Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
January 18, 2017
U.S. Abortion Rate Falls to Lowest Level Since Roe v. Wade (National Public Radio) Religious Involvement Lessens Likelihood of Owning a Handgun (Science Daily) MLK Jr's Daughter Says 'God Can Triumph Over Trump,'...
Shoot better
By John D. Pierce Not all great photographers can teach their skills well, but Bruce Gourley certainly can. I’m indebted to him for helpful hints along many trails, shores and mountaintops. So Nurturing Faith is...
Praying for Your Elected Officials: A Subversive Idea
Did you pray for President Barack Obama during his presidency? Will you pray for President Donald Trump during his? If not, then you have become derelict in one of the most significant and strategic of our Christian...
The Most Powerful Thing You Can Do for POTUS
The 2016 campaign season proved once again how clearly our nation divides herself along political lines. This year's discourse among candidates felt less civil as debates degenerated into spectacle. Social media posts...
3 Lessons to Help You Engage News, Social Media
I started a six-month hiatus from Facebook and other social media in July 2016. The animosity of the 2016 political campaigns and election were undeniable motivators for this social media fast. There was, however, one...
January 17, 2017
Hundreds Gather in Downtown Birmingham for MLK Day March (Weld Birmingham) King Changed the World From Dexter Avenue Baptist Church (WKRG) 1957 SBC President Drew MLK's Praise (Biblical Recorder) First Woman and...
Honor where honor is due
I grew up back in the days when many people seem to think America was "great." It was a time of blatant and unadulterated racism, when it took the hard and dangerous work of activists like Martin Luther King, John...
Dr. King’s Influence on Theological Education
It is well known that Martin Luther King Jr. had a brilliant mind, especially about spiritual and theological matters. That influence was stimulated by his father, grandfather, uncles and the preachers of stature that...
Standing on the Shoulders of Unnamed Heroes
The national holiday marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. is an appropriate recognition of his contribution on many levels to our national life. It is a profound reminder that the long struggle to overcome...
January 16, 2017
Morgan Freeman Explores What Unites the World's Religions in 'The Story of God' (Huffington Post) 'We All Live Together': Local Black Leaders Call for Unity in the Minority Community After Trump's Election (Chicago...
Roberto Clemente’s ‘problem’ is ours too
By John D. Pierce Johnny Pesky, the late Boston Red Sox player and manager for whom Fenway Park’s right field foul (really, fair) pole is named, said he’d seen but one hitter who could get solid wood on the ball as...
January 14, 2017
This 1967 Speech at Riverside Baptist Church May Have Helped Put a Target on Martin Luther King's Back (USA Today) The Progressive National Baptist Convention Will Discuss Trump, Black Lives Matter During Virginia...
What threatens American Christianity, and who will say so?
By John D. Pierce Many church leaders face a serious dilemma created by deep political division and even acrimony within congregations. It’s hard to keep Christian communities together when participants are arguing...
What King Taught Us About How To See One Another
Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech in October 1967 that it is as revolutionary now as it was then. "I want to suggest some of the things that should begin your life's blueprint," King told a group of junior high...
‘Fences’
A son stands in the shadow of his domineering father and asks, "How come you ain't never liked me?" This powerful question lies at the heart of "Fences." August Wilson wrote the screenplay of this movie based on the...
Like King, I Have a Dream – For the Church
I had the privilege to grow up in a white family of Baptists in the 1950s and 1960s, which had a commitment to racial justice and civil rights. My parents and my grandparents understood that God loved every person and...
January 13, 2017
President Obama Signs Proclamation Creating Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument (AL.com) Obama Names Five New National Monuments, Including Southern Civil Rights Sites (Washington Post) King's Birthday is Not the...
Stepping Into a Journey Toward Reconciliation
The central focus of our daily lives has become survival - survival at any cost. Only at the end of the day do we think about dispersing what's left of our time, talent and treasures. And we call this "justice," and I...
Prophetic Priests and Priestly Prophets
I often felt an inescapable tension between the "priestly" and "prophetic" dimensions of my calling as a pastor. Priests help us with our relationship with God, while prophets call us to reflect on our relationship...
To Combat Hate, Churches Must Be Extremists for Love
Have you heard people breathing a sigh of relief that 2016 is over? What a crazy year with so many bizarre experiences. Perhaps the most disturbing development was watching the forces, rhetoric and actions of hate...
January 12, 2017
Independence Mall to Host $60M Attraction Celebrating Impact of Bible on American Life (PhillyVoice) Convicted Charleston Shooter Formally Sentenced to Death (KCBD) Fewer Churches Seem to be Planning Trips to See...