Articles for tag: Ozark Christian College

Obituaries from 2011

ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF OBITUARIES Connie Lynn Bolinger, 58, of Nashville, TN, died May 22, 2011, after an extended illness. She was born Feb. 12, 1953, in Gary, IN, the daughter of Elwood and Bonnie (Starks) Bolinger. She grew up in the First Christian Church of Hessville, Hammond, IN. A graduate of Morton High School in Hammond, she attended Indiana University and Saint Brieuc in Brittany, France. After moving to Nashville, TN, in 1990 she became staff assistant at First Christian Church, later Aspen Grove Christian Church, of Franklin, TN, a position she held for 21 years. She was a gifted

Unexpectedly Sweet

By Mark A. Taylor A few weeks ago I reported on Christian Standard”s annual contributing editors retreat, January 11-13. But I didn”t describe a bittersweet part of our time together. One of our members had just learned about a tragic, sudden death in his church. The auto accident had happened on the other side of the country in the afternoon as we were gathering for our meeting. Our friend skipped dinner to handle phone calls and make plans to return home the next morning. Then he came to our opening session. Once our group had assembled, we asked him to

Christian Church Colleges?

By Darrel Rowland More students from non-Restoration Movement churches are attending colleges and universities associated with independent Christian churches and churches of Christ. Is that good news or bad? To find out, CHRISTIAN STANDARD contacted leaders of the movement”s institutions of higher learning. Those from 15 responded, together representing about 85 percent of total enrollment. The “good news” camp points to the benefits of exposure to faithful biblical teaching, which in several cases has led to baptisms””sometimes in college swimming pools. “We view having non-Restoration Movement students as a blessed opportunity to share our message with those who might never

Interview with Terry Stine

By Paul Boatman After a career in ministry and missions, Terry Stine is completing his fifth year as president of Boise Bible College in Idaho.   Many were surprised when you became president of Boise Bible College. How did that happen? Well, my lifelong ministry objective is to preach the Word and go where God sends me. My end-of-life goal is to hear “well done, good and faithful servant.” Wherever God sends me, I go and I stay there until he moves me somewhere else. I”ve never looked to jump from one location to another.   But you have been

2012 College Reports: Building, Teaching, Serving, Growing!

By Staff We asked colleges and seminaries associated with Christian churches and churches of Christ to provide updates on what”s happening at their institutions. Here”s what they had to say (these are listed alphabetically):   Alberta Bible College Practical ministry experience has been a hallmark of the education and equipping experience at Alberta Bible College since its inception 80 years ago. Under the direction of the learning services team, ABC is more fully integrating several new practical ministry lab experiences into its regular programs, in addition to the ongoing weekly involvements in local churches and parachurch ministries. Beginning this fall,

“˜Commissioned”: NMC Becomes ICOM

By Chris DeWelt The National Missionary Convention became the International Conference on Missions at its gathering last fall. The conference seems set to continue what it does best: challenging thousands with the opportunity and needs for world missions. From the moment I heard that Wing Wong of China was the 2011 National Missionary Convention president, I knew it would be a great gathering. My anticipation grew when Wing visited Ozark Christian College a few months before the convention and immediately endeared himself to hundreds of students. Wing”s unique combination of humor, passion for Christ, and humble spirit connected with more

How Should the Church Relate to Those with Same-Sex Attraction?

By Mark Moore 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. The church traditionally has not been particularly welcoming of such individuals, and a number of Scriptures have been cited to validate responses that are sometimes violent””verbally, emotionally, occasionally even physically. Because I am a follower of Jesus Christ, it is unconscionable for me to reject in the body of Christ some of the most spiritually sensitive

My Appetite

By Chris DeWelt   “My food . . . “ It was quite tasty. A large whole lamb fixed in a traditional Albanian way””stuffed with rice. Really good rice. It even had some almonds and bits of liver mixed in. The college students all looked my way with some degree of uncertainty. Maybe it was because the whole lamb was present (minus the wool and hide). Fish with the head attached is one thing, but this definitely was stretching the comfort zone, and here in Durres, Albania, we had already been stretched quite a bit. Perhaps I was a bit

A Firsthand Report on the Joplin Tornado

By Victor Knowles It was a searing scene straight from of the book of Revelation. Thunder crashing, lightning flashing, wind howling in excess of 200 mph, hail hammering everything in its path like a merciless Hun invasion, and “ball lightning”—big balls of red fire bouncing across the ground like bizarre basketballs from Hell. “It was like a nuclear bomb was dropped,” exclaimed a stunned Errol Bolt, who has survived several hurricanes in his native Jamaica. And when the EF-5 tornado had spent its fury, one-third of the city of Joplin, Missouri, lay in ruins. The Weather Channel’s Al Roker initially

Responding to Joplin Tornado Disaster

News this week focuses on the many churches, parachurch ministries, and families affected by the tornado that struck Joplin, MO, on Sunday. Victor Knowles, president of Joplin-based Peace on Earth Ministries, shares the good news that all 37 Christian church/church of Christ parachurch organizations in Joplin came through the storm without significant damage to their buildings. However, a number of staff from these ministries did lose their homes. And one of the many people killed in the storms was Natalia Puebla, a freshman at Ozark Christian College from Carthage, MO. Doug Welch, a professor at OCC, shared yesterday, “I still had a stack

More than Teacups . . . a Plea for Biblical Literacy

By Megan Gariss I was in elementary school during the mid-1990s when “Magic Eye” posters were all the rage. As you may remember, these posters produced three-dimensional images out of two-dimensional patterns. For some in my class, seeing the image was no problem””they could simply glance at the poster and quickly discern the hidden 3-D image. However, for most of the class, myself included, viewing the image was hard work. We all had different methods of looking at the “Magic Eye” poster, each guaranteed to help the viewer discover the 3-D image””be it a penguin on a raft or the

Getting the Most from Old Testament Law (Part 2)

Those who first received the Law viewed obeying it a privilege, not a restriction. Can New Testament Christians also see the beauty in these ancient texts? (This is another in a series of articles titled “Reading the Bible for All It’s Worth” that Matt Proctor is writing this year.) ________ By Matt Proctor Last week we considered the challenge to look again at the Old Testament Law. We listened to the testimony of Christians whose lives had been changed by reconsidering the purposes behind all the directives God gives in the legal portions of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. We considered the

2011 College Reports: “˜God Is at Work on Our Campus”

By Staff We asked colleges and seminaries associated with Christian churches and churches of Christ to provide updates on what”s happening at their institutions. Here”s what they had to say (these are listed alphabetically): Alberta Bible College Alberta Bible College”s endowment scholarship gives students a highly subsidized tuition rate of $5,850 per year. This allows many students to focus on their ministries and complete their program with little or no debt. ABC deeply integrates classroom learning with real-world experience. Our students” lives reflect this emphasis on ministry and the important work they accomplish. Jackson, a second-year student, transferred from another

Interview with Dudley Rutherford

By Brad Dupray Dudley Rutherford is a third-generation minister who has attended the North American Christian Convention for more than 40 years. He is in a family that produces ministers: both brothers, both brothers-in-law, both uncles, and his cousins are also ministers. His ministry of 24 years at Shepherd of the Hills Church in suburban Los Angeles has challenged him to think creatively and diversely. The church has benefited, having grown from 300 to more than 8,000 during his tenure with an ethnic mix that goes beyond just reflecting his community. Dudley earned his undergraduate degree at Ozark Christian College,

Story of Abuse, Rescue Featured on “˜Oprah”

On Tuesday, Oprah Winfrey devoted her show to the story of Kathie and Kellie Henderson, sisters who were molested and abused by their father and brothers for years””and the family from Countryside Christian Church (Wichita, KS) who rescued them. Jim Vasey, an elder at Countryside and a member of the board of trustees at Ozark Christian College (Joplin, MO), and his wife, Shelly, lived in the same neighborhood as the girls but never suspected the abuse. When the sisters finally confided in them, the Vaseys contacted the police and walked with the girls through the difficult days that followed. Shelly

Go, You (Why You Should Attend the National Missionary Convention)

By Teresa Schantz Williams I thought it would be awkward, like showing up at a wedding rehearsal when you”re not in the wedding party. Attend the National Missionary Convention? I had no credentials: I”m not a missionary or a forwarding agent, I don”t serve on a mission committee, and I”ve never been on a mission trip outside the United States. “You should come,” my sister insisted. “Going there just . . . changes you.” I didn”t ask what about me needed changing (I”m pretty sure she”d tell me). Instead, I went. On November 18, we drove from Missouri to Lexington,

The Lasting Influence of a Small Church

By Gordon R. Clymer Recently six Timothys of Indiana”s Black Oak Church of Christ returned to say thank-you to the church where each was baptized. Located between Hammond and Gary, the community has become more inner-city than metropolitan. Fewer than 100 people now meet to worship with this congregation. In years past it was never a large church, but it had a vision of outreach. These six men sent out to preach the gospel include James North, professor of church history at Cincinnati (Ohio) Christian University; Ziden Nutt, executive director of Good News Productions, International (Joplin, Missouri); Gordon Clymer, professor

My Journey to Journey

By Darin Brown I can still remember taking notes from a breakout session at the Eastern Christian Convention more than 10 years ago. Gene Appel was describing the transformation that had occurred at the church he was leading in Las Vegas and was presenting a simple yet profound formula for change. I wrote down “Dissatisfaction + Vision + Next Steps = Change.” As I listened to Appel explain these concepts, I had no idea my life and ministry would be heading down the same path. It should not have happened so quickly. I was the senior minister of a new

Interview with Derek Lauer

By Brad Dupray Pastoral ministry is sometimes daunting, sometimes exhilarating, but nearly always challenging. In his 30 years of ministry, Derek Lauer has seen the peaks and valleys and learned how to meet the challenges along the way. Derek served in youth ministries in California and Arizona, and has been a senior pastor for the past 17 years, first in Arizona, and now at Northeast Christian Church in Rockford, Illinois. He holds an undergraduate degree from Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and a master”s from Cincinnati (Ohio) Christian Seminary. What”s the hardest thing about being in the ministry? <laughs> Floyd

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