Events that occurred this week in Christian history include the death of Chuck Colson, the birth of Hannibal Goodwin, and the election of Pope Sixtus V.

Chuck Swindoll is taking a new role at the Texas church he founded, but he's not retiring.

At 89 years old and more than 60 years into ministry, the Stonebriar Community Church founder plans to remain its primary preacher after the church names his successor.Chuck Swindoll has said that pastors “should never retire,” and the 89-year-old won’t be stepping away from the pulpit even as his church welcomes his successor.Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, announced this week that Swindoll will transition to founding pastor, continuing to preach on Sundays, as Jonathan Murphy becomes its senior pastor on May 1.“This is a very unique way of expanding, of ‘moving into another chapter,’ as we often call it here,” said Swindoll in a video clip alongside Murphy, a Belfast-born preacher who currently serves as chair of pastoral ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary.With over 60 years in ministry, Swindoll is the oldest megachurch pastor in the country and one of the most influential. He has been vocal about his plans to remain active in ministry until his death.“One of my great goals in life is to live long enough to where I am in the pulpit, preaching my heart out, and I die on the spot, my chin hits the pulpit—boom!—and I’m down and out,” he said at age 75. “What a way to die.”In his new role, Swindoll remains Stonebriar’s regular preacher, while Murphy leads day-to-day ministries and fills in to preach when needed, according to the church’s announcement.“We have the founding pastor being able to continue to preach as long as the Lord would have, and I can have a season as a senior pastor taking responsibility for the staff and caring for them and the ministry direction of the church at large,” said Murphy, who has been a guest preacher at Stonebriar and serves on the board for Swindoll’s long-running radio ministry Insight for Living.The two have been preparing ...Continue reading...

At 89 years old and more than 60 years into ministry, the Stonebriar Community Church founder plans to remain its primary preacher after the church names his successor.Chuck Swindoll has said that pastors “should never retire,” and the 89-year-old won’t be stepping away from the pulpit even as his church welcomes his successor.Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, announced this week that Swindoll will transition to founding pastor, continuing to preach on Sundays, as Jonathan Murphy becomes its senior pastor on May 1.“This is a very unique way of expanding, of ‘moving into another chapter,’ as we often call it here,” said Swindoll in a video clip alongside Murphy, a Belfast-born preacher who currently serves as chair of pastoral ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary.With over 60 years in ministry, Swindoll is the oldest megachurch pastor in the country and one of the most influential. He has been vocal about his plans to remain active in ministry until his death.“One of my great goals in life is to live long enough to where I am in the pulpit, preaching my heart out, and I die on the spot, my chin hits the pulpit—boom!—and I’m down and out,” he said at age 75. “What a way to die.”In his new role, Swindoll remains Stonebriar’s regular preacher, while Murphy leads day-to-day ministries and fills in to preach when needed, according to the church’s announcement.“We have the founding pastor being able to continue to preach as long as the Lord would have, and I can have a season as a senior pastor taking responsibility for the staff and caring for them and the ministry direction of the church at large,” said Murphy, who has been a guest preacher at Stonebriar and serves on the board for Swindoll’s long-running radio ministry Insight for Living.The two have been preparing ...Continue reading...

As Chuck settles into our conversation on race, he's assured that God has more than called him into the space. He's also assured that he has not been called to do it alone...

On Holy Saturday 2007, cartoonist Johnny Hart died of a stroke while working at his drawing table. Hart was the award-winning creator of the popular comic strips “The Wizard of Id” and “B.C.” which, at one time, reached 100 million readers worldwide every day. In a 1999 BreakPoint? commentary, Chuck Colson identified Hart as “the most widely read Christian of our time,” with “more readers than C.S. Lewis, Frank Peretti, and Billy Graham combined.”

Of the thousands of green-clad parade-goers, marchers, and partiers today, few know about Patrick, the man for whom today's holiday is named. Fewer still know of the man beyond the legend, who supposedly drove the snakes out of Ireland and certainly possessed an indomitable faith in Jesus Christ.In 2006, Chuck Colson told St. Patrick's story in a Breakpoint? commentary. Here is Chuck Colson:

In the wake of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's divisive comments, Tony Perkins stresses the importance of the United States supporting Israel....

This world can often feel like a dark place. Sometimes it's hard to see light and hope in the midst of all the suffering and pain we see around us. Constant media headlines reveal the deep struggle, the pain, and brokenness so many have known.God's promises are true and He is faithful to bring them all to pass. Every single one. Jesus gives us eternal hope, rooted in Him, the promise of heaven, and the reminder that He will come again.Pastor and author Chuck Swindoll shares these known facts from the Bible:· One out of every 30 verses in the Bible mentions the subject of Christ's return or the end of time.· Of the 216 chapters in the New Testament, there are well over 300 references to the return of Christ.· 23 of the 27 New Testament books mention Christ's return.· In the Old Testament, such well-known and reliable men of God as Job, Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, as well as most of the minor prophets mention Christ's return in their writings.Instead of fearing the end times, or battling uncertainty over future events, simply knowing God's word will give us power to live out our days with the understanding and wisdom that He is still at work, even when difficult things surround us.He hasn't lost control, not ever.Photo credit: ©GettyImages/thekopmylife? Stock footage Soundstripe.com & Photo? Canva.com? Here are 12 Scriptures That Remind Us, Jesus Is Coming Again:

Years ago in a Breakpoint commentary, Chuck Colson described the jury selection process in the trial of Jack Kevorkian, the doctor accused of helping at least 27 of his patients kill themselves. Kevorkian's lawyer attempted to bar anyone who said their Christian faith forbids suicide from serving on the jury, claiming that belief made them unfairly biased.Religion has been increasingly relegated to the private sphere. Christians are welcome to participate in public life only if they leave their faith at home … [but] [t]he logic of Kevorkian's defense attorney could be applied to any criminal trial. If potential jurors can be excluded for believing that assisted suicide is immoral, what will be the next step? Will the attorneys of accused murderers be permitted to exclude jurors whose religion teaches that life is sacred? More than 25 years later, that dismal hypothetical seems less hypothetical.

Years ago in a Breakpoint commentary, Chuck Colson described the jury selection process in the trial of Jack Kevorkian, the doctor accused of helping at least 27 of his patients kill themselves. Kevorkian's lawyer attempted to bar anyone who said their Christian faith forbids suicide from serving on the jury, claiming that belief made them unfairly biased.Religion has been increasingly relegated to the private sphere. Christians are welcome to participate in public life only if they leave their faith at home … [but] [t]he logic of Kevorkian's defense attorney could be applied to any criminal trial. If potential jurors can be excluded for believing that assisted suicide is immoral, what will be the next step? Will the attorneys of accused murderers be permitted to exclude jurors whose religion teaches that life is sacred? More than 25 years later, that dismal hypothetical seems less hypothetical.

The most well-known line of King's speech is this one: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” That vision has never been fully realized, and its greatest threat today is a set of ideas that purport to advance racial justice but instead oppose it. Critical Race Theory and the critical theory mood that infects so many areas of our culture, especially education and media, are all about issuing judgments about the character of entire groups of people based solely upon the color of skin.Twenty years ago, in a commentary about this historic speech, Chuck Colson articulated why only the Christian vision of the human person can ground an understanding of human rights, universal human dignity, and value that extend to everyone. Recently, the world has learned disturbing details about King's character and moral failures. Colson's analysis of King's ideas, and his call to Christians to live out of a Christian worldview, remain true and relevant today.

Doctor Chuck HardingWednesday Evening 10/5/16

This is a special article by Jim Krohn, Youth Pastor of Southeast Bible Baptist Church and author of the book "Biblical Youth Work", from which this article is an adaptation. Keep an eye on Uthleader.com within the next week and you will be able to order "Biblical Youth Work" at a UthLeader special price. “The Family Cult” Part 1 of 3 Don’t chuck your Youth Ministry        What is the family cult?  If you don’t know the answer to that question, consider yourself blessed.  The family cult is a name that I have given to a movement that is gaining ground in fundamental churches.  It emphasizes the family above all things.  While I agree that the family is extremely important, they take things to absurd proportions.  For example, according to this movement, Sunday school is bad because it divides the family.  Sunday evening services are bad because it takes the family out of the home.  Instead, they encourage a Sunday evening family worship time with the father as the patriarch of the home leading the proceeding.  Of course, I call that family devotions and I think that is something that should be done during the week.  It is not something that you do instead of church.  In addition, while public school is obviously bad, this movement paints all Christian schools with the same brush as public schools since they take children away from the family.  Youth groups as well as all other age specific activities should be stopped.  They also use terms such as “family centered church” instead of “program centered church”.