Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Protecting Kids When They’re Left to Their Own Devices
The advice we would give less than 10 years ago to parents wanting to protect their children was to put the family computer in the living room so that internet use could be easily monitored. Enter Steve Jobs and the...
Respond to Events Beyond Your Control with Love
Last Monday was the somber 16th anniversary of the 9/11/2001 terror attacks: A plane went down in a Pennsylvania field, another plowed into the side of the Pentagon, and two became passenger-bearing bombs that brought...
Global Hunger on the Rise after Decade of Decline
The number of people experiencing hunger rose for the first time in a decade, according to the United Nations annual report, "The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World." Last year, 815 million people...
September 18, 2017
At 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Deputy Attorney General Opens Conference on Hate Crimes (WBRC) Mike Huckabee and the Rise of Christian Media Under Trump (The Atlantic) Pastors Stand Firm as Trump’s...
September 16, 2017
National Baptist Convention of America Dedicates New Retreat Center in Louisville (WDRB) Harvey Blows Breezes of Baptist Cooperation (Baptist Standard) Baptists Mobilize to Help Victims of Hurricane Irma (Word and Way)...
‘You Pack What You Fear’
I was listening to an interview recently of a backpacker who hikes as a "minimalist." Minimalist backpacking - or ultralight as it is more commonly called - is about packing the minimal essentials for the hike. Instead...
Your Church’s Future Relies on Imagination, Not Memories
Some call it a battle. Others a wrestling match. Let's go with something a bit less confrontational and call it a challenge that will impact whether or not your church will survive. I'm describing one of the...
5 Steps to Transform Your Church into Disciple Developers
Many of us in the Christian movement yearn to be more invigorated, animated and passionate disciples of Jesus Christ. We believe embracing our identity as disciples is central to our calling as Christ-followers. Given...
September 15, 2017
How Many Churches Does America Have? More Than Expected (Christianity Today) Trump Says Jump. His White Evangelical Supporters Ask, How High? (New York Times) Many Trump Evangelicals Worship ‘Old Testament God’...
3 Ways to Involve Your Kids in Disaster Relief Efforts
A series of tornados ripped through Oklahoma in 2013 causing extensive amounts of damage and leaving many without homes, cars and possessions. Stories about the tornados were all over the news and headlines so...
A Christian Approach to Ethics for the Vulnerable – Part 2
The WOA principle - an ethical system rooted in care and concern for the biblical triad of widows, orphans and aliens - drives the mission of Jesus. He constantly moves to meet people on the margins of the social world...
U.S. Food Insecurity Declined in 2016, but Millions Still at Risk
Food insecurity in the U.S. declined for the fifth straight year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) annual report released last week. Even so, more than 15 million households were food insecure...
September 14, 2017
Nun With a Chainsaw Becomes Symbol of Post-Irma Cleanup (National Public Radio) As Evacuees Headed North, Georgia Baptists Gave Shelter (Baptist Press) Louisville Conference Commemorates 400th Anniversary of Slavery in...
Praying things don’t get back to normal
By John D. Pierce Flooding in Texas and beyond and Irma’s blast to the Southeast have upset the normal pace of life for millions of Americans, as well as others on some devastated islands. For some the pain is long...
Profiles in Goodwill: Gary Furr
Gary Furr is pastor of Vestavia Hills Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. 1. Where did you grow up? I was born and raised my first seven years in Concord, North Carolina, but because of dad's career in retail...
A Christian Approach to Ethics for the Vulnerable – Part 1
Christians need to adopt a WOA approach to ethics. WOA is an awkward acronym that represents the biblical triad of widows, orphans and aliens - WOA. These social groups represented women, men and children that existed...
Clean Water, Proper Sanitation Essential to Ending Poverty
Expanding access to clean water, along with proper sanitation and hygiene systems, is essential to ending global poverty, but often there is a gap between policy and implementation. This was a central emphasis in a new...
September 13, 2017
In Orlando Special Needs Evacuees Move to Church (Ocala Star Banner) Western Fires Have Baptists Poised for Action (Biblical Recorder) Tennessee Middle School Teacher: Islam, Religion Taught Only in Historical Context...
Baptists Mobilize to Help Victims of Hurricane Irma
Baptist groups are preparing to mobilize to help victims of Hurricane Irma, even as efforts to assist folks recovering from Hurricane Harvey continue. As with Hurricane Harvey recovery initiatives, much of the Baptist...
If Achieved, Baptist Unity Can Affect the World
In 1911, the Northern Baptist Convention and the Free Will Baptist General Conference forged a church union. This was perhaps the first example of organic church unity in the 20th century. Since that time, the...
Communicating Mission Work Clearly to Global Media
In January 2002, just a few months after 9/11, I taught a course at Columbia International University (CIU) called Church Planting in the Muslim World. I was international director of Frontiers - a large mission...