Articles for tag: Senior Minister

July 19, 2013

Christian Standard

40 Under 40: Chris Travis

CHRIS TRAVIS Pastor and teacher, Everyday Church, New York, New York Chris Travis is a leader people follow. He”s passionate, funny, and insightful””but it goes deeper. It”s not just charisma or image. There”s something deep inside that spills out, and it”s something magnetic to people with an interest in God. Part of it is genuineness of conviction. When Chris came to Christ as a senior in university, he never looked back. Without the benefit of a church background, he bought a Bible, read it, and acted on it. Reading the New Testament prompted him to seek out a church. His

April 28, 2013

Christian Standard

Focusing on Good Deeds to Meet Needs

By Jennifer Johnson In 2010, leaders at Mount Gilead Christian Church (Mooresville, IN) challenged members to complete 50,000 hours of community service. The church stepped up, logging more than 75,000 hours””and sparking new discussions about what could come next. “Several people in the church were especially inspired by this,” says senior minister Jeff Faull. “One of them dreamed of a permanent building we could use as an ongoing outreach tool, and when we found a location, this individual provided much of the money for the over $1 million purchase.” The church raised another $300,000 for the building and opened the

January 7, 2013

Christian Standard

How Do You Define Your Leadership? Tom Plank

By Tom Plank Fifty years ago, when I began my ministry, no one was talking about leadership, so everything I have learned has been by trial and error. One thing I have learned is that leadership begins at the top with the minister. People will not follow what you say so much as what you do. Set the example. All too often I have been around ministers who expected to be first in line for a carry-in dinner and the first to receive a compliment. These are the ministers who lose their effectiveness because they leave the impression it is

May 29, 2012

Christian Standard

You Can Go Home Again

By Kent E. Fillinger Eric Keller grew up in Enid, Oklahoma, and attended Oakwood Christian Church. He returned to his home church for two summer internships during Bible college, and in 2003 he became the church”s student minister. Then, in 2008, Keller became senior minister at Oakwood. Some would say you can”t go back home to serve a church you attended as a child. They would point to the experience of Jesus. When he returned to his hometown to teach, some of the locals took offense, and Jesus responded, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town

May 28, 2012

Christian Standard

MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES: The 2011 List

This listing of 35 churches that averaged 250-499 for worship in 2011 includes church name, city, senior minister, Web site, average attendance, and number of baptisms. (This is not a complete listing of such churches; it is a listing of Medium-Sized Churches that participated in our survey.) Click here to look at the chart of 2011 MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES.

May 28, 2012

Christian Standard

Consistency in Corinth

By Kent E. Fillinger Consistency and longevity are apt descriptors for 150-year-old Corinth Christian Church in Loganville, Georgia. Adam Turner, who is in his seventh year at Corinth, is still the new kid on the block (literally and figuratively). Turner, 32, has been senior minister at Corinth since 2009, after serving as the church”s youth minister for four years. In most churches, a minister with seven years of tenure would be a veteran, but not at Corinth. By comparison, Don Hardison served as Corinth”s senior minister for 42 years, until he transitioned to the part-time role of shepherding minister in

May 22, 2012

Christian Standard

LARGE-SIZED CHURCHES: The 2011 List

This listing of 71 churches that averaged 500-999 for worship in 2011 includes church name, city, senior minister, Web site, average attendance, and number of baptisms. (This is not a complete listing of such churches; it is a listing of Large-Sized Churches that participated in our survey.) Click here to look at the chart of 2011 LARGE-SIZED CHURCHES.

September 4, 2011

Christian Standard

Some Churches Might Qualify for Tax Refunds

By Jennifer Taylor Tom Burbrink believes tens of thousands of dollars in tax refunds are available to churches””maybe even yours! Burbrink, a tax professional specializing in service to churches and ministers, has researched the issue in light of changes made by the Affordable Care Act. The act provides federal tax refunds to small employers, and many churches and church organizations are eligible even though they pay no income taxes. To qualify for the refund, a church must have a group medical insurance plan, must pay at least 50 percent of the premium, and must offer the plan to all full-time

September 1, 2011

Christian Standard

I Majored in Pushing God Away

By Shane Taylor It was 1988 and the end of my second year at the state university. My prodigal journey took all sorts of twists and turns, mostly while I was under the influence of Budweiser and the liberal arts department of the secular campus. For me, college was an opportunity to rid myself of the flannelgraph stories from Sunday school lessons of bygone days. My dorm room was littered with dirty laundry and stacks of unread textbooks. I majored in procrastination and pushing God away. And yet Jesus loves to interact with people who push him away. The Gospels

April 28, 2011

Christian Standard

MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES: The 2010 List

This listing of 47 churches that averaged 250-499 for worship in 2010 includes church name, city, senior minister, Web site, average attendance, and number of baptisms. (This is not a complete listing of such churches; it is a listing of Medium-Sized Churches that participated in our survey.) Click here to look at the chart of 2010 MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES.

April 21, 2011

Christian Standard

LARGE-SIZED CHURCHES: The 2010 List

This listing of 74 churches that averaged 500-999 for worship in 2010 includes church name, city, senior minister, Web site, average attendance, and number of baptisms. (This is not a complete listing of such churches; it is a listing of Large-Sized Churches that participated in our survey.) Click here to look at the chart of 2010 LARGE-SIZED CHURCHES.

April 20, 2011

Christian Standard

The Church Size Matrix (Part 2)

By Kent E. Fillinger The Church Size Matrix looks at six types of organizational change that take place as a church grows. In Part 1 of this article (April 10/17), we looked at two of these changes, Orientation and Structure. This week we consider the remaining four. Minister”s Role In his book One Size Doesn”t Fit All, Gary McIntosh wrote, “As the size of a church increases, the perception of a pastor changes from an emphasis on relational skills, to functional skills, to leadership skills.” It is essential, therefore, to understand the progression of roles required by the senior minister

March 10, 2011

Christian Standard

Southeast Christian Church “˜Paid in Full”

By Jennifer Taylor This past weekend Bob Russell, previous senior minister at Southeast Christian Church (Louisville, KY), shared the pulpit with Dave Stone, the current senior minister. Stone invited Russell to preach with him so he could surprise and honor him midservice by sharing a letter from the bank. “Because of God”s provision and your prudent leadership,” Stone said, “and because of the overwhelming generosity of these good people at all three campuses, every inch of land and buildings on over 100 acres at the Blankenbaker campus has been paid in full.” After burning the note, Stone also shared that

October 22, 2010

Christian Standard

John Russell Retires

This past weekend, John Russell retired after 40 years as senior minister of Lakeside Christian Church (Lakeside Park, KY). “While the vast majority of Lakeside Christian Church’s 100-member congregation supported hiring 23-year-old John Russell as its senior minister [in 1970], a few had reservations because of his age,” said an article in the Cincinnati Enquirer. “”They took a chance on me and decided that I’d grow and they’d grow with me,”” Russell said. Jamie Snyder will serve as the church”s new minister.

October 7, 2010

Christian Standard

Checking References of Ministerial Candidates

By Brent Storms In my local church ministry, and now in my position as president of a church planting organization, I have considered more than 1,000 candidates for open positions in ministry. I have screened and interviewed hundreds, and have hired more than 30 people for ministry positions. As I look back on the hiring process, I understand there are few elements more important than checking references and previous employers. Let me share three examples. Not long ago I met a candidate for the position of lead planter for a new church to be started in one of our northeastern

September 15, 2010

Christian Standard

MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES: The 2009 List

This listing of 32 churches that averaged 250-499 for worship in 2009 includes church name, city, senior minister, Web site, and average attendance. (This is not a complete listing of such churches; it is a listing of Medium-Sized Churches that participated in our survey.) Click here to look at the chart of 2009_MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES.

September 8, 2010

Christian Standard

LARGE-SIZED CHURCHES: The 2009 List

This listing of 75 churches that averaged 500-999 for worship in 2009 includes church name, city, senior minister, Web site, average attendance, and number of baptisms. (This is not a complete listing of such churches; it is a listing of Large-Sized Churches that participated in our survey.) Click here to look at the chart of 2009 LARGE-SIZED CHURCHES.

February 15, 2009

Christian Standard

Why Is the NACC Important? I Go for My Family

by Brent Storms   Our family attended the North American Christian Convention in Louisville in 1981 when I was 8 years old. My brother was 6, and our sister was a baby. My parents wanted to attend the Ozark Bible College reception to reconnect with some of their classmates and friends. They did not want to keep my brother and me up late. So they locked us in our hotel room. Really, they did. They explained to us that they were not leaving the building. They would be right downstairs in one of the hotel ballrooms. We were instructed to

November 16, 2008

Christian Standard

Two Elders Now Ministers Talk About Elder-Minister Relationships

By Darrel Rowland With apologies to Judy Collins, we could say that Ernie Graf and Jim Sloderbeck have looked at church from both sides now. Their unique perspective comes because both were veteran elders and both now serve on their church”s ministerial staff. Graf is minister of administration for Northside Christian Church near Akron, Ohio. He majored in accounting and has a degree in business administration, which he used for 35 years in the private sector. When Northside created the administrative post in 2003, he took early retirement and joined the staff. Sloderbeck has been executive pastor of Heritage Christian

November 16, 2008

Christian Standard

What Ministers Don’t Understand About Elders

By Darrel Lowland 1. That elders have a full life outside of the church. 2. That elders have a totally different reference point for issues. 3. That on many matters elders have a lot to contribute. 4. That most elders are ignorant of the Word. 5. That elders don”t understand their job or their role. 6. That many elders are in over their heads. 7. That elders have outside pressures affecting their role as elders. 8. That being an elder is a leadership position often without opportunities to lead. 9. That elders want the minister to open up and tell

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