Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
#EthicsDailyLocal: Begin Anew
Begin Anew is a community of individuals empowering people to overcome the obstacles caused by poverty by providing education, mentoring and resources. The organization's vision is to see the number of individuals and...
3 Ways to Help Kids Grieve Death of Loved Ones
I had a conversation recently with a mother in my congregation and her twin 6-year-old sons regarding the death of one of their classmates. A first-grade boy in a school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, died during...
Report Ranks Electronics, Jewelry Supply Chain Ethics
The supply chain ethics of 20 leading electronics and jewelry companies were ranked based on conflict-free mineral sourcing from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in an Enough Project report released on Nov. 16....
November 28, 2017
Kentucky Southern Baptists Threaten to Kick Out Churches that Think its OK to Hire ‘Practicing Homosexuals’ (Louisville Courier-Journal) Roy Moore, Abortion and the Presumption of Innocence (New Yorker) Supreme Court...
King, Spurgeon: 2 Baptist Champions Opposed to Warfare
Baptist minister Martin Luther King Jr. visited Newcastle University in northeast England on Nov. 13, 1967, to receive an honorary degree. The story behind this remarkable occasion was remembered on Nov. 13, 2017, in a...
5 Reflections of a Grateful Adoptive Dad
Not many husbands get to tell their wives, "Guess what? We're having a baby!" On Jan. 13, 1998, I had that privilege. Gayla and I had been approved to adopt a child a few months before. We had survived the stress of...
Access to Quality Education Essential to End Child Labor
Expanding access to quality education is a vital part of the effort to end child labor, according to an International Labour Organization (ILO) report released Nov. 13. "Getting children off to a good start through...
November 27, 2017
The Museum that Places the Bible at the Heart of America’s Identity (The Atlantic) 5 Black Churches in New Jersey Seek Answers After Shocking and Disturbing Vandalism (NJ.com) Fighting Gay Rights and Abortion With the...
Does history matter?
One of the more interesting books I picked up at the Society of Biblical Literature meeting is a new one by Richard Elliott Friedman, a professor of Jewish studies and Hebrew Bible at the University of Georgia....
Theological Malpractice Stands Culpable in Sexual Abuse
I was one of the many Christians believing God created women for a subservient role to men. Growing up in fundamentalist Baptist churches, it was instilled in me for more than two decades that God created women to...
#EthicsDailyLocal: Hell’s Kitchen Farm Project
Hell's Kitchen Farm Project (HKFP) is an urban rooftop farm in midtown Manhattan, managed and run by volunteers. HKFP's mission is to create a more food-secure urban community through collaborative farming,...
Authentic Thankfulness Must Include Repentance
Thanksgiving's origins are civic. They have to do with the condition and conduct of the nation; and I believe that, for the United States, our giving thanks could - should - lead to repentance. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln...
Why It’s Important to Record Your Family Stories
Who was the funniest person in your family? Who was the most serious? Who was the caretaker? Who was the prankster? Family stories are important. They tell who you are and where you came from. My grandfather had the...
November 22, 2017
Thomas Jefferson’s Complicated Relationship with Thanksgiving (History.com) Can Science Explain the Human Mind? (National Public Radio) Baptist Church Complains About Being Branded ‘Pedophile Congregation’ After Pastor...
Caution: Handle with care
By John D. Pierce My mother was not a neat freak — which with four sons would have been an effort in futility anyway. But one thing was always in its proper place in our house. Nothing was ever stacked on top of the...
Profiles in Goodwill: Kathryn Freeman
Kathryn Freeman is director of public policy at the Christian Life Commission of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. 1, Where did you grow up? Grand Prairie, Texas, a suburb within the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex....
3 More Ways to Relate to Others Outside Your Faith – Part 2
We must learn how to relate cross-culturally in ways that reflect the beauty and grace of Christ's gospel because we encounter people from other cultures, nations and faith traditions every day. I shared three...
Biculturalism Can Help Minorities in Dominant Cultures
Being or becoming bicultural can provide insight for living as a minority in a dominant culture. Studying and thinking about Drew Hart's noteworthy book, "Trouble I've Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism,"...
Are You Willing to Remember and Learn from the Past?
Events were held around the world recently to commemorate the event from 500 years ago when Martin Luther presented his "95 Theses" - which he may or may not have actually nailed to the door of the church at...
November 21, 2017
Closing Doors: Small Religious Colleges Struggle for Survival (RNS) Mother Says Signs on School Buses Push Politics, Religion on Children (NBCi4) Nebraska Church Recognized for Sustainability Efforts (Hastings Tribune)...
#EthicsDailyLocal: University Hope
University Hope is a ministry of University Heights Baptist Church (UHBC) in Springfield, Missouri, which seeks to provide small rescue loans to those trapped in the predatory loan cycle. By working with a local credit...