Articles for tag: Standard Publishing

Ethics & Moral Issues Gender

“˜What a Shame . . . God Didn”t Make You a Boy”

By Betty L. Aldridge I heard the words nearly 60 years ago, and I have never forgotten them. As I searched for God”s will in my life, the words triggered many questions. It has not been an easy search and, even today, I still have questions, but I give God glory for leading me and for the experiences he has given me. This is my story. I want to share how God has used me. First, I should explain the context for those words. As a high school student, I was asked to preach a sermon at an all-day regional

October 20, 2013

Restoring Life to Your Small Group

By Michael C. Mack QUESTION: Our small group started strong, but now it”s dead. We launched around an eight-week churchwide campaign. The first meeting had all the signs of a successful group, but by week five couples who had been so excited about being in a group started making excuses why they couldn”t stick with their commitment. One by one they began to drop out. To make the group more convenient, we began meeting every other week. The group dwindled even more. People lost track of when we were meeting and didn”t come. Finally we just decided to pronounce the

October 18, 2013

Culture & Public Square

Flash Mob

By Mandy Smith On a seemingly ordinary morning, in a busy Belgian train station, the announcements of arrivals and departures were suddenly interrupted by Julie Andrews”s familiar voice intoning, “Let”s start at the very beginning . . .” A few commuters paused for a second to wonder why the train station would air “Do-Re-Mi,” before returning to their morning rush. Then, in the center of the atrium”s tiled floor, a single man started to dance, and before long a passing little girl had joined in. A crowd began to form to watch the spectacle but, at each measure, members of

September 30, 2013

Church & Ministry Community Outreach

Who Will Sing to George?

By Vangie Rodenbeck As the designated facilitator of this networking lunch, I sought to engage each member at the table in the discussion. The topic was special needs ministry, and the specific issue of discussion was how to “name” a ministry to such persons. These ministers were asking questions like: What do we call this ministry? Should we use the term “handicapped” or “disabled?” If we use language like “persons with different abilities,” will people understand what this ministry is about? But one man at the table sat quietly as the conversation whirled around him. Soon there was a lull

September 28, 2013

How Your Small Group Can Carry Out the Great Commission

By Michael C. Mack The mere mention of “small group multiplication” makes some group members squirm. “I finally found a great group of friends,” they protest, “and now you want to split us up?” In last month”s issue, I dared to bring up the subject. I pointed out a “secret” to small group multiplication: healthy groups reproduce naturally. In fact, group multiplication happens best and more often, I”ve found, when it isn”t forced. To carry out the Great Commission, we must continually develop new groups, new churches, and new ministries. But where do we find leaders? I think the best

September 3, 2013

Mark A. Taylor

Christian Living

Find Us Faithful, Too!

By Mark A. Taylor “I want that song played at my funeral,” my wife whispered to me as the soaring rendition of Steve Green”s “Find Us Faithful” flowed from the grand piano onstage.Â The pianist, Wayne Lundberg, morphed seamlessly into “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” as the auditorium filled forÂ the retirement celebration honoring John and Joyce Samples for 50 years of ministry. About a decade and a half of that has been at East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis where we gathered Sunday, August 25. The 75-minute program was full of nostalgia (speakers included an elder from the first church

August 7, 2013

Bible Study Theology & Bible

What”s New with the Standard Lesson Commentary?

By Jon Underwood It”s midsummer, but many people are already anticipating fall and the launch of a new year of church programs that come with it. That includes a new line of the Standard Lesson Commentaries and the new lineup of Standard Lesson Quarterly products. The Standard Lesson Commentary is the best-selling lesson commentary on the Uniform Series (International Sunday School Lessons), a system of Bible study that has been around since 1872. Standard Publishing has been involved with the Uniform Series since very near the beginning. The company”s founder, and Christian Standard”s first editor, Isaac Errett, served on the

August 6, 2013

Mark A. Taylor

Family & Relationships

Ministry and Family””They Go Together!

By Mark A. Taylor One of the questions late in our June BlogTalkRadio* program was, “How can a Christian leader get started with a missional approach to ministry?” All three of those interviewed””Jon Ferguson, Greg Nettle, and Jon Weece””agreed with the same principle: “Start by being a model of missional ministry with your own class and your own family.” Weece, especially, took up the family theme. “We”ve reoriented our whole life around serving other people,” he said. “It”s very normal, for example, for our kids to understand this is what we”re going to do on Tuesday nights; we”re going to

July 23, 2013

Money & Debt Stewardship & Generosity

Stymied by Stuff

By Mark A. Taylor Just as most Americans don”t think they”re wealthy, most American Christians don”t think affluence has affected their faith. And American church workers likewise don”t see how money influences the way they approach ministry. A realistic look at the issue comes only with time and distance. Perhaps that is why LeRoy Lawson needs to be heard when he talks about our ministry and our stuff. Having served in ministry for more than 50 years, he remembers an America not as accustomed to comfort as most in the middle class today. Having served with Christian Missionary Fellowship, he

July 14, 2013

Church Leadership

40 Under 40: Melissa Sandel

MELISSA SANDEL Director of ministries, West Side Christian Church, Springfield, Illinois Five years ago, the growth of West Side Christian Church”s staff required that I expand the senior staff leadership team. I hope timing isn”t everything, because I promoted Melissa Sandel to director of ministries on April 1, 2008. Melissa jokes that her role is the world”s longest-running April Fools” Day prank! Melissa was only 26 years old when promoted from small groups director to senior staff. Her initial challenge was to supervise a diverse ministry staff, including employees whose tenures began when she was a child. While many leaders

July 4, 2013

Church Leadership

40 Under 40: Laura Buffington

LAURA BUFFINGTON Spiritual formation pastor, Southbrook Christian Church, Miamisburg, Ohio “The word of God is powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword” is a truth that comes vividly to life in the preaching and teaching of Laura Buffington. Laura has an uncanny sensitivity into the aspirations and anxieties of others””including those very different from herself””so that her preaching touches the deepest center of needs in her listeners, offering comfort and conviction, understanding and inspiration. She is attuned to current cultural trends, while also being deeply grounded in Scripture. Her sermons bring the heart of Scripture to touch the hearts of listeners.

June 29, 2013

Five Ways to Make July the Best Month Ever for Your Small Group

By Michael C. Mack July is the most important month of the year for the health and development of your small group. You may think I”ve spent too much time in the sun: Some groups are not even meeting through the summer; attendance is down in other groups; weekly meetings have been bumped by trips to the beach and baseball games. I”m not as crazy as you might think, however. Over the years, I”ve noticed groups that are growing and making an impact are involved in at least five vital practices during July. Pray Research has shown the most

June 18, 2013

Mission & Evangelism

Real Churches, Missional Ministry

By Mark A. Taylor Of all the articles about missional ministry we”ve posted this month, I like the stories from churches most. Maybe you agree. Although we”re energized by the insights of missional leaders like Matt Smay and Alan Hirsch, their ideas come to life in the strategies, experiences, successes, and failures of local congregations. Rivertree Christian Church, Massillon, Ohio; Community Christian Church, Naperville, Illinois; and Southland Christian Church, Lexington, Kentucky, encourage us with the new paths they”re blazing. And now you can hear leaders from these three churches discuss their ministry. We”re bringing them to you via CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s

May 24, 2013

Christian Standard Updates News & Updates

Obituaries for 2012

ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF OBITUARIES Martha E. (Taylor) Blackmore, 90, of Tulsa, OK (formerly of Hillsboro, OH), died Feb. 18, 2012. Born in Mitchell, IN, on Aug. 30, 1921, to LaVerne and Martha Taylor, she grew up a preacher”s kid as her father ministered in Hillsboro, OH (1918-21), and then for many years in Springfield, IL. She graduated from Cincinnati (OH) Bible Seminary in 1943, and studied vocal music for four years at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. She married Roy C. Blackmore in 1943, and served with him in a ministry in Louisville, KY. They were a singing and preaching

May 23, 2013

Should Our Small Group Take a Summer Break?

By Michael C. Mack QUESTION: Some members of our group want to keep meeting as usual through the summer, while others want to take a break. What do you think? ANSWER: Most groups do one of two things over the summer, stop meeting until September or keep going even if attendance is inconsistent. But perhaps these aren”t the only options! Before discussing various other possibilities, let”s look first at the pros and cons of meeting over the summer: Pros A great small group is like family. A family does not stop being a family over the summer. I

May 7, 2013

Church & Ministry Church Growth

By the Numbers (Buy the Numbers!)

By Mark A. Taylor CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s annual megachurch report has taken many forms since it was first introduced in 1997. Since 2008 Kent Fillinger has served us by presiding over the megatask of getting reports from more than 100 megachurches. Our issues have offered more information about this growing group of congregations than any other single source. In 2009 we began reporting numbers from more than just the largest churches in the fellowship of Christian churches and churches of Christ. That year we published statistics from 66 churches whose worship attendance averaged 500″“999 in 2008. In 2010 we expanded the

February 24, 2013

Church Leadership

When Things Go Well

By Eddie Lowen When church leaders need to crack a code or solve a problem, help is everywhere. Books, blogs, coaches, conferences, e-zines, and webinars are so plentiful that the trick is no longer accessing information, but evaluating and organizing it. And there”s help for those tasks, too (there”s always an app for that). If you need a strategy that fits your vision, you can find it. If you face a mystery, someone can help solve it. If you need an expert who specializes in evangelizing 38.5-year-old suburban males who work in financial services and eat their cereal with tablespoons,

January 31, 2013