Well, there is a new row in the mega-church community, and it involves two heavyweight titans, Mark Driscoll, and John Lindell.

Chances are good you may not know either man, but the ripple effect of their brouhaha may soon enter your church community.

On April 11th, the James River Church in Springfield, Missouri, held The Stronger Men’s Conference at their campus. This event draws a large audience of Christian men with the design of making them better actors in their homes, communities, and in their faith expression. Many see the value in such training and fellowship.

However, guest speaker, Mark Driscoll, began his discourse disparaging the opening act that involved a man, Alex Magala. Magala, using a pole that resembled a stripper’s pole and dressed in a partially clad outfit, dangerously swallowed a sword as he descended toward the ground on the pole.

On its face, the act would likely have been more appropriate for a talent show or magic act. Nevertheless, Driscoll immediately took umbrage saying the demonstration was not only misplaced, but demonically motivated. 

Then the gloves came off.

In short order, Pastor Lindell, voicing loudly from the front row, stated that Driscoll was out of order and demanded that he leave the stage immediately. Driscoll gathered his belongings, and quietly left the stage as boos erupted in apparent displeasure at Lindell’s actions.

It was the religious equivalent of Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards Ceremony.

What happened next was damage control and a loss of credibility for the entire event as Lindell attempted to explain his decision.

Yada, yada, yada, another high-profile church mess-up.

When are we going to learn?

On the one hand, there is a place for calling something out publicly. Driscoll felt the need to be that voice. To be the one who drew a line regarding what is holy, acceptable, and honorable. Okay.

Still, there is etiquette associated with being a guest at any event. Sure, he may have been called to be provocative, but perhaps he could have had better manners.

On the other hand, Lindell should have known better. Is a man working the pole the best example of a strong man? Surely not. Perhaps a montage of men doing the right things in public and private would have made for a more compelling opener. Maybe a series of women describing the change a strong man of character had made in their homes and marriages would have tugged at the heart strings and prepped the men for an exciting journey. Who knows? But I understand Driscoll’s astonishment.

The point is, neither “man of God” behaved well. And these are the best of the best? As the wisdom of the NFL announcers from a few years back groused, “Come on man!”

Look, we must get our act together. Sword swallowing half naked men hardly represent the serious nature of masculinity and its responsibilities. We can do better.

But what is worse is the tarnish Christianity receives from the public at large for yet another example of religious infighting and hypocrisy. 

Kent Simmons is the pastor of Canyon Community Church in Kingman, AZ.

The post And Then This Happened first appeared on The Standard Newspaper Online.

MOHAVE COUNTY – ASHLine is a state-wide program utilizing local county help for those seeking to quit tobacco use. While cigarette purchases are on the decline, vaping is on the rise for both teens and adults.

The CDC reports fewer than one in 10 adult cigarette smokers succeed in quitting each year. The Mohave County Department of Public Health offers valuable assistance. With free tools like ASHLine and educational offerings to schools, the county’s Tobacco Use Prevention Program is here for residents wanting to quit, or just thinking about it. ASHLine services are free and confidential regardless of insurance. 

Here’s what participants can get when signing up:

* Free phone coaching, available in English & Spanish (also available in 200 additional languages through a translation service).

* Up to 8 weeks of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (gum, patches, &/or lozenges) shipped right to them.

* Opt-in motivational texts and email message, plus reminders of appointment dates.

* Online two-way chat if needed.

* Lung cancer screening and education to eligible participants.

ASHLine also offers tailored programs for pregnant/postpartum, persons with behavioral health needs, American Indian Commercial Tobacco Program, and My Life, My Quit to youth 13-17 with parent permission. Anyone can sign up by calling 1-800-55-66-222 or www.ASHLine.org.

The post ASHLine:  Lifeline for those wanting to stop tobacco use  first appeared on The Standard Newspaper Online.

BULLHEAD CITY —The City of Bullhead City, in sponsorship with Nevada State Recycling and Mohave Shred, will host a community-wide electronic waste and paper shredding event on Saturday, May 11, from 8 a.m. until noon. The event will be held in the Bullhead City Justice parking lot at 1255 Marina Blvd. Residents from the surrounding communities are invited to bring their items to the event.

Nevada State Recycling will accept the electronic items listed below for FREE during the event.  Hard drives will be removed and destroyed from phones and computers.

Electronic Items to Bring; All appliances, adaptors, chargers, CD, DVD Rom discs, cellular phones, pagers, computer monitors, fax machine, copiers, floppy discs, gamin equipment, slot machines, keyboards, laptops, all televisions, modems, routers, medical equipment, printer ink cartridges and toners, scanners, radio equipment, speakers, stereo and audio equipment, typewriters, VCR player, video cameras, wires and connectors and scrap metal (steel, aluminum, brass, copper).

Mohave Shred will shred papers for a nominal fee of $5 per bankers sized box and limited to ten boxes per household. This is the most secure way to shred your confidential documents.

For more information on the Community Recycling Event, visit www.bullheadcity.com/recycle or contact Karen Spletzer at (928)763-0122.

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MOHAVE COUNTY – Mohave Community College held its annual Mathlympics event where local high school students compete in challenging math assessments. The event took place on the MCC Lake Havasu Campus, Friday, April 19. Over 130 students participated from Lake Havasu City, Bullhead City, Mohave Valley, Needles and Parker.

Eight schools participated, including: River Valley High School, Needles High School, Lake Havasu High School, Mohave Accelerated Learning Center, Academy of Building Industries High School, Parker High School, Telesis Preparatory Academy and Mohave High School.

Awards were given to the top scorer from each school, individual levels in subjects, team relay winners and overall top school. This year, once again, the overall top school winner was Lake Havasu High School. This year organizers added a new component where teams got to work together to get as many answers correctly in a relay race style competition.

Overall School Winners: First, Lake Havasu High School; Second, River Valley High School; Third, Needles High School.

Team Relay Winners: First, Lake Havasu High School; Second, Mohave Accelerated Learning Center (MALC); Third, Academy of Building Industries High School.

Top Scorer from each school: Lake Havasu High School, Mandee Bielecki; River Valley High School, Taryn Watso; Mohave High School, Zephyr Chavers; Needles High School, Kensley Beals; Parker High School, Anthony Villafana; Mohave Accelerated Learning Center (MALC), Dawson Warren; Telesis Preparatory Academy, Bailen McMullin; Academy of Building Industries High School, Ayden Maglio-Qualey.

Individual Level Winners: Level I: Algebra I: First, Taryn Watson, River Valley High School; Second, Noah Guenther, River Valley High School; Third, Payton Bates, River Valley High School.

Level II: Geometry: First, Zephyr Chavers, Mohave High School; Second, Jason Washington, Lake Havasu High School, Third, Robert Summerlin, River Valley High School.

Level III:  Algebra II: First, Collin Miller, Lake Havasu High School; Second, Bailen McMullin, Telesis Preparatory Academy; Third, Reese Ford, Lake Havasu High School.

Level IV:  Statistics: First, Japen Patel, Lake Havasu High School; Second, Savanah Primeaux, Lake Havasu High School; Third, Tiana Mitwasi, Lake Havasu High School.

Level V: Precalculus: First, Mandee Bielecki, Lake Havasu High School; Second, Anthony Villafana, Parker High School; Third, Justin Lively, River Valley High School.

Level VI:  Calculus: First, Kensley Beals, Needles High School; Second, Lukas Ware, Lake Havasu High School; Third, Davis Hanline, Needles High School.

The post MCC hosts Mathlympics for local high school students first appeared on The Standard Newspaper Online.

KINGMAN – Mohave County’s long awaited new animal shelter will have its official ribbon cutting/grand opening on Monday, May 6 at 3 p.m.

The public is cordially invited to attend. Special invites have also been extended to the Board of Supervisors, County Manager, Petsmart, the Friends of Mohave County Animal Shelter organization, K.C. Orr, Woodruff Constructions execs, Animal Shelter Manager, Nicole Mangiameli, and Erin Shrecengost, County Administrative Services Director. Some of those will be speaking at the event as well.

The new air-conditioned shelter is approximately 9,000-square-feet with 42 enclosed dog kennels and 32 cat condos. It is state of the art and far more advanced and comfortable for its four-legged guests than the current facility at 950 Buchanan Street in Kingman.

The new shelter is located at 3423 N. Burbank St. in Kingman, just a short distance from the Kingman Library.

The post Ribbon Cutting/Grand Opening of new County Animal Shelter set for May 6 first appeared on The Standard Newspaper Online.

LAKE HAVASU CITY  – Whether you’re new to the Lake Havasu City area, or just want to make new friends, Lake Havasu City’s Over 40 Social Club, has many activities where adults can make connections and get to know some of the locals of the area. The social club met up at Desert Storm’s Performance Boating event on Thursday, April 24 at Querio Dr. and McCulloch Blvd to catch up with friends, share some laughs, and have good times to follow at the city’s annual spectacular boat show.

The Over 40 Social Club can be found on meetup.com, an online platform that was created to for adults to socialize with groups through a multitude of creative activities. In our adult years, many of us may come to discover that making friends as we age can be quite the challenge. 

But make no mistake, this over 40 social club is not intended matchmaking or hookups. It is, however, a unique way to create lasting friendships. Havasu local Teresa is the organizer of the group says the connections she has made within the group are pretty solid, and welcomes anyone in the community to join to experience the bonds that can be made, “Leila and Penny truly are my best friends, and we really have a great time together every time we meet.”

The Over 40 Social Club plans weekly events to happy hours, live music shows, day trips, group dinners, community events and much more! There is no fee to join so what are you waiting on? Visit https://www.meetup.com/ to check where Lake Havasu’s City’s Over 40 Social Club will be meeting next, and the spark it could add can add to your life.

Phaedra Veronique

The post Make new friends at Over 40 Social Club first appeared on The Standard Newspaper Online.

BULLHEAD CITY – Bullhead City Police Department (BHCPD) received more of Betty’s “Caring Cases” from CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocate, representatives last week.

The program was started by longtime Bullhead resident and volunteer Betty Moir, who put the Caring Cases Campaign on the top of her bucket list before she passed away in 2017.

BHCPD officers use these bags, filled with personal and comfort items, when tasked with transitioning children into foster care or other emergency situations.

The post Caring Cases donated first appeared on The Standard Newspaper Online.

KINGMAN, Ariz. – The City of Kingman wishes to inform the community that a road closure will take place on Kino Avenue on Friday, May 3, 2024. A hard closure will be implemented from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Kino Avenue, stretching from Glen Road to Bond Street.This closure will allow construction crews to perform necessary road maintenance. All traffic will be rerouted around the construction zone.

The City of Kingman urges anyone traveling through work zones to use caution and provide a safe working environment for workers, the motoring public, and pedestrians.

For information about the project, questions or concerns please contact the City of Kingman Public Works Department at 928-757-7467.

The post Kino Avenue Closure on Friday, May 3rd first appeared on The Standard Newspaper Online.

LAKE HAVASU CITY – Lake Havasu High School closed out their spring student theater performances last week with their production of Alice By Heart.  

This was a four-day play with an opening night that began on Wednesday, April 24 through Saturday, April 27 at Lake Havasu High School’s Little Theater.

The drama department of the high school’s introduced the community to their spring season with their debut of ‘Where Words Once Were’ this past February. A play adapted by current Australian playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer. 

Last week the high school actors starred in Alice By Heart written by Steven Sater and Jessie Nelson. The playwrights are well known for making the show famous with numerous Broadway appearances. With music inspired by author and illustrator Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice by Heart has a very different twist of this classic fairytale favorite.  

It tells the story of Alice Spencer, whose teenage life goes from blossoming to turmoil when her close friend Alfred, is forced to take shelter in an underground tube station during  World War II. The sickly Alfred is quarantined, and Alice inspires him to engage in and escape through their beloved book. Together, they experience a mythical fairytale adventure down the rabbit hole, and journey to the unforgettable wonderland. 

Students entertained Lake Havasu audience with their astonishing, believable, and memorable performances.  

Aside from the school’s drama department wanting to bring the magic of storytelling to the stage for the community to enjoy, it’s also a fantastic way to get the students of the school a chance at experiencing theater arts in their own school. An involvement that could inspire more theatrical opportunities in their futures.

Phaedra Veronique

The post High school ends spring season with Alice by Heart show first appeared on The Standard Newspaper Online.

KINGMAN – Sounds of Kingman continues its Concert in the Park series with Goodheart on Sunday, May 5. The concert will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. at Metcalfe Park, 315 W. Beale St. Goodheart’s playlist includes classic rock, blues, folk, rock, jazz and a little country.

The post Goodheart to play in the park first appeared on The Standard Newspaper Online.