Articles for tag: Neighbor

March 31, 2017

Christian Standard

Good Funerals & Neighbors, Troubled Times

By LeRoy Lawson The Good Funeral: Death, Grief and the Community of Care Thomas G. Long and Thomas Lynch Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2013 A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens First published in 1859 The Neighboring Church: Getting Better at What Jesus Said Matters Most Rick Rusaw and Brian Mavis Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2016 The Good Funeral is about the importance of funerals in “getting the dead where they need to go and the living where they need to be.” Authors Thomas Long and Thomas Lynch like this maxim of Lynch”s father so well they made it the theme of

March 17, 2017

Christian Standard

Welcoming the Stranger in Our Midst

By Gayla Congdon My first experience with refugees was in the early 1980s while working at First Christian Church in San Francisco. The community the church served had an influx of about 200 families seeking asylum in the United States. These families had fled El Salvador due to a bloody civil war taking place there. FCC pastor Bill Miles called me to ask for my help with a little translation problem the church was having. He said about 50 kids from El Salvador showed up for FCC”s “Summer Fun in the Son” program. A 10-year-old was the only one in

January 29, 2017

Christian Standard

Fostering the Good News

By Jon Hembree The county where I live has a serious problem. By all appearances, Barton County, a rural area that”s almost precisely the geographical center of Kansas, is a nice place to live. It”s population isn”t quite 30,000, and the people who live here are, in many ways, hardworking and kindhearted. This county, driven by agriculture and oil, offers quite a bit for the people who live here. The county enjoys a small zoo, a number of restaurants, a local water park, and, perhaps, the pièce de résistance: a 24-hour Walmart Supercenter! Woo-hoo! When digging beneath the surface of

April 27, 2016

Christian Standard

Escape Eschatology

By Jim Tune Dispensationalists, especially modern dispensationalists, promote an eschatology that amounts to little more than “escapeatology.” Popular treatments of the Olivet Discourse (Mark 13; Mathew 24; Luke 21) and the book of Revelation present an eschatology that induces a mind-set of escapism. And many Christians are eating it up. Consider the popularity of the Left Behind series of books and movies with their view of eschatology as merely a means of future escape from this world, with a corresponding flight from any present responsibility to this world. Escapeatology views Revelation”s portrayal of the new heaven and earth as a reality in the distant

November 13, 2015

Christian Standard

A Ministry of Hope

By Name Withheld In Indonesia, life can be short. In just two weeks we heard about at least five deaths in our neighborhood or among our neighbors” friends and families. Each death is important to the Indonesians. In most of the villages, if someone dies, the whole village shuts down to mourn. The day someone dies, the death is announced over the loudspeaker from the mosque in the kampung (neighborhood). The men in the community immediately begin building a wooden box for burial, and then they set up plastic chairs and a large tarp so people can come be with

September 4, 2015

Christian Standard

The Power of One

By Tom Ellsworth One really can make a difference. It was a sweltering election afternoon in 1842 when Hoosier farmer Henry Shoemaker finally realized he hadn”t voted yet. Shoemaker had personally promised state representative candidate Madison Marsh he would cast his vote for him, so he saddled his horse and hurried to Kendallville before the polls closed. When the votes were counted, Marsh and his opponent, Enos Beall, were tied. There was one contested ballot, and it was Shoemaker”s. When his vote was finally admitted, the tie was broken, and Marsh was declared the winner . . . by one

July 17, 2015

Christian Standard

Feeling Close

By Daniel Schantz “The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David . . .” (1 Samuel 18:1). The word communion means “to share” or “to have something in common.” Although it is more than just a feeling, the feeling is rather nice. Communion is what you feel the first time you fall in love, and she loves you back. You can almost read her mind, and when she goes away, your heart breaks. Communion is what you feel in the middle of the night when your wife is trembling from a nightmare and, gently, you wake her from

June 26, 2015

Christian Standard

Three Ways to Sing a Common Song

By Mandy Smith For many Christians, singing hymns in a group is still a meaningful experience. An a cappella version of “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow” can induce goose bumps, especially when those harmonies chime in on the “A-men.” While we don”t usually dissect the meaning of this practice, there are reasons why singing as a group is powerful. The simple act of singing old songs about God to God with each other reinforces three things that are central to our faith: We are devoted to God through Christ, We are devoted to him together, and We are

March 20, 2015

Christian Standard

My Neighbor

By Alison P. Martinez “Do you know where Mohawk Drive is?” The woman”s dirty housedress hung loosely on her bony shoulders; she wore socks but no shoes. Her face was tanned ruddy, as if she walked long and far in the sun. “No, I don”t,” I shrugged, and continued my stroll to the park. Then I saw the woman asking others, who all shook their heads “no.” Something pulled me back, so I approached her. “You”re very thin,” I said. “You”re wearing socks but no shoes. What”s the situation?” “I went to the drugstore, but I can”t see too well, and

September 16, 2014

Mark A. Taylor

A Choice, Not a Prayer Request

By Mark A. Taylor I”ve written before about a friend in ministry who was dealing with some difficult people. “Why don”t you show them why they need to approach this problem in a different way?” I asked her. “Because people don”t change,” she said. “My telling them another way is better won”t make any difference. They”re going to do this the way they want to do it, not the way I say they should.” If she”s right, how do we ever see change happen? At least a part of the answer comes in the excellent essays by Casey Tygrett  and

May 19, 2014

Christian Standard

Lesson for May 25, 2014: The Greatest Commandment (Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 4:35; 6:1-9; Mark 12:28-34)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. ______ By Sam E. Stone Today we study Jesus” answer to a question about the greatest commandment. In reply, he cites the two Old Testament passages that we will consider first in our lesson. Moses had been given the assignment to pass along God”s commands to those Israelites who left Egyptian bondage. Leviticus explained they were to live holy lives (Leviticus 17″“26). Then the book of Deuteronomy (literally “the second law”) reminded the people of the first generation”s failure to follow

March 31, 2014

Christian Standard

Lesson for April 6, 2014: Jesus Cleanses the Temple (Isaiah 56:6-8; Jeremiah 7:8-15; Mark 11:15-19)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. ______ By Sam E. Stone The messages of two prominent Old Testament prophets provide background for today”s lesson. Both focus on the cleansing of the temple during the final week of Jesus” earthly ministry. Isaiah had preached around 740 BC, while Jeremiah came some 55 years later. R. C. Foster noted, “Jeremiah denounces the wicked character of the people worshiping in the temple and the false trust of Israel in the temple; Jesus applies this to their misuse of the temple

January 7, 2014

Mark A. Taylor

Reading Again for the First Time

By Mark A. Taylor “Do professors have to be boring?” Dan Ariely”s answer to the college student who asked that question offers insight for Christians as well as academics. I can imagine a secular neighbor or friend asking, “Do Christians have to be “˜churchy”?” The student”s problem, posed to the Wall Street Journal advice columnist, was this: He had recently attended a lecture by a well-known professor and “was amazed and baffled” by the teacher”s inability to communicate even basic concepts in a compelling and understandable way. The student”s question, which got me to thinking about lifetime Christians like me:

May 24, 2013

Christian Standard

“˜Do Unto Others”

By Barney Wells After four decades of church leadership as a minister, elder, and lately as a church consultant, I have come to see the importance of a simple rule that is too often overlooked. But if it were followed, it would make life for elders, church staff, and congregations more harmonious. And very likely it would lead the watching world to take a higher view of the church. That rule is twice mentioned in Scripture (Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31), children memorize it in Sunday school, and it is stamped on pencils and cross-stitched on samplers. We call it

March 23, 2013

Christian Standard

Neighboring Churches

By Brian Mavis “From the city”s perspective, there is not a lot of difference between the way Christians neighbor and non-Christians neighbor.” The assistant city manager of Arvada, Colorado, made that statement to a group of church leaders. It left them embarrassed and convicted. But it wasn”t the first time they had heard something like that from a city leader. A month earlier a group of church leaders was meeting with Bob Frie, the mayor of Arvada. He explained that even though Arvada (population 106,000) is a great city, it has many problems typical of a city its size””delinquency, elderly

March 15, 2012

Christian Standard

The Landing

By Tim Harlow I qualified for my AARP card this year. I”ve heard this is the point in my ministry career when I will start to slack off and stagnate. The stats tell us at age 50 most ministers will stop taking risks and become complacent””especially if they”ve been at the same post for many years. I was with Dr. John Walker of Blessing Ranch and a few other pastors recently and the discussion was about “finishing well.” The dialogue centered on being able to walk away from our ministry and say with Paul, “I have fought the good fight,

May 25, 2011

Christian Standard

Well Gifted

By Mark A. Taylor “What do you want for your birthday?” Believe it or not, I always have trouble answering the question. It”s not that material things don”t turn my head. But, with all my physical needs met and so many of my wants provided, nothing”s pressing for a place on my wish list. Just bake me a chocolate cake and shower me with funny cards””that”s enough to make my birthday happy. I guess I”m at that stage of life where smaller gifts””the kind usually given at birthdays””aren”t really necessary. I have more socks and shirts than I can wear

February 24, 2011

Christian Standard

Restoring God”s Hope

By Jonathan Williams The scene was always the same. Every morning at 8:00 Marcus Jackson was at my classroom door with a scowl on his face and a half-eaten bag of red-hot, extra spicy potato chips in his hands. I think the red-hot chips explained why Marcus had a scowl on his face. I could always count on two things each morning. The sun would rise and Marcus Jackson would ask to go to the nurse after finishing his bag of red-hot, extra spicy potato chips. It seemed that his breakfast never agreed with him. After school Marcus wouldn”t go home.

November 4, 2009

Christian Standard

Like a Good Neighbor?

By Mark A. Taylor Neighbor is one of those words supposed to evoke warm nostalgia. The quietest children”s TV star, Fred Rogers, gently invited viewers, “Won”t you be my neighbor?” And a national insurance company seeks to seem close and personal with “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there!” But my first thoughts aren”t always positive when I hear the word neighbor. I remember the frat house atmosphere across the street from where we lived 30 years ago””the loud music, the girls coming and going with their clothes in plastic garbage sacks, my mailbox knocked over by someone too

October 25, 2009

Christian Standard

Frankly Speaking

  by Ben Simms Some Ohio State University students thrive on hot dogs as they hang out in the early morning hours on High Street in Columbus. For several years now, Student Christian Fellowship has been giving away free frankfurters at what it calls FFF (short for “Free FrankFurters”).   More than Hot Dogs Christian minister Steve Sjogren says, “Small things done with great love will change the world.” This is really the point of free frankfurter night. The hope is that, at some point in a student”s life at OSU, getting a free hot dog will trigger a conversation

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