Articles for tag: Restoration Movement

February 7, 2021

Christian Standard

Sam E. Stone: Upon His Hiring as Editor . . . and Retirement

We are devoting our “Throwback Thursday” features during February to our long-serving editor Sam E. Stone, who died Jan. 25 at age 84. Sam served as Christian Standard’s editor for 25 years—longer than anyone else—before retiring in 2003. (We are posting the first feature this month a couple of days late due to some necessary updates to our website.) This first installment will focus on what two prior editors wrote about Sam upon his hiring for the position and conclude with what Sam himself wrote upon his retirement. _ _ _ Sam E. Stone, Editor, 1978 By Edwin V. HaydenEditorialMay

February 1, 2021

Dudley Rutherford

Marching Forward
with a Dream of Destiny

How One Ministry Seeks to Lead the Way in Diversity and Racial Reconciliation in the Church When Dream of Destiny was founded in the summer of 2007, I never could have imagined where we’d be as a country some 13 years later. From the coronavirus pandemic and massive unemployment, to the political divide and racial tensions, 2020 was a year like no other. Without a doubt, these will continue to be critical factors that will significantly shape our nation’s future for many generations to come. The tragic death of George Floyd shocked the entire world and became a turning point

February 1, 2021

Megan Rawlings

Megan Rawlings

In Love and Truth

If everyone is created equal in the eyes of God, why doesn’t it feel that way? The truth is, we do not look at our brothers and sisters the way God intended. We are corrupted by sin and too often care about the opinions of others more than God. We lean toward what’s popular instead of what’s right. Sadly, many Christians have stood on the wrong side of history. I found this to be true of one of the Restoration Movement’s founding fathers while reading The Stone-Campbell Movement by Leroy Garrett A couple of decades after the Restoration Movement took

February 1, 2021

Rudy Hagood

A Core Conviction
(for All of Us)

(Read “When Brothers Dwell in Unity,” a companion article by Rudy Hagood’s brother, Fate Hagood.) Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore (Psalm 133, all Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version). I have always been passionate about unity. While it might be a manifestation

January 1, 2021

Laura McKillip Wood

Laura-McKillip-Wood

Ministry to Muslims Provides Relief and Growth

Hassan stepped off the bank and felt the river water swirl around his ankles. He took another step, his confidence growing. He knew his choice to follow Jesus was the right one. He grasped his wife’s hand and smiled at her. They’d come a long way in the last few years. Tears welled in his eyes as he remembered how his desire for revenge had almost endangered the lives of his family. When he found the tortured, lifeless bodies of his father and brother on his doorstep in Syria one horrible morning, he had decided to exact revenge on the

January 1, 2021

Melissa Wuske

How the Pandemic Impacted Construction Loans

Three Leaders of Church-Lending Organizations Discuss How They Are Building on a Strong Foundation in Uncertain Times Early in 2020, as the global pandemic unfolded, the uncertainty and economic losses seemed to spell disaster both for churches looking to build or expand their facilities and for the financial institutions that provide loans to these ministries. How can churches expect to build when they can’t even safely meet in person? How can giving and lending hold steady when the economy is flailing and so many people are out of work? Now, mere months later—albeit long months—the worst fears did not happen.

November 22, 2020

Doug Crozier

My Road to Peace

—This content is sponsored by The Solomon Foundation— As the pandemic unfolded in March, I quickly became concerned . . . about catching the virus, about our economy, and about churches. On March 9, during my last airline flight (from Detroit to Denver) before most everything shut down, it became obvious to me I was not the only one concerned. Before that week ended, our country was in total lockdown. I could feel the tension rising within me, and I could sense the tension in others. As with many others, my wife and I spent a great deal of time

November 12, 2020

Christian Standard

A Study of Alexander Campbell (Part 1)

I spoke with a former Christian college professor a couple of times in the past few weeks. John L. Morrison is a pleasant gentleman enjoying retirement in California. Through the years, he taught at San Jose Bible College (now William Jessup University), Milligan College (now Milligan University), and Puget Sound College of the Bible (now closed). I can’t recall Mr. Morrison’s exact age, but it’s in the neighborhood of 90. Mr. Morrison told me he had written for Christian Standard a number of times. I became curious and checked into this. Sure enough, I found articles by him from the

November 4, 2020

Christian Standard

A Strong ‘Harvest’ Despite Pandemic (Plus News Briefs)

Despite the pandemic, this year’s “Harvest of Talents for World Hunger,” a unique ministry started in 1984 by Lincoln (Ill.) Christian Church, raised more than $100,000 to combat hunger around the world. Each year, people in and around Lincoln use their talents for cooking, crafts, art—whatever—to create items that are sold at events and auctions to raise money for Harvest of Talents. All of that money is routed to International Disaster Emergency Service (IDES), which distributes those funds to mission partners that request it to feed starving people. This year’s “Harvest” raised $116,558 (equal to 388,527 meals), increasing the 37-year

October 24, 2020

Christian Standard

‘UNPRECEDENTED’: How CMFI Has Endured the Pandemic’s Challenges . . . and Their Plans for the Future

By Kip Lines People use the term “unprecedented” to describe the COVID-19 global pandemic. But in the grand story of God’s mission in the world, we are not living in unprecedented times. There have been pandemics before. There have been times God’s people could not gather, and yet the church has persevered and grown. Even during the last 100 years, the Restoration Movement has dealt with uncertainty and challenges. In fact, after the first few North American Christian Conventions were held from 1927 to 1929, the Great Depression and World War II dictated that the gathering would happen only seven

October 24, 2020

Michael C. Mack

Missing: The Main Thing

Recently I was on our website reading church job postings for ministers. (No, I’m not looking for a new job!) Many include the expected responsibilities of preaching on Sunday mornings and evenings, teaching on Wednesday nights, performing weddings and funerals, attending meetings, counseling, and visitation, to name a few. But something significant and urgent—and biblical—is often missing. Can you guess what it is? Paul said, “Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers . . .” to do what? To preach and teach, marry and bury, and attend meetings? While those roles are significant, the

September 22, 2020

Christian Standard

Different Environments, Different Approaches (Ministering in the Midst of COVID-19)

Urban, Suburban, and Rural Church Leaders Share Their Experiences of Leading Through a Pandemic By Chris Moon No two churches are the same, even in how they have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. That said, the virus has left a mark on Restoration Movement congregations and pastors across the country. For some churches and pastors, especially in rural, conservative areas of the country, the pandemic seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. The major difficulty was figuring out how to get the internet to cooperate during a brief closure. “There’s a lot of things you face like that

August 24, 2020

David Faust

A Time for Boldness (Aug. 30 Lesson Application)

By David Faust When astronauts take untethered space walks, they float in outer space without anything attaching them to the space station. What a feeling of complete freedom! They are untethered and free from all restraints—but in grave danger. I’m sure those astronauts feel relieved when they scramble safely back into the spaceship. They couldn’t survive out there alone. Do you want to be untethered and free from any restraint? Consider what it was like during the raucous era of the Judges. “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 17:6, 21:25)—and that remains

August 15, 2020

Christian Standard

Moving from Crisis to Renewal

What Leaders Do When Their Plans Are Reduced to Rubble By Austin Gohn I was 30 days into my “first 90 days” plan when I closed our church building indefinitely. After working at the church for seven years and completing a six-month interview process, I stepped into the role of lead pastor at the end of February—barely a month before something called the coronavirus went from a fringe news report to dominating the headlines (and my Twitter feed). I had read The First 90 Days, a Harvard Business Review book, and created a plan that involved dozens of trust-building conversations,

Help Keep Christian Standard Free & Accessible with a Tax Deductible Donation

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Does Your Church Want to Support Christian Standard?

Would your church consider including support for Christian Standard in its annual missions budget? Your support would help us not only continue the 160-year legacy of this unifying ministry, but also expand the free resources, cooperative opportunities, and practical guidance we provide to strengthen churches in the U.S. and around the world.

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Secret Link