Articles for tag: Standard Publishing

June 13, 2010

Christian Standard

Two Views About the Future of the Restoration Movement: Let”s Keep Moving!

By Leroy Lawson This January, Standard Publishing”s Publishing Committee, CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s contributing editors, and a few other key leaders met in a retreat to discuss the future. Key questions included, “Why does the Restoration Movement exist? What do we contribute? What is our vision for what Christian churches and churches of Christ should be and accomplish in the next decades? What do we want to look like 50 years from now . . . and what can we do today to begin painting that picture?” Although much time was given to freewheeling dialogue, two speakers set the tone with their

June 10, 2010

Christian Standard

The Hero HeadQuarters Field Test

By Joni Sullivan Baker Workers in lime green shirts scurry by carrying chairs, lariats for name badges, handfuls of markers, and pizza boxes. There”s a hum, a vibe, voices with some energy, maybe even nervous energy, laughing and talking. Early arriving boys whiz by and chase each other in the hallways. Equally early girls cluster and clog doorways, whispering loudly. The atmosphere is one part preparing for children”s church and one part backstage tension at five minutes to curtain. And then they start arriving. Parents holding the hands of little ones with big eyes who can”t decide what to look

June 9, 2010

Christian Standard

Never More Movement, Never More Questions

By Mark A. Taylor I don”t remember the author of the essay or the year it appeared in CHRISTIAN STANDARD. I know it was decades ago, probably in the late “60s or early “70s. And I remember the question the writer raised: “When will the Restoration Movement start moving again?” The essay was a plea for our churches and leaders and institutions to step out of their lethargy and isolation and to actually make something happen in our world for Christ”s sake. Maybe someone listened, because no one in Christian churches and churches of Christ today is pleading for something to move.

June 2, 2010

Christian Standard

The Best Kind of Sermon

By Mark A. Taylor What sermons do you remember? I remember a sermon preached by Wayne Smith at a Talent Rally at Lincoln Christian College when I was just a teenager. God used that sermon to prod me toward vocational Christian service. I remember a sermon by Paul Jones preached at Cincinnati Bible College chapel that moved me and most who heard him to express appreciation to our parents. Another time in that same chapel building John Wilson preached about his daily prayer routine. And I”m still challenged to pray like he described. I”ve listened to sermons that have helped

May 9, 2010

Christian Standard

Generation to Generation: An Interview with Wayne Rice

By Joni Sullivan Baker “I think if you are working with teenagers, you have the most important job in the church.”””Wayne Rice, in a phone interview, March 2010 In the late 1960s, churches didn”t have youth ministers. The Christian Endeavor meetings for youth that some folks remember were pretty staid affairs, possibly highlighted by a rousing rendition of “Deep and Wide,” or some other camp chorus. Meanwhile, a youth culture was starting to emerge in a changing society experiencing the generation gap. Outside the church, organizations like Youth for Christ experimented with new ways of reaching teens through large events

April 21, 2010

Christian Standard

Tools to Help You Use the Arts

Seldom will we win a person to Christ without telling him truths of the gospel. But talking alone often is not the best first approach. This week”s writers remind us of a whole world of creativity that can engage doubters as well as disciples with the goodness of God. And I”m proud to add that Standard Publishing is getting ready to release a library of tools to help local churches use the arts in evangelism and Bible teaching. Watch for each of the following, available this June. “¢Â Stage It Right is a handbook for anyone doing drama or setting the stage

April 11, 2010

Christian Standard

Register Today for Our Reports on Medium and Large Churches

By Staff Something New! We”re looking for churches of several sizes! What was your church”s average weekend attendance in 2009? If you averaged between 250 and 999, we want to hear from you. We”ll send you a survey to participate in one of two research projects this year, one for Medium-Sized Churches (250-499 average) and another for Large Churches (500-999). We plan two issues for later this year, each of them much like this one, to report on the growth and ministry of congregations in each of these categories. But we can”t do this without you! We”re seeking as many

March 10, 2010

Christian Standard

We Want to Help You Extend Your Ministry

By Mark A. Taylor Here”s one thing we”ve learned about recessions and local churches. Local churches may be slow to feel the impact of an economic downturn, but they”re also slow to acknowledge a recovery from one. This means even if the economy is picking up (and the experts don”t agree on that point), budgets at your church are likely still tight. Here”s one thing we know about ministry during recessions: It never slows down. In fact, needs usually multiply when finances fail. We want to help. We”ve come up with a plan that allows you to extend your ministry

February 24, 2010

Christian Standard

Share the Joy of Simple Christianity

By Mark A. Taylor It”s one of the greatest joys I have in life. Nothing compares to the experience of baptizing people who have become so enamored by the person and work of Jesus Christ that they choose to receive him as their Savior and leader. Their enthusiasm is genuine. Their joy is infectious. Their faith is simple. And their lives and souls are transformed forever.     That paragraph, written by Gene Appel, begins one of six articles in a new 12-page downloadable resource from Standard Publishing. It”s called Simply Christians, and it offers a winsome and persuasive apologetic

February 14, 2010

Christian Standard

NACC: BEYOND

By Ben Cachiaras When visiting Capernaum last summer, I paused on the rocky shoreline looking out at the Sea of Galilee. Knowing it could be the very stretch of beach Jesus walked when he called those first fishermen gave it a surreal sense of being holy ground. What struck me is that Jesus” call to them was abrupt and demanding: “Follow me!” Doing so would mean a life of perpetual movement and adventure, risk and change. It meant dropping familiar nets, leaving cherished family, and abandoning well-worn paths in pursuit of a leader who wanted to take them BEYOND any

January 10, 2010

Christian Standard

VBS Changes Lives

By Joni Sullivan Bakerr Read about “Hero HeadQuarters,” Standard Publishing’s all-new VBS program for 2010 You”d think they”d tire of cleaning cookie crumbs and glitter from every imaginable surface of their churches. Tire of the smell of small sweaty bodies and the stickiness of spilled juice. But anytime you get a handful of VBS warriors together to talk about what they do with VBS at their church, you start hearing stories. Seems like everyone”s got at least one. After listening to them for a while, sharing tender laughter and sometimes a surreptitious tear, you realize what it is about VBS

January 10, 2010

Christian Standard

Introducing Hero HeadQuarters: Standard Publishing’s 2010 Vacation Bible School

By Joni Sullivan Baker The boy with the five loaves and two fishes. Those shepherds abiding. An army officer asking for a servant to be healed. These are stories we know pretty well. But have you ever noticed something these stories have in common? We don”t know the names of any of these people. Their actions weren”t as heroic as David facing Goliath, but their obedience made a significant difference. And the story of their obedience has been passed down through millennia. They are heroes, but they are the approachable, “I-could-do-that” kind of heroes. And they are being celebrated in

January 10, 2010

Christian Standard

We Call It Kids Camp

By Dave Smith “I like you Mr. Dave.” I looked down at 6-year-old Max, son of Polish parents, and one of the children at Northshore Christian Church”s Kids” Camp, and replied, “I like you too, Max.” And after a week of shepherding some 15 second-graders, I decided I also liked kids” camp. Many of our new churches throughout the Northeast have a summer kid”s camp. In other places, we call them Vacation Bible Schools. This year I spent a week helping Northshore with its fifth kids” camp. Northshore Christian Church began in the fall of 2005 in Riverhead, New York,

January 6, 2010

Christian Standard

Interview with Chris Travis

By Brad Dupray In his new book Unnamed, Chris Travis explores the stories of eight biblical heroes who went without much recognition. In fact, the Bible doesn”t even mention their names. Based on Standard Publishing”s 2010 Vacation Bible School theme, his book combines stories of these Bible personalities with incredible accounts of modern-day unnamed heroes. Readers will discover solid biblical insight to consider what it means to live a heroic life for God in our day. Last year, Chris and his wife, Lindsay, left a staff position with LifeSpring Christian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, to move to New York City

December 20, 2009

Christian Standard

Living with Expectancy

  by Alan Ahlgrim There”s no doubt about it, this is my favorite celebration of the year. There”s just something special about Christmas for young and old alike. Ever since I was a little kid, Christmas Eve has been a night filled with anticipation and Christmas Day a grand celebration of light and love and joy. I can”t ever remember a crummy Christmas. When I was a kid I even got along with my sisters at Christmas. Somehow they seemed nicer. To me everything has always seemed better at Christmas. It has always seemed to me that the decorations are

November 1, 2009

Christian Standard

Read Well to Lead Well

  by Eddie Lowen Every church leader, especially the primary communicator, the preacher, should fear staleness. Those who listen to us instinctively know whether or not we are digging the well deeper or skimming the surface. When people begin to lip-sync your pet phrases as you speak them . . . when you have to feign enthusiasm for things that should genuinely excite you . . . when you preach old sermons because you can”t imagine improving upon what you wrote several years ago””you are going stale.  The easiest ways to stay fresh are through reading and discussion. Not every

November 1, 2009

Christian Standard

Why I Write Books

  by Arron Chambers I”m often asked how I became an author. I never planned on being an author. I liked to write but never thought anyone””besides my Mom and my 10th-grade English literature teacher, Mrs. Beardall””would ever read anything I”d ever written. But that all changed over lunch with my friend Ben. I”d had the privilege of baptizing Ben back in January 2004. Immediately after his baptism we began meeting every other week for discipleship, fellowship, and to celebrate what God was doing in his life. Ben is a very talented man who””at the time””was writing a book. Over

November 1, 2009

Christian Standard

Death by Platitude

  by Mark Atteberry By definition, a platitude is a trite remark, uttered as if it were fresh or profound. I heard a classic just an hour ago. I was driving home from an appointment and heard a radio preacher assure me that my life had value. He said that no matter how bad I may feel about myself, I am definitely worth something. Why? Are you ready for this? “Because God don”t make no junk.” Any minute I expected him to remind me that God moves in mysterious ways and that there are no atheists in foxholes. The first

October 28, 2009

Christian Standard

Tell Us Your Read!

By Mark A. Taylor He”s a writer who was talking to booksellers about reading. Everyone in the room listened keenly to his points, partly because it was their business, and partly because most of what he had to say is bad news. “Only 5 percent of the American public ever sets foot in a bookstore,” he said. “The average man in America won”t read another book after the day he leaves high school. We”ve become addicted to screens, whose message is, “˜Let me entertain you.”” He quoted statistics that say half of the world today is illiterate, and then, “But

September 23, 2009

Christian Standard

What We Do, Why It Matters

By Mark A. Taylor Actually what we do at the North American Christian Convention is not dramatic. We talk. We eat. We laugh. We sing. We pray. We listen to sermons, some of them excellent. Some of us go to meetings. Often we encounter people with names we recognize, but we”ve never actually met them before. How could we, when we live across the country from each other and they”re busy with their ministries while we”re occupied with our own? This is how it has been through the decades. The beauty of the NACC is its simplicity, its predictability, its

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