Articles for tag: Restoration Movement

October 16, 2019

Christian Standard

Conferences & Gatherings Organizations & Events

Renew Gathering Emphasizes Theology Behind Disciple-Making

By Chris Moon A new gathering of disciple-makers within the Restoration Movement—and beyond it—will meet Nov. 6 in Nashville. The Renew Gathering is expected to draw about 600 people. It is aimed at helping participants grasp solid disciple-making theology. The conference will serve as a precursor to the annual National Disciple Making Forum, which also will meet in Nashville and is set for Nov. 7, 8. “At Renew, you get the theology. At the National Disciple Making Forum, you get the methodology,” said Bobby Harrington, who is organizing both conferences and leads their accompanying websites, Renew.org and Discipleship.org. Harrington is

October 16, 2019

Christian Standard

Shepherd Church Helps Shelter Fire Evacuees (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Jim Nieman and Chris Moon Shepherd Church in Porter Ranch, Calif., provided shelter and food for some of the 100,000 people evacuated from the Saddleridge Fire in north Los Angeles late last week. “Shepherd Church is open for any residents who need a place to go,” the church announced on its Facebook page last week. “Join us in praying and lifting up our community and the valley in this dangerous time. Please help us lift up all first responders, firefighters and families directly affected by the fire.” The Saddleridge fire broke out in Sylmar on Thursday night and

October 9, 2019

Christian Standard

Colleges & Seminaries Organizations & Events

GLCC Plans 70th Anniversary Celebration (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Jim Nieman and Chris Moon Great Lakes Christian College in Lansing, Mich., will celebrate its 70th anniversary Oct. 18 and 19. A Restoration Appreciation Week Chapel will be at 11 a.m. Friday with Keith Keeran speaking. The 70th Celebration Service will be at 6:30 that night at the Doty Center. A reception for GLCC alumni and friends will follow at 8. An alumni brunch/reunion is set for 9 a.m. Saturday, with “family fun” and lunch from 10:30 a.m. until noon. Weekend anniversary events conclude with a soccer game at 1 p.m. Weekend festivities will also honor Larry Carter

October 1, 2019

Laura McKillip Wood

Mission & Evangelism

Christian Fellowship North (Warsaw, Poland): Passion for Christ and Community

By Laura McKillip Wood I came to Christian Fellowship North soon after I moved. I was in a very difficult and dark place in my life. My relationship had just collapsed, I had moved to a new city and started a new job, leaving family and friends on the other side of the country. For the first few months I came in and out, with no energy to talk to anybody. I just talked to God. One Sunday I sat on a chair somewhere at the back of the room, immersed in my thoughts, tears pouring down my face. It

October 1, 2019

Christian Standard

Mission & Evangelism

Christian Arabic Services (Egypt): The Best-Kept Secret in the Restoration Movement?

A Christian Standard Interview with Safaa Fahmi By John Caldwell Christian Arabic Services of Cairo, Egypt, is strategically located in the Islamic world, at the crossroads of Africa and Asia and next to the world’s only Jewish state. Safaa and Mona Fahmi lead the CAS ministry, which targets the 420 million Arabic-speaking people concentrated in northern Africa and the Middle East. The Fahmis and their dedicated team of associates have trained leaders who have helped to reopen at least 200 Egyptian village churches from Aswan to Alexandria. Through its efforts, several hundred denominational churches have embraced New Testament Christianity, as

September 20, 2019

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Church Growth

Small Churches: Responding to Some Stereotypes

In this repost of a classic article that first appeared in Christian Standard on May 20, 2012, Tom Claibourne responds to some fairly typical stereotypes about small churches. Claibourne is in his 40th year serving with Bethlehem Church of Christ, Winchester, Ohio. He recently was inducted into the Christian Village Communities Hall of Faith; his induction video celebrating his life of ministry is available at the church’s Facebook page. (Read our October 2019 issue for articles about challenges facing rural and small churches . . . and possible solutions.) _ _ _ By Tom Claibourne Small church. What is the

September 13, 2019

Christian Standard

Restoration Movement History

An Urban Conversation for the Restoration Movement

Our September 2019 issue focuses on urban ministry, which is something Steve Carr wrote about in this article from 11 years ago. At that time, a few dozen urban ministers came together for an “Urban Conversation” to discuss the situation and consider solutions. Some things have changed over the last decade, but many of the elements of their conversation are still important today. (This article originally appeared online in August 2008.) _ _ _ By Steve Carr By sometime this summer half of the world’s population will live in cities.1 For Restoration Movement churches in America this fact is problematic

September 5, 2019

Christian Standard

Restoration Movement History

The Influential Isaac Errett

During this past year of sharing articles and editorials from the archives of Christian Standard, we have featured several pieces written by Isaac Errett, leader of this magazine from its founding in 1866 until his death in 1888, but not so much written about Errett. The September 11, 1909, issue of Christian Standard was another “Centennial Special” that commemorated the 100-year anniversary of Thomas Campbell’s “Declaration and Address.” Virtually all of the historical articles in that September issue were about Errett. We will excerpt from one article and run a second article in its entirety. Neither article attempted to tell

September 4, 2019

Christian Standard

Conferences & Gatherings Organizations & Events

Spire: What It Is, What It Isn’t . . . and Why

By Chris Moon New things inevitably generate questions. “What is it?” “Why this?” “Why now?” And “why not this other thing?” It’s been no different for the organizers of Spire Network, a digital platform that has set its sights on uniting and equipping pastors within the independent Christian churches and churches of Christ. The network has been working toward its first conference—set for October 8 to 10 in Orlando—and preparing to roll out its online networking platform this fall. In the middle of all of that, organizers are fielding questions about the nature of Spire and what it hopes to

August 28, 2019

Christian Standard

Disciples See Deep Drop in Attendance

If its current rate of decline continues, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination could lose half its membership over the next 10 years, according to an Institute on Religion and Democracy blog post by Jeffrey Walton. Numbers provided by the DOC’s Office of General Minister and President show that total membership declined 7 percent from 2017 to 2018, from about 411,000 to around 382,248. Likewise, average worship attendance declined 11 percent, from 140,000 to 124,000, Walton wrote on IRD’s blog, Juicy Ecumenism. Also, baptisms dropped from 4,344 to 3,782, down 13 percent, while other additions (including transfers in) declined

August 22, 2019

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Church Growth

THE BIG CHALLENGE FACING SMALL CHURCHES (2): Rural Churches

By Clark Bates We received a friendly welcome when we entered the Christian church in Beaver City, a small town in rural Nebraska. The service that morning was upbeat, the prayers sincere, and the preaching biblical . . . but where were the people? The sanctuary was large enough to accommodate 150, but that morning only 25 people huddled into one section of pews. After the service, my wife and I spoke with Treg and Beth about the challenges facing the congregation. They shared about the decreasing population of the area, explaining that young people move away for college and

August 22, 2019

Church & Ministry Church Growth

New Leases on Life in Rural Churches

By Jerry Harris I love rural churches and communities; I have devoted virtually my entire ministry life to them. The bulk of Restoration Movement churches have been rural over our more than 200-year history. The church I serve operates in 11 rural and micropolitan communities, but the stories of two of them—Lima and Mount Sterling, Illinois—can provide hope for many others across the country. The Federated Church of Lima, located in a town of 125 about a half hour north of Quincy, Illinois, was the beneficiary of a literal windfall. After a tornado struck the church on May 10, 2003,

August 15, 2019

Christian Standard

Key Documents Restoration Movement History

‘Our Plea for Union Differs from All Others’

Here is the eighth in our monthly series of excerpts from Christian Standard, circa 1909, a year the magazine devoted an issue each month to articles of particular interest to our movement. This editorial from 1871 is a simple but eloquent primer (surely written by Isaac Errett) about what it means to be a New Testament Christian. _ _ _ Union of Christians An editorial originally published Sept. 23, 1871;republished on p. 12, Aug. 14, 1909 Our plea for union differs from all others. It knows nothing of human policy or human invention. It simply proposes to go back to

August 12, 2019

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Church Leadership Ministry Training & Education

Who Will Fill Their Shoes?

By Jeff Green His size 9½, wingtip leather shoes sit in a glass case in the library named for him. L. Palmer Young, the third president of Kentucky Christian University, was a preacher first. He followed in his dad’s footsteps, preaching for more than 69 years. The shoes serve as a reminder of the need for more preachers. Wally Rendel, who preached Palmer’s funeral, asked, “Who’s going to fill his shoes?” Where will the next generation of preachers come from? The Situation The church has constantly been challenged to find replacements in vocational ministry, especially in preaching. A forensic expert

August 1, 2019

Christian Standard

Restoration Movement History

W. R. Walker: A Minister and Much More

Most Christian church folks today probably have never heard of W. R. Walker. That’s understandable, since he died 56 years ago. Still, many would recognize the name of his schoolmate P. H. Welshimer, who ministered with First Christian Church in Canton, Ohio, for several decades. Walker and Welshimer were longtime friends, as you’ll see in this obituary/remembrance published a few weeks after Walker’s death on Feb. 2, 1963. During his lifetime, this article noted, Walker was known for his “incisive logic,” his “clear presentations of Bible doctrine,” and for his firm grasp of New Testament faith and doctrine. _ _

July 25, 2019

Christian Standard

New Testament Theology & Bible

Names of Christ Followers in the New Testament

We continue our monthly series of excerpts from Christian Standard, circa 1909, a year the magazine devoted an issue monthly to articles of particular interest to our movement. And again this month, as we did in January, we feature an essay by J.W. McGarvey. McGarvey was born in 1829 and died in 1911. Upon the 100th anniversary of McGarvey’s death, Andrew Paris wrote of him in Christian Standard: Although McGarvey enjoyed great success in the located ministry as the preacher of several Lexington churches (including Main Street and Broadway), the great work for which he is best known and esteemed

July 22, 2019

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Church Growth

Let’s Revitalize Our Urban Churches!

By Michael Bowling I have a confession. I have served two inner-city congregations for a total of 35 years, yet I am no fan of urban ministry. Here’s why. The greatest challenges to healthy church communities that are dynamic witnesses to the redemptive way of Jesus have little to do with urban-specific techniques or new resources. Our challenges in urban, suburban, and rural contexts are the same: faithfulness to biblical discipleship, a theology of the church (ecclesiology) informed by the New Testament pattern, and a God-sized view of salvation. An overemphasis on new and innovative practices of “urban ministry” is

July 22, 2019

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Church Planting Restoration Movement History

Mid-Atlantic States: Going Back to the City (Part 1)

After 50 Years, a New Generation of Young Leaders Spurs Urban Church Planting in the Mid-Atlantic States By Tim Cole One of the seminal events on the timeline of the Restoration Movement occurred 50 years ago. Although tensions had been brewing for decades with their conservative counterpart, the more progressive wing of our tribe formally adopted a denominational design and officially changed their name to Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in 1969. In urban areas, which typically espouse a more liberal stance on theological issues, a significant portion of downtown churches aligned with this newly formed denomination. Their impressive buildings,

July 18, 2019

Christian Standard

Restoration Movement History

Bob Wetzel ‘Found a Home in the Christian Church’

As a “Reflections” writer in 1999, C. Robert Wetzel wrote four columns, all of them somewhat personal. This column was the most autobiographical. Wetzel was serving as president of Emmanuel School of Religion in Johnson City, Tenn., at the time he wrote this. He served in that capacity from 1994 to 2009. For the past decade, he has served as chancellor of the school (now called Emmanuel Christian Seminary at Milligan College.) Here’s some biographical info about Wetzel that isn’t revealed in this column: Wetzel received a BA from Midwest Christian College (now Ozark Christian College), an MS from Fort

July 11, 2019

Christian Standard

Restoration Movement History

Remembering Pioneering Disciple James Challen

James Challen wrote a number of articles for Christian Standard during its first dozen or so years of publication. The articles were good, but the most interesting essay to feature Challen likely was his obituary, written in 1878 by founding editor Isaac Errett, with whom Challen was sharing a pulpit in Cincinnati when Challen was struck ill late that year. As you’ll read, Challen “shared the fellowship and the labors of all the leading spirits of the Reformation” during his lifetime. Also interesting to note, Errett referred to the man, who was 18 years his senior, as “Father” Challen. Here