Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
3 Ways You Can Help Prevent Financial Exploitation of Poor
The prophet Micah proclaims that the Lord requires his servants to act justly and to love mercy and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). The Hebrew word for justice, "misphat," used in Micah 6:8 appears more than 200...
Protestants Affiliating with Particular Denominations Drops
The number of U.S. Protestants who self-identify with a particular denomination has declined steadily over the past 16 years, according to a Gallup analysis published on July 18. Fifty percent of respondents identified...
July 20, 2017
National Baptist Convention Invests Hundreds of Thousands for New Retreat Center (WDRB) Neighbors Upset, City Can’t Stop Drug Addict Center Planned at Church (Dayton Daily News) Religious Landscape Study (Pew Research...
8 Ways Your Church Can Help Folks Escape Debt Trap
There are more payday and title loan stores in Missouri than Starbucks, Wal-Marts and McDonalds combined. I've heard this statement more times than I can recall. It has been a wake-up call for me in terms of...
India: When Government Fails to Protect Minorities
While hate crimes committed by and against Muslims in Europe receive increasing attention in the global media, the rise of Hindu vigilantism in India receives scant coverage. Yet, the loss of life and the levels of...
July 19, 2017
More U.S. Protestants Have No Specific Denominational Identity (Gallup) National Baptist Deacons Convention Opens in Birmingham (Birmingham Times) Pence Roots Administration’s Support for Israel in Faith (Colorado...
Laos Living
Laos is home to much that is beautiful and much that is quaint, but my favorite thing about visiting new countries is seeing how people live. Local guides insist that visitors see things that are unusual or impressive,...
Faith Community Fights for Payday Lending Reform
If you live in one of the 36 states that allow payday, auto title lending or both, you've likely seen the storefronts. They promise quick cash, no credit check required. They're likely located in the poorer part of...
Why Some Church Members Need to Go to Arabia
One of the pressing concerns of 21st-century individual and congregational spiritual life is the question of depth. To be blunt, there isn't much. Study after study has revealed the sad truth that much of what we call...
Charity’s Important But It’s Not Always Enough
Charity is about being good-hearted, but justice is about something more. Individual sympathy is good and virtuous, but it doesn't necessarily change the social, economic and political structures that unfairly...
July 18, 2017
Historian: Trump Threatens to Change the Course of American Christianity (Washington Post) Opinion: Why I’m Leaving the Southern Baptist Convention (New York Times) BJC Says U.S. House Funding Bill Expose Houses of...
How Should Arab Christians React to Persecution?
The concept of "disorienting times" was the focus of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary's 14th Middle East Conference / Consultation (June 19-23), organized by its Institute of Middle East Studies. Highlights from...
Croatian Baptists Provide Sanctuary to Iranian Refugees
A group of 30 Iranian refugees have been established in the first organized Iranian Christian Community (HAMGAM) in Zagreb, Croatia. The congregation was formed under the leadership of Croatian Baptist Aid in Zagreb...
Wesley’s Call to Unconditional Love Still Resonates
John Wesley could be a pain. He was dogmatic, opinionated, partisan and stubbornly hard to shift from what he believed was the central ground of Christian faith. But that made him neither an exclusive nor a separatist...
July 17, 2017
Catholic Journal Criticizes Trump ‘Voter Values’ (CNN) Several Pastors Prayed Over President Trump; Another Says They Bordered on ‘Heresy’ (Chicago Tribune) Reverence for Putin on the Right Buys Trump Cover (New York...
Temple Time
Many countries carry faith-labels. America is called a “Christian” nation, though only a small percentage (including many who wear the label like a flag) take the teachings of Jesus seriously. Israel is officially a...
Eye-Opening Lessons from New Friends from Cuba
Two Baptist leaders from Cuba stayed with my family recently. Maykel Baez Bruffau, pastor of Iglesia Bautista El Jordan and president of the Fraternity of Baptist Churches of Cuba, and Ms. Lissett, a musician and...
‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’
They say, "The third time is the charm." This is the third reboot of the Spider-Man franchise. And I think that they may have found that charm. Spider-Man is the iconic creation of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The comic...
4 Suggestions to Minister in the Meantime and Mean Time
Ministry happens in the meantime and in the mean time. The meantime is a season of sometimes bewildering change and troubling transitions. It's an interval between a past we know well and a future that isn't yet clear...
Choosing Which God (or Beliefs) You Will Serve
It's a long way in the biblical narrative from Joshua to Simon Peter. Yet, it was only a week between sermons on these men nearly 60 years ago as churches in the Atlanta area were facing the challenges of the...
Bivocational Ministry – More Than Making Ends Meet
Standing in the middle of a field in Burnaby, British Columbia, I could not help but smile. Hundreds of people from our neighborhood - new immigrants, families, elderly, young professionals - streamed into a park for...