Articles for tag: Rob Kastens

The Best Sermon I”ve Ever Heard (20)

By Arron Chambers Christian leaders, some of them preachers themselves, tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either. Bob Blanshan Bob Blanshan, his beautiful wife, Sarah, and three children live in Crowley, Louisiana, where he serves as the children and family minister at Forest Park Church of Christ. He grew up on the other end of the Mississippi River in northern Minnesota, attending a church just six miles from the Canadian border. Bob is fortunate to have heard a lot of great preaching throughout his lifetime, including his father, Dale Blanshan, and his grandfather, Bob Blanshan,

An Interview with Melissa Sandel and Rob Kastens

Melissa Sandel and Rob Kastens, two megachurch executive pastors, talk about the unique challenges of the role and what they wish someone had told them before they took it on. Exclusive interview from the 2016 North American Christian Convention with CHRISTIAN STANDARD contributing editor Jennifer Johnson, here.

40 Under 40: Ethan Magness

ETHAN MAGNESS Pastor of spiritual formation and director of Semester in Ministry, Mountain Christian Church, Joppa, Maryland Ethan Magness is difficult to describe. He was a math major and an athlete (swimmer). He is an intellectual and he pours himself into people by throwing parties. He really isn”t into sports but annually joins our NCAA basketball brackets contest and almost always finishes in the top three. As pastor of spiritual formation, Ethan is a gifted teacher who launched GrowingU at Mountain Christian Church to teach Scripture and discipleship, but he focuses on training small group leaders and teachers rather than

In Just One Year: I Pray I’m Wrong

Nothing challenges us to think about changing times more than the transition from one year to the next. On this first day of 2012, we asked six Christian leaders to think about the church a year from now and to draw a picture of our progress””and our problems””then.  * * * By Rob Kastens While I pray that I am wrong, my sense is that as the year 2012 draws to a close in the United States, we will be increasingly aware that God”s marvelous church is losing sight of her prime purpose of knowing him, growing in him, and

Let”s Get Together

By Rob Kastens Our leadership at Mountain Christian Church, Joppa, Maryland, has worked hard to create a mission-first, team-first staff culture. We work hard to facilitate, encourage, and protect this culture with existing staff, but we work extra hard to ensure prospective staff understand, buy in, and fit in with our culture. In fact, we believe selecting new staff to join our team at Mountain is one of the most important tasks of leadership. Few decisions have a longer-term impact on a church”s health and mission than the people it hires. Selecting wisely can move the mission forward and heighten

NACC: Hmmm . . . Let Us Think

By Rob Kastens Recently I was given a complete original set of The Millennial Harbinger. As I read through the discolored, fragile pages of several issues from the 1800s, I was struck by the discourse and exchange around all sorts of issues. Positions were stated and confronted by Alexander Campbell as he responded to writings published elsewhere and letters he received. This exchange of views through the Harbinger and other publications, in addition to public debates and discussions, helped shape and hone our movement in its early days. In these pages, I found Christians who were committed to Scripture and

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