An interviewed Brian “Head” Welch, guitarist and founding member of the nu metal band Korn. Welch’s story is a testimony to God’s mercy and grace, leading him from Satan’s darkness into God’s light.
February 12, 2024
People can sometimes get stuck in their spiritual growth. They start out well. They attend church, read their Bibles, and join a small group. And then they stall out. . . . Done With Stuck is a company that aims to give people tools to deal with the deep-seated issues that block their growth. . . .
January 1, 2024
By Tim Harlow It’s worth pointing out that I was not asked to write about a deep doctrinal issue, or leadership, or how to respond to a difficult social problem. No, I was asked to share about the benefits of therapy for Christian leaders. I own it. I needed therapy. I need therapy. I have had very few seasons of my life when I had my stuff together. In fact, I wouldn’t be where I am today without the occasional counseling help I’ve received, specifically from the good folks at Blessing Ranch Ministries. I’ll share a specific example from a
October 17, 2023
Tim Harlow is retiring at the end of this month after 33 years as senior pastor at Parkview Christian Church in Orland Park, Ill. Harlow led the suburban Chicago church as it grew from just 150 people in 1990 to well more than 8,000 at its pre-pandemic height. Harlow said retiring and moving away after so long in one place isn’t easy. . . .
March 1, 2022
By Tim Harlow To me, the best way to understand Jesus is found in one story in John 4 where the text tells us he “had to go through Samaria.” That single statement may sum up his entire ministry. Most Jewish people traveling from Judea up to Galilee did not go through Samaria—even though it was the shortest route. The Jews had disdain for the Samaritans, who were largely descendants of the Israelites but whom the Jews viewed as political and religious rivals, so they usually would go out of their way to avoid passing through that region. Yet Jesus
January 26, 2022
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December 25, 2019
Reviewed by Caleb Kaltenbach Tim Harlow excels in ministry leadership. He serves a growing church—Parkview Christian in Chicagoland has gone from 150 to 10,000-plus—mentors countless people, and encourages fellow senior ministers. He has served as president of the North American Christian Convention and authored Life on Mission: God’s People Finding God’s Heart for the World. And he’s done all of this—plus earned a doctorate—while loving his family and displaying courage, humility, and a sense of humor. However, if Harlow were asked what he’s most proud of in his ministry (besides his family), my guess is he’d say, “Leading a church
June 5, 2019
By Jim Nieman Tim Harlow, senior pastor with Parkview Christian Church, Orland Park, Ill., for almost 30 years, has written a new book with the provocative title, What Made Jesus Mad? Rediscover the Blunt, Sarcastic, Passionate Savior of the Bible. In the book, to be released next Tuesday, Harlow explains that Jesus was most angry with people whose attitudes got in the way of his purpose, and he shares what that means for his followers today. He suggests it’s more important to ask, “What made Jesus angry” than the oft-quoted cliché, “What would Jesus do?” Harlow—who cowrote the “Ministry Today”
September 30, 2018
(This is a sidebar to Jerry Harris’s October 2018 Letter from the Publisher: “The NACC: Celebrating Our Wins . . . and Starting an Inspiring New Season”) By Jerry Harris Seventy-seven names. As one scans them, a history of the modern independent Christian church forms. These men strove to hold together in unity an independent movement while, at the same time, cherishing its individuality. They worked hard to inspire a movement of healthy, growing churches. They had their own ministries, but they generously gave their time, talent, and treasure to advance a tribe and cause in which they believed.
May 30, 2017
By Mark A. Taylor New parents sometimes feel trapped. Infants need constant attention, and Mom and Dad may grieve the diminished freedom, increased expenses, and unending on-call status that come with this new addition to their family. But after only 18 years or so, that son or daughter, now looking ahead at a life of independence, leaves home. He gets a job, and she establishes a household of her own. And some parents discover a new reason to grieve: without that child who was once such a challenge, now the house seems empty and lonely. Whether pressed by our current
May 24, 2017
By Tim Harlow Sure, I serve God wholeheartedly. But even then, sometimes it”s easy to see giants instead of what he wants me to do for him. Different can be a synonym for “weird.” “She”s kind of different” usually means, like, not in a good way. The elevator doesn”t go to the top floor. One taco short of a combination platter. Not the brightest crayon in the box. Every generation of teenagers talks about how they want to be “different,” and then they go buy the same labels and wear the same styles and listen to the same music as
March 25, 2017
By Tim Harlow In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, many women in the U.S. are feeling devalued. What should be the church”s response? Although many issues were debated during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, gender issues didn”t seem to be at the forefront. Most people seemed prepared for the possibility of a female president. It wasn”t a big deal. Even those who were dead set against Hillary Clinton for president seldom said it was because she”s a woman. And while many people were offended by Donald Trump”s comments and apparent attitudes toward women, they tended to overlook this
January 19, 2017
By Tim Harlow My best advice for your ministry: share the Spirit. So Moses . . . brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. . . . However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. . . . Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran and
November 26, 2016
By Tim Harlow When we get ahead of God, we”re getting ready to fall. Like you, I cringe every time a pastor flames out. For one thing, I know that there, but for the grace of God, go I. I also know my job just got harder. I know that people look at the fallen pastor, and then look at me and wonder what I”m really like. The apostle James warned us of this reality (James 3:1), but it doesn”t make it any easier when another teacher doesn”t make it. Somewhere, deep inside, we all love hearing stories about someone
September 23, 2016
By Tim Harlow Erwin McManus says turning a church around is really just a matter of killing one church and opening a new one, and I”d have to agree. “Because of your faith, it will happen” (Matthew 9:29, New Living Translation). When I came to this 40-year-old church, it really took us 7 to 10 years to transition it to the place where we could start doing what we knew God wanted us to do. The upside was we had some people and some money and a building. But the downside was many of the people had a different vision
July 3, 2016
By Tim Harlow Financial campaigns are good because they remind us where to look for the help everyone is seeking. Blaise Pascal, a 17th-century French philosopher and mathematician, is often quoted as saying there is a “God-shaped vacuum” inside of us. That”s a preacher”s abbreviation of the following paragraph: What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help
May 23, 2016
By Tim Harlow There is always a great deal of chatter among my peers about succession planning and the right time to step away from leadership of the local church. I have been at my post for 26 years and would like to make it another 14. But I am only one year away from the senior discount at IHOP. If that weren”t bad enough, it also means that next year I qualify for the 55+ Ministers and Wives Conference. Ben Merold spoke this year! How can I be in the same category as Ben Merold? I interned under him,
April 18, 2016
“You don”t have to leave the movement to lead beyond it.” Six perspectives on a provocative statement ________ By Jennifer Johnson These leaders love the Restoration Movement and its principles, but they also work and minister “outside” of it with the churches they serve, the partnerships they pursue, and the parachurch ministries they lead. Here are their thoughts on what it means to go beyond the movement, why it matters, and how it can honor God. Brent Storms The biggest question for me is how does one “get in” and “get out” of our movement? We”re coming across planters and church
March 20, 2016
By Tim Harlow There are some wonderful benefits to leading the same church for 26 years. It”s actually very difficult to make much headway into your community as a church leader without longevity. However, when people ask me for the hardest thing about longevity, this is my answer””what got us here doesn”t usually get us there. I don”t mind change. I don”t mind that I”ve preached through the years of overhead projectors to slide projectors to video to HD video. I don”t mind that I grew up in a church with a bus ministry and a puppet troupe, but I”m
January 3, 2016
By Tim Harlow On a recent trip to Malawi, my wife and I had a brief layover in London and were able to travel into the city for a spot of tea. We found a shop in the back of the sanctuary of a 900-year-old Anglican church. The place was incredibly beautiful and ornate, with lovely stained glass. However, it became painfully obvious the church wasn”t selling tea as a way to connect with the community, but because it was desperate for money. There was even a sign saying how much it cost to keep the building open. As I
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