July 21, 2014
Lisa Harper talks about women’s ministry in changing times and how becoming a single parent at age 50 has taught her life-changing lessons about God and about herself. See her interview with CHRISTIAN STANDARD Editor Mark Taylor here.
April 1, 2014
By Mark A. Taylor Most Thursdays I attend, and usually lead, a men”s small-group Bible study. These are good men, men committed to Christ, churchgoing men, and I couldn”t help thinking about them when I came across a newsletter from the Barna Group earlier this year. According to Barna”s research, 75 percent of American adults say they are looking for ways to live a more meaningful life. But “only 40 percent of practicing Christians say they have a clear sense of God”s calling on their lives.” I”m wondering how the guys in my group feel a sense of calling at
March 6, 2014
By Matt Proctor In the book Children’s Letters to God, one young girl wrote: “Dear God, are boys better than girls? I know you are one, but try to be fair.” It’s an age-old question: what does God think about women and, specifically, women’s roles in the church? It’s also a controversial question. The April 2013 article “Women Preaching” generated more comments on CHRISTIAN STANDARD’s website than any other article last year. The article mentioned that Ozark Christian College offers a preaching class for women, and some readers wondered about the biblical rationale for such a class. (By the way,
March 2, 2013
By Sheila S. Hudson When I was a rookie minister”s wife, a gentle lady named Merle took me under her wing. Merle was a retired schoolteacher “clothed with strength and dignity” who could “laugh at the days to come” (Proverbs 31:25). Her wisdom earned respect communitywide, while her “never-grow-up attitude” endeared her to believers and nonbelievers alike. Her husband was an extraordinary elder whose wisdom earned esteem in all arenas. Miss Merle modeled Titus 2:3, “Teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what
January 1, 2013
“God”s Backyard Bible Camp,” Standard Publishing”s Vacation Bible School program for 2013, features Beth Guckenberger, cofounder of Back2Back Ministries. The “Backyard Bible Camp” includes separate VBS programs for day (“Under the Sun”) or evening (“Under the Stars”), and will carry a mission emphasis, which is where Back2Back Ministries comes in. We asked Beth to share some thoughts about Back2Back Ministries. It was 15 years ago that we started to share with a few friends and family our “whisper calling” to move to Mexico. This was met with mixed reactions. Some thought we were shortsighted or ill-equipped (they were right). Some
October 12, 2012
By Nancy Karpenske What Every Church Member Needs to Know about Poverty Bill Ehlig and Ruby K. Payne Highlands: aha! Process Inc., 1999 Ruby K. Payne is the leading U.S. educator teaching teachers and social workers about the impacts on families in poverty, and the author of the best-selling book, A Framework for Understanding Poverty. Bill Ehlig has been a minister in urban settings for more than 30 years. God expects and commands followers of Jesus to be concerned and involved with needy people. “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has
November 29, 2011
By David L. Clark I”ve been preaching 35 years and still remember my first “official” sermon. I was consumed with preparation during the week leading up to it. I spent hours at a local college library. I chose a text, searched the meanings of words, read multiple commentaries, and scoured mind and memories for timely illustrations. By Friday, the sermon was ready, and I was full of anticipation. Sunday morning arrived after a fitful night of sleep. I preached! The sermon was delivered to those who would listen and””if I say so myself””it went well. Then reality set in. What
November 25, 2011
By Jeffrey Miller Late in 2008, Todd Carmichael staggered to the South Pole after covering 700 uphill miles in 39 days. He arrived with damaged gear, frostbit lungs, extreme exhaustion””and a world record! His discipline and determination, endurance and exhaustion, are truly amazing. Equally amazing, however, is whom he beat. Her name is Hannah McKeand, and Carmichael bested her record by 104 minutes””a margin comparable to winning a marathon by less than 4 minutes.1 Whether these adventurers are Christians, I don”t know. Their exploits, however, turn my mind to a frequent accusation commonly called “the feminization of the church.” As
August 18, 2011
By Susan Lawrence I”ve been a paid ministry staff member and a volunteer ministry leader, and there are things we need to understand about each other. Ministry isn”t a territorial war. Our battles are side by side, not head-on. ________ I”m a volunteer. I”d like paid staff members to understand . . . I want to be included. Invite me to occasional staff planning meetings. Let me be a part of the decision-making and planning process. It keeps me motivated to do ministry. If you simply tell me what has to be done, or assume I already know, I
July 6, 2011
By Jessica Vana I attended college at an aeronautical university, which means I spent time brushing shoulders with a unique breed. Literally, I went to school with NASA interns and rocket scientists. My alma mater has one of the highest percentages of international students in the nation. Despite my colleagues” bright minds and tremendously diverse backgrounds, however, I began to notice a theme of need. A school like mine has an atypical amount of club involvement because, well, it wasn”t exactly the Greek system crowd. My club of choice, after being invited personally and repeatedly by two jaunty and entertaining
February 10, 2011
By Dave Butts I”ll never forget that Thursday night in April 1983. I had been struggling for months to understand what it meant to be filled with the Holy Spirit. That night at a conference in Nashville, Tennessee, I heard Argentinean evangelist Juan Carlos Ortiz speak these simple words, “To be filled with the Spirit is to be continually conscious of Christ in you.” From that point on, I had a life verse that has shaped my life and ministry: “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Before that time, I certainly had understood biblically, theologically, and intellectually
January 27, 2011
By Jennifer Taylor Christian Missionary Fellowship”s Maasai Health Services clinics recently received a grant of $516,000 from the U.S. President”s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to provide HIV/AIDS services in the Maasai area of Kenya. In 2009 these clinics saw 71,000 patients, not including a large number of children who received immunizations and women who received follow-up pregnancy visits. In recent years the clinics have been run completely by Kenyans, many of whom were encouraged in their educational and career pursuits by missionaries from CMF, based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The funds will be dispersed to the clinics through September 2011.
June 7, 2009
 By Nancy Karpenske What are they like, the single moms who participate in Surviving & Thriving as a Single Mom, LifeBridge Christian Church”s ministry to single moms? Here is a composite sample: J.C. is the typical single mom. She is nearing 40. Her husband found someone else and left. He is supposed to pay child support but rarely does. J.C. was a stay-at-home mom. Her job skills are limited. She works at a preschool so her younger child can be with her. She works 9 am to 3 pm so she can pick up her older son from elementary
February 15, 2009
Maybe the most amazing thing about this summer”s North American Christian Convention isn”t the convention itself, but a convention-sponsored event later in the summer. We”re talking about the 2009 Minister and Spouse Retreat, Tuesday, August 11, through Thursday, August 13, at the Lifeway Conference Center, Ridgecrest, North Carolina. This getaway offers a tranquil setting nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, just north of Asheville, North Carolina. It will be the perfect spot for ministry couples who would like to relax together at a program planned just for them. And what a program it is! “¢ Debra and Daniel Smith, authors
January 25, 2009
 By Patti Cappa I am sure most of us remember the old Supremes” song “Stop! In the Name of Love.” In the 1960s I would stand on my fireplace hearth wildly singing it, just like Diana Ross, using a metal spatula as a microphone, but that”s not the story I want to relate hereSo often through the years at the clergy care center where I work, I have heard men and women say “they have been working so hard at ministry.” In fact, many are putting in 80 hours a week. They are counseling, organizing, going to meeting after
December 19, 2007
By Mark A. Taylor The angels announcing the birth of our Savior promised “peace on earth.” But today in America we are beset with war”s losses, weary with war”s news, and divided by debates about war. It is only natural that Christmas messages this December focus on peace, because this Christmas many are longing for peace as never before. Ishmael Beah speaks about peace after having his own life ravaged by civil war in Sierra Leone. Orphaned by the conflict, he fought with an AK-47 by the age of 12. Drugged and terrorized by insurgent thugs, he was forced to
October 28, 2007
By Lisa Jernigan How did you celebrate your last birthday? Did you have a big party, or maybe a quiet celebration with family and friends, or was it just another ordinary day? Was it a time of reflection of the past or anticipation of the future? I recently celebrated a birthday that kinda” stopped me in my tracks! Though it wasn”t a “milestone” birthday (that”s next year!), it did grab my attention and cause me to take inventory of my life. People are often asked who their heroes or role models are. When I am asked that question, several people
May 6, 2007
By David A. Fiensy Let”s face it. Jesus is big business. Writers and publishers have learned that producing a book on Jesus that in some way reduces his stature or revises traditional Christianity”s view of him can be a gold mine. Dan Brown”s The Da Vinci Code is only the most famous example of this genre. Others have also learned they can make millions of dollars off Jesus if the story is shocking enough. So we witness a continual discharge of sensationalist books, each new one trying to top the previous ones, each offering some scandalous secret about Jesus that
May 14, 2006
By Susan Wilson Our church recently moved into a new 3,000-seat facility with four weekend services. Being in the choir that first weekend and looking out at all those people was both overwhelming and awesome for this small-town Kansas girl. When I was growing up, I never expected to be the wife of the pastor in one of the largest churches in Phoenix, Arizona. Every weekend I look at the crowd attending our church and am amazed at what God is doing. I guess that”s one of the most exciting things about it””knowing there”s no way it would have
July 17, 2005
A late-night bus ride in Manhattan becomes a living illustration of Matthew 25. A former paramedic turned bus driver shows what it means to offer safe passage—meeting needs, welcoming strangers, restoring dignity, and walking with others toward freedom.
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