Articles for tag: Theology

May 9, 2019

Christian Standard

James Garfield’s European Vacation

James A. Garfield was the 20th president of the United States and an original investor in Christian Standard. He grew up in northeastern Ohio and was baptized in 1850 at age 18. He preached frequently during the 1850s while attending the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (which became Hiram College in 1867) and then Williams College (Williamstown, Mass.), and after returning to Hiram, Ohio, in 1856 to serve on faculty and as principal (commencing in 1857). In 1861 he entered military service with the Union Army during the Civil War. Soon after the war, he helped make arrangements to establish this

April 24, 2019

Christian Standard

Ozark Library’s New Fine Structure Based on Pull-ups (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Chris Moon and Jim Nieman Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Mo., is looking for creative ways to attract more people to the Seth Wilson Library—and to shed the perception that libraries are stuffy. To that end, library director Derek Moser has installed a pull-up bar as a way for students to pay off their overdue books. Moser says library fines—which have been done away with—are relatively inconsequential in comparison to the cost of a lost item.  “The idea came to me that if we did a pull-up, that might actually match the crime a little bit better because it’s discipline related,”

March 13, 2019

Christian Standard

Inaugural Hayden Lectureship Scheduled March 26-28 (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Chris Moon and Jim Nieman Emmanuel Christian Seminary at Milligan will host its inaugural Hayden Lectureship later this month honoring the legacy of former Christian Standard editor Edwin V. Hayden. The lectureship March 26-28 will feature Dr. Dwight N. Hopkins, an eminent African-American and global theologian who is Alexander Campbell Professor of Theology at the University of Chicago Divinity School. Hopkins’s lecture series, “Being Human: Wealth, Leadership and Values,” will include the following three presentations: “Wealth and Faith in Black American Experiences” (11 a.m. March 26), “Black Liberation Theology and Global Cross-Cultural Leadership” (7:30 p.m. March 27), and

February 23, 2019

Christian Standard

Greekaholics Anonymous

From After Class Podcast Sponsor: Welcome, everyone, to this week’s meeting of Greekaholics Anonymous. The purpose of this support group is to help those of us who are helplessly addicted to using biblical languages in our sermons—even though we really don’t know what we are saying and most listeners have no idea what we’re talking about. Let’s begin with our GA preamble. Everyone: Preachers who don’t know Greek shouldn’t use Greek in their sermons. Sponsor: Would someone like to be the first to share with the group? Pastor Strong: Hello, my name is Jim and I’m a Greekaholic. Everyone: Hello,

January 29, 2019

Christian Standard

Ravi and Me

By Jack Cottrell Several years ago Ravi Zacharias and I were on the same program. Ravi accepted an invitation to speak at Cincinnati Christian University on April 29, 2014. He spoke twice, once in morning chapel and once for an evening banquet. About three weeks before the event, the school president, David Faust, sent me a request that said, in part, “As part of the program prior to Ravi’s speech in the evening, I would like to interview you briefly about the ongoing relevance of apologetics, especially as it relates to our work at CCU. . . . If you

December 22, 2018

Christian Standard

The Church of Christ Nativity Heist

From After Class Podcast Police have confirmed the mysterious Nativity heist has finally ended. “We’re glad it’s over. The whole town’s glad it’s over,” reported officer Melchior. For three weeks, the front yards of unsuspecting homeowners, respected public establishments, and houses of worship across Magian County have been repeatedly raided by previously unknown thieves. Strangely enough, only one item was routinely carted off—plastic or wooden figurines of the wise men who visited baby Jesus to bring him presents. “It was so strange,” reported 60-year-old Ricky Bob Gaspar. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. They left the cattle, the shepherds,

September 26, 2018

Christian Standard

Crosspoint Church Opens Worship Center (Plus News Briefs)

Crosspoint Christian Church in Cape Coral, Fla., celebrated the opening of its 18,000-square-foot worship center on Sunday. The church, which started meeting in a high school in 2006, launched the new facility with a special Instagram photo booth (above) and a food drive, asking members to bring canned food to the church service, according to the Cape Coral Daily Breeze. The food will go to the Cape Coral Caring Center, a local food distribution center. “We know that in our community, there are people every day who don’t know how they are going to feed their children,” lead pastor Jeff

September 5, 2018

Christian Standard

Louisville Bible College Rebounds after Rough Patch

By Jim Nieman Contrary to what you might have heard, Louisville Bible College continues to train preachers and ministers for church ministry. “Some people think we closed,” said Jason Anderson, registrar and assistant professor of Bible at LBC. “We never closed, but for one school year we didn’t offer classes.” The college went through a rough patch in 2015-16, and decided to forgo classroom instruction after “we let our debt get out of hand,” Anderson said. The next school year, LBC resumed offering classes under the guidance of Tom Mobley—who returned as president in 2016, after previously serving LBC in

June 20, 2018

Christian Standard

Five Best Practices for Restoration Movement Elders and Leaders

By Jeff Faull “Look to the rock from which you were hewn and to the quarry from which you were dug” (Isaiah 51:1, New American Standard Bible). The Old Testament prophet Isaiah was not writing about church leadership or the Restoration Movement, but his words could easily be appropriated for Restoration church leaders. It is both refreshing and profitable for us to “look to our quarry” and gratefully consider the noble and admirable beginnings, underpinnings, and the future of our Restoration heritage. But could we start with an admission? Some inherent pitfalls come with our simple plea and its accompanying

June 3, 2018

Christian Standard

Obituaries for 2018

Send obituary information for **@********************ia.com. (Recent obituaries are listed first, before a comprehensive alphabetical listing further down.) Carol June Lukens Beeman Piper, 91, who was born Jan. 26, 1927, to George Oran and Ella Hall Lukens in a home 10 miles north of Mitchell, NE—the sixth of eight children—died in Tempe, AZ, on May 31, 2018. As a 3-year-old child, upon the death of her mother, Carol June (known then as “June”) moved to Beaver City, NE, to be raised by her aunt and uncle, Fannie Hall Rennecker and Albert Rennecker. She attended Beaver City Public Schools, graduating from high

May 21, 2017

Christian Standard

Dads Are Single Too

By Matt Johnson “Please raise your hand if you can name three single moms in your congregation,” I said while coleading a workshop at the 2015 North American Christian Convention. Many hands proudly shot up. Most of us can easily rattle off the names of three or four single mothers. Many can list 10 or more. These are women we respect. They faithfully wake up early on Sundays to get three wiggly children to worship. They are frazzled with life and still carve out time to volunteer at the Welcome Center. They often do the work of two parents while

April 3, 2017

Christian Standard

Lesson for April 9, 2017: Saving Love (John 3:1-21)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the April 2, 2017, issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  This famous text contains the teachings of Jesus, the questions of Nicodemus, and the saving love of God. This late-night conversation between Jesus and this Pharisee led to a bright sunrise of teaching concerning saving love. Birth | John 3:1-5 In each section of our text there is a rhetorical device (verses 3, 5, and 11).

January 8, 2017

Christian Standard

I Love the Church . . . Because There”s Work to Be Done

By Miriam Y. Perkins There are reasons I ought to love the church. The church refined the families who raised me. My connection to the Christian churches stretches back three generations to my great-grandparents Esther and Howard Dillon and grandparents Miriam LaRue and Hershel Dillon and Gladys and Carl Perkins. And this circle includes my mother, Linda Perkins, who has dedicated her life to family and the education of children, and my father, Gary Perkins, who was seminary-trained, ordained, and a career military chaplain. If I love the church at all, it is because of this generational legacy. Not Easy

December 12, 2016

Christian Standard

Almighty Favored

By Jennifer Johnson I write a lot of small group Bible study curriculum, and in the process I work with many different churches, different pastors, and different perspectives. One of my favorite clients is a preacher in Atlanta who leans toward the “spirit-filled” side of the spectrum and often talks to his congregation about God”s favor. He encourages his church members to pray for God”s favor in their families, their business dealings, and their health. Sometimes I question the theology of those prayers. Sometimes I question whether I am brave enough to pray them. In the Old Testament we see

December 2, 2016

Christian Standard

To Women, By Women: NATALIE’S SISTERS

By Katelyn Grounds Life-changing ministries often start simple, with a handful of people and a common vision. That is true for Natalie”s Sisters. In 2000, three women sat down over lunch and decided it was time to answer God”s calling on their lives to minister to women caught in the sex industry. Soon they were taking home-cooked meals to women in Lexington”s strip clubs. That”s when Bruised Reed (as it was originally known) was born. The mission statement captures the group”s vision: “. . . to create life changing opportunities for women in the sex industry by extending hope, support,

August 1, 2016

Christian Standard

The Best Sermon I”ve Ever Heard (13)

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. SHAWN GRANT Shawn Grant is a walking cliché: born on Saturday, in church on Sunday. His father, Mike Grant, has been preaching in Stone-Campbell churches for more than 35 years, and Shawn decided to follow suit. He became a follower of Christ in elementary school. He received a BA in preaching and Bible from Florida Christian College (now Johnson University Florida), an MA in church history/historical theology from Lincoln (Illinois) Christian Seminary, and a PhD in interdisciplinary humanities

May 28, 2016

Christian Standard

Church Fulfilling Its Vision to Go Deeper

By Jennifer Johnson Three years ago, North Boulevard Church of Christ (Murfreesboro, TN) embarked on a “20/20 Vision” initiative to accomplish several goals, including paying off the loan on their current building, devoting themselves to prayer, growing in diversity among their church body, planting more churches””and developing a School of Christian Thought to help people think critically and with a Christian worldview. “The leadership team voted unanimously to pursue this vision, and we began praying about raising the funds and casting the vision for our church,” says Renée Sproles, director of the school. “We needed $1.6 million to accomplish it

May 26, 2016

Christian Standard

Want Millennials Back in the Pews? Stop Trying to Make Church Cool

By Rachel Held Evans EDITOR”S NOTE: Obviously, this essay, adapted from one that first appeared in the Washington Post on April 30, 2015, does not represent the position of CHRISTIAN STANDARD on every issue. But it provides a prod to our thinking and practice that can stimulate some healthy discussion. We invite our readers to react. Add a comment below or send us an e-mail. Bass reverberates through the auditorium floor as a heavily bearded worship leader pauses to invite the congregation, bathed in the light of two giant screens, to tweet using #JesusLives. The scent of freshly brewed coffee

February 18, 2016

Christian Standard

My Theology and My Attitude Toward My Kids” Rooms

By Jason Yeatts My view of theology changed two years ago. For most of my life, I considered theology an academic discipline, reserved mainly for those smart enough to handle it. But two years ago, I realized something was missing. My kids were getting older, and I was discovering that the theological information locked in my brain was quite powerless when I brought it into my living room, kitchen, and bedroom””the intimate places of my home. Theology seemed disconnected from my real life, and I struggled to understand how it could, and should, affect my day-to-day comings and goings. Helped

February 15, 2016

Christian Standard

My Theology and My Leadership

By Matt Proctor A few years ago, I was asked to give a class lecture on “how my theology affects my leadership.” What a helpful exercise! I tried to dig beneath the surface of my leadership practices to find my underlying motivating beliefs. As I brought these to the surface, I could see whether they squared well with Scripture. I ended up listing 10 ways my theology shaped my leadership. A few examples: Me vs. Us Despite my natural Lone Ranger tendencies, I have moved to a more team leadership approach. When I began as president, I was the only

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