OCC Observes 10-Year Anniversary of Joplin Tornado (Plus News Briefs)
Briefs about the 10-year anniversary of the deadly Joplin tornado, Passion for Planting, Mid-Atlantic Christian University, Holley Christian Church's 150th anniversary, and more.
Articles for tag: Randy Gariss
What It Means to “˜Examine”
By Randy Gariss The Lord”s Supper is about celebration. After all, the meal points to the love of Christ, forgiveness of sins, the coming of the kingdom, and other wonderful repercussions of the cross. Yet, in the midst of the joy there is another imperative from Paul, one with more sobering overtones. We are each told to “examine” ourselves. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread
Communion with You
By Randy Gariss If the idea of a one-person wedding seems bizarre, so too does the idea of personal Communion. There are many things in the Christian life you can do on your own. You can study, pray, fast, sing, worship, and serve all by yourself. But why is there not even a hint in Scripture about taking the Lord”s Supper alone? When Christ initiated Communion, it was in a group (Matthew 26). When Communion is described in the book of Acts, it is in a group (Acts 2:42). The same is true in 1 Corinthians. A study of Scripture
May 12, 2017
A Picture of the Future
By Randy Gariss A sage wryly commented, “All predictions are difficult to make, but especially those about the future.” He is right, of course, but can you imagine the empowerment if we were able to accurately see the future? For example, what if the junior high teen, distraught over his gangly appearance, could only get a glimpse of the composed, mature young adult he would someday be? Wouldn”t that picture diffuse much worthless worry? Or consider the impact a peek into the future could have on the young couple working through that first rough year of marriage””each of them going
May 5, 2017
The Unexpected Place Setting
By Randy Gariss It must have seemed an odd table. David was king of Israel, and when he sat down to eat he had his family and his sons. As king, he naturally would have included some friends and perhaps a favorite servant or two. And also a crippled man by the name of Mephibosheth. The backstory has all the human interest we can handle. Years before, Saul had been the king and he had made the young David”s life miserable””repeatedly attempting to cut it short! Saul”s despotic life and desperate panic were all an ill-fated attempt to keep David,
August 29, 2016
Leadership Condensed
By Randy Gariss and Ryan Fletcher The actual idea of leadership is profound and indispensable, but as a trendy fad it is often wearisome. The popularity of leadership podcasts, books, seminars, conferences, workshops, and sermons tell us we crave better leadership. The reality is that much of the current offerings on leadership are just spiritualized mush. It seems we”ve taken every leadership book on Amazon, reworded the points to make them sound kinder, attached a Scripture or two, and then thrown them to the church. The only thing missing is the essence of biblical leadership. We, the authors of this
October 6, 2015
About Face
By Mark A. Taylor Yesterday we posted the first in a series of posts this month about integrity. We believe each one will challenge readers to grow deeper, to actually become in greater measure what they seem to be and what they say they want to be. But one aspect needs fuller discussion. None of our other posts specifically addresses how our prayer lives are a measure of our integrity. Yesterday’s post by Randy Gariss touches the issue with his list of four disciplines to achieve integrity. Correctly, he begins with worship, and certainly he includes prayer as a part of that. We posted Gariss”s essay first
October 5, 2015
Chasing after Integrity
Integrity is still respected. But is it expected? Do we know integrity when we see it? Do we know how to achieve it when we find it lacking in ourselves? In a testimony every Christian, and certainly every Christian leader, should read, this seasoned minister describes the steps he takes as he “desperately chases after God.” By Randy Gariss This afternoon my local sports-talk radio host was yelling again. In the midst of his apoplexy he kept shouting, “Where is integrity? Where is integrity? I tell you I am sick of this stuff!” It seems another high-profile, highly touted athlete
August 6, 2015
Family . . . Our Sacred Cow
By Randy Gariss “Sacred cows” exist in far more places than just India; you may find them in our culture”s views about family and home. Some of our most committed believers lack a biblical view of family, hurting both themselves and the church. Jesus said some pretty shocking and “unfamily things” about family. An example might be, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters””yes, even their own life””such a person cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Hate your family? Surely understanding the original Greek word softens this, right? No, sorry,
July 23, 2015
Mark Scott’s Thought Leaders
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 Mark Scott, professor of preaching and ministry, Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. ________ As tempting as it is to name the five members of my family (wife and four children), I will name and give commentary to five thought leaders. Two are older and have mentored me. One is a peer and has walked alongside of me. Two are younger and
May 3, 2015
We Got Booted from the List!
By Mont Mitchell I turned my numbers in to CHRISTIAN STANDARD for the attendance list today. For the last bunch of years we have been on the emerging megachurch list . . . you know, churches with an average attendance more than 1,000 (but less than 2,000). However, for the last several years, our church has been going through some challenges and changes and transitions. (I”ll get to that in a bit.) The result: We”re bumped from the list. Westbrook Christian Church, Bolingbrook, Illinois, used to be an emerging megachurch. Today, we are just a large church. Now, don”t get
June 25, 2014
“˜. . . And He Was a Man of Prayer”
By Randy Gariss It is easy to forget and neglect the main thing””it happens all the time. Sometimes it results in tragedy. Drivers should drive and not text. Train engineers should remain awake and not fall asleep. Babysitters should watch children and not TV. And elders should be men of prayer. Even a casual reading of Scripture clearly demonstrates the place prayer is to play in a leader”s life. Consider: Samuel the prophet “¢ He told the Jewish people, “Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you” (1 Samuel
January 23, 2014
A Conversation with Randy Gariss
Interview by Jennifer Johnson Last time we talked, you”d just finished a sabbatical. How has it changed you and the church? We decided on my six-months sabbatical partly to give me prep time for the next five to eight years, because all leaders need some extended time to study and refill the well. But the other reason is no congregation accidentally gets younger. There are four of us on staff who had been here 25 years or longer, and that wasn”t setting us up for the future. Clearly, we”re not a “throw-out-the-old” type of church. But you only get younger
August 20, 2013
Collapsing Culture Brings Family Ruin?
By Mark A. Taylor The deterioration of Christian influence in our culture has caused the collapse of stable families in our society, right? Although many conservative Christians believe the above idea, at least one writer challenges it. Mary Eberstadt, in her book How the West Really Lost God: A New Theory of Secularization, proposes that the collapse of family structures in our country and several others has caused the loss of religious influence, not vice versa. Quoted by Justin Taylor at The Gospel Coalition website, Eberstadt said: People are social beings. They learn religion the way they learn language: in
August 13, 2013
They Need a Friend!
By Mark A. Taylor Young adults may lead the way in social networking, but their hours with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram don”t help all of them feel connected. In fact, among Americans today, the youngest adults are most likely to say they”re still looking for a friend. The Barna Group reports 20 percent of Americans describe themselves as lonely, up from about 10 percent just 10 years ago, “a paradoxical reality in the full swing of the social media age.” In that same decade, the number of Americans “trying to find a few good friends” has increased from 31 to
August 9, 2013
A Lifetime Love
Why do some married couples grow deeper in love, while others experience more pain with each passing season of life? What can we do to keep a new love young until we”re old? By Randy Gariss As the old couple held hands and slowly rose to their feet, so did the audience. The congregation”s ovation was sweet and deafening. We were recognizing a couple in our congregation for their 71 years of marriage. And everyone could see not only that John and Phyllis”s love survived the tests of time, but they had the marriage all young couples long for. There is something winsome
October 9, 2012
When Faith Is a Struggle: Find This Book and Read It! (Part 3)
By Randy Gariss Disappointment with God Philip Yancey Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988 Reaching for the Invisible God Philip Yancey Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000 A Skeptic”s Guide to Faith (previously titled Rumors of Another World) Philip Yancey Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009 Struggling with faith? Keep Philip Yancey”s works close. In my opinion, you can never go wrong by recommending a Philip Yancey book. From the mid-1970s, his writings have made a dramatic mark on the Christian landscape with more than 15 million of his books currently in circulation. His writings are varied, but the genius of his work probably has to
August 2, 2012
What Do You Say about Church Music?
By Randy Gariss Within the American church, few topics have brought out more absurdity, immaturity, and blind passion than the discussion of “what shall the music in our worship services be like?” Of course, there are exceptions, but if one listens to the discussion in blogs, small groups, church hallways, and around Christian family dinner tables, let”s just say our finest behavior is seldom on display when we are discussing worship music. Why has the style of music in a worship service been such a lightning rod for disagreement? What has caused this issue to tower over the landscape of
A Mission, Not Just a Mission Trip
By Mark A. Taylor Maybe the best line in the panel interview article posted this week comes close to the end of it. Luke Erickson, from Mountain Christian Church, in Joppa, Maryland, shared the question the church asks anyone interested in community service projects or mission trips overseas: “How are you engaged in your own neighborhood?” It”s a question born of genius. It prods the would-be servant to get out of himself and into the church”s mission. For example, I may feel good about “sacrificing” a couple hours to work in a food pantry; I may think I”ve given a
April 2, 2012
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
