Christian Standard | April 2019

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AD INT CHU

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letter

FROM THE

publisher

The announcement came in mid-January.

James MacDonald, founding pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel, based in the Chicago area, was taking an immediate and indefinite sabbatical from all preaching and leadership in his ministry. The elders took this action in response to mounting criticism concerning leadership overreach, financial questions, and alleged abuse of staff and members over a 12-year period.

Stories of this sort are becoming all-too-common among megachurch pastors . . . and they show no sign of slowing. The churches that provide platforms for these leaders represent tens of thousands of people. High-visibility, powerful-personality pastors and preachers command huge audiences, direct massive budgets, oversee very large staffs, and expand their reach through social and conventional media.

Bill Hybels, Perry Noble, Mark Driscoll, Darrin Patrick, Tullian Tchividjian, and Bob Coy only begin a list of highly influential people who

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found themselves in the middle of the rubble of what had been celebrated and influential ministries. And while it’s true that falling is not limited only to pastors of large, influential churches, these failures certainly carry an entirely different level of social weight, giving a collective black eye to churches, ministries, and ministers.

As the senior pastor of a megachurch, these revelations aren’t lost on me. I would be arrogant to think I am somehow insulated from this type of tragedy. So, how do I protect myself and my flock, and keep the commitment I made to myself, my Lord, and my church? Psalm 23 says, “He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (English Standard Version).

As I understand that passage, my choices have a dramatic effect on Christ’s reputation. So what’s the answer?

Many pastors have read Jim Collins’s book Good to Great, but I was particularly taken

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with the sequel, How the Mighty Fall. Although companies and business plans are highlighted in that later book, I think its focus on the five stages of decline can speak loudly to preachers . . . especially successful ones: 1. “Hubris Born of Success.” Success can have a drug-like effect on a leader. We might look at our social media likes and shares, offering numbers, attendance figures, or CEO status, and consider it a license to do whatever we want. But hubris is a dry well. It’s been said that no matter how good things seem, you’re never as good as you think you are.

2. The “Undisciplined Pursuit of More.” Sometimes it’s hard for leaders to see the line between passion and ambition. Undisciplined leaders tend to ambitiously reach beyond the passion God gave them for ministry. Hubris creates undisciplined behavior, and undisciplined behavior creates bad motives and even worse results. More baptisms, more locations, more attendees, more ministries . . . how can that be wrong? But without discipline, it’s no better than a house of cards.

3. The “Denial of Risk and Peril.” When we heard the revelations about the ministers mentioned earlier, most of us probably wondered, “What were they thinking?” Indeed! They weren’t. Hubris breeds undisciplined behavior that invites both risk and peril. I’ve heard it said that sometimes we don’t hear the train coming until the caboose runs over us!

4. “Grasping for Salvation.” Stories likely come to mind of ministers or ministries that are mere shadows of what they once were or what they were intended to be. It makes me think further back to stories of corruption and loss associated with Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker, Robert Tilton, Ted Haggard, and others. It re-

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minds me of Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral, which is now Roman Catholic; the City of Faith (associated with Oral Roberts), which is now office buildings; and the now-abandoned Heritage USA (associated with Bakker). These are monuments to ministries that slipped or failed; their leaders, caught up in risks and perils, grasped for what had left them . . . to a lampstand that had been removed.

5. “Capitulation to Irrelevance or Death.”

Driscoll’s Mars Hill Church in Seattle comes to mind. It suddenly dissolved. Great leaders, like great companies, can stumble and fall—like the temple of Dagon, which Samson brought down on his own head. Great power comes with great responsibility. Power and responsibility combine when we remember God works within us and through us, when people who know us—and are not intimidated by us—seek to lovingly keep us humble, when we remain people of the Bible (and not just whatever draws a crowd), and when we remember there is a big difference between building our foundations on gold, silver, and precious stones rather than wood, hay, and straw (1 Corinthians 3:11-13).

Jerry Harris is publisher of Christian Standard Media and senior pastor of The Crossing, a multisite church located in three states across the Midwest. @_jerryharris /jerrydharris

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CHRISTIAN STANDARD —

FOUNDED 1866 BY ISAAC ERRETT Devoted to the restoration of New Testament Christianity, its doctrine, its ordinances, and its fruits.

The Staff Jerry Harris, Publisher Michael C. Mack, Editor Jim Nieman, Managing Editor Shawn McMullen, Contributing Editor Megan Kempf, Designer Abby Wittler, Designer Renee Little, Operations

Subscription Information To order Christian Standard for yourself, your church, or your group, visit christianstandard.com or contact Customer Service. Bulk pricing is available.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

800.543.1353 info@christianstandardmedia.com

Volume CLIV. Number 4. Christian Standard (ISSN 0009-5656) is published monthly by Christian Standard Media at 16965 Pine Lane, Suite 202, Parker, CO 80134. Periodicals postage paid at Parker, CO, and additional offices.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®.

Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Christian Standard Media, 16965 Pine Lane, Suite 202, Parker, CO 80134. Phone: 1-800543-1353.

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Christian Standard is published by Christian Standard Media, www.christianstandardmedia.com.

Copyright ©2019 by Christian Standard Media Email: cs@christianstandardmedia.com Website: www.christianstandard.com Printed in USA

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

FEA T U R E

—

HADDON ROBINSON: a legacy of biblical preaching

I N E V E RY I S S UE

by Damien Spikereit

2-3 | L E TTE R F RO M THE P UB L ISH E R

NEW LIFE where DEATH once reigned

Jerry Harris

by mark ellis 6-7 | L E TTE R F RO M THE E DITO R Michael C. Mack

preach the WORD

8-11 | ME TRIC S

by Chris Philbeck

Chr istia nity in Confusion Kent Fillinger

from the archives: EFFECTIVE PREACHING

by cecil j. sharp

12-14 | IMAG IN E

Ne ighbor hood Church Mel McGowan

15-17 | e 2 : E F F E C TIV E EL D ER S 4 Ide a s fo r Illustrating Tr uth Jeff Faull

a DIFFERENT KIND of death, burial, & resurrection story

by melissa wuske

18-19 | MINISTRY L IF E

Listening on the Road S.J. Dahlman

WRESTLING with scripture

20-22 | H O RIZO N S

De ve lop The se 4 H abits to Inc r e a se Your Outreach Emily Drayne

by ryan rasmussen

24-31 | F E ATURE ARTI CL E

the complete SECURITY pr ogram

by ed Sanow

Ha ddon Ro binson: A Le ga c y o f Biblical Pr e a c hing Damien Spikereit

The most COMPREHENSIVE and ACCURATE list of Christian churches and churches of Christ available anywhere

78-79 | IN TE RAC T

by Jim Nieman

80 | B IB L ITIC AL LY C OR R ECT Le ft Be hind After Class Podcast C H RIS TI AN STA N DAR D

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letter

FROM THE

editor

We decided to focus on “biblical preaching” for this year’s annual Easter issue. The need is as great as ever to “preach the Word.”

I hope this issue serves as a sort of “preaching guide” for our readers. Four of our feature articles provide powerful, practical, thought-provoking principles for preaching. (Amazingly, alliteration is not one of them.) Our e2 and Metrics columns also focus on preaching this month.

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We seek to restore, among several things, biblical preaching. To that end, I’d like to consider two vital preaching principles I don’t hear discussed much. Perhaps we take these principles for granted, but I think it’s prudent to identify them.

1. Preaching Belongs to More Than a Favored Few (The “Preacherhood” of All Believers).

I recently read a Christian Standard article from November 13, 1940, by J. H. Dampier, then

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minister at First Church of Christ in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. He said, “Preaching is not the obligation of a chosen few. Preaching is the personal testimony of every believer. It is the universal obligation upon all who name the name of Christ. . . . [However,] preaching has become the vocation of a favored few, and that to the hurt of the church.” Dampier continued: “The preachers that we need are as numerous as the membership of the church.”

This was the way of the New Testament church.

The apostle Paul was speaking to “anyone [who] is in Christ” when he said God had “committed to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:17, 19). The early church turned their attitude into action: “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (Acts 8:4, my emphasis).

Yes, some “chosen few” have been called to certain leadership roles in the church, and prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers are among them, but let’s not forget their responsibility is “to equip [God’s] people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:12). Let’s be sure to equip all of our people to preach the Word wherever they go.

2. Your Preaching Is Not Your Own (If You Want to Produce Results). Jesus taught a vital preaching principle through his attitude, actions, and words. Like me, you’ve probably noticed, especially in John’s Gospel, Jesus’ total dependence on the Father. In my old print Bible, I’ve highlighted verses such as John 4:34; 5:19, 30; 6:38, 44; and 10:37, but two verses especially apply to preaching: “My teaching is not my own.

It comes from the one who sent me” (7:16), and “I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me” (8:28).

we must remember our ultimate source is the True Vine. Don’t take this for granted. Our abiding relationship with God through Christ is the source of great, life-changing, kingdomexpanding preaching and teaching.

Dampier also pointed to the product, or fruit, of our preaching: “To restore preaching to its proper place in the Restoration movement is our present problem,” he said. “We can not say we have restored the preaching of the apostolic age until we are getting like results.”

We often look at the early church in Acts and try to figure out what practices they used to produce such incredible results and growth.

But perhaps we look to the wrong sources of success. Practices and programs can be beneficial, but the early church leaders modeled a total reliance on God for their ministries and preaching: “If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:11).

“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:4, 5).

I’m saying nothing new here. But if you’re like me, you need a regular reminder and some everyday encouragement to rely on the Word (John 1:1) to preach the Word (Mark 2:2; 2 Timothy 4:2). Let’s be sure our main source is the “source of eternal salvation” (Hebrews 5:9).

What is your ultimate source, preacher? Your imagination? Reading books? Research and study? A preaching group? A website? All these may be helpful, but if we want our preaching to bear fruit, much fruit, fruit that will last,

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@michaelcmack @michaelcmack @michaelcmack /AuthorMichaelCMack

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met rics

BY KENT FILLINGER

christianity in confusion // What Happens When We Forgo Reading the Directions

Kent E. Fillinger serves as president of 3:STRANDS Consulting, Indianapolis, Indiana, and regional vice president (Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan) with Christian Financial Resources.

A year or so ago, one of my teenage daughters had several of her friends over for a sleepover.

During the night, the girls decided to play a game. My daughter pulled Scattergories, which was new to her, out of the closet, and in the girls’ rush to play, they decided to forego reading the directions. Instead, they came up with a way to play based on what they thought made sense.

/3strandsconsulting www.3strandsconsulting.com

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An Increase in Biblical Illiteracy We live in an era of people throwing around terms like “fake news” and “alternative facts.”

We also live in an era of increasing biblical illiteracy. We are part of a culture that devalues regular reading of the Bible.

Not reading the directions first resulted in a hodgepodge game with no winner. There were a few arguments along the way, due to the confusion and lack of clarity on how to play.

They eventually grew frustrated, put the game away, and moved on to the next activity.

A few weeks later, my three daughters and I decided to play Scattergories together. This time I explained the rules and taught them how it was supposed to be played. The results were much different, and my daughter who had played the game with her friends was surprised to learn how mistaken their approach had been.

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The Pew Research Center asked self-identified American Christians about the essential aspects of being a Christian. Most (86 percent) said “believing in God” was essential to being a Christian. Another large grouping (71 percent) said being grateful for what you have was essential. More than two-thirds (69 percent) said “forgiving those who have wronged you” was key to the Christian life. But less than half—only 42 percent—said reading the Bible was essential to being a Christian. Bible reading ranked No. 8 on the list of essentials for being a Christian (from the article, “Bible Not Seen as Essential by American Christians,” Facts & Trends, Summer 2017).

Trying to be a Christian or to live the Christian life without reading the Bible is like my daughters and her friends trying to play Scattergories without first reading the directions.

They had no idea what they were doing wrong.

How can Christians believe in a God whom they don’t know much about? And how can anyone live a Christian life if they don’t know the directions found in the Bible that God gave us to follow?

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A Slip in Bible-Mindedness This sad reality may help explain why more people self-identify as evangelicals today than who believe basic evangelical truths. That finding was made by LifeWay, which asked survey participants four questions (developed in partnership with the National Association of Evangelicals) about the Bible, Jesus, salvation, and evangelism. Those who strongly agreed with all four questions/statements were considered to be evangelicals by belief.

The widest gap in the LifeWay survey was found in the Midwest, with 29 percent of the people self-identifying as evangelicals, but only 15 percent qualifying as evangelicals based on their beliefs. In the South, 31 percent self-identified as evangelicals but only 23 percent qualified as such based on belief. In the West it was 18 percent and 10 percent, respectively; in the Northeast, it was 13 percent and 5 percent (from “Evangelicals Across America” in Facts & Trends, Winter 2018).

But if reading and knowing what the instruction manual says isn’t important, it’s no wonder so many people call themselves Christians without understanding or believing the essentials of the faith.

A study based on interviews with 76,505 adults over a 10-year period, conducted by the Barna Group in partnership with the American Bible Society, shows how people in the nation’s 100-largest media markets view and use the Bible.

“Individuals considered to be Bible-minded are those who report reading the Bible in the past week and who strongly assert the Bible is accurate in the principles it teaches,” Barna reported. “Nationally, only 25 percent of the population is considered Bible-minded.”

Since 2013, Barna has determined Chattanooga, Tennessee, to be the most Bible-minded city in the country every year but one (ChatC H RIS TIAN STA N DAR D

tanooga was runner-up in 2015). But even so, only 50 percent of the people in Chattanooga qualify as being Bible-minded. The Indianapolis area, where I live, has more Restoration Movement megachurches and emerging megachurches clustered together than any part of the country, but it ranks 31st on the list with only 34 percent of its residents being Bibleminded. (See “2017 Bible-Minded Cities,” The Barna Group, June 22, 2017, www.barna.com.).

A Mushy Bowl of Stew Since the early days of the Restoration Movement, our church leaders have used mantras such as these to reinforce our principles: • “In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, love.”

• “Where the Bible speaks, we speak. Where the Bible is silent, we are silent.”

• “No book but the Bible and no creed but Christ.”

My concern is that in an era of declining Bible study, fewer people will grasp the “essentials” of the faith, we’ll accept unbiblical teachings, and popular psychology books, instead of the Bible, will become our guidebooks.

We need to regain the attitude and approach of the Bereans: “And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth” (Acts 17:11, New Living Translation).

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“Berean Christians” today won’t be led astray by well-meaning but misguided preachers who have lost their way and have started introducing ideas that run counter to Bible teachings.

Paul warned Timothy that “a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths” (2 Timothy 4:3, 4, NLT).

If we don’t know what the Bible says (and we can’t know unless, like the Bereans, we read and study it), we become much more likely to listen only to what our itching ears want to hear, much more likely to reject the truth and chase after myths.

And then we fall prey to believing and following “fake biblical news” and “alternative biblical truths” that don’t line up with God’s Word.

When this biblical drift happens at the higher levels of church leadership, worship services become feel-good experiences devoid of biblical teaching and truth. The outcome might be worship services without a single prayer; a service where Communion is not served due to a lack of time or a fear of alienating guests.

How ironic that Jesus had time to serve Communion and the New Testament church wasn’t afraid to devote themselves to taking the Lord’s Supper each time they gathered together (Acts 2:42).

When we strip away clear, biblical principles and practices for the sake of pragmatism or under the guise of trying to relate better to the unchurched, we forfeit the key differentiator that only the church possesses.

It’s akin to Esau selling his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew. Too many churches and church leaders are trading their “spiritual C H RIS TIAN STA N DAR D

birthright” for a mushy bowl of “cultural, poppsychology stew.” It may taste good, look good, and draw a crowd. But it isn’t good for you, and, in the end, it won’t satisfy you, fill you up, or provide what you need to live a devoted Christian life based on God’s instructions in the Bible.

As Christ followers and as churches, it’s essential we incorporate both orthodoxy (believing the right things) and orthopraxy (doing the right things). If we don’t read and study the Bible, we won’t know or believe the right things (orthodoxy). And if we don’t know what’s right, we won’t do what’s right (orthopraxy). As a result, we’ll make up what the Christian life is supposed to look like based on our own misguided beliefs, and we’ll miss out on the opportunity to experience the joyful Christian life as God designed it, based on his directions in the Bible.

This Easter, as people show up at your church looking for the hope that can be found only in a resurrected Lord and the message of truth that we serve a risen Savior, I hope you will share the essentials of the faith and point people to the Bible to encounter the living Word of God (Hebrews 4:12, 13).  - 11 -

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imag ine

BY MEL MCGOWAN

neighborhood church: creating connection

Forty years ago, Christian residents in a Visalia, California, neighborhood took notice of the children who cut through their yards on the way to meet up with friends. What caught their neighbors’ attention wasn’t the children’s chosen route, it was their shockingly foul language.

Mel McGowan is cofounder and chief creative principal of PlainJoe Studios. He is a leading master planner and designer of churches in America.

That got the neighborhood folks thinking: These kids should be having innocent fun, yet they are swearing like sailors. Maybe these potty-mouthed children need connection. And what better way to connect with kids than to bake cupcakes for them?

@visioneer /visioneer

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A BlueSky planning session revealed that much of the heart behind the church was their touch in the community. In fact, the church has a community-centric identity. The team chose to focus on this while highlighting Visalia’s geography.

The design and dream for the new Neighborhood Kids area took shape. In time the church created a dedicated space not only for children but also their stories.

Sequoia Geography Brings Neighborhood’s Story to Life Soon, the children’s parents began coming around. The neighborhood cupcake outreach eventually transformed into Neighborhood Church. And Neighborhood’s heart for helping kids grew over time into a ministry that draws families from all over Visalia.

Preserving and Growing a Heart for Neighborhood Kids In late 2016, Neighborhood Church’s leadership team began planning a new building for this kids’ ministry. The building originally was intended as an addition to their existing space; the church had kids’ rooms, but no large common area where all the children could gather.

Visalia has about 130,000 residents, and there are quite a few impoverished areas. Over the years, Neighborhood Church has made special efforts to be involved in those parts of town, particularly with the kids there.

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Visalia is nestled at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, near Sequoia National Park.

With that in mind, during the kids’ space design process, Neighborhood Church decided to incorporate the idea of a ranger station for Neighborhood Kids.

The leadership team envisioned the Neighborhood Kids’ ranger station as a place for community, training, discovery, and fun. The motto is, “Live like Jesus wherever you go,” and they wanted the space to encourage a continual discovery, exploration, and activation of God’s plan for our lives. The big idea behind the project emerged as, “Discover, Gear Up, Get Going.”

The idea of connection to adventure and God’s creation resonated with the team. Playing up the outside environment also drew directly from the heart of the church; the ranger station would be a place where kids could learn to be dedicated Christ followers, and a place where those children’s parents could partner with the church to guide kids along the journey.

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fourth-grade classroom concepts are Mountain, Forest, and River. Finally, fifth- through sixth-graders gather at the Outpost.

The Outpost is considered a major scene of arrival for the children at Neighborhood.

“Before heading out on a great adventure, you spend time at [an] outpost,” says Brad Duplechain, producer for the Neighborhood Church project. “At the outpost, you make sure you have everything you need for the journey. Then, when you get home, you return to that outpost.

The Outpost: Gateway to Adventure

“The Outpost at Neighborhood Kids is very cyclical, much like a real outpost for people who are going out into the places where that encampment is. It’s for telling whatever story you want because it’s a place of storytelling.”

The next step was designing the indoor gathering spaces to align with the ranger station vision. Neighborhood’s leadership team decided an indoor “outpost” would function as their group teaching space. Each elementary-level classroom would align with a type of wilderness survival training, where kids could learn more about interacting with God’s creations around them.

The Outpost is designed like a story space around a fire pit, with a raised platform stage and two small cabins. It is used for group teaching and worship time. The on-stage cabins have functional doors, and their windows are TV screens. They’re versatile and can be used in a variety of group-teaching situations. A backdrop depicts campsites in the wilderness.

Survival training starts with Wilderness Identification (nursery) and continues through Climbing (age 2), Fire Safety (age 3), Wilderness Equipment (age 4), Navigation (age 5), and Shelter (age 6). The second- through

The church hopes to continue drawing in families with young children from their hometown, giving them opportunities to experience the innocence of childhood and the beauty of Christian connection among friends. 

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e 2: effective elders

BY JEFF FAULL

4 ideas for illusrating truth “The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching� (1 Timothy 5:17, New American Standard Bible).

Church leaders are often called to work hard at preaching and teaching. One of the most challenging aspects of that responsibility is finding and developing sources of relevant, interesting, and compelling illustrations.

Here are a few simple suggestions for finding fresh illustrations for sermons, meditations, or Bible studies.

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Jeff Faull serves as senior minister at Mount Gilead Church in Mooresville, Indiana, and as a board member with e2. / e2elders @e2elders

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SCOUR THE NEWS, ESPECIALLY THE WEIRD NEWS The news provides illustrations from real life that are instantly documented, perennially fresh, and frequently fascinating. The headlines often tell the story. Here are a few examples.

Capsized Boat at a Nudist Camp AUSTIN, Texas (AP)—Partygoers apparently hoping to catch a glimpse of nude sunbathers crowded on one side of a floating barge, prompting the ship to capsize and dump all 60 people into Lake Travis.

Hanging Corpse Admired as Sculpture on Campus BUDAPEST (Reuters)—Police on Friday removed the corpse of a man believed to have hanged himself at least a year ago after builders and students at Budapest’s University of Arts had initially mistaken it for a modern sculpture.

Star Trek’s William Shatner Signs Up for the Real Thing (AP) William Shatner is among thousands of people who want to fly on Virgin Airlines’ proposed commercial space flights, company chief Richard Branson said Friday. Branson said more than 7,000 people had registered their willingness to pay the $210,000 fare for the service, which promises to send passengers 70 miles above the Earth.

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The possibilities are endless. Here are a few more headlines: • Injured Biker Proposes to Girlfriend • Elderly Widow Preserves Her Husband’s Body • Man Awakes from 19-Year Coma • Motorist Has 3 Accidents in One Afternoon • Robber Shoots Himself in the Leg • Former NFL Player Wants His Team to Lose the Super Bowl • Not Having Children Helps Save the Planet • British Man Removes Wart with a Shotgun • Semi Crash Spills Syrups All Over Buttermilk Pike • NBA Star Says His Teammates Can’t Teach Him Anything • Pencil Removed from Woman’s Head after 55 Years You get the idea. This is not to suggest that every sermon or lesson should be filled with weird or funny stories or news clippings—it simply affirms that these provide a rich source of material.

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WRITE IT DOWN I call this next method “moleskining” because I carry Moleskine brand journals to keep thoughts organized. Each Moleskine comes with this Bruce Chatwin quote inside: “To lose a passport was the least of one’s worries. To lose a notebook was a catastrophe.”

I carry one in my backpack. I have one next to my bed. I have one on my desk and one next to my favorite chair. I have a little code to identify what I write down. My simple system has only three headings: PR—preaching reflections or stories HI—holy insight LO—life observations You would be amazed at what you think you’ll remember. However, you will forget if you don’t write it down. If you are tempted to think you will always remember, it’s probably because you’ve already forgotten what you have forgotten and failed to remember that you have forgotten. Write it down!

SKIM BOOKS, JOURNALS, BLOGS, AND MORE Books, magazines, blogs, and journals can provide great ideas for illustrations, and there are more ways than ever to glean from them.

No need for the reading lecture; you already know how advantageous it is to read. Certainly we should be careful about what we read, but almost anything we read can contribute to our preaching and teaching because it expands our minds, increases our vocabulary, and stimulates our thinking. I’m not suggesting a disregard for discernment in what we read; on the contrary, we must be extremely careful, but we should not fail to read as we seek to communicate God’s truths effectively in this age.

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I find it useful to read a book on my Kindle or e-reader, and to highlight everything that is important. I then transfer those quotes to my computer. I simply cut-and-paste the type to create a file with all the substantive thoughts from the book.

SEARCH THE NET Do you remember sitting at a table armed only with a Bible, notebook, and concordance?

There’s something admirable about that. It was like learning multiplication tables correctly before learning to use a calculator. But now we have “calculators” of sorts—Internet search engines—we can use to find illustrations, and it is sometimes appropriate to use them.

If you are developing a lesson on Paul and Silas in Acts 16, you might search for “prison break” stories. If you are teaching on squandered wealth, you might look for “lottery winner mistakes.” If you are preaching about pride, you might look up “most arrogant quotes.” There are creative ways to illustrate that are easily within reach as we prepare to preach and teach.

These are just a few possible resources or methods for locating good illustrations to enrich your sermons and lessons. Any number of ways exist to help our listeners understand spiritual truth.  - 17 -

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mini stry life

BY S. J. DAHLMAN

listening on the road I met Peter a few weeks after arriving in Platt Bridge, then a down-at-heels village just outside Wigan, in northwest England. When we crossed paths one chilly March day and said hello, my accent caught him off guard.

(Wigan wasn’t exactly a tourist town.)

“Are you American?” he asked.

“Yes,” I answered.

“What brings you here, then?”

I told him I was the new minister at the Church of Christ on Victoria Road.

“Fancy that,” his wife chimed in.

We introduced ourselves and stood chatting for a half hour.

S. J. Dahlman is professor of communications and humanities at Milligan College and a former editor of The Lookout and other magazines. He is the author of A Familiar Wilderness: Searching for Home on Daniel Boone’s Road (University of Tennessee Press, 2019). @sjdahlman

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That was the beginning of an off-and-on friendship that lasted throughout the five-plus years my family and I lived in England during the 1980s. Occasionally he would phone and ask to get together to talk. He planned to go back to school. He wondered about life after death. He fretted about his crumbling marriage. As a young, inexperienced minister, I was eager to offer counsel, but I soon realized Peter mostly wanted someone to talk to . . . someone to listen.

I had a similar feeling a few years ago when, during a hiking trip, I met another young couple, Wes and Tammy, in Gate City, Virginia.

I was setting up my tent when they came over and asked about my trip.

When I asked Wes, in his early 30s, a question of my own, he unrolled his story like a rug— how his father had raised him and his siblings on a farm as if they were living in the 19th century, how he liked to roam through the surrounding Appalachian hills, what he knew about medicinal herbs from his Cherokee grandmother. Although he possessed a college-level vocabulary and a treasure trove of woodland wisdom, Wes was not able to work a regular job, disabled since he was a teenager after a horse kicked him in the head. He seemed eager to tell his story to someone who would just listen. I silently guessed he didn’t have the chance very often.

I can think of other people—students, colleagues, friends, individuals I’ve interviewed for articles, and even people seated next to me on airplanes—who have eagerly talked about their dreams and disappointments, their triumphs and heartbreaks. There seems to be no shortage of people who are ready to tell their stories if someone would just listen.

I unexpectedly thought about Peter and Wes and other people I’ve met when I recently reread one of my favorite post-resurrection C H RIS TIAN STA N DAR D

stories, about the walk to Emmaus (Luke 24).

Two of Jesus’ disciples, leaving Jerusalem, were joined by a stranger who asked what they were discussing. Jesus had been crucified— hadn’t this stranger heard?—and they had hoped he was the one to redeem their people.

Apparently, he wasn’t. Yes, a few of their group had heard reports of angels saying he was alive . . . but that was just crazy talk, wasn’t it? Luke doesn’t tell us how long Jesus listened as they walked, but only after a while did Jesus start to interpret the Scriptures. Once they reached their destination, of course, the stranger was revealed to be the risen Jesus as he broke bread.

The resurrection accounts are full of unexpected features. (Isn’t it interesting, for example, that the greatest and most consequential miracle in all Scripture—in all history—was not proclaimed with trumpet blasts or choirs of angels, but with quiet and almost coy appearances?) One surprising aspect of this story is how Jesus spent his time with these disciples. On the day on which all creation turned a corner, he took time simply to be present with these two men: walking with them, sitting down to share a meal, listening.

I can’t help wondering if Jesus was showing us an essential hallmark of loving care by how he revealed himself in the days following his resurrection: quietly, patiently, personally, without spectacle. He was present with confused and grieving men and women, and he listened. (Food was often involved too: breaking bread in Emmaus, eating fish in the upper room, making breakfast in Galilee.)

True, he always revealed his glory—but first he just showed up and listened.  Submit your own 500- to 700-word essay telling of an experience through which you learned a vital ministry principle by emailing it to cs@christianstandardmedia.com with “MinistryLife” in the subject line. See more information at www.christianstandard.com/contact-us/submit-articles.

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hori zons

BY EMILY DRAYNE

Develop These 4 Habits to Increase Your Outreach I’m a missionary . . . and you are too. Missionaries look to make a difference in a community. It’s simply not true that a missionary must relocate to a new country. There are more “home”-based ministry efforts than ever before working in local communities, in inner cities, in children’s homes, on Native American reservations, and elsewhere.

Where can you and the people you lead get involved?

This year I’ve personally committed to being a “missionary” where God has placed me.

I’ve written out some foundational steps I’m pursuing along this journey that I want to share with you. Whatever your situation, God has placed you in it for a reason, and you are called to serve there. So how can we be missionaries? I’ve narrowed my efforts to four categories: pray, invite, pursue, and shine.

Emily Drayne lives in North Carolina and has served with the International Conference On Missions since 2011. /emilydrayne @edrayne0530 @edrayne0530 www.theicom.org

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Pray (for Opportunities) Prayer is a key factor and a powerful tool in any missionary endeavor. As Christians, we need to be a people of prayer, and we shouldn’t pray just for ourselves or others, but also for opportunities. If you want to grow where you’re planted, pray for chances to grow. Pray for God to lead you to the right people or conversations.

As we learned in Sunday school, there is power in prayer. Ask your friends and family to pray for you, too. During your lifetime journey, Satan will throw up roadblocks and detours, so you need all the support you can get. The Bible reminds us, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8, New Living Translation). Prayer is one of the many gifts God has given us to fight off Satan. Prayer is an open line of communication with our Father.

Extend an Invitation When I was growing up, we had people at our house almost every weekend. Our front door was always open to friends and neighbors.

Many people opened their home to Jesus and his disciples. Hosting people in your home is an easy way to break down barriers.

Another approach is inviting people to church for Sunday worship or other events. Some people are just waiting for an invitation. Even if they don’t accept immediately, you’ve planted a seed for the future. Don’t be afraid to invite people to church or to open your home to help cultivate a relationship with those in your community.

Pursue Your Goals When you actively seek ways to share Christ with others, opportunities will present themselves. If you want to be a missionary in your own community, God will bless your efforts.

Pursuing Christ means loving his sheep—the found and the lost. God works in mysterious and unexpected ways. Don’t be afraid to speak with nonbelievers about Jesus. It can be C H RIS TIAN STA N DAR D

uncomfortable, but it can also be a chance to grow your own faith.

Pursue Christ by studying his Word. Grow your knowledge of the Bible and arm yourself with his story. Pursuing your goals may lead you to an internship or job in a new state or even a new country. If God puts something on your heart, don’t second-guess it. Pray that he will open and close doors for you as you go along.

Let His Spirit Shine Finally, let your light and the Holy Spirit inside you shine. This suggestion may seem obvious but it can be difficult to follow. Living for Christ is a commitment and a daily lifestyle choice. A college friend used to tell me, “Actions speak louder than words,” but it was a long time before I gave it much thought. I was saying one thing, but my actions were saying something else. At times, it seems like we live in a “double-edged sword” type of world. People are watching what Christians say and do. Some are looking to discredit our faith and point out our mistakes while others are looking for a positive light to follow. Our behavior influences others.

To summarize, God calls us to be different and to stand out. I’ve laid out just four examples of things you and the people you lead can do to pursue being a missionary no matter where you are.

A missionary keeps Christ at the center of their focus no matter their situation, age, or location. We are charged with spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth. There are still thousands of unreached people groups all over the world that have never heard the name of Jesus.

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by Damien Spikereit

H A DD ON ROBI N S ON : a legac y

of biblical preaching

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When my wife and I learned she was pregnant with our second child, we decided to name him after one of my favorite preachers. Several options came to mind, but in the end, we decided on Haddon, after Haddon W. Robinson—who was named for Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Why Haddo n Robins o n?

Many articles and biographies tell of Robinson’s humble Harlem upbringing and his distinguished career as a pastor, seminary president, and preaching professor. My purpose here, however, is more personal: to honor a man who taught us to be servants of the Word.

Of the many prominent biblical preachers, why did we choose to feature Haddon Robinson?

His Influen ce

Christianity Today listed Haddon Robinson in the top 10 of its “25 Most Influential Preachers of the Past 50 Years.” In 2008, Robinson was given the E.K. Bailey “Living Legend Award,” and in 2010, Preaching magazine named him one of the “25 Most Influential Preachers of the Past 25 Years.” And most recently, a Baylor University survey named him one of the 12 most effective preachers in the English-speaking world. These honors affirm Robinson’s legacy of influence in the kingdom of God. His Faithfuln ess

Robinson taught at Dallas Theological Seminary for 19 years and served as president of what is now Denver Seminary for 12 years.

His final teaching post was as the Harold John Ockenga Distinguished Professor of Preaching at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

In both ministry and marriage—Haddon was devoted to his wife, Bonnie, for 66 years— Haddon Robinson remained faithful.

His Serm ons

As a young preacher searching for my voice and learning how to craft messages that were both faithful to the text and engaging to the audience, I looked to Robinson’s sermons as a case study in effectiveness. Some of my favorites among his messages are “Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There,” “The Wisdom of Small Creatures,” and “Surprised at the Judgment.”

His Writin g

Robinson’s influence, faithfulness, and sermons were all good reasons to name my son after the legendary teacher of preachers, but his greatest impact on me came through his writings. Robinson penned several books on preaching, such as It’s All in How You Tell It. He wrote books on topics dealing with grief, improving your prayer life, and making wise choices. But the book that has had the greatest influence on me is Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Preaching.

I own three copies of Biblical Preaching: a hardback for everyday use, an electronic version for quick reference, and a third version that I show on the first day of classes each semester. That day, as I introduce my preaching students to their textbooks, I tell them the story of when I met Haddon Robinson.

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The almost 40-year-old book has been re-released twice, and in 2010, Preaching.com named Biblical Preaching the “Most Influential Preaching Book of the Past 25 Years.� Various translations of the book have sold, in total, more than 300,000 copies. Biblical Preaching has for decades been the primary preaching textbook in seminaries and Bible colleges.

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Me eting H addo n In 2003, Robinson was the featured guest at a preaching lectureship at Lincoln Christian College and Seminary (now Lincoln Christian University). I was excited when, as a new adjunct professor, my wife and I were seated near him one evening at a banquet. During the meal, I summoned the courage to tell him we’d named our then 1-year-old son after him. He was grateful and humble.

Robinson taught and preached on campus that week, and, a few days later, he sat in the college bookstore signing copies of his books. I brought him my copy of Biblical Preaching —the one I would come to show my students each semester. In it, he penned this inscription: To Haddon In the years to come, may God use you as a servant of His Word.

H. Robinson 2 Cor. 4:5

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Each week as preachers stand at the church doors at the end of service, they’re encouraged with, “Good sermon, Preacher”—or, as one minister heard in a moment of honesty, “Nice try, Preacher.” What makes a sermon good? More specifically, what are the elements that make a biblical sermon effective—or at least a “nice try”? In Biblical Preaching (the second edition), Robinson offers at least five key ingredients.

1. Unity

2 . Ima gination

Virtually every preaching textbook extols the virtues of a central idea or thesis statement in the message. Robinson’s great contribution here is not in merely exhorting preachers to have a “big idea.” It’s in the helpful methodology he provides. Mark Scott, director of preaching at Ozark Christian College, writes:

Robinson’s preaching is rich with soaring imagery and descriptive language as he presents biblical stories. He writes in Biblical Preaching, “In interpretation, we determine what the passage means from what the passage says. . . .

Imagination goes one step beyond the biblical facts and yet stays tied to them."

What he did with “The Big Idea” and Subject/Complement was truly unique. The subject (what am I talking about?) and the complement (what am I saying about what I am talking about?) became a very good way to frame up the big idea. Whole worship services can be built off of that sentence, once it is in place.

Thank you, Haddon, for not only teaching us the need for a big idea, but also for giving us a sound methodology for deriving that idea in a way that is faithful to the biblical text.

For example, Robinson’s sermon, “Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There,” based on the story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42, opens this way: Have you ever wondered how Jesus spent his evenings and his nights? Some of his disciples came to him early on to ask about the fringe benefits of discipleship. Jesus told them the foxes had holes and the birds had nests, but the Son of Man had no permanent place to put his head. So I gather that there were times in Jesus’ life when he slept out in the field, with the sky for a blanket and a stone for a pillow.

Thank you, Haddon, for challenging us to imagine the biblical narrative while we honor the historical record.

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3. Clarity

5. Biblical Exposition

I tell my students that our job as preachers is to work hard at the right things, so our audience doesn’t have to work hard at the wrong things. Preachers should work hard at things like structural clarity, clear direction or purpose, transition statements, and utilizing a proper key word. This allows audience members to work hard at conviction of soul, application to life, and reflection on the nature and will of God. Biblical Preaching challenges preachers to work hard at sermon details so the audience won’t have to work hard at the wrong things.

’Herein lies perhaps the greatest contribution of Haddon Robinson’s preaching and teaching. The opening lines of Biblical Preaching’s first chapter articulate his conviction well:

I was once in a preaching seminar led by a well-known preacher in our movement. During the question and answer period, a student asked, “What’s the difference between a good sermon and a great sermon?” The preacher thought a moment and answered, “The difference between a good sermon and a great sermon . . . is about five hours.”

Haddon, thank you for teaching us that the details leading to greater clarity matter.

4 . Purpose

Many preachers have found themselves “stuck” as they prepare, questioning the relevancy of their message.

Robinson urges us to wrestle with the question of “why?” as a way to reignite a passion for the “what.”

No matter how brilliant or biblical, a sermon without a definitive purpose is not worth preaching (Biblical Preaching).

Robinson suggests that a sermon’s aim or purpose takes form in one of three questions—or in some combination of the three—each serving as a way to intentionally develop the homiletical idea: 1. We explain it: “What does this mean?”

2. We prove it: “Is it true?”

3. We apply it: “What difference does it make?”

Thank you, Haddon, for urging us not to just articulate what we communicate, but why we are doing so.

This is a book about expository preaching, but it may have been written for a depressed market.

Not everyone agrees that expository preaching—or any sort of preaching, for that matter—is an urgent need of the church. . . .

God speaks through the Bible. . . . The type of preaching that best carries the force of divine authority is expository preaching.

This passionate plea for preaching that “lets the text win” is followed up with an often-cited definition for expository preaching: Expository preaching is the communication of a biblical concept, derived from and transmitted through a historical, grammatical, and literary study of a passage in its context, which the Holy Spirit first applies to the personality and experience of the preacher, then through the preacher, applies it to the hearers.

Thank you, Haddon, for reminding preachers and teachers to make the ministry of the Word central to the work of the church.

Haddon, Meet Haddo n The last time I met Robinson was in 2012, when he served as guest lecturer and preacher at OCC’s annual Preaching Emphasis Day. Robinson taught that day on narrative preaching, and he preached on the parable of the sheep and the goats.

Before the event began, I volunteered to pick him up from the airport. I brought along my 10-year-old son.

Haddon, meet Haddon.

We shared a meal together, and I watched in awe as my son got to know my “mentor.”

Five years later, Robinson passed away.

Many people can say they’ve been directly impacted by the ministry of Haddon Robinson: preaching students in colleges and seminaries around the world, members of the churches where he preached, my son, me. But countless more have been indirectly influenced by him through the ministry of his students. Most have no idea who he is. But through the faithful preaching of people he influenced, there are now millions around the globe who more faithfully serve the Lord. So it is with the preaching of the Word and in the kingdom of God. I’ll end this with a few words from Biblical Preaching’s dedication page: To the men and women who keep a sacred appointment on Sunday morning.

Bewildered by seductive voices, nursing wounds life has inflicted upon them, anxious about matters that do not matter.

Yet they come to listen for a clear word from God that speaks to their condition.

And to those who minister to them now and those who will do so in the future. 

Damien Spikereit serves as executive vice president of Ozark Christian College. He also teaches preaching at OCC and serves as a teaching pastor at Carterville Christian Church. @spikereit @damien.spikereit /dspikereit

n ew li fe wh e re D E AT H once reigned B y Mar k E ll i s H E S U RV I V E D T H E KI LLI NG FI E LDS, LE D M U RDE ROUS G E N E RA L TO C H R I ST

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w h e r e d e a t h o n c e r e i g n e d i n t h e k i l l i n g f i e l d s o f n o r t h w e s t c a m b o d i a , n e w l i fe h a s a r i s e n i n c h r i s t .

he grew up in the palace of the king, but after the Khmer Rouge came to power in Cambodia,

he lost his privileged lifestyle and nearly his life. After he found Christ in a refugee camp, he became a soul-winner himself—bringing hope to one of the most notorious monsters of the killing fields.

“I was raised in a Buddhist family,” says Christopher LaPel, founder of Hope for Cambodia.

His father worked in the palace of King Sihanouk and as a boy, Christopher often spent time there.

One day as he explored the palace, he approached an engraver working in the basement.

“Could you make a cross for me?” he asked the man.

Christopher had seen the iconic symbol atop churches in Phnom Penh and in movies but didn’t know what it meant. He felt drawn to it, however, and was pleased when the man agreed to make one for him out of ivory. Christopher began to wear the cross on a necklace.

One evening at the dinner table with his parents, he leaned forward and the ivory cross slipped into view from inside his shirt.

Christopher’s father grimaced when he saw it for the first time. With a low growl, he let out an expletive and then said, “I don’t like you to wear that cross.”

Set back in his chair by his father’s visceral reaction, the younger LaPel agreed to take it off. “Every meal I removed it, even though I loved it,” he recalls.

WH I LE H E COU LDN’ T U N D E R S TA N D THE MEANING OF TH E CROSS, H E F E LT I N S O M E M YS T E R I O U S WAY I T B R O U G H T H I M A M E AS U R E O F G R AC E IN THESE D E S P E R AT E W h i l e h e c o u l d n ’ t u n d e r s t a n d t h e m e a n i n g o f t h e c r o s s , h e fe l t i n s o m e m y s t e r i o u s w a y it bought him a measure of grace in these desperate circumstances.

C I R C U M S TA N C E S .

Khme r Ro uge Takes Po w er In 1975, when Christopher was in his late teens, the Khmer Rouge came to power.

Led by Pol Pot, they changed the name of the country to Democratic Kampuchea and began to model their governing style after Mao’s China.

The Khmer Rouge forced people out of the cities and sent them on forced marches to rural work camps. Their aim was to refashion the country’s agriculture on an 11th-century model and discard all Western influences.

They even destroyed temples and libraries.

They demanded that all 2.3 million people in the capital city of Phnom Penh vacate within three days, including the elderly, children, monks, doctors and nurses, hospital patients, wounded and sick people, even mothers who had just given birth.

Christopher saw masses of people swarm through the streets and the entire city emptied.

The Khmer Rouge said people would be away from the city for only a few days, but the evacuation turned into a three-year ordeal, with most of the population enduring extreme hardships. “Nearly everyone was either executed, faced starvation, or were worked to death,” Christopher recalls with sadness. During the Khmer Rouge’s violent rule, 2.5 million perished, almost one-third of the population, in what became known as the Cambodian genocide.

Christopher’s parents both died, along with his brother and sister. “They forced my father to work until he died,” he says. His mother and sister worked 14- to 16-hour days doing hard manual labor until they died. His brother was executed.

Christopher worked in the fields with other young people and then spent time helping to build a dam. “We worked 16-hour days with our hands,” he says.

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His body grew weaker due to the workload and lack of adequate nutrition. Christopher got sick and missed work for three days.

“Usually they kill you if you miss work three days.”

On the third night, he was told to report to Khmer Rouge army headquarters. “Everyone they called at night never came back; they disappeared,” Christopher says.

After he reported, they took Christopher to a hut where they yelled at him to get down on his knees. “Are you really sick?” one officer demanded.

Weak and almost delirious from fever, Christopher could barely keep from falling over. His cross fell from his neck and he grabbed it.

“He really looks sick,” one officer said. “Why don’t we let him rest?”

Christopher couldn’t believe his ears.

Even more amazing, he was transferred to a hospital. While he couldn’t understand the meaning of the cross, he felt in some mysterious way it brought him a measure of grace in these desperate circumstances.

Christopher recovered sufficient strength to return to work, but shortly after that, Vietnam invaded Cambodia. He was only 35 kilometers from the Thai border, and one night, the Khmer Rouge disappeared. “That night we ran for our lives,” he recalls.

He had no idea where his family might be— or if any of them were still alive—but he fled across the border into Thailand and landed in the Khao-I-Dang refugee center run by the United Nations. When he arrived at the camp, he realized that somehow, in the chaos and confusion of his flight, he lost his ivory cross.

On that first day at the camp, a call went out for translators, and he was chosen because he could speak some English and French.

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Th e Cross Gain s New Meanin g At a supplementary feeding center, he met a missionary from the United Kingdom working with Christian Outreach. “She told me that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins,” he recounts. His eyes grew wide as he suddenly understood the meaning of the cross.

“This is the answer I’ve been waiting for,” he said excitedly.

The woman explained the gospel message to him, and Christopher surrendered his life to Jesus Christ.

“I rejoiced in that moment,” Christopher recalls.

He felt peace, joy, love, and hope flood his soul.

“I want to tell my people about Jesus,” he told the woman. “I want to serve him the rest of my life.”

As Christopher began to follow Jesus, he experienced a “180-degree change” in his life.

He also met and married a young Christian woman named Vanna.

Through some remarkable circumstances, they immigrated to the United States in 1980. “We were married only a week and we arrived in Lincoln, Nebraska,” he recalls. “It was all white and super cold.”

Five years later, they moved to Long Beach, California, and Christopher attended Hope International University. He eventually was ordained and became active in a CambodianAmerican church.

In 1992, he made his first trip back to Cambodia. Then he began to minister in the refugee camps, just as he had been ministered to as a younger man. He also searched for his family. Sadly, he discovered the horrible outcome of the killing fields for his parents and two siblings. But four of his brothers and sisters were still alive!

“I found my brothers and sisters and they were all able to come to America and become believers,” he says.

He and one elder from his U.S. church went to Cambodia and planted a small fellowship of believers in the Battambang area. “We started with one, then it grew to five, then the fellowship grew to 27, then 56,” he says. Today, there are 150 churches planted in northwest Cambodia that grew from that one fellowship.

Average Sunday attendance at these churches is 7,500.

A Kille r Co mes to Chr ist Where death once reigned in the killing fields of northwest Cambodia, new life has arisen in Christ. One of the most remarkable stories of a transformed life happened after Kang Kek Iew, also known as Comrade Duch, showed up at one of Christopher’s leadership training seminars in 1995.

At the time, Duch was using an assumed name, Hang Pin, and did not want anyone to know his true identity. He had been in charge of internal security for the Khmer Rouge and headed the infamous S-21 prison camp in Phnom Penh, where thousands were tortured and killed. Of the 17,000 who entered S-21, only 10 are known to have survived.

After prisoners were interrogated and tortured, Duch personally ordered their executions with chilling notations to his underlings. Notes found after the war included his command to “smash to pieces” on a list of teenagers and children, and “take away for execution” or keep for “medical experiment” on a list of women.

Blood was drained from more than 100 prisoners to use for transfusions on wounded Khmer Rouge soldiers. In many ways, Duch ranks as one of the worst war criminals in modern history— seemingly beyond redemption.

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T H E M A N H E L E D TO C H R I ST WA S O N E O F T H E K E Y L E A D E R S OF TH E KH M E R ROUGE — TH E REGI M E RESPONSI BLE FOR TH E D E AT H S O F H I S PA R E N T S , T W O SI BLI NGS, AN D MORE THAN A M I L L I O N O F H I S C O U N T RY M E N .

Christopher took note of him when he came to one of the prayer meetings. “He had recently lost his wife and he was hopeless and depressed,” Christopher says.

At the end of the meeting, Duch approached Christopher to talk.

“My sin is so deep,” he told Christopher.

“As long as you confess your sins and turn away from them and believe on the Lord Jesus, you will be saved,” Christopher told Duch.

Duch’s head hung down, as he recognized his responsibility for thousands of deaths and atrocities in the killing fields. As tears rolled down his cheeks, he confessed his sin, and realized that the penalty for all those sins—and the enormous burden of guilt he carried— had been transferred to Jesus on the cross.

“The next day I baptized him, and his life completely changed,” Christopher says. “He moved from the back row of the church to the front row.” Christopher knew Duch had done some horrible things in his past, but didn’t yet know the former Khmer Rouge official’s true identity or the extent of his war crimes.

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After two weeks, Duch went back to his village and started a house church that quickly grew to 14 families. With Christopher’s training and oversight, Duch became a lay pastor.

Christopher also led Duch’s sister to Christ.

In late 1998 or early 1999, Duch sent Christopher a letter asking for prayer. Duch planned to publicly confess his crimes and turn himself over to government authorities. What kind of crimes did Duch commit? Christopher wondered.

Christopher learned Duch’s true identity after he received a phone call from an Associated Press reporter. Upon learning the truth, Christopher could barely speak. The man he led to Christ was one of the key leaders of the Khmer Rouge—the regime responsible for the deaths of his parents and two siblings, and more than a million of his countrymen.

In 2007, Duch was formally charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity by a United Nations-backed court in Cambodia.

During the trial, Duch was taken to the site of the former prison camp. Overwhelmed by the horrible memories—and God’s transformative power in his life—he said, “I ask for your forgiveness. I know that you cannot forgive me, but I ask you to leave me the hope that you might.”

Duch admitted his crimes before the court, including his role in the deaths of some 12,000 prisoners, and received a 35-year sentence. This was later changed to life in prison with no chance of appeal due to the “shocking and heinous” nature of his crimes.

Christopher testified at Duch’s trial. For an hour and a half, Christopher spoke about the power of Christ to lead a person to repentance and of God’s grace. He talked about Christ’s ability to transform and rebuild a life. He did not ask for leniency for Duch, but he did speak about the reality of his remarkable change. International lawyers, judges, and 500 spectators listened in rapt attention.

After Duch was imprisoned, Christopher did not see him face-to-face again for 10 years.

When they met, Christopher did not react with hatred or anger due to the prior deception or Duch’s role in his own family’s loss. Instead, Christopher looked Duch in the eyes and said, “I love you and I forgive you.”

Today Duch is still in prison; he has worn out one Bible and Christopher has replaced it with another. “I meet with him every time I go to Cambodia,” Christopher says. “We pray, break bread, and have Communion together,” he says.

“We are all guilty sinners,” Christopher notes. “Jesus Christ is the only hope of the Cambodian people. He is the only one who can change a life from a killer to a believer.”  T h i s ar t i cl e fir st ap p e are d o n G o d Re p o r t s ( ht t p : / / bl o g. go dre p o r t s. c o m ) . Us e d b y p e r mi s s i o n .

Photos by Paul Mannix [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

Mark Ellis is the founder of God Reports, a website devoted to promoting Christian missions by sharing stories and testimonies from missionaries and mission organizations. @GodReports

/GodReports

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P REA CH T H E W O R D HOW TO EMBRAC E BIBLIC AL PREAC HING I N THE 21S T C EN T URY

BY CHRIS PHILBECK

In “The Urgency of Preaching,” Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Albert Mohler begins by asking, “Has preaching fallen on hard times?” The August 28, 2017, blog post goes on to talk about the centrality of preaching in the New Testament church and whether or not that has been diminished in a day when, using Mohler’s words, “some contemporary preachers now substitute messages intentionally designed to reach secular or superficial congregations—messages which avoid a biblical text, and thus avoid a potentially embarrassing confrontation with biblical truth.”

Some have called this “needs-based preaching.” And some promote needs-based preaching as the only way to reach a modern world. But the problem with needs-based preaching is it can make biblical truth and biblical authority secondary to making people feel good. That doesn’t seem to fit with Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 4:2: “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” And so we’re left with these questions: What is the definition of biblical preaching, and how do I embrace biblical preaching in the modern-day church?

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B I B L ICA L PR E ACH IN G D E FINED Let’s begin with a definition. Biblical preaching is what happens when the Scripture text is the driving force of the sermon. That may sound obvious, but that’s not always the case.

Let me pause for a moment. I recognize an article about preaching, to be read by preachers, has the potential to come across as overly authoritative, condescending, and dismissive to certain preaching styles, but I assure you, that’s not my intention. Instead, I intend to promote biblical preaching in a way that leads to more powerful preaching. That’s what happens when the text of Scripture drives the sermon. The more biblical our preaching, the more powerful our preaching. The specifics of how it happens, however, can vary.

Many preachers shy away from biblical preaching the way I’ve defined it, because they think of it only in terms of the strictest form of expository preaching (expository meaning to “expound” or “explain”). But biblical preaching does not have to be verse-by-verse, line-by-line, word-by-word. It can be, but it doesn’t have to be.

T HREE PA R T S OF A BIBLIC A L SERMON

As a young preacher, I remember hearing that a good sermon contained three things: explanation, illustration, and application. Years later, at a conference, I heard John Ortberg say, “We should always ask ourselves three questions when preparing a sermon: What do I want people to understand? What do I want people to feel? What do I want people to do?”

That’s just another way to describe the importance of explanation, illustration, and application. All three are part of a good sermon, but don’t necessarily occur in equal measure.

I know of preachers who are masterful at explaining the details of a text in clear and simple terms that are easily understood by all. I appreciate that ability because I know how much study is required to accurately summarize historical, cultural, or contextual truth.

Some preachers are very good at illustrating the Scriptures; they have the unique ability to see illustrations in both the experiences of their individual lives as well as the bigger stories of life and the world. I appreciate that ability because of the intuition required to relate life to biblical truth.

And some preachers do an excellent job at applying biblical truth to the daily realities of life. I appreciate that ability because of the sensitivity and insight required to connect biblical truth to our everyday experiences and challenges.

I’m suggesting this: We use this skill, insight, and creativity to produce biblical preaching that speaks to the deepest needs of life.

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E SSE N TIAL PR IN CIPLES FO R P R E ACH IN G BIBLICAL LY In Choosing to Preach, Kenton C. Anderson wrote about Phillips Brooks, an American Episcopal preacher who is probably best known for writing the lyrics for “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” It seems Brooks was concerned about the lack of biblical authority and the rise of needs-based preaching all the way back in 1877. Brooks didn’t mince words when he said: “The preacher was a promiscuous caterer for men’s whims, wishing them well, inspired by a certain general benevolence, but in no sense a prophet uttering positive truth to them . . . whether they liked it or hated it.”

Brooks clearly believed in the importance of biblical preaching. At the same time, he understood there was no set formula for a sermon with biblical authority because he went on to suggest that preaching “is the presentation of truth through personality.” In other words, preaching needs to be personified. It needs to be prepared and delivered out of the overflow of our lives, our experiences, and our God-given identities. This kind of approach does not have to be separated from biblical preaching where the text of the Scripture is the driving force of the sermon.

On my desk, next to my laptop computer, I have taped a piece of paper containing statements that serve as reminders whenever I write a sermon. Here’s what’s written on the paper:

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That’s my number one rule when it comes to interpretation.

2 . THE TEX T OF SCRI PTU RE CAN NEVER MEA N TO US WHAT I T DI D N ’T MEA N TO THE ORI G I NAL READER.

That’s my reminder to focus on context.

4 . A SK Q U ESTI ONS .

3. WE IN T ERPRET T HE BIBLE WIT H T HE BIBLE.

The entire Bible is my number one source for understanding the biblical text.

When I want to understand a specific text of Scripture, I ask questions. Who is writing or speaking? Who is being written or spoken to? Is there a clear theme in the text? What questions are being asked or resolved? What instructions are being given? Are there words or phrases that are being used multiple times? These are some examples of the questions I ask. They aren’t original to me, but they help me understand the text.

5. T HE M EAN ING O F WO RDS M AT T ERS .

It’s helpful to me to search the meaning of specific words in the text, especially if that word is used multiple times or it plays a powerful role in the text. Sometimes these word studies find their way into the message and sometimes they don’t.

But the research always enriches my study.

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1. WHEN T HE NO RM AL S EN S E M AKES GO O D S EN S E, S EEK N O O T HER S EN S E.

“ P REAC H I NG NE E DS T O BE PE R S O NI F I E D. IT NE E DS T O B E P RE PA R E D A ND D EL IV E R E D O U T O F T HE O V E R F L O W OF OUR LIVES, O UR E X P E R I E NCE S , A N D O U R GO D-GI V E N ID E NT I T I E S .”

Several years ago, I attended one of Bob Russell’s mentoring retreats. One afternoon, Bob was talking about the importance of making sure the Bible is the centerpiece of our preaching because the Bible is . . . Bob paused while searching for exactly the right word, and I said, “supernatural.”

He looked at me and said, “I believe that’s true!”

That leads to one more important principle for biblical preaching: On my best day, I can put together some good thoughts, but I don’t have the ability to say anything that is “supernatural.”

No doubt that’s why Peter said this when writing about spiritual gifts: “If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God” (1 Peter 4:11).

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When I finish my research, I spend time prayerfully thinking about how I can teach the passage in a compelling way. Oftentimes I read what others have written or listen to what others have shared on the passage. I’m not nearly as creative as some people, so I sometimes struggle with the illustrations and I can get bogged down in the explanation, but in the end, I have a message that’s driven, first and foremost, by the text of the Scripture.

T HE NEED T O T HINK BIBLIC AL LY I began in full-time ministry in May 1980. Over the course of the time I have served in the local church, I—like every other pastor—have encountered trials, tragedies, and disappointments. I’ve dealt with them in my own life and in the lives of the people I have served. It’s not anecdotal Christianity that gives us the strength to survive life’s trials. It’s the deep, immutable, life-giving truth of God’s Word.

Paul wrote, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8). The word Paul used for think means “to evaluate” or “to calculate.” It was an accounting word in ancient days.

In his commentary on Philippians, John MacArthur said Paul was teaching us that we need to think biblically. But for that to happen, we need to know the Bible. Biblical preaching gives people the opportunity to know the Bible. And while the form for how it’s delivered can and should vary, the commitment to letting the text of the Scripture be the driving force of the sermon is essential.

In chapter 1 of Choosing to Preach, Kenton Anderson offered this warning about preaching: “Don’t fall into the trap of believing that you have to choose between the Bible and your audience.”

We need to trust in the power of God’s Word. We need to remember Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

We need to make a commitment to biblical preaching. 

Chris Philbeck serves as pastor of Mount Pleasant Christian Church in Greenwood, Indiana. In his 38 years of ministry Chris has had the privilege of planting a church, leading a turnaround church, and now a megachurch. He loves to preach and lead and finds great joy in helping people discover the greater life they can have in Christ. @pastorphilbeck

/PastorCPhilbeck

FROM THE ARCHIVES

NOVEMBER 1916

Effective Preaching

BY C EC I L J. S HA R P

The pulpit is the place consecrated to the delivery of a divine message. God has spoken, and we are merely his servants to deliver, not our thoughts, but God’s message. I believe that this thought needs to be held in mind by every preacher at the beginning of every sermon. I believe it ought to be called to the attention of the people again and again. It will help mightily to keep the preacher from wandering into vagaries, and it will hold him to the proclamation of the great message when he is tempted to wander into untaught fields. It will help to cause the people to listen with more grave respect and think with more concern.

In this busy and distracting age, men will hardly stop to listen to the learned pronouncements of any man, but convince them that God speaks and they are glad to hear. In other words, “Preach the Word,” and do not fail or hesitate to point out that it is “The Word,”

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not “Your word.” It will give you confidence, earnestness, positiveness and a pointedness that can not fail to tell.

Did you deliver a sermon last Sunday, or did you preach to people?

Is there a difference between preaching and delivering a sermon?

What is a preacher doing, or meaning to do, when he preaches a sermon?

I have observed some men preaching, and their eyes had a kind of ethereal, star-gazing glaze, as though they did not see the men and women before them, but seemed to be turned back into their own mental storehouse, keeping watch on the remainder of that precious sermon that was being delivered. I have seen others whose eyes seemed to look down into the very souls of the men and women before them, and whose message seemed to be fresh from a soul on fire and directed straight down into the hearts of real men and women who sat in the pews.

The subject of this article is “Effective Preaching”; that is, preaching that has an effect. What particular effect did you mean to accomplish with that last sermon of yours? Or, did you stop to determine that at all? Did you figure out the effect you were after before you prepared the sermon? Did that sermon have the particular effect you had meant it should? If it did not, why not?

One more question. Was the effect you meant to produce a worthwhile effect? For example, is the kind of preaching that merely lifts people up into a kind of spiritual upper realm to float around awhile and then to gradually settle down to the same old level, an effect that is quite worth while? It is to be admitted that people enjoy this kind of experience, and it makes the preacher popular, provided he is able to do it well and constantly. But which is worth more, to have a large number of people walk forward at the close and say, “Brother, that was fine; that was a great effort,” or to have one poor man walk forward and say, “I believe that Jesus is the Christ”?

What makes preaching effective? What are the elements of effectiveness?

The first element in effective preaching is that the preacher must be tremendously earnest. Cold fire never burned, or even warmed, anybody. A most splendid message may go unheeded if its deliverer lacks soul-stirring earnestness. It may instruct, and even please, but it seldom moves a man. Earnestness is the human element put

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into the delivery. Abraham Lincoln, who was representative of the common people, said that when he listened to a preacher he liked him to preach as if he were killing snakes.

Oh, brother preacher, do not let the ignorant curbstone orator draw the people to his ridiculous gospel by his earnestness, while you let them slip from the mighty truths of God because of your lack of fire. Pile on the fuel. Burn up your blood. Go after that man in front of you as though you never expected to preach again. You may feel all gone after you are through, but you will get over that, and the chances are that you will have won the man.

The second element in effective preaching is clearness. Make up your mind that, whatever else you may or may not be, you will make your meaning clear. Some speakers track around, back and forth, in their message until it is all muddled or muddied up. Some suggestions as to ways of accomplishing clearness might be valuable.

Visualize the thing you have in mind. If you are describing a mountain and a chasm, see the mountain plainly in your own mind. Then see the chasm.

If you are speaking of the four steps in becoming a Christian, hold four spread-out fingers before the audience, and before the audience name each finger after one of the steps.

Again, visualize. Do not try to tell of the Prince of peace, coming on the white horse, leading the hundred and forty and four thousand, unless you can clearly see at the same time that very scene. Just make it a rule to make some one thing clearer than you ever made it before. Be determined that the most dense, simple, or even “pig-headed,” person must at least see the truth.

The third element in effective preaching is positiveness. If you deliver the message that is not your opinion, but God’s message, you need make no apology for being positive. The message says, “His

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Cecil J. “C. J.” Sharp wrote hundreds of articles that appeared in Christian Standard through the years. The first appeared in 1912, while he was still minister with First Christian Church in Hammond, Ind., which he served from about 1903 through 1929.

Prior to that, he was a high school principal.

He joined Standard Publishing—former parent company of Christian Standard— in January 1930 as head of the Teacher Training Department. He retired in 1951.

At the time of his death in 1953, his New Training for Service had sold more than 250,000 copies. Sharp’s version of that book dates to 1934, when he revised Herbert Moninger’s Training for Service, first published in 1907. The Bible overview— designed to equip lay leaders—has been revised three additional times.

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name shall be above every name;” then say it that way, with neither verbal nor mental apology. The Book says: “No man cometh to the Father save through Christ.” Then deliver the message positively. A wavering, impositive message is of too uncertain stability to serve as the anchor-hold for a storm-tossed soul.

Remember, you are no Saviour. You are a servant, commissioned to deliver a message which is not your message. Preach the Word.

The fourth element in preaching is simplicity. If you want a reputation for being learned, then use big words and appear profound. If you want to deliver God’s message to lost men and win them, then be simple. Never use a big word if a simple word can be found to take its place. Use the words that are current in your locality, provided they are good English. Get rid of college or university terminology just as quickly as possible, unless you are preaching to a university crowd. You could, no doubt, say, “By the fortuitous concurrence of concomitant circumstances I was there,” but why not say, “I happened to be there”?

Inasmuch as one soul is worth more than your ambition for a great reputation, be simple, plain, direct. Study Lincoln’s Gettysburg speech, the greatest piece of American prose, and forever after be ashamed to be anything but simple.

The fifth element of effective preaching is to be conclusive. In other words, lead people to see that here is the simple, plain, Scriptural truth on this subject, and that it is the whole truth.

There is no possibility of some other truth lurking around that we have overlooked that might overturn this one or that might do as well.

For example, if speaking of baptism, handle fairly, squarely and exhaustively every argument for sprinkling, etc., then give the Scripture teaching for immersion, and you are conclusive. If speaking on the subject of creeds, show that the New Testament covers every possible need for any creed, “so that the man of God is thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

There is nothing to be added. You are conclusive. If preaching to the man who expects to be saved by his own way and without Christ, show him that Christ is “the Way,” not “a way.” That Christ is the Truth, not one Truth; that there is no truth outside of Christ on that subject. There is no possibility of any more ground to go over. You are conclusive.

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The sixth element of effective preaching is, be pleasing.

I know no reason why a preacher should assume a belligerent attitude toward the people before him. Do not argue with the man in the pew. Just teach the simple, plain truth earnestly, clearly, positively, simply, conclusively, and, last of all, sweetly. Remember that if the man in front of you is wrong, he is not necessarily either mean or contrary. Be as pleasant as you know how and as popular as you can, keeping in mind the message you are to deliver.

Smile, and again I say, smile. Wave your fists at the devil and sin, but not at the man in the pew.

Embellish your thoughts, enliven them all you will, so long as you do not obscure their clear simplicity nor smother their fire.

Perhaps a closing word needs to be said on the cultivation of style and delivery. Some men may pooh-pooh style as uppishness, but remember, you have a style of some kind.

I suggest you cultivate several styles. Variety, versatility, is needed. If you are slow and ponderous in delivery, try speeding up at times. If you speak like a machine-gun, slow down for a part of the sermon. If you have been preaching all devotional sermons, try some with the “forward-to-thecharge spirit” for awhile. Too much of any good thing puts people to sleep. Change both your costume and your mannerisms for awhile. Maybe you are in a rut and do not know it until you try to get out.

Remember there are several styles of people in every community, and that it will take several styles of preaching to attract them all.

Style is dictated by mental attitude and self-control, which two things need to be watched. The mental attitude we have somewhat touched on in the six elements above.

Self-control will enhance all these elements, and will, at the same time, help to avoid exaggeration, unfairness, and many a foolish pitfall. 

Adapted from “Department of Church Efficiency: Effective Preaching,”

by Cecil J. Sharp, Christian Standard, November 11, 1916, p. 9.

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A Different Kind of Death, Burial, & Resurrection Story

Two New Chicagoland Churches Planted Where All Seemed Lost

By Melissa Wuske

Biblical stories are full of surprises—it’s easy to forget that when you become so familiar with them.

Seas part, cowards lead, the sick are healed, people with shady pasts are listed in the genealogy of the Son of God. Resurrection is the biggest surprise of them all. Dead things are supposed to stay dead.

Sure, a sick person may recover, but what’s dead is dead.

God still uses the element of surprise to remind us who he is and what he’s capable of, to bring his kingdom on earth, and to breathe life into death. For two new churches, the surprise of resurrection is their birth story. Rise Church and LifeWell: A Christian Church both launched in the Chicagoland area of Indiana in October 2018. Together, these congregations are experiencing resurrection life that came when all seemed lost.

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To have a resurrection, there must be death—this part is uncomfortable. In both locations, there had once been thriving congregations planted in the 1970s and ’80s. But in recent years, both struggled. Attendance and finances dwindled, and the churches wrestled through difficult conversations. They sought insights from the Solomon Foundation and Ignite Church Planting about what to do next. Through long, difficult discussions, both churches reached a painful decision: We need to close the church.

From a place of grief, disappointment, frustration, and heartbreak—an end came. At the end of 2017, both churches—Town and Country Christian Church in Winfield, Indiana, and First Christian Church of Dyer—closed their doors for the last time.

But instead of viewing closure as a failure, they chose to see through eyes of faith, using the end of their own churches as an investment in future ministry.

Both churches had full ownership of their buildings. They donated the facilities to The Solomon Foundation, and Ignite Church Planting agreed to launch new churches in each location. In addition to helping house and fund two new churches, The Solomon Foundation is using the equity of the buildings to assist other churches construct their meeting places.

“For some churches it’s a healthy thing to say we have run our course,” said Matt Reece, lead pastor of Rise Church in Dyer, Indiana. “The fact that this church said, ‘We want a kingdom impact’ . . . it takes great faith. [They decided] it’s not about me, it’s not about our traditions, it’s not about the comfort of our congregation. It’s about something bigger. That’s amazing. That’s a spiritual place you don’t get to every day.”

“The closing of a church is an extremely emotional thing,” said Danny Cox, lead pastor of LifeWell in Winfield, Indiana. “When they were willing to take that remarkable leap of faith [to close], amazing things have been able to transpire.”

That faith-filled investment has made a difference for Rise and LifeWell. For one thing, “Not too many church plants are given a debt-free, 25,000-squarefoot church building to start out with,” Reece said. “That is an amazing resource for us.”

For Cox, in addition to the building his church received, “the 45 people from the former church that we retained have been absolutely amazing. They have been excited. They’ve been some of my best encouragers. They’ve been some of my best givers.”

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death

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Burial The three days Christ spent in the grave is a peculiar time in the resurrection story. For Jesus’ friends, the pain of death was still there, and there was a void. It was unclear what would happen next. These burial moments happen in present-day God stories too. For Rise and LifeWell there was certainly doubt and uncertainty, but there was also an excitement that grew month by month, because God had promised new life.

As the churches closed, Ignite brought in Cox and Reece. After Town and Country Christian Church closed, the aim was to launch LifeWell on Easter Sunday. “We very quickly realized that the church needed to be closed longer,” said Cox. In both cases, about 10 months passed from the time one church closed until Rise and LifeWell opened.

While it may have looked as if not much was happening as the buildings sat vacant, God was at work, and so were Cox and Reece. They met with members of the former churches to present visions for the new churches. There were prayer meetings, discipleship trainings, and soft-launch gatherings that provided opportunities to worship together.

The churches also renovated their buildings, with help from The Solomon Foundation. This gave the opportunity to establish a new, different identity for the new churches, but for Reece it also helped grow his gratitude for the past.

“We did a lot of the renovations ourselves,” he said. “The people who started the former church—they built the church. I have a great appreciation for the sweat equity they have in this building. So when things are necessarily plumb or square, I can envision, however many years ago it was, these people coming together and building their first building and the joy they experienced.”

The pastors and their teams also spent time connecting to the community—and doing marketing campaigns—to show that something different was happening. “We did everything we could to make sure this community knew we were a new church in town,” Cox said. “Same building, but we were brand new.” Both churches have preschools that meet in their buildings, providing one powerful way to connect with and serve families.

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Finally, in October 2018, both churches launched—a moment that combined the joy of new birth, the surprise of resurrection, and the culmination of months of prayer.

For Reece it was “nerve-wracking, hoping someone will show up.” But as he looked out over the 186 people who were there, he remembered all the times he’d prayed over the seats, always envisioning them full.

I don’t know you, he thought, but I’ve certainly been praying for you, for your life. It was the beginning of a multigenerational, multiracial church.

At LifeWell, “Our grand opening was nothing short of God showing up. It was incredible,” Cox said. A total of 335 people attended, including many of the teachers from the preschool that meets in the building, and soon more than 60 kids were in the children’s ministry from birth to fifth grade. The last Sunday of the former church, Cox remembers, “there were four kids in the children’s ministry and three of them were mine.”

In the months since, both churches are beginning to see the resurrection power of Christ play out in people’s lives. LifeWell had 14 baptisms in the first nine weeks. And Reece is seeing many people from Lutheran and Catholic backgrounds take ownership of their faith for the first time. Said Reece, “People tell me, ‘I’ve learned more about this Jesus thing in one time here than I have in all the years I’ve ever gone to church before.’”

Now, they’re celebrating their first Easter together. What does that mean for two new congregations, living out the resurrection life of Christ? It’s bigger than just one day and it’s deeper than the bells and whistles that often come with Easter Sunday—it’s about taking a big step forward in their mission to reach their communities.

“Easter Sunday is all about preaching the gospel and the right response to it, and giving people the chance to take that next step,” Reece said.

“Often I find people who hear the gospel don’t know what to do with it, so Easter is a time of complete clarity. It’s typically a 45-minute sermon, and that’s really long, but if I’m going to get someone once a year, I want them to know what they need to know in case they never come back.”

At LifeWell, meanwhile, “We have a sermon series leading up to Easter about the last 24 hours of Jesus’ life, and an Easter Sunday very much focused on the resurrection,” Cox said. “But we’re really trying to focus on the weeks after.” The seven weeks following Easter will focus on questions many people have, such as Is God real? and Is the Bible reliable?

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Resurrection

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Growing Life In the months ahead, as the newness wears off, the churches will strive to develop deep roots so they can be a vibrant light to their communities for years to come.

Both congregations will focus on helping people develop transformative relationships with Christ and connect with each other through small groups and other ministries. They’ll also continue outreach events to serve their communities.

But the real focus is mission, Reece said, “helping people understand that they’re recipients of this message of grace, to then become distributors of the message.”

Both Reece and Cox are looking toward the long haul. “I don’t want to be a church that’s sustainable,” Reece said, “I want to be a church that’s transformational in our community.”

Cox sees two keys to longevity at this early stage: the first is being nimble. “As far as traditions,” he said. “I probably will never have a ministry or an outreach that will be referred to as the annual anything. I need to be able to walk away from stuff.”

Keeping it simple is also key: “It’s also very important for us that we don’t overstretch ourselves,” Cox said. “We need to make sure we’re doing a few things with excellence. I can’t tell you how many incredible ideas people have come to me with that I just have to say no to. I’m really learning how to say, ‘Not yet.’”

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The life that Christ is bringing through these churches, and the life that’s to come as both grow and become established, wouldn’t have been possible but for the unconventional choice by two churches to close their doors.

“I’m extremely humbled,” Reece said. “The legacy of your church continues to live on.”

That life would come after death, Cox said, “You can’t make that kind of God story up.” 

Melissa Wuske is a freelance editor and writer. She and her husband, Shawn, and their son, Caleb, live and minister in Cincinnati, Ohio. Find her work online at melissaannewuske.com.

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Life from Death

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W R E S T L I N G w i t h s c r i p t u r e

By Ryan Rasmussen

Do you ever put off hard things? You know they’re important and often necessary . . . but they’re hard.

Some time ago, I realized I was doing this with my preaching. It’s not that I was shortchanging the process.

I wasn’t “borrowing” sermons from famous preachers or recycling old manuscripts. Honestly, I didn’t notice my tendency until reading something in Mark 4.

After Jesus preached the parable of the sower, his followers asked why he often taught in parables. Jesus’ response struck me: He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’” (Mark 4:11, 12).

Did you catch that?

Jesus’ followers asked why he taught in parables, which were often confusing and over people’s heads, and he quoted a passage from Isaiah, essentially saying, “If everyone understood, I’d have to forgive them all.”

Wait . . . that can’t be right.

Did Jesus say he speaks in code because he doesn’t want everyone to receive forgiveness?

I started digging through commentaries and looking at what people much smarter than me had to say about the passage. To my surprise, I didn’t find many great explanations.

And that’s when I did a mental shoulder shrug and thought, Well, I guess I won’t be preaching that.

That was my response. The passage was too hard, so I would keep it from my people.

And this was the moment I realized I was selling my congregation short.

getting to the real ‘PROBLEM’ For so long I feared that placing problematic passages in front of my church would result in an epidemic of faith crises and overwhelming doubt. But now I was beginning to see it differently. I wondered, What if putting difficult passages in front of the congregation would actually prompt deeper study? What if I were hindering spiritual growth by “protecting” the church from hard-to-explain Scripture?

At about the same time, I began recognizing another truth: Most of the people I knew who held deep convictions really weren’t sure why they held those convictions. For example, when I’d ask, “Why do you believe what you believe?” the responses usually were something like one of these: • “I was raised this way.”

• “All of my friends believe this.”

• “My subculture tells me to believe this.”

I couldn’t help but think these were horrible reasons to commit one’s life to something. I wanted my congregation to know why they believed what they did, not just because mama said so or because the preacher seemed informed, but because they had embarked on their own spiritual journey. challenging the church to wrestle So I did something I’d never done before: I challenged my people to wrestle with God. I knew God would welcome it. He seemed happy to go a few rounds with Jacob in Genesis 32. And without being too presumptuous, I was fairly confident this sparring with the Almighty would be the first time in some time that many in the congregation had engaged God on a personal level.

Sunday morning came and I began by reading 2 Kings 2:23-25, the story of Elisha being told to “Get out of here, baldy!” by a group of boys while he made his way to Bethel. Elisha didn’t take the teasing well and called down a curse on the boys, prompting two bears to come out of the woods

and attack them. Many of us grew up thinking this story was hilarious. Our youth sponsors would tell it like a silly, passive threat so we’d go to bed at night in church camp dormitories. But I used to hate this story.

I mean, you’re telling me this great messenger of God was so short-fused and insecure that a few kids teased him on his way out of town and he called down a curse on them, causing a bear to maul them?

Uh, God sounds like a bit of a jerk in that story.

After reading the text and walking through the story for a bit, I could sense tension in the room.

The congregation wanted me to explain why it was OK that Elisha called down that curse. They wanted me to explain why it was OK that God sent those bears to attack the boys.

But I didn’t resolve it.

I then shared another passage: If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay her father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the young woman, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives (Deuteronomy 22:28, 29).

The congregation sat quietly as I let the room breathe for a moment.

Did God really command young women in the Old Testament to marry their rapists?

Why would a loving God do that?

Again I could feel the tension.

C’mon, Ryan, you gotta walk us through this one, people were thinking, You can’t just leave that one hanging there.

But I didn’t resolve it.

I shared another passage. Then another. Each one open-ended, no resolution. I simply mentioned that these aren’t newly discovered passages and that the Christian faith has thrived over the past 2,000 years, which means there are answers out there and we don’t have to be afraid.

Ryan Rasmussen serves as lead pastor at First Christian Church in Canton, Ohio. He blogs at JesusForAllPeople.com and hosts the monthly Jesus for All People podcast. He also knew Alan Ahlgrim before he had the goatee. @RyanRRasmussen

@RyanRRasmussen

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moving beyond the surface to the ‘WHY’ I wanted our people to dig into Scripture themselves. I wanted them to wrestle with God and his Word. But more than anything, I wanted them to know why they believed what they believed because I was convinced that when they knew the why, their passion would deepen.

In the weeks following, I received message after message from individuals who took up my challenge. They were encouraged by a deeper understanding of the Bible and were stepping forward into convictions held no longer simply because “that’s how I was raised.”

Sometimes Scripture is hard. Sometimes it’s downright scary. But it’s God’s Word, wrapped up in truth, purpose, and meaning beyond what we often find on the surface. Sometimes we have to wrestle with it.

I used to run from hard passages; now I thank God for them. 

THE COMPLETE SECURITY PROGRAM

BY ED SANOW

A church security program involves much more than defending against an armed intruder. It begins long before any threat of violence and includes what the congregation should do both during and immediately after the violence. It also includes how to handle nonviolent disruptions in a godly way.

ASSURE ALL DOORS ARE LOCKED OR STAFFED The safety of church members begins with the control of building access. Tour the entire campus to identify every entrance door. Then decide if each door should remain (1) locked from the outside or (2) opened and staffed by greeters.

Those are the only two choices.

Locking most outside doors is a critical first step. In the church shooting in Antioch, Tennessee, in September 2017, a masked man shot a person in the parking lot and then entered the church through an unlocked back door and shot six more people. Â The doors that remain open from the outside must be staffed by greeters, and not merely monitored by surveillance cameras. A trend among our churches is to lock even these open doors once the services begin. Of course, some of the nowlocked doors are staffed by greeters for people who arrive late.

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MAKE GREETERS THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE Leadership is obligated to provide training for people who are selected to take a more active role in the church’s security. The second step in the security program is greeter training. Greeters will continue to be warm and welcoming, but to these will be added the responsibility of “guardian.”

As guardians, greeters will rely, in part, on their life experiences, but they also need training in what to look for among those entering the church: unusual emotions, behavior, and apparel. Greeters need to take in the “totality of the circumstances.” Any one indicator by itself could be innocent enough, but three or four flags together raise cause for concern.

Greeters should (1) observe people continuously and purposefully, (2) make a reasonable threat assessment of each individual, and (3) take immediate action, if necessary, based on their assessment.

The greeter will not take action by confronting a questionable individual themselves, and they will not be distracted away from their door; instead, they will notify the safety team of any concern.

PROVIDE SPECIALIZED TRAINING FOR THE SAFETY TEAM The unarmed safety team likewise needs specialized training ranging from handling emotionally disturbed persons to dealing with nonviolent disruptions, which are real challenges even for law enforcement professionals who receive frequent training.

Remember, this is a church service, not a sporting event. The way the safety team handles disruptions will have an immediate effect on the church’s reputation. Social media is ruthless and unfiltered. Cell phone cameras are everywhere.

Safety team members must conduct themselves with a godly attitude. This means selecting the right safety team members is critical.

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THINK BEFORE YOU TALK; TALK BEFORE YOU ACT A person who abruptly stands up during a worship service and begins to boldly read a chapter out of the Bible is committing a nonviolent disruption. The safety team needs to take the cue from the senior minister on what to do, meaning the ministerial staff and safety team must train together.

How will you handle this unwanted interruption without causing even more of a disruption and without making people feel even more uncomfortable and unsafe? How will you avoid the social media headline, “Deacon Throws Man Out of Church for Reading the Bible”? How will you handle this passively resistant person without him alleging that an elder committed battery? Importantly, how can you handle an incident such as this and still maintain fellowship with that brother?

The safety team should get a wide variety of de-escalation training. Anger management (conflict resolution) training may be available through a local women’s shelter, YWCA, or wherever the court orders domestic violence subjects to take training. Training to deal with emotionally disturbed persons may be available through groups like the National Alliance on Mental Illness (www.nami.org).

Autism awareness training, which is widely available online, offers helpful approaches for handling these types of situations. If the safety team can successfully deal with someone in higher levels of autism (a developmental disorder), they will also be able to deal with people suffering from a wide variety of clinical mental illnesses. The approach is the same.

The safety team must have a clear idea of what constitutes the crime of battery in their state. In California, for example, battery is defined in part as “the use of force upon another person, even if there is no injury. . . unwanted or offensive touching of another person.” A local law enforcement agency or prosecutor’s office may agree to provide this sort of legal training.

The safety team should also get some training in “soft, empty-hand control” tactics. The team must know how to move people in a controlled way, without hurting them, and without causing a social media scandal. The defense tactics instructor with local law enforcement may be able to help.

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PREPARE FOR AN ARMED RESPONSE The church security program needs to answer two fundamental questions: (1) What will the congregation do if shooting starts? and (2) What will the congregation do until EMS arrives?

People who serve in a safety program recognize they cannot prevent violence from starting, though they may be able to interrupt it. An attacker can easily enter a church carrying multiple concealed weapons. The attacker can empty a concealed pistol before anyone knows shots have been fired.

An active-shooter-event reality is this: It takes a gun to stop a gun. To prepare for that armed response, think in terms of good, better, and best.

The “good” option may be church members with a concealed carry permit plus firearms training. They should “qualify” for firearms training on the same schedule as local law enforcement, which is about twice a year.

They should also take the same number of in-service “training” hours as required of police officers by their state. This varies from 16 to 28 hours per year, and can include a wide variety of use-of-force topics.

The “better” option may be church members who possess a state-issued concealed carry permit plus a background in emergency services or the military. Such a background demonstrates a person is capable of making decisions under high-stress situations. Possessing a concealed carry permit is definitely not enough. Self-defense is entirely different than defending the public.

It’s important that church leadership selects and approves members for this armed security team. Not everyone who wants to be on the armed security team is a good fit.

The “best” option may be to have a uniformed police officer in the lobby. A uniformed officer provides visibility and deterrence. A paid officer will always show up on time or find their own substitute. A police officer will have the most up-to-date verbal skills, the best training in physical skills, and the widest range of force options.

An officer’s radio communications far exceed a civilian with a phone. Perhaps best of all, the liability for an officer’s actions all revert back to their agency, not the church, even though the church is employing them.

Anything less than one of these three options is “not good.”

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TRAIN PEOPLE HOW TO RESPOND Imagine this scenario: The unthinkable is suddenly happening—someone has opened fire inside the church. Studies of shooting events show that people under attack who remain seated have been shot where they sit. That said, few of the so-called “active shooter” programs actually tell church members what they should do when someone begins shooting.

The FBI and Texas State University have developed the new national standard called Citizen’s Response to Active Shooter Events.

The old “run, hide, fight” advice has been upgraded to “avoid, deny, defend.” Avoid the attacker. Deny access to your location. Defend yourself. See the 11-minute video at www.AvoidDenyDefend.org.

What should church members do when someone begins shooting? The short answer is to immediately evacuate. The mass confusion of an active shooter event actually causes a “divided attention challenge” for the shooter.

Moving targets are harder to hit than stationary ones. The brutal lessons from recent church shootings, and also the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings, are that if you do nothing, it is likely you will be systematically shot.

In a high-stress situation such as this, the natural inclination is to exit the building where you entered it. The Great White concert fire in 2003 in West Warwick, Rhode Island, is a tragic example that people do not go to the nearest exit or look for other exits. Instead, people under stress see only one exit—the same door by which they entered. Church members must be trained to see all exits.

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STOP THE BLEED The federal government has developed emergency first-aid training for situations where one or more ambulances may be delayed or where casualties are numerous. These programs are called “Stop the Bleed” by the Department of Homeland Security and “You Are the Help Until Help Arrives” by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Both programs emphasize the need for tourniquets, and that a tourniquet be applied by the person sitting next to you. If a major artery is severed, the injured person has only five minutes to live unless someone intervenes. By contrast, from first gunshot until an EMS worker can begin administering aid will take about 15 minutes. Once the shooting stops, the survivors must help the injured and dying. You are the help until help arrives.

The lesson from the church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, in November 2017 is that no church is too small to be a target. That, in part, is why the International Disaster Emergency Service (IDES) offers Safe Worship training, which we have presented in churches from Florida to Alaska. The safety steps these churches have taken give members the peace of mind to devote their full attention to worship the Prince of Peace.  Ed Sanow, director of training for IDES, is a 32-year veteran of law enforcement, a Texas State University/ALERRT-certified trainer for Citizen’s Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE), and a member of the Oxford (Indiana) Church of Christ.

For more information on Safe Worship training from IDES, go to www.ides.org/safe-worship.html. @ides_org

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@idesorg

/idesorg

The most comprehensive and accurate list of Christian churches and churches of Christ available anywhere

by Jim Nieman

It’s taken longer than either the Center for Church Leadership or Christian Standard Media had hoped or previously promised, but a partnership to provide an updated— and updatable—online database of Christian churches and churches of Christ called ChurchLink should have made its debut by now.

Two large listings of churches have been updated, vetted, merged, and then pruned—a process that workers with CCL and CSM both describe as “painstaking.”

Jeffrey Derico, content specialist with the Center for Church Leadership, even used the term “triangulate” to explain the process of determining what information to include (correct information about church names, physical and primary email addresses, phone numbers, and websites), and what to exclude (incorrect and outdated information).

“Two years ago, when we took over Christian Standard Media, we wanted our mission to be ‘leveraging the power that comes from our unity,’” said CSM publisher Jerry Harris.

“It’s pretty hard to do that if we have no upto-date database of who ‘we’ are. Having a digital platform for that data is just critical in today’s world.”

The goal, Derico said, is to “offer the most complete and accurate list of Christian churches and churches of Christ available anywhere.”

While some decisions about ChurchLink had not been made when this was written in late January, and Derico was on the cusp of devoting at least six solid weeks to the project, he is planning a database available at many websites. The database will live at ccchurchlink.com, but various faith-based nonprofits in our stream of the Restoration Movement will be invited to “provide a portal to the database” from their websites: Christian colleges, magazines, extension funds, missionary agencies, etc.

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CCL and CSM websites that will likely offer access to the database include: the Center for Church Leadership (centerforchurchleadership.org), Christian Standard Media (christianstandardmedia.com), Christian Standard (christianstandard.com), and The Lookout (lookoutmag.com).

Churches will be invited—encouraged—to keep their information up-to-date, and there will be a system in place for doing so. Churches should also be able to provide additional information, such as service times and other helpful information.

“We want to create a system that compels people to keep the information accurate,” Derico said. “Come look over the database, and make sure your information is correct while you’re there.”

Derico said he envisions churches, ministers, and Christian nonprofits will seek out the information available in the free database.

“Ministers will use it because they are interested in finding good, reliable information about Christian churches in other cities for their people who are going on vacation . . . or for people sending their children to college.”

Additional database functionality, and the possibility of adding listings for other faith-based nonprofits in our movement, were still being discussed in late January. It’s likely some improvements will occur after initial launch.

“The partnership with CCL and CSM to create this incredibly important tool is a testimony to our mission,” Harris said.

“It’s in our unity that we can accomplish things that we never could have done by ourselves.”

Derico said CCL and CSM have similar goals: connecting a rather disconnected collection of independent Christian churches and churches of Christ, while also equipping, encouraging, and sustaining those who are called into ministry.

The ChurchLink database should help move our churches and ministers forward toward that goal . . . together.

Jim Nieman serves as managing editor of Christian Standard.

For the most recent updates about the database, go to ChristianStandard.com/updatable-database. 

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n ow available at c hr istian s tan dard.com

SPIRE

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By Doug Crozier

SPONSORED CONTENT

It’s an alarming trend: As the American family has evolved over the years, the savings and retirement balances of families have diminished.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has tracked personal-savings-rate data of the average American since 1959. That year, the personal savings rate in the United States was 8.3 percent, meaning, on average, Americans were able to save 8.3 percent of their disposable incomes (defined as personal income minus current taxes). In the 1970s, the average savings rate peaked at 14.6 percent. In the early 2000s, it fell below 1 percent. Many contend the precipitous decline was caused by the abundance of credit that became available to consumers at that time.

My research finds that only half of American households have a retirement account. According to the Government Accountability Office, about 29 percent of households occupied by people age 55 and older have neither retirement savings nor a pension. This is an irresponsible model. Our society enjoys a lifestyle that relies too much on credit and then depends on Social Security to replace this lifestyle in retirement. People who reach retirement age quickly learn Social Security doesn’t provide enough to retire on. Many senior citizens are forced to continue working.

As parents and grandparents, we can help reverse this trend and teach our progeny the discipline of savings. Here are four things we can do.

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SPONSORED CONTENT

1. Teach Biblical Stewardship Many Bible passages discuss finances. As Christians, we are responsible for being good stewards with our money and for teaching our children what the Bible says about savings. Proverbs 13:11 says, “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it” (English Standard Version). Putting something into a savings account either weekly or monthly is an important habit to begin. The money saved as a child will not grow into a large amount, but over the years as the child becomes an adult and begins to earn a salary, 10 percent will not seem difficult to save and the amount will become much more substantial.

It is also very important to teach about tithing and exactly who owns everything.

Psalm 89:11 says of God: “The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them” (ESV). The tithe is the first 10 percent of our income. Malachi 3:10 says, “‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.’” The storehouse is the local church. If you were brought up in the church, you may have heard this preached your whole life. It is never too early to start teaching your children and grandchildren this valuable principle.

2. Teach the 10/10/80 Rule Many Christian financial experts recommend the 10/10/80 rule: Give 10 percent of your pay to God as your tithe to the local church, put 10 percent in savings, and live on the remaining 80 percent. If we as parents and grandparents model this crucial principal, the next generation will value the concept of savings and appreciate the 80 percent they get to spend as they want. Can you imagine how much the next generation can save for their families if they would just put away 10 percent?

3. Teach About Debt Financial problems are a major cause of marital strife and divorce in America.

It seems getting credit today is as easy as fogging a mirror! Saving money before making major purchases is critical. Debt must be managed properly. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, total household debt in America rose to an all-time high of $13.15 trillion at year-end 2017. It was the fifth consecutive year of annual household debt growth, with increases related to mortgage, student, auto, and credit card expenses. Teaching about controlling debt, eliminating debt, and using it wisely is critical to our country’s future.

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SPONSORED CONTENT

4. Open a Savings Account for Children It’s easy to sign up a newborn for a Social Security number, and it’s also easy to open a savings account for them. There are several options for opening an account for a child.

• A savings account. This is a great way to start. You can add money to it or withdraw funds when needed. Setting up automatic deductions from a checking account into a savings account is an efficient way to add to savings without even noticing it.

• Coverdell education savings account (Coverdell ESA). This is a trust or custodial account set up solely for paying qualified education expenses for the designated beneficiary of the account. There are certain requirements to set up a Coverdell ESA. It can be very restrictive, so do your research.

• Custodial account. Individuals such as parents and grandparents can establish savings accounts on behalf of minors. Such an account is often used to fund a child’s education but can be used for other things like a wedding or paying for a car, or it can just remain a savings account. So, it has much more flexibility. For federal tax purposes, the minor is considered the owner of all assets in a custodial account and the interest it generates.

At The Solomon Foundation (www.thesolomonfoundation.org) we provide no-term savings accounts for as little as $25 per month with an automatic monthly deposit.

In addition, TSF offers custodial accounts under COUTMA (Colorado UTMA) laws for minors, which allow parents and grandparents to start an account for as little as $25 per month with an automatic monthly deposit. TSF also offers time certificates of 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years. Typically, a 5-year custodial certificate will mature and be rolled into a new 5-year certificate. When the minor turns 18, they assume ownership. Because the funds placed in the custodial investment are already taxed, those funds will not be taxed when they are taken out of the investment.

However, the interest earned on the investment could be taxable depending on the minor’s income. You should consult your tax adviser.

I believe these four simple things can change the entire direction of the financial future for the next generations. Proverbs 13:22 says, “A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.”

We cannot take wealth with us, but we can provide financial resources to our family for long after we have gone on to be with the Lord. But we must teach our children and grandchildren how to properly manage God’s resources. Instruction in these simple things—biblical stewardship, the 10/10/80 rule, understanding debt, and opening a savings account—will honor God, build wealth, and provide for our families.

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TSF

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INTERACT IS ALCOHOL THE STUMBLING BLOCK? “Of course, not everyone who is a drinker becomes an alcoholic or problem drinker.

But, it’s reasonable to conclude, virtually everyone who becomes addicted to alcohol started by consuming it in moderation” [“Q. Is Alcohol Really a Stumbling Block? (A. Yes)” by Ken Idleman, p. 50, January 2019].

It’s also reasonable to conclude that every liar started out knowing the truth. And every thief started out with property of their own.

And every workaholic started out wanting to have a safe and secure place for his family to lay their heads.

Simply because a minor premise is predicated on a major premise does not mean that all potential minor premises connected to the major premise do as well.

This is a clean logical fallacy and, frankly, nonsense.

And since the heart of your article rests on this—all drunks once had one drink, therefore everyone who has one drink is on the path to be a drunk—it’s nonsense.

OR IS ABSTINENCE THE STUMBLING BLOCK? Great article. Well thought out [“Q. Is Alcohol Really a Stumbling Block? (A. What If Abstinence Is the Stumbling Block?)” by Zach Spiering, p. 51, January 2019].

As the author points out, [there are] differences in ministry contexts and cultures. We might apply the same rule of thumb to [other] traditionally held Christian prohibitions. If we do not do so, we make the past affirm something that it may not have been.

To say that the Bible embraces drinking alcoholic beverages is both true and paradoxically a bit of a stretch. Yes, it is true Paul admonished Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach. It is also true public water purification treatment was still centuries in the future, as [were] pharmacies. Today we enjoy (and take for granted) not having to fear getting dysentery from a simple glass of water. If we add this basic understanding of the issues facing people during a roughly 4,000-year period to our reading of passages that affirm drinking alcohol, we may arrive at a completely different conclusion.

Matt via website

In discussions of the strong and weak, we should not forget that the “weak” can refer to the well-meaning and naive youth who observe us, as well as those who are in a frail state of sobriety (having fought the battle personally already), and not just those who are written-off as overly temperate with insecure hypocrisy. Causing someone to “stumble” is not about offending someone . . . it’s behaving in a way that leads others to sin.

Raised a teetotaler, I had only sipped beer as a teenage experiment. But when [I was] a missionary intern and a college sophomore, our group leader, who was French-born, encouraged us to imbibe. I was unprepared for the thrill of liberation . . . and ill-equipped to handle it. While I knew that Scripture didn’t forbid it, I also knew there were far more passages of warning than celebration. When I returned to the States, I brought my newfound freedom with me, and assumed that my fellow seminarians would understand.

Our first trip to a local pizza parlor saw an opportunity to order a glass of wine, and as I sipped, I waxed eloquent about our freedom in Christ. A classmate was very interested, ordered a glass for himself, and downed it in one gulp! I then discovered that he was a recovering alcoholic. I can’t stress enough the danger of someone in church leadership carelessly giving the green light to his congregation regarding alcohol. It needs to be approached with fear and trembling, and I don’t see that in Mr. Spiering’s article.

Matt C. via website

Kelly Boyd via website

St. Franky via website

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Well-written article echoing many sentiments of my own that have troubled me for some time . . . [that many] Christians view abstinence from alcohol as somehow equating to being a better Christian.

For anyone else struggling with understanding the complexities of why this has happened, I encourage you to watch the three-part miniseries Prohibition

by Ken Burns on Netflix. . . . The fallacy of Prohibition mentality is [that the people who support it] are trying to get rid of the effect of the problem of excessive drinking by eliminating the drink.

Jason Stockdale via website

SPACE FOR DIVERSITY If you only knew how this sounds outside the United States: “Your sacred space should be designed for more than just seating and preaching platforms. Church buildings should be spaces to facilitate diversity, relationship, and discipleship—in other words, spaces for the kingdom” [“Cloud Church: Space for Diversity, Relationship, and the Kingdom,” by Mel McGowan, p. 20, January 2019].

We have lived overseas for nearly a decade in three different countries. In two of these places the nearest “church” was in a country nearby or a multiple-hours’ drive away. The people who worship in these places do so with the knowledge that they can be persecuted just for attending a service. They are glad just to be able to go to a home or an out-of-the-way industrial area to worship the Lord with other believers. “Diversity” isn’t a problem in these locations because anyone who worships Jesus as Lord is already different.

There’s a term we use to describe these American-type concerns as I quoted above: “first-world problems.”

I hope your primary audience recognizes this, especially if/when real persecution arrives in America.

Because then, your “sacred space” might be in a darkened basement, your music sung in hushed tones, and it won’t matter who is sitting next to you. And every place, no matter its original design, will be counted “sacred” because of the one you are worshipping.

Because you will all be counted as different, no matter your race, etc.

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Eastpointe Christian Church So extremely grateful for the men and women like preacher, lawyer, and civil rights leader, Fred David Gray [p. 26, January 2019], who have gone before us to help secure the liberty and diversity we see in our church today—a true representation of God’s kingdom. May we continue carrying the light of love in our generation.

Give us your feedback /ChristianStandardMagazine @ChrStandard @christianstandardmagazine Cs@ChristianStandardMedia.com For space, length, readability, relevance, and civility, comments sent to Interact may remain unpublished or be edited. We do read them all and prayerfully take them to heart. If we publish your comment, we will try to honestly reproduce your thoughts with those considerations in mind.

Where we disagree, let’s continue to keep P.H. Welshimer’s words in mind to “disagree without being disagreeable.”

APRIL 2019

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LEFT BEHIND From After Class Podcast It began as an ordinary Sunday for lead evangelist “Dunker” Dave, but no one anticipated how it might end.

“We were only joking,” explained James Murray, chairman of the elders. “I guess some people can’t stomach a good ribbing.

We all feel terrible now.”

The first service went off without a hitch; the second, not so much—an April Fools’ joke gone awry.

“The boy performed splendidly,” explained deacon Joey Gatton, “perhaps too splendidly!”

Dunker Dave beamed with pride when Murray’s son came forward to be baptized. The two of them went back to the dressing room to change. Jimmy Jr. donned his symbolic white gown, and Dave slipped into what he playfully dubbed his “spiritual wetsuit.”

The congregation lifted their usual praises to God, and the unsuspecting evangelist began explaining to the young man exactly how the baptism would go.

But suddenly, before Dave could finish, a blaring trumpet filled

the auditorium and drowned out his final instructions.

Is that another speaker malfunction? Dave wondered with a tinge of frustration, as the sound lingered much longer than usual. I’d better go check it out.

He was about to poke his head around the corner when it all came to an end—all of it. The horn, the piano, and the singing had stopped. The silence was deafening. Suspecting he had lost his hearing, the nervous evangelist asked Jimmy, “Can you hear me, boy?”

“Yes, sir,” Jimmy replied. “I can hear you; I just can’t hear anything else.”

Not knowing what else to do, Dave led Jimmy cautiously into the water in full view of the auditorium. But much to his astonishment, the sanctuary was completely empty. Not a single soul was present—just bulletins and articles of clothing littering the pews and floor.

A spirit of terror consumed Dave, his legs grew faint, and he leaned heavily against the boy.

“No,” Dave muttered in disbelief,

“It couldn’t be. It can’t be.”

“Sir,” Jimmy asked, struggling to bear under the weight, “Can’t be what? Where is everyone?”

“The rapture! The rapture!

They’ve gone to be with the Lord!” Dave bellowed.

“I knew it!” the young thespian cried right on cue, “I knew I should have gone to the first service!”

Dunker Dave was crestfallen, but before he could muster a word, a loud chorus of voices cheered over the loudspeaker, “APRIL FOOL!” And the room quickly repopulated with laughing, back-slapping congregants.

“Wait . . . what?” Dave puzzled.

Then he repeated it . . . and just stood there, in disbelief, dumbfounded, staring at the water.

As paramedics gently led the wide-eyed pastor away, James Sr. lamented, “It was really sad.

He never really snapped out of it. He just kept repeating, ‘Kirk . . . Kirk . . . Left . . . Behind . . .’”

“I guess there’s no such thing as a victimless prank,” Gatton added, “And now we need to find a new pastor.” 

The After Class Podcast guys are Bible and theology professors at Great Lakes Christian College; from left to right in the logo, they are Samuel C. Long, Ronald D. Peters, and John C. Nugent. They strive to engage provocative contemporary topics with wit and careful biblical scholarship. https://afterclass.libsyn.com/

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