Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
How Your Church Looks Forward in Post-Election World
It finally came to an end. The 2016 presidential election was the most divisive, vitriolic campaign in modern history. Only those who voted for or against Grover Cleveland in 1892 would recognize the malicious nature...
Neglecting Our Brothers, Sisters in Small Ways
I am the older of my two brothers. One is just 10½ months younger (so we share the same numerical age for six bemusing weeks) and the other, the baby of the family, is 2½ years younger. We are close in age, and...
November 18, 2016
'Tis the Season for Christians' Holiday Cup Anger at Starbucks (Charlotte Observer) FBC Dallas Pastor Calls Trump Protester 'Nothing but a Thug' (Fox4News) Mississippi Religious Leaders, Black Lawmakers Talk 2017...
Why Your Church Will Profit from Showing, Discussing ‘The Disturbances’
Your church will profit from showing our new feature-length film on what missionaries did to save lives in Nigeria in 1966 during a time of tribal genocide. The DVD and accompanying book are compelling, inspiring...
Where racism resides
By John D. Pierce Where does racism reside? Ultimately, it finds its resting place in human hearts. And there is even more evidence recently that a large number of such hearts huddle under church steeples on Sundays....
When Condemning Hate, Avoid Broad Stereotypes
Don't assess an entire group based on its most extreme representatives. The principle, in brief, is this: Avoid stereotypes. This should be adopted as a universal "best practice" in how we view and assess others, yet...
Saving the Planet Can Cost You a Pretty Penny
I love the idea of being "green." Buy organic; recycle; carbon offset; take public transport or walk, instead of taking the car - I am up for all of that. And then my good thoughts and intentions come grinding to a...
How Will You Respond in Divisive Election’s Aftermath?
I heard someone discussing the psychology of "moral elevation" recently. By that they meant that just as anger, disgust and depression can be triggered by reactions to negative things said and done by ourselves and...
November 17, 2016
Church Vandalized with Swastikas, Woman's Car Window Smashed (ABC7News) Evangelical Christians Owe Their Fellow Americans Something Better (Washington Post) A Letter to My Evangelical Friend Who Betrayed Me (and All...
‘The Disturbances’ Offers Important Lessons to Be Learned
A few of my friends are mentioned in Robert Parham's book, "The Disturbances: The Untold Story of How Missionaries Saved Lives in a Time of Tribal Genocide." They served as missionaries in Northern Nigeria when the...
24/7 News Onslaught Makes You Want to Run – But Don’t
I can't bear to listen to the news. A friend shared this sentiment with me recently, reflecting an experience that I am beginning to hear with some regularity. The feeling with which she spoke exposed a vulnerability...
Why Your Church Needs More Than One Theologian
A first-time visitor to our worship service a few years ago said to me abruptly, "I am looking for a church where the preacher preaches the Bible and doesn't talk about theology and all of that kind of stuff." I knew...
November 16, 2016
Hopeful and Relieved, Conservative White Evangelicals See Trump Win as Their Own (Washington Post) White Evangelicals, Black Evangelicals Worlds Apart on Donald Trump (NOLA) Global Evangelical Leaders: Trump's Win Will...
Lacking Moral Imagination to Care for Others: Part 2
The vision of humanity is inherently myopic. We are barely able to see the needs of our neighbor in the house, apartment or even cubicle beside us, let alone to recognize the needs of our neighbor across borders. Yet...
Christian Reaction to Election: Don’t Lose Focus
The New Testament writers never seemed that concerned with who happened to be Caesar at any particular time. This may not seem like a big deal, but, besides the fact that Caesar had considerable impact on their lives,...
November 15, 2016
Maryland Church Targeted by Racist Vandals: 'Trump Nation, Whites Only' (New York Daily News) Philadelphia Church Shields Undocumented Father from Deportation (Huffington Post) Trump Won. Here's How 20 Evangelical...
Lacking Moral Imagination to Care for Others: Part 1
I had a chat with the water-filter guy. He was bemoaning the fact that, as a former procurement manager in Dubai, he had not been able to find a suitable job after returning to Lebanon. This, he attributed to the large...
Faith Leaders Urge Unity, Civility, Prayer After U.S. Election
Calls for unity and civility, as well as prayers for elected leaders, were voiced by faith leaders following a contentious U.S. presidential election. Responses from Baptist leadership included: "It's time we come...
November 14, 2016
Churches Vandalized with Anti-Gay, Nazi Trump-Inspired Slurs (USA Today) Wilshire Baptist Church Considers Allowing LGBT Members (Fox4News) Texas Baptist Association Threatens to Expel Churches Allowing LGBT Members...
The Day After a Season of Dysfunctional Politics: “Always Stay Humble and Kind”
The best song of the year at the Country Music Association's 2016 awards was "Humble and Kind." It's a timely, needed song for getting America back to basics after a bruising, nasty, disappointing presidential...
Supertramp, Billy Graham and Texas Baptists
By John D. Pierce Christianity Today published a recent tribute marking the 98th birthday of Billy Graham. The now-aging evangelist was instrumental in the founding of the publication. In the friendly article (titled...