Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
December 26, 2017
Muslims Pitching in at Christmas Church-Based Soup Kitchen in Detroit (WZZM13) This Church Had a ‘Star-Wars’-Themed Christmas Service (AltPress) Clergy May Soon May Taxes Soaring as a Result of an Under-the-Radar...
Remembering Sarah Frost, with affection and appreciation
By John D. Pierce Today, on the eve of Christmas Eve, family and friends will gather in Dublin, Ga., to celebrate the long and remarkable life of Sarah Austin Frost, who died at home on Thursday night at age 97. She...
Longing For Peace
By: Ginger Hughes [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a poet and educator, wrote a poignant poem in 1863, entitled “Christmas Bells.” I’ll be sharing excerpts from his poem.] “I heard the bells on Christmas day, Their old,...
Holy interruption
By John D. Pierce The coming of Christ was a holy interruption. It occurred in a very specific place and time — prompting the questions: Why here? Why now? Most of us grew up with idealized versions of the story from a...
10 Commandments for Welcoming Guests to Your Church
Church consultants and pastors have spilled much ink regarding how churches should welcome guests. There is a reason for that: Churches, from veteran churches to church starts, need to learn how to greet guests and be...
Why We Only Focus on Jesus’ Humanity at Christmas
I am suspicious. I was suspicious before I ever knew about a hermeneutic of suspicion. I am suspicious that many of us in the "evangelical" (always have to put that in quotes) side of the church are not very...
Amid Poverty, Egypt’s Baptist Churches Growing
The land of Egypt is a powerful symbol in the Bible of the liberation of God's people from slavery and the journey to the Promised Land, in what we call the Exodus. Egypt also has its place in the Christmas story. To...
How Prayers of Lament Help Our Broken, Bleeding World
I sat stunned, angry and brokenhearted after reading the horrific news: More than 300 people killed in a terrorist attack at a mosque in Egypt. I began the day by meditating on Psalm 16:11. "In your presence is...
December 22, 2017
The Religious Voting Bloc That Went Overlooked in Alabama’s Special Election (ThinkProgress) Mormon Baptisms of Holocaust Victims Draw Ire (Associated Press) Shortage of Musicians, Singers Impacting Rural Churches in...
Distinguishing between OK and offensive
By John D. Pierce It is an interesting time to be Christian in America when so much of white evangelicalism has gone nuts. Most baffling is what is considered acceptable and what is not. And the opportunistic preachers...
Lessons from Thomas Paine: The Destruction of Christianity
Thomas Paine's use of the Bible was at the heart of his incendiary critique of the political powers of his day. It goes, in summary, like this: The Bible denounces monarchy, and it's no wonder because the monarchy is...
One Small Light Still Pierces the Deepest Darkness
I'd never experienced total darkness before spending a night in a cave. Fifteen of us, three adults and 12 youth, entered Alabama's Desoto Caverns in the daylight with headlamps and sleeping bags. After viewing...
The Easiest Gift You Can Give Someone This Christmas
When I was young, I knew things were about to get boring when someone around me began a sentence with "remember when." Now I have become one of those people of a certain stage of life who begins their sentences with...
December 21, 2017
Austin Pastor Joins Call to Support Dreamers (Baptist Standard) US Female Evangelical Leaders Call on Church to Speak Out on Violence Against Women (Sight Magazine) Ben Carson Leads Trump Cabinet in a Prayer that...
Profiles in Goodwill: Rick Bennett
Rick Bennett is field coordinator of the Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. 1. Where did you grow up? West Palm Beach, Florida, and Ellerbe, North Carolina. 2. What is your favorite verse, book or story in the...
Lessons from Thomas Paine: Our Democratic Aristocracy
We need to recover and adapt Thomas Paine's critique of political power. Paine delivered a devastating blow to the notion of the British monarchy, and its attendant aristocracy, with his "Common Sense." Just as the...
What Would Jesus Do When It’s Protest Time?
Religion is in the news again. An article by Daniel Burke, CNN's religion writer, describes the chaotic clashing of religions and religious beliefs in the U.S. Burke cites several examples, including: President Trump...
December 20, 2017
White Christianity is in Big Trouble. And It’s Its Own Biggest Threat. (Washington Post) In Christ’s Birthplace, Olive Wood Artisans Carry on a Holy Land Tradition (Deseret News) Boulder Church Welcomes Peruvian...
BCE’s Roadmap for 2018: Inform, Inspire, Empower
The Baptist Center for Ethics and EthicsDaily.com have been shining the light of the gospel for more than 26 years. As the world seems to grow darker from hatred, bigotry, war, violence, disease and other disheartening...
How You Can Create a Memorable Christmas Eve Service
Should your church "go Coptic" on Christmas Eve? I love Christmas - and all the Christmas services. Yet, in the memory all too often one special service merges into another, and none really stands out. So, this...
Continue the Call for Peace in Our War-Weary World
The quest for peace is universal, whether it be peace in our land or peace in our soul. As a nation, the U.S. is weary of terrorist threats, campus shootings, human trafficking, schoolyard bullying, workplace conflict,...