December 18, 2025
The Best Christmas Ever
Dr. Joe Grana recalls the story of a Christmas that changed everything in his life and was the best Christmas ever.
Articles for tag: Testimony
August 15, 2020
The Gospel That Never Shuts Down
By Megan Rawlings What a time to be alive. This year has handed us unique opportunities that have changed our sense of normalcy. Could these changes become the standard moving forward? I doubt it, but it’s safe to say some changes are here for a while. Take the quarantine, for example. Our routine was roughed up, plans were postponed, and distraction delayed what needed to be done. But there is a positive side to all of this. We were exposed to an eternal truth: Even when the world seems to be falling apart, God has a plan. I have seen
January 2, 2020
Eternity with a Child Molester
By Halee Wood Hatred . . . Love. Despair . . . Hope. Rejection . . . Acceptance. Contradictory emotions filled me as I stood face-to-face with a child molester. Despite having been abused by a much older boyresulting in pregnancy and abortion by age 14God had provided me with a story of redemption that sparks emotion and hope, especially among those who share a similar history and for those living with a spouse who shares my experiences. When I share my testimony publicly, it is not uncommon for someone to discreetly wait around until the room is all but
July 31, 2019
‘Holding the Hand of Jesus’
More from our Interview with Robert Coleman By Michael C. Mack Christian Standard interviewed Robert Coleman for our feature article in the August 2019 issue. Some material didn’t find a place in the print/digital magazine, but we felt it was too good not to share. How Coleman Came to Christ After high school, Coleman attended Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, where he had an athletic scholarship. One day, Coleman says, a guy on the football team asked him what he was going to do when he graduated—a question he hadn’t given much thought to before. He responded, “Well, you can’t
July 29, 2016
Better Than a Lesbian Lifestyle
By Roger Worsham Michelle was raised in an abusive home by an extremely narcissistic mom. When she was 9 her mom married for the fifth time. This stepfather was abusive, like some of the others, and molested Michelle from age 9 to 13. When she told her mother about the molestation, her mother refused to believe her. She told Michelle, “You are too ugly for him to be interested in having sex with you.” Later Michelle”s mom remarried again. This marriage didn”t last. Michelle”s mom stole a check from her estranged sixth husband, and he sent another woman to collect
July 22, 2016
Carrying to Completion
By Earl Winfrey I can”t remember a time when church was not part of my life. I was baptized into Christ at 12 and felt the call to ministry and started pursuing a deeper knowledge of the Bible at the age of 14. Unfortunately, I got mixed up with the wrong crowd during my senior year of high school. I got married two weeks after graduation, and we had our baby five months after the wedding. For the first year and a half, I lived in denial, thinking my marriage was good. Then one day I woke up to find
July 15, 2016
From Vile to Victory
By Matt Proctor “I remember being in the bars at 3 years old with my mother singing in the bands,” says Juliet Rose. Juliet was born into addiction. Her mother drank heavily, and her dad was a drug addict. Her mother married another man when Juliet was 4, and “that”s when monsters became real.” Her new stepdad molested her for the next five years. She always felt alone. “I had no friends, so I quit school in the ninth grade. I had no education, no life skills.” At 16, she fled to Las Vegas, where she survived as a prostitute.
July 14, 2016
From the Mess to a Message of Hope
By Dave Stone Lindsay Knight remembers the hopelessness. It stalked her as a college student, when she had seen too much and been loved too little. It was in the back of her mind as she chased self-worth in being pretty, thin, a good athlete, popular, and successful. After a long string of abusive, destructive relationships left her homeless, alone, and broke, she took the one “yes” she found””to work at a local strip club. It didn”t take long for her to see life at the club wasn”t so glamorous””she didn”t make a lot of money and she didn”t like
November 13, 2015
Gary Johnson, ICOM 2015
Gary Johnson, senior minister at The Creek in Indianapolis, Indiana, talks with editor Mark A. Taylor about the unique DNA at that church and the importance of combining compassion with testimony as we make friends with those who aren”t Christians. See the exclusive interview here.
September 12, 2013
Leading with Love in Las Vegas
By Vince Antonucci Travis moved from New York City to Las Vegas to make money. He was a photographer and started showing up at nightclubs and strip clubs asking, “How about you make me your photographer?” Travis became the photographer for many of Vegas”s nightclubs and strip clubs, and then strippers. Before long, Travis was sleeping with the strippers. Travis”s wife found out, and she moved out with their kids. Travis began convincing strippers that they could make more money, and soon he became their pimp. Travis is the kind of person I moved to Las Vegas to reach. We
September 1, 2011
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
March 29, 2011
In Praise of Congregational Participation
By Becky Ahlberg Contrary to what you might think, “worship wars” have been going on for centuries. I”ll not slip back into my music history professor role and bore you with all the details, but suffice it to say that, from early church days, how we worship has been the topic of a lively, ongoing debate. As is the norm for humans, we tend to swing the pendulum from one extreme to another, rarely finding that center of balance. I suppose if we carry through with that analogy, though, the good news is that it is the swinging pendulum that
June 20, 2010
Interview with Arron Chambers
Arron Chambers By Brad Dupray Arron Chambers is a pastor, husband, father, writer, triathlete, and he loves to eat . . . with sinners. Arron”s latest book, Eats with Sinners: Reaching Hungry People Like Jesus Did, examines Jesus” approach to creating conversations with people over a meal and how to apply that approach today. Each chapter of Eats with Sinners deals with a character trait of Jesus that made eating with sinners an effective means of sharing his message. Arron is lead minister of Journey Christian Church in Greeley, Colorado, and a contributing editor to Christian Standard. Arron maintains the
November 26, 2006
The Mysterious and Mighty Ways of God
By Nancy Karpenske I had an appointment to get my hair cut. During that session, I intended to dissolve a friendship. But God had other plans. This is a drama with three characters: myself, my friend and hair stylist Donna, and the Holy Spirit. The three outcomes, if you don”t care to read the whole story: I am thrilled by my friend”s transformation; I am caught again in my own judgmental small-mindedness; and I am astounded by the Holy Spirit working in ways that aren”t mentioned in Bible college. Lonely, Angry, and Bitter It was the cussing, really, that got
September 17, 2006
NACC Viewpoint 3: Together–It’s Reality
By Judy Hutchinson The NACC has become a working vacation for me. My father-in-law, W.D. Hutchinson, founded the business called Christian Audio Tapes, which records every main session and workshop of the event. “This is my 40th NACC,” he announced shortly after I arrived at the booth. I marveled at the physical endurance demonstrated by that statement and wondered how he and his staff continued the task of loading, unloading, and reloading the multitude of boxes that it takes to fill the orders for CDs, DVDs, and tapes. He made his announcement with a lilt in his voice that told
