Articles for tag: Ozark Christian College

Colleges & Seminaries Organizations & Events

A Conversation with Matt Proctor

Meet Our Contributing Editors:Â This month we talk with Ozark Christian CollegeÂ President Matt Proctor about the impact of a convention theme, the health of the churches in our fellowship, and the genius of the Restoration Movement. Interview By Jennifer Johnson Well, two big things have been part of your life this past year: the North American Christian Convention and your wife”s cancer. Of course, that”s in addition to your work leading Ozark Christian College. I want to talk about all of it””let”s start with the NACC. What have you discovered about our churches this past year? It”s been an honor to

August 5, 2013

Victorious! — A Review of the 2013 NACC

By Darrel Rowland The woman who can never stand up got a standing ovation simply for guiding her wheelchair onto the stage. Why did the entire hall of thousands of Christians rise to applaud Joni Eareckson Tada””an honor given to no other speaker during this year”s North American Christian Convention in Louisville, Kentucky””even before she uttered a syllable? Perhaps because her life embodies the theme of the 2013 gathering: “Victorious.” Convention President Matt Proctor”s decision to spend July 9-12 plowing through the book of Revelation may have generated skepticism beforehand, but the reactionÂ afterward was overwhelmingly positive. “I think this is

July 21, 2013

Mark E. Moore

40 Under 40: Shane Wood

SHANE WOOD Professor of New Testament,Â Ozark Christian College,Â Joplin, Missouri Shane Wood is one of those rare jewels whose intellect is exceeded by his passion to make Jesus famous. His scholarship is obvious to anyone who has ever sat under his teaching at Ozark Christian College or accessed the growing repository of online lectures he provides for free at shanejwood.com. He is, in my estimation, the foremost expert on the book of Revelation in the Restoration Movement. However, what is most impressive about Shane is his heart for the dispossessed. For example, he is an active board member of

July 17, 2013

40 Under 40: Jamie Snyder

JAMIE SNYDER Lead pastor,Â Lakeside Christian Church,Â Lakeside, Kentucky I have long subscribed to the Christian leadership axiom, “The best indicator of future performance is past performance.” Now, to be sure, it is not the only indicator; but the track record of any emerging Christian leader should not be ignored, especially in the area of their character. This being true, it is encouraging to see the picture and name of Jamie Snyder on CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s list of “40 Leaders Under 40.” Even from his student days at Ozark Christian College, Jamie has been a young man with genuine humility and

April 26, 2013

Communion & Lord's Supper Theology & Bible

Foolishness and Communion

By Tom Lawson “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). What could be more foolish than Communion””a little bread and grape juice or wine through which we are invited to experience Christ? Perhaps the only thing more foolish is saving the world with some wood, a few nails, and torn, bleeding flesh. We like to make the chasm between the spiritual and the physical as clear as the difference between day and night. The unseen spiritual is

April 21, 2013

Church & Ministry Church Leadership Preaching

Women Preaching

By Brian Mavis Colleges are training them. Churches areÂ using them. And Christ is being exalted.Â Here”s what we learned when we talked to women who preach and the professors who have taught them. Jodi Hickerson”s journey of becoming a preaching/teaching pastor began at 19 when she joined the teaching team for the high school ministry at Southland Christian Church in Lexington, Kentucky. A few years later she was part of the programming team at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, and then at 26 became one of the teaching pastors at Heartland Community Church, Rockford, Illinois. Today she is

April 19, 2013

Tom Lawson

Theology & Bible Communion & Lord's Supper

When Jesus Missed Communion

What if a church gathered for Communion, but Jesus wasn’t at the table? Drawing from Revelation 3 and the church at Laodicea, this reflection calls believers to open the door and welcome Christ back in.

April 12, 2013

Communion & Lord's Supper Theology & Bible

Remembering or Participating?

By Tom Lawson “Do this in remembrance of me.” Perhaps no words are more closely associated with Communion. Communion is, if nothing else, a time of remembering Jesus Christ. Many people are surprised, or at least confused, by Paul’s teachings in 1 Corinthians 10:16, 17. Here he teaches that the cup is a participation or sharing in the blood of Christ and the bread is a participation or sharing in the body of Christ. To some, this sounds too close to medieval ideas that had the cup and loaf actually changing into the blood and body of Christ. On the

March 14, 2013

Mark E. Moore

Church & Ministry Church Leadership Preaching

Interview with Mark Moore

By Paul Boatman Mark Moore is teaching pastor of Christ”s Church of the Valley (CCV) in Peoria, Arizona, a congregation with weekly attendance of about 19,000. He left a 22-year professorship at Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri, to lead a creative ministry-equipping program through this congregation. You left a respected professorship after two decades. Why? Influence. I loved teaching in Bible college. I also love preaching. When pastor Don Wilson opened the door at Christ”s Church of the Valley, I realized I could pursue both loves. It gives poetic balance to my career: The first half in academia and

March 9, 2013

Colleges & Seminaries Organizations & Events

Class in the City

By Dave Smith For almost six years, students from Ozark Christian College have attended class in New York City. They have overcome their fear of urban areas, learned from diverse church leaders, and begun to discover their fit in this globalized world. This journey from Joplin, Missouri, to New York City traveled by way of California. In 2000, Ken Idleman, Ozark Christian College”s president at the time, took a one-year sabbatical to help his son, Kyle, plant a church in Southern California. President Idleman experienced firsthand how God uses new churches to reach people far from God. He returned to

February 28, 2013

‘Trust Completely’

By Mark A. Taylor Months ago Matt Proctor chose the topic for the sermon he preached Monday evening (February 25) to kick off Ozark Christian College”s annual Preaching Teaching Convention. But he had no idea then how personal his message, titled “Trust Completely,” would become. The challenge to trust came into sharper focus for Matt when his wife, Katie, was diagnosed with endometrial cancer two weeks ago. “Not exactly the news a 44-year-old mother of six kids was hoping to hear,” Matt said, according to last week”s e-newsletter from the North American Christian Convention. The NACC made the announcement as

February 19, 2013

Our Conference within a Conference (Previewing the 2013 NACC)

By Matt Proctor Effective leaders are not born; they”re made. At the 2013 NACC, you”ll have a chance to sharpen your own leadership. On Thursday afternoon, we”ll have our normal schedule with dozens of helpful workshops, but on Wednesday afternoon, we”ll have just four large workshops. At Wednesday”s “leadership conference within a conference,” we”ll welcome nationally known speakers for each of four large leadership workshops. Les and Leslie Parrott will speak about “The Leader”s Marriage.” These New York Times best-selling authors have shared their Christian perspective on marriage on CNN, The View, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, Fox

February 19, 2013

Witnesses from Around the World (Previewing the 2013 NACC)

By Chris DeWelt An exciting component of the 2013 North American Christian Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, will be the powerful testimonies of six followers of Christ who come from six different parts of our world. Each will offer pungent and powerful words from the front lines where the gospel is actively pushing back the kingdom of darkness. At each of the six main sessions, you will hear godly leaders from other nations who are living out lives of faithful service, often at great personal risk and frequently with life-altering consequences. Their active witness of today”s victorious faith in the face

February 19, 2013

Victorious (Previewing the 2013 NACC)

By Matt Proctor Someone wrote that 10 years ago our world had Bob Hope, Johnny Cash, and Steve Jobs. Now we have no Jobs, no Cash, and no Hope! Maybe you”ve experienced those moments of “no hope.” The normal challenges of life””financial shortfall, physical illness, family conflict””are tough enough. But for believers, life can be even harder. In John 16:33, Jesus promised, “In this world you will have trouble.” In Acts 14:22, Paul said, “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” You may know those hardships very well: You”ve struggled to get free of a

January 8, 2013

How Do You Define Your Leadership? Matt Proctor

By Matt Proctor As a leader, I wear many hats: team builder, decision maker, fund-raiser, and problem solver. But my favorite leadership hat””and perhaps the most important””is storyteller. A leader”s primary job is not to fulfill a mission, but to create a mission-fulfilling community. A leader”s task is not simply to get a job done, but to mobilize and inspire a group of followers to get the job done. Of course, forging a hodgepodge group of individuals into an effective team with common values and a shared mission isn”t easy. So how do we get people “on the same page”?

December 6, 2012

Church Life

Documentary Film about Joplin Tornado Premieres

On Nov. 19, College Heights Christian Church (Joplin, MO) hosted the premiere of Steadfast, a full-length documentary about the May 2011 Joplin tornado and the response of local churches. Gregory Fish, an Ozark Christian College graduate, directed the film, and 50 percent of the profits go to rebuilding efforts in Joplin. Watch the trailer and learn more at www.steadfastdocumentary.com.

November 27, 2012

Culture & Public Square

Ezekiel”s Endless Summer

By Jay Engelbrecht I tend to be skeptical, but the facts have convinced me. As new heat records continue to be set, decade after decade, as the evidence continues to mount, I can no longer deny that climate change is real. When my dad was growing up, his family butchered a cow every November, then hung a side of beef outside, and ate off it all winter. The meat never spoiled. I live in the same area, but these days, I play football in short sleeves with my son on November afternoons. Thirty years ago I helped a neighbor put

August 31, 2012

Bigger Issue than Same-Sex Attraction?

By James Engelbrecht Individuals with same-sex attraction make up as much as 6 percent of the male population and 4.5 percent of females (though some studies estimate half that). Those are not insignificant numbers, especially when same-sex attraction involves you or someone you love. Thus began Mark Moore”s February 12, 2012, column, “How Should the Church Relate to Those with Same-Sex Attraction?” Here”s the rub. As a follower of Christ, I hear Christians say: “Keep your nose out of my private life.” “It”s my body.” “Christians aren”t called to be judgmental.” “It”s not a sin. I”m this way due to

August 16, 2012