Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Is Bible study worth it?
By John D. Pierce Let’s be honest. A lot of purported group Bible study is little more than reading a few verses and asking, “What do you think?” Often the resulting conversation moves quickly from the biblical...
How Christian Hospitals Must See Past the Bottom Line
Any successful organization, especially a Christian one, must look beyond its own needs and agenda. When a hospital goes beyond its bottom-line concerns to address "outside" responsibilities, a transformation occurs....
Teaching Ghana’s Villages How to Repair Broken Wells
Women and children can be seen pumping water 24 hours a day from a lone well in upper Ghana. The silhouettes of these women quietly walking through the village during the night can be seen regularly. Three villages...
Despite Failings, Many Churches Still Reflect God’s Love
The local church saved my family. My mother-in-law died 25 years ago, and one of my wife's brothers, also a pastor, preached the eulogy. His title for his message was "How the Church Saved My Family." In it he...
March 16, 2017
Church-state Separationist Barry Lynn to Retire (RNS) Hawaii Judge Halts Trump's Second Attempt at Muslim-Targeted Travel Ban (Politico) Trump's Policies are Keeping Hispanics Away from Church (Christianity Today)...
Meet Lydia — and click, friend and follow Nurturing Faith
Welcome, Lydia Fields! — who is developing, expanding and driving social media for Nurturing Faith now. And we want you engaged in these wonderful ways of staying informed and sharing ideas too! Lydia knows social...
Profiles in Goodwill: Sandra Wisdom-Martin
Sandra Wisdom-Martin is executive director / treasurer of the national Woman's Missionary Union. 1. Where did you grow up? Southern Illinois. 2. What is your favorite verse, book or story in the Bible? Why? Galatians...
4 Principles to Ensure Short-Term Missions Succeed
Short-term mission teams are often criticized. Those who question this approach can cite plenty of evidence: projects left undone, harmful things said or done by volunteers, concepts of superiority and privilege that...
Ensuring Drinking Water Flows in Ethiopia, Kenya
The United Nations General Assembly established March 22 as World Water Day in 1933 to promote the wise stewardship of this most precious natural resource. The theme for 2017 is wastewater, but, with a twist, we can...
March 15, 2017
U.S. Revokes White Nationalist Group's Tax-Exempt Status (Washington Post) Library Named for Charleston Church Shooting Victim Targeted (WACH) Detroit Churches on ICE Raids: 'If You Want These Families, You're Going to...
Health Professionals Serve Through Short-Term Missions
God has been using health professionals to advance the mission of Christ through American Baptist International Ministries (IM) since 1821 when Dr. Jonathan Price arrived in Burma. Today, long- and short-term...
3 Major Temptations That Rural Ministers Battle
What are some temptations that small-town pastors face? I've been reflecting on this question while working on a sermon series based on Jesus' three temptations in Matthew 4. For Jesus, the first temptation was the...
How Your Church Can Transform From Tepid to Robust
Jesus was not even slightly interested in the personal preferences or comfort of his disciples, according to the Gospels. Frequently, his disciples tried to convince him to tone it down. They urged him to modify his...
March 14, 2017
Russell Moore, Frank Page Unite in Wake of Baptist Controversy Over Trump (Tennessean) Could Southern Baptist Russell Moore Lose His Job? More than 100 Churches Threaten to Pull Funds After Months of Trump Controversy...
In Memoriam: Friends, Colleagues Remember Robert Parham
Robert Parham, founder and executive director of Baptist Center for Ethics, died March 5 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville after a prolonged illness. Funeral services will be held at noon today...
My Friend’s Unswerving Devotion to Ministry, Family
I met Robert Parham when he was my grader in an ethics class at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, 40 years ago. He didn't like a paper I wrote and told me so, in no uncertain terms. I...
A step behind?
Attending some mid-year committee meetings of the Baptist World Alliance reminded me of how lucky I am to be a native English speaker -- and also how far behind much of the world that puts me. Representatives from a...
Luck and a legend
By John D. Pierce In recent years I’ve spent a good bit of time visiting daughters (or dawghters, as I call them) at the University of Georgia. [I’ll split the proceeds with any lawyer friend who wants to trademark...
‘I’ve Never Seen a Better Picture of Courage’
Lyrics to the hymn, "Like a River Glorious," have come to mind as I've reflected on my friendship with Robert Parham. "Like a river glorious is God's perfect peace / Over all victorious in its bright increase." I lost...
Teaching Missions to Kids in Our Self-Centered Culture
Whether God calls us to the ends of the earth or to the house down the street, we are all called to share the love of Christ with others. In a culture that continuously strives for "bigger and better" and encourages...
Men Hold Most Clergy Roles; Women Other Religious Positions
Female representation in religious occupations is a story of contrasts - a consistent minority in clergy positions but a consistent majority in other religious roles. Females made up around 47 percent of the U.S....