Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
5 Considerations to Help Your Church Reach Baby Boomers
Our churches are trying to figure out how to reach the millennial generation (born between 1980 and 2000), and we do need to reach the largest generation in the U.S. for Bible study. Yet, many churches are more geared...
June 15, 2017
Amid Uproar, Southern Baptists Condemn ‘Alt-Right’ Movement (ABC News) A Resolution Condemning White Supremacy Causes Chaos at the Southern Baptist Convention (The Atlantic) First African Baptist Church, Savannah,...
Hard to “evangelize” when you continually alienate
By John D. Pierce Having long ago left most traces of my earlier Southern Baptist identity, I have little interest in the denominational workings that were once part of my life. Also, I resist commenting (usually) on...
Profiles In Goodwill: Leta Tillman
Leta Tillman is a retired Hardin-Simmons University professor and librarian. 1. Where did you grow up? McAllen, Texas. 2. What is your favorite verse, book or story in the Bible? Why? Romans 8:28. This verse gives me a...
6 Ways Your Church Can Get Father’s Day Right
I have noticed a steady increase over the past several years in the number of articles and social media posts about whether and how churches should observe Mother's Day. This year, I noticed that similar posts about...
The One Thing Junior Knew About Was Life
Virgil Morrison Jr. was a 68-year-old man when I met him. Everyone called him "Junior," but there was nothing junior about him. He was 6-foot-5 and weighed 300 pounds. He smiled an endearing, toothless smile. His feet...
June 14, 2017
Southern Baptist Convention Adopts Statement on Moral Leadership, but Refuses to Criticize Trump or Denounce Racist, White Nationalist Group (San Francisco Chronicle) Analysis: The More Trump Struggles, the More the...
Overcoming Denial About Deadly Power of Religion
I was with a group of volunteers recently who have been running a night shelter for homeless people over the last eight months. They come from 13 different churches and a local synagogue in central London. As well as...
Playing Tune on Diversity’s Keyboard Takes Practice
The song "Ebony and Ivory" laments that, when played on the instrument of our lives, diversity is not easy. "Ebony and ivory live together in perfect harmony / Side by side on my piano keyboard, oh Lord, why don't we?"...
If You No Longer Believe, Does Your Faith Vanish?
When Friedrich Nietzsche declared that "God is dead," he added this question: "What kind of a sponge does it take to wipe away a whole horizon?" I often ask that question because just in my own lifetime there has been...
June 13, 2017
Hundreds Mourn Huntsville Teen Killed in Bus Crash (WAFF) Analysis: The Big Problem With What Trump Just Said About Religion in Schools (Washington Post) How Trump is Highlighting Divisions Among Southern Baptists...
4 Ways Your Church Can Give Dads Their Due
Father's Day is right around the corner, which begs the question: "Do dads really ever get a day?" While Father's Day is on every calendar, both print and electronic, most dads I know have to be reminded when their day...
Child Labor Exploitation Not Often Easy to Recognize
Her name was Iesha. We met on a train leaving the airport. It was her bright eyes and wide smile that drew my attention. We discussed her excitement about entering high school and that it meant that she got to take a...
Gallup: U.S. Adults’ Views on Abortion Remain Stable
Half of U.S. adults say abortion should be legal only in certain circumstances, a Gallup survey found. Affirmation of this view was at 57 percent in 2009, before declining to 50 percent in 2012. It has remained stable...
June 12, 2017
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Leaders Show Support for Arkansas Judge at Religious Freedom Rally (CBF) Membership Slide on Minds as Southern Baptists Gather (Arkansas Online) Southern Baptists Embrace Gender-Inclusive...
Clarifying religious persecution
By John D. Pierce For many Americans there is a constant need for clarification of religious persecution and liberty. Here is such an opportunity. More than 20 persons attending a Baptist worship service May 28 in...
How Your Church Benefits from Planning Liturgy
I attended church last weekend (Pentecost Sunday) with a dear friend, and she inquired about how widespread the practice of following the Christian calendar is among Baptists. Well, as you know, there are quite a few...
10 Ways to Vanquish Fear and Trust God’s Love
The Bible says, "Perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18), but there seems to be plenty of which to be afraid these days. Taking appropriate steps to be safe is common sense. Letting fear rule our behavior to the...
Southern Baptists: Total Churches Up, Other Areas Down
The Southern Baptist Convention saw its membership grow by 479 churches in 2016. While that represents a 1.02 percent increase, most other categories tracked by the convention saw a decrease. Weekly average worship...
June 9, 2017
While Comey Was Calling Trump a Liar, Trump Was Quoting the Bible (New York Magazine) Trump Tells Evangelical Supporters: We’re Under Siege (TIME) ‘It’s Time to Put a Stop on Attacks on Religion,’ Trump Tells...
How Your Church Can Help End Child Labor
Beyond beginning with the letter B, what do bricks, blueberries, bangles, beets, beans, bananas, beef, broccoli, brassware and bamboo have in common? Their tragic commonality is that they are among the numerous goods...