Christians, will you still be our friends?” I was shocked by the question. Even a little angry. Did the last year of our friendship mean nothing? My wife, Lindsay, and I had met Joe and Amy at our church. We were leading a group for skeptics designed to answer tough questions. It was my favorite hour of the week (secretly, because their questions have always been mine). When I walked in, the two of them were huddled on a black leather couch we retired from the church lobby to one of the

June 15, 2018

Michael C. Mack

Why I, Too, Love the Restoration Movement

By Michael C. Mack   Like Rick Chromey, I love the Restoration Movement . . . but for very different reasons. Rick grew up in an independent Christian church. I had never heard of these churches until I was 27. In his article, “Why I Love the Restoration Movement,” Rick says he is thankful for his upbringing in the church; I’m thankful for a church, and a movement of churches, that exist to carry out the mission of Jesus to go and make disciples. I am an example of someone whose life was forever changed because a church in our

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