Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Hymn Captures Progressive Spirit, Extols Nonviolence
Editor's note: This article has been revised to remove a statement about William Sloane Coffin being kin to Harry Emerson Fosdick. They were not related. Most ministers I know pray for courage daily. Ministry is a...
3 Case Studies Illustrate Problems with Philanthropy
When is philanthropy problematic? This question has been on my mind in recent months as I've read books and watched films about three philanthropists who amassed wealth in dubious ways. 1. The case of Andrew Carnegie....
40 Million Enslaved Globally; 152 Million Children in Child Labor
There are currently 40.3 million people enslaved globally and 151.6 million children subjected to child labor. These were key figures from two new reports - one on modern slavery and one on child labor - published...
September 25, 2017
‘I Was Taught to Hate:’ Former White Supremacists, Extremists Gather in Oregon (KGW) Trump Triples Down on White Racial Grievance Mongering (Mother Jones) Marriott is Hosting the Conference of the Largest Anti-Muslim...
Does Another Option Exist to Handle North Korea?
The United States ambassador to the United Nations believes that the organization is out of options with regard to North Korea. "U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley said on Sunday that the U.N. Security Council has...
When Even Empathetic Churches Hit Their Limits
I may have pushed too hard in my sermon last Sunday. For three weeks after white nationalists rallied in Charlottesville, Virginia, I mentioned racism in my sermons and how we need to root it out of our hearts and out...
The Selfish Sin That Drives ‘America First’ Mindset
We teach our children from a very young age not to be selfish. It's one of those qualities we easily see as a negative. When one child is selfishly guarding a toy to themselves, we interject, "Now, remember. We have to...
September 22, 2017
AARP Launches Faith-Based Initiative Took Kit for African-American Clergy and Lay Leaders (CNN) How Evangelical Republicans Brought Themselves to Vote for Trump (Minnesota Post) Senate Candidate, Evangelical Roy Moore:...
Half of School-Aged Refugees Received No Education in 2016
More than half (3.5 million) of all school-aged refugees (6.4 million) did not attend school in 2016, according to a U.N. High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) report released on Sept. 12. The percentage of refugee...
Taking Steps Now to Alleviate Climate Change’s Effects
Things have sped up on climate change in all sorts of ways in 2017. In January, I wrote a briefing titled "Donald Trump, the Environment and the Church" for the John Ray Initiative, where I serve as operations...
Immigrants May Be Best Way to Fill Churches’ Empty Pews
Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon said recently that Catholic priests only support undocumented immigrants because they need them to "fill the churches." On the face of it, his comment seems dismissive, even...
Profiles in Goodwill: Terri Byrd
Terri Byrd is coordinator of Alabama Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. 1. Where did you grow up? I was born in Nashville, Tennessee, but I lived in nine different places, all in the southeast U.S., by the time I was...
Why This World Needs a Global Outpouring of Grace
I grew up in an era when the threat of nuclear attack was real. The peace of the world existed in a tension that was known as MAD - mutually assured destruction. In other words, we would not blow up another country...
4 Reasons New Ministry Model is Picking Up Steam
Early in the history of the Christian church, believers were divided into two groups - the clergy and the laity. Clergy were those called to a full-time Christian vocation. Laity were the men and women who pursued...
September 20, 2017
Racism Ends When America Wills It, Minister Says (Morning Journal) Rev. Jesse Jackson Speaks on Healing, Rebuilding and Registering (WVTF) SPLC Tells Supreme Court: Trump’s Muslim Ban is an Unconstitutional Violation...
Are white evangelicals agents or subjects of change?
By John D. Pierce Sometimes we good church people like to avoid confronting our corporate failures. We gloss over the racism and sexism at the historical core of American Christianity, particularly in the South We...
Reflecting on the ‘Words of Jesus’
By John D. Pierce Had Jesus lived on earth at a much later time his poetic and revealing Beatitudes (in Matthew 5) might have been released under the title “Greatest Hits.” He opened what is called the Sermon on the...
Sermon Stealing: It’s More Common Than You Think
The topic of pulpit plagiarism has been in the news since pastor Bill Shillady sought to capitalize on a series of devotions he sent Hillary Clinton during her ill-fated presidential campaign by publishing them as...
The Power of Ritual Keeps You Faithful
I don't always find it easy to pray. Often I'm overtired, distracted, caught up in tasks, pressured by work, short on time, lacking the appetite for prayer or more strongly drawn to do something else. But I do pray...
Why Your Church Needs a Purple Cow Ministry
Is your congregation engaged in "purple cow ministries"? In 2002, Seth Godin published his best-selling book, "Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable." This marketing book emphasized that to be...
September 19, 2017
For Those in the Party of Trump Like These North Carolina Baptist Retirees, the Republicans – Not the President – Are to Blame (Washington Post) Iowa Faith and Freedom Fundraiser Enthusiastic for Trump (WNAX) SBC...