Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Can You Trust Muslim Kindness This Ramadan? – Part 2
The practice of "taqiyya" (dissimulation or concealment) has been redefined as a religious obligation for Muslims to lie to non-Muslims in order to serve the expansionist agenda of their religious community. This is a...
‘Wonder Woman’
"Wonder Woman" is the real deal. With the relatively unknown Gal Gadot in the title role, and Patty Jenkins as director, DC Comics has finally produced a superhero movie with both action and heart. If you are expecting...
June 8, 2017
Former United Way Executive Nominated to Lead CBF (Baptist News Global) Q&A Interview With Wendell Griffen (Word & Way) New Online Retailer Initiative Being Piloted to Generate Funds for Kentucky Southern...
Profiles in Goodwill: Doyle Sager
Doyle Sager is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Jefferson City, Missouri. 1. Where did you grow up? On a farm in northwest Missouri, near Albany (about an hour north of Kansas City). 2. What is your...
Can You Trust Muslim Kindness This Ramadan? – Part 1
"In post 9/11 anti-Muslim discourse, 'taqiyya' has been redefined as a religious obligation for Muslims to lie to non-Muslims not simply for survival, but in order to serve the expansionist agenda of their religious...
Smooth Sailing? Learning to Navigate Church Diversity
One of the most enriching and fatiguing things about church life these days is the vast diversity within most local congregations. During some recent days of self-reflection and ministry evaluation, I spent some time...
June 7, 2017
Barna Study Reveals America’s Most ‘Churched’ and ‘Unchurched’ Cities (Christian Post) Rhode Island Church Opens Doors to Jewish Congregation in Search of a New Home (ENS) Vermont Church Seeks Selfies in Unique...
Where Are Schools’ Standardized Tests for Empathy?
My math teacher daughter has a poster in her classroom that reads: "Today I will give you two tests. One will be in math, and the other will be in integrity. If you have to fail one of them, let it be the math one."...
U.S.’s Unholy Alliances with Saudi Arabia, Big Business
The United States has signed the biggest arms sale in its history (a staggering $100 billion) with Saudi Arabia. There is much irony here, not to mention moral revulsion. For consideration: 1. The Saudi Arabian air...
Slim U.S. Majority Says Religion Can Address Societal Woes
The number of U.S. adults affirming religion's efficacy in addressing societal problems seems to have stabilized in recent years, according to a recent Gallup survey. Despite an overall downward trend since the...
June 6, 2017
‘Terrorism Has No Religion’: Muslims Across the U.K. Slam London Attackers (Huffington Post) GOP Congressman: 'All of Christendom … is at War With Islamic Horror’ (Huffington Post) Security Expert: The United States is...
3 Levels of Response to Climate Change
Christians often don't talk much about climate change and global warming, but when they do, there are some pretty divergent views. There are those who staunchly argue that the hype around climate change is just...
Police Use Brute Force to Block Food for Refugees
A heavily armed CRS, or Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité (the French National Police), officer brought his baton down on my hand as he prevented me from carrying a box of food to a group of refugees. This...
Lynchings, Nooses and the Violence of Silence
Novelist James Baldwin looked down at the red clay hills of Georgia and thought "that this earth had acquired its color from the blood that dripped down from the trees." That lynching is a part of America's troubled...
June 5, 2017
This is Where Religious Intolerance is Higher on Religion, Culture, Race (Bloomberg) What Computer Modeling Can Tell Us About Religion (Boston University Today) Majority in US Still Say Religion Can Answer Most...
Get up and go!
As Susan and I have returned from a meaningful tour of Israel, Palestine, and Jordan -- and as we prepare for an upcoming trip back to Israel for a dig, then on to Bangkok for the Baptist World Alliance, then to Laos...
Refugees Cling to Life and Hope After Calais Jungle
I visited again in mid-May the site of the so-called "Jungle" in Calais, France, where refugees had created a makeshift camp. I caught up with friends in the warehouse, met new people in the Catholic worker house and...
Fish Out of Water: 4 Ways You Can Engage Culture
Water is essential to the life of a fish, but the fish is totally unaware of the presence of water until it is no longer there. The same is true of us and the culture in which we live. When Christians do discuss...
God’s Glorious Invitation to Envision a Better World
How do we confront the structural challenges that break people, rather than offer sticking-plaster solutions? I was invited recently to talk about "patterns of need on the Isle of Man." I joined colleagues from other...
June 1, 2017
Noose Found at Exhibit in African American Smithsonian Museum (Washington Post) Uproar Over Artist’s Painting of God as a Black Woman (New York Post) Pastor Skeptical as Louisville Awaits Governor’s Anti-Violence Plan...
What Keeps Your Church from Crossing Cultural Lines?
Many of us in the U.S. have a long-distance relationship with persons of other cultures. Attempts have been made to describe the nature of our interactions as a melting pot (used to describe a place where persons of...