March 27, 2026
Tyler McKenzie highlights 2020 survey findings about religion in Iran, noting rising secular identification alongside spiritual openness. He reflects on missional opportunity, compassion over coercion, digital outreach, and praying for war to end and suffering to be limited.
November 5, 2025
Persecution is not the enemy of the gospel. Apathy is. When faith costs us nothing, we risk believing it is worth nothing. But when we see our brothers and sisters worshiping behind locked doors, risking their jobs and freedom, it calls us to something deeper.
October 7, 2020
News Channel 11 in Johnson City, Tenn., interviewed several people for a story last week after it learned “Milligan University had forced a gay professor to resign or renounce their lifestyle” during spring semester. A number of students and alumni sent a form letter to Milligan’s administration and trustees several months ago asking that they commit to several promises relative to sexual orientation and “anti-discrimination” policies involving LGBTQ+ individuals. The lengthy news report said Milligan president Bill Greer met with a current student and a recent alumnus about the situation over the summer. Greer declined to be interviewed for the
June 14, 2020
By Bob Russell Imagine that a godly couple unexpectedly inherits $10 million. How should they react? Their first response should be one of deep gratitude both to the benefactor and to God, the giver of every good gift. There should also be an overwhelming sense of responsibility to be wise stewards and not squander their fortune. Unearned wealth could spoil their kids or destroy their faith if unprepared, so they need to train their children to be sensible money managers. The Bible says, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (1 Corinthians
March 1, 2018
By Bob Russell A popular Christian blogger recently suggested ministers should avoid preaching “anything political” because that’s an automatic turnoff to most seekers. He pointed out that when preachers take a position on contentious cultural issues they minimize opportunities for evangelism—especially with millennials. He applauded one of the leading ministers in America who recently announced he would no longer preach about homosexuality because it was such a polarizing subject. WHY CONFRONT CONTROVERSIAL POLITICAL ISSUES? That may sound like good counsel because, after all, our ultimate hope isn’t in politics but in Jesus Christ. But think about the many hot-button
March 19, 2017
By T.R. Robertson When I identify myself with the outcasts of society that too many condemn or ignore, I am prepared to serve them in a way that pleases God. This past fall, during the heat of the presidential campaign, yet another political link appeared on my Facebook feed. The gist of the headline was that Muslims were threatening to leave the United States in protest. Typical clickbait””it didn”t tempt me to keep reading for the details. But I did notice the comments from people on Facebook, most of whom probably didn”t read beyond the headline either: “Good-bye!” “Thank the
October 15, 2016
By Jennifer Johnson I am angry about the state of our union. And I”m not alone. But anger isn”t the core problem. In January, the Esquire/NBC News “American Rage Survey” reported that half of Americans are angrier than they were a year ago. In February, BBC.com reported that 69 percent of Americans are either “very angry” or “somewhat angry” about “the way things are going” in the United States. As I write this, the day after the Orlando nightclub shooting, I”m sure the numbers are even higher. We are angry about climate change, about those who deny climate change exists,
October 11, 2016
By Mark A. Taylor Why devote so many pages, words, and ink to a question that can be answered with just one word? Can a Christian be a patriot? Yes! With two more words, let us be clear: of course! Readers of articles this month should not see any anti-Americanism here. But these articles offer a plea for us to put our patriotism in perspective: To thank God for America without assuming America is at the center of his will for the world. To ask God to bless America without believing that America”s interests are always God”s purposes. To respect
By Christiana Holcomb The Constitution”s freedom of religion guarantee may not be enough to protect your ministry from litigation. But these steps will help. Editor’s note:Â This article, written before the Supreme Court gay marriage decision, offers strategies even more urgent for churches to adopt today. America is in the midst of a seismic cultural shift in matters of faith, family, and freedom. More than 35 states now issue same-sex marriage licenses. An increasing number of scholars and judges insist that the First Amendment protects only the freedom to believe””not the freedom to live out those beliefs. At least one state
April 7, 2015
By Mark A. Taylor Does any Christian, in the name of religious freedom, really want the right to refuse service to a gay or lesbian? I doubt it. Christian restaurant owners, gas station operators, and Wal-Mart managers have been doing business with gays and lesbians for years, without a problem. The issue isn”t service“”whether I”ll fix a grilled cheese sandwich for a hungry gay guy or sell a dress to a lesbian she”ll wear at her wedding. The issue is endorsement. No one does a morality check before someone enters his business. Every day Christians do business with adulterers, fornicators,
October 5, 2014
By Dudley Rutherford A well-known, yet misguided, quote says, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” The opposite is actually true. What happens in Vegas can stay with you the rest of your life. In California, we have our own adage that rings true: “What happens in California will sweep across the country within 10 years.” My guess is it”s actually two or three years, but who”s counting? When I think of the moral decline on display in California today, the only word that comes to mind is avalanche. And I am not talking about a little snowball rolling down
January 13, 2014
By T.R. Robertson Shortly after our arrival at the prison chapel, the two-way radios crackle with the announcement: “Release Christian Campus House to the chapel.” Within minutes a few dozen offenders, as we”re told to call them, come walking across the central prison yard. We actually call them by their first names. We make a point to learn and remember their names, since no one else here offers them that courtesy. The courts have mandated the prisoners” freedom to practice their chosen religion. The weekly chapel schedule is filled with a wide variety of offerings in 10 different “fully accommodated”
July 20, 2013
Eric Metaxas spoke with CHRISTIAN STANDARD Editor Mark Taylor at the North American Christian Convention. His concerns? The crisis of manhood in our culture and the threats to religious freedom in our country. See the video interview here.
March 12, 2011
By Jennifer Taylor Trent Renner, lead pastor at Parkway Christian Church (Surprise, Arizona), read about hundreds of Christian martyrs as part of his morning devotions in 2010. When planning for 2011, he knew these stories would inspire and challenge his church. “The accounts of persecution and the way these heroes faithfully endured it for Christ really affected me,” he says. “It changed my perspective and made me more grateful for the freedom in our country.” At the beginning of the year, Renner invited church members to share the story of one martyr in one service on one weekend. “We have
December 5, 2007
By Brad Dupray As command chaplain for the U.S. Army in the Pacific, Col. Gene “Chip” Fowler oversees all Army chaplains in Hawaii, Alaska, and Japan and will soon be directing those in Korea, as well. Fowler has been stationed at forts in 10 different states, served two tours of duty in Korea, and had tours in Germany, Bosnia, and Iraq. He attended Atlanta Christian College, is a graduate of Milligan College, and earned an MDiv from Emmanuel School of Religion. Fowler is currently stationed at Fort Shafter in Hawaii, where he resides with his wife of 34 years, Lou.
April 7, 2026
John B. Penrose Jr
April 7, 2026
David Faust
March 27, 2026
Rick Cherok