Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Our Collective Humanitarian Failure in Syria – Part 2
The Syrian crisis is a seminal moment in history, requiring the international community to take stock of how it responds to such conflicts. I explained previously how Syria is the defining humanitarian aid crisis of...
January 4, 2017
Faith on the Hill: The Religious Composition of the 115th Congress (Pew Forum) Catholics in U.S. Congress: One-Third of House, One-Quarter of Senate (Catholic Register) Evangelicals Target 12 States with $24 Million...
Operation Inasmuch Packs Food for Hungry
The Operation Inasmuch ministry has equipped and motivated congregations to minister to people in need in their own communities for 20 years. God has used the Inasmuch model of community ministry to mobilize nearly...
Our Collective Humanitarian Failure in Syria – Part 1
There are times in history when, because of the horrors of the events, the international community is forced to take stock. In recent history, the Biafran crisis of the late 1960s was one such time, out of which...
January 3, 2017
The New Face of Mother Emanuel: Congregation Chooses New Pastor (CNN) 'Obama & Other Muslims Not Welcome Here': NM Convenience Store's Signs Spark Outrage (MIC) Mormon Tabernacle Member Quits, Refuses to Sing for...
Bill and Audrey Cowley: EthicsDaily.com’s 2016 Baptists of Year
Bill and Audrey Cowley are retired Southern Baptist missionaries. They showed remarkable creativity and courage during a time of tribal genocide in Nigeria in 1966. They also built through steady steps one of Africa's...
EthicsDaily.com: 2016 in Review
The release of a new documentary, 498 columns written by 139 unique contributors from 23 U.S. states and 11 nations, 125 news articles, nine photo news stories, and two revised and re-released Bible studies. These...
Why You Can’t Communicate Enough to Your Church
Lack of communication is often a leading issue in church conflicts. As a resource minister for American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky, I was occasionally called in to address church conflict. While there...
Cowleys Cultivated Nigerian Talent at Baptist School
EthicsDaily.com has just named Bill and Audrey Cowley, retired missionaries to Nigeria, as its 2016 Baptists of the Year. Bill and Audrey Cowley not only saved lives during a tribal genocide in Nigeria in 1966, but...
‘Moana’
I find myself viewing animated films on a regular basis since I have several young grandchildren. Sometimes this is enjoyable; other times it is a duty to be endured. Seeing "Moana" was the former. The story of a...
Is Peace on Earth and Goodwill Toward All Possible?
Robert Parham noted recently the oddity and the timeliness of God's message of "peace on earth" to Mary and Joseph during the Christmas season. He stated that peace was a ridiculous notion back then as it is now, a...
December 30, 2016
Biblical Archaeology's Top 10 Discoveries of 2016 (Christianity Today) How Trump's Victory Turns Into Another 'Lost Cause' (CNN) Democrats Have a Religion Problem (The Atlantic) Religious Police Officers in New York...
December 29, 2016
Looking Ahead: Religious Liberty Issues in 2017 (Baptist Joint Committee) What Percent of Alabamians are Baptist? (AL.com) Charleston Shooter Won't Call Witnesses, Offer Evidence During Penalty Phase (NPR) Mercer's...
Dr. Bob Cates ‘went about doing good’
By John D. Pierce Dr. Robert M. (Bob) Cates of Rome, Ga., died yesterday (Dec. 28) from recently discovered pancreatic cancer. Our prayers are with his wife, Martha, and other family in grieving his loss. For many...
6 Reasons That Music is Vital to Genuine Worship
There is no walk of life, other than in a religious setting, where the term worship is properly used. We use it as a metaphor to try and express profound respect or love for another person - "He worships the very...
How Well Does Your Church Develop Disciples?
What do you call it in your church? Christian education, Christian formation, faith formation, spiritual formation? These titles reflect our evolving understanding of disciple development in faith communities. At this...
December 28, 2016
Top Religion Stories of 2016 (Patheos) Charlotte Church Video Goes Viral With Comic Video on Gratitude (Charlotte Observer) Mercer's Special Collections Hold University's Baptist Identity (Macon Telegraph)...
Diverse Audience Views, Orders, Praises “The Disturbances”
"The Disturbances" has been screened in a diverse group of churches and educational institutions since its September 2016 release, with more screenings planned for 2017. The film - already screened 15 times in six U.S....
Does Your Church Need a Recombobulation Area?
I've seen a lot of unusual things, people and events in airports. It takes something special to get a reaction from me. Recently, I saw something that stopped me in my tracks. In fact, I took a photo of the sign just...
Reflecting on Your Past as You Prioritize Your Future
Waiting for New Year's Day can be an exercise in passive patience or an episode of agitated impatience or even a process of slow release anticipation. Alternatively, waiting can be a time of fallow resting, allowing...
Looking Back at BCE / EthicsDaily.com’s Busy 2016
Busy and fruitful. That is how I would describe 2016 for Baptist Center for Ethics / EthicsDaily.com. We hit the ground running following New Year's celebrations and didn't slow down. In addition to my role in...