Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
‘Ghost In The Shell’
The trend of movies inspired by comics continues with "Ghost in the Shell." This comic is not a usual Western story. It is based on a Manga comic - the Japanese version of comics. "Ghost in the Shell" stars Scarlett...
Bible Usage Highest Among Boomers, Gen-Xers
Boomers and Gen-Xers are the ones keeping the Bible's place in U.S. life alive. This was a key finding in the American Bible Society's 2017 State of the Bible report based on Barna Group survey data. Thirty-nine...
April 7, 2017
'We Pray, We Dance, We Sweat:' Birmingham's Sixth Ave. Baptist Church Unites Community Through Dance (AL.com) Winston-Salem Church Offers Drive-Thru Prayers (WFMY News2) Church Madness: Louisville Church Competes for...
Church’s Baptismal Service Won’t Be Soon Forgotten
I pride myself on my ecumenical mindset and my desire to move beyond denominational boundaries. When it comes to baptisms, however, I am Baptist with a capital B. I love the aura of excitement in the congregation...
3 Bad Consequences When Your Church Seeks Unity
I like the story of the man from the Northeast who was in the South for a conference. He went to a diner for breakfast and asked for eggs, sausage and toast. As the server brought the order, the man noticed a little...
25 Forms of Human Trafficking Taking Place in U.S.
There are 25 types of human trafficking (modern slavery) currently taking place in the U.S., according to the Polaris Project, a nonprofit organization working to end human trafficking. "The Typology of Modern Slavery:...
April 6, 2017
Alabama Baptist, National Methodist, Episcopal Groups Urge Congress to Keep Politics Out of Churches (AL.com) Mississippi Religious Liberty Law Has Day in Court (BNG) Mississippi U.S. Senator to Trump: Allow Christians...
Gullibility often leads to false witness
By John D. Pierce Phineas Taylor Barnum, “P.T.,” for short, may have underestimated the birthrate of suckers. And among them are many who have been born twice. False information accepted and advanced as truth has been...
Profiles in Goodwill: Bill Brown
Bill Brown is senior pastor of Syndal Baptist Church and national chair of Australian Baptist Ministries. 1. Where did you grow up? Bendigo, a regional city in the State of Victoria in Australia. 2. What is your...
The Srebrenica Massacre – When Churches Were Silent
It was just a few years ago that I encountered for myself the horror that is simply known to the world as Srebrenica. With the leader of the Baptists in Bosnia-Herzegovina, I travelled to Portacari just outside...
How Churches Can Respond to Global Refugee Crisis – Part 2
The global refugee crisis is "not just a crisis in numbers; it is also a crisis of solidarity," Ban Ki Moon, former United Nations secretary general, stated in the U.N.'s "Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2015"...
April 5, 2017
Nearly 100 Religious Organizations Oppose Repeal of Johnson Amendment (BJC) Rangers' Spring Training Yields 'Incredible' Ministry (Baptist Standard) Church Upset with Cadbury for Dropping 'Easter' from Egg Hunt (New...
How Churches Can Respond to Global Refugee Crisis – Part 1
We are living in an unprecedented period of global displacement - the highest level on record, according to the UNHCR (U.N. Refugee Agency) - with more than 65 million people around the world who have been forced from...
Proclaiming Gospel Draws Ire from Powers of Injustice
A wild man preaching in the desert about repentance and calling people to be baptized is how we often image John the Baptist. We also visualize John baptizing Jesus - a significant starting point to Jesus' ministry....
1 in 4 Children Will Have Difficulty Accessing Clean Water
An estimated 600 million children (one in four) will struggle to access potable water by 2040 if current trends continue. That's the conclusion of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF)...
April 4, 2017
Still No Sign of Leader for White House Faith Partnership Office (RNS) Neglected US Civil Rights Church is Returned to its Glory (Bozeman Daily Chronicle) Tabernacle Baptist Church to Host Lecture on Robert Smalls,...
What the donkey dung said …
Archaeologists in the southernmost stretch of the Wadi Arabah recently uncovered a surprising find -- clods of 3,000-year-old donkey dung in an amazing state of preservation. The ancient ordure was found piled against...
When the World Acknowledges Genocide, Still Turns Away
Genocide continues to rumble forward in Darfur. Despite the fact that these grisly atrocities were the first in the history of the United States to be recognized as genocide while they were unfolding, today powers...
Adults Who Love Jesus But Not Church Mostly White, Women
U.S. adults who say they "love Jesus but not the church" represent a growing percentage of the population, according to the Barna Group. They are predominantly female (61 percent) and white (63 percent), with...
April 3, 2017
Packed Sunday Service Honors 13 Killed in Church Bus Crash (Kens5 San Antonio) First Baptist Waco Hails Prominent Tapestry (Waco Tribune) Florida College Exonerates Christian Student Suspended Over Muslim Professor's...
CBFNC Cliff Notes
"Tweet others as you would like to be tweeted" sparked one of countless smiles shared by participants gathered for the Annual Gathering of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina (CBFNC), meeting at First...