Marcus Yoars

Like it or not, the American Idol syndrome is alive and well in most Western churches today. We see it in the modern worship arena, with many young Christians believing that becoming a worship leader is the next best thing to being a rock star. Somewhere along the way, we’ve reinforced a model that equates spiritual…

Is the church in crisis? When it comes to integrity among leadership, Larry Stockstill thinks so—and he wants you to do something about it. Larry Stockstill, pastor of Bethany World Prayer Center in Baton Rouge, La., is calling church leaders to do more than just talk about living right. At the Summit on Integrity, a one-day…

Two years ago this month the American church was fracturing. Fueled by unprecedented media frenzy, the presidential race between Barack Obama and John McCain had exposed a splintering Body full of bickering Christian leaders, many of whom spoke as if delivering a word straight from heaven.Standing in the crossfire were countless conflicted believers who found…

“Savor this time, because the next thing you know, he’ll be all grown up.” I can’t count the number of times older parents have offered my wife and me this advice for raising our two little boys. We heard it so often when our oldest, Brayden, was an infant that the conversations became laughably predictable.A total…

Despite a “solid Christian” upbringing—raised in Hong Kong by Southern Baptist missionaries—I don’t remember ever being taught specifically about the Holy Spirit during my youth. Not one sermon or Bible study devoted to who He is, what He does, why we need Him ... nothing. Like the kid on the playground picked for teams only because…

Considering he had died the previous week, I’ll admit that talking with my father was a bit strange. But there he was, conversing with me in a dream that to this day seems far more than that.   Daddy appeared too real, his words too precise and prophetic, and our surroundings too divine for just

I like change. I’m one of those “seasons” kind of guys who gets excited about new beginnings. But I also realize I’m in the minority and that, for most people, change is like the crazy aunt whom you’re perfectly OK with seeing only once in a blue moon.   Lately I’ve received a handful of

And I’m the new editor of Charisma. If you’re annoyed at me for starting a sentence—worse still, an editor’s note (gasp!)—with the word and, I apologize … but get used to it. Not the poor grammar, mind you, but the slightly different way of communicating.    Charisma has been around awhile—35 years this summer—and, like every successful entity,

In 1993, Pete Myers faced one of the toughest challenges in sports history. To that point, the 6-foot-6-inch journeyman had played sparingly for seven NBA teams in seven years. But prior to joining the Chicago Bulls that year, Myers was asked to do the impossible: Fill in for Michael Jordan after the greatest basketball player