Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
July 29, 2016
Democrats Claim Patriotism, God and American Exceptionalism at Convention (Washington Post) The Divided Soul of the Democratic Party (Religion News Service) Renew Missouri Invites Evangelical Environmentalists to...
New Stories Are Needed to Change Cultural Ethos
Syrian Mohed Altrad has a remarkable life narrative. He has an inspiring story that offers a constructive counter-narrative to the anti-immigration fever in the United States, the anti-refugee venom in Europe and the...
Closing Loopholes to Protect Our Girls
A new law that took effect on July 3, 2016, in Virginia made it illegal for a 13-year-old girl to get married. It applied to 13-year-old boys as well, but the reasons the law was needed was mainly because of the...
July 28, 2016
Who's Backing Trump and Who's For Clinton? The Battle for Evangelical Endorsements (Christian Today) Bill O'Reilly Says Slaves Who Built White House Were 'Well-Fed' (TIME) O'Reilly's Comments on White House Slaves Echo...
New Film on Missionaries in a Time of Genocide
EthicsDaily.com is releasing a new feature-length film on what missionaries did in Nigeria in 1966 during a time of tribal genocide. It is an untold story that is finally getting its due on its 50th anniversary....
Key Moral Issues Arise in Democratic Platform
A key item of business is adopting the Democratic Party's platform during the convention's gathering this week in Philadelphia. Like the Republican Party's platform passed last week, the Democratic platform will define...
July 27, 2016
Arkansas Baptist College Announces New President (Arkansas Matters) Baptist Joint Committee Joins Nevada Brief in Opposing School Vouchers (Baptist Standard) David Duke's Remarks on Senate Backing Put Donald Trump's...
Things I learned in Montana
I've been home from the Northwest for nearly a week now, but my mind (and my computer) remain loaded with powerful images of austere peaks, lush meadows, vibrant wildlife, and cottony clouds that fill mountain clefts...
10 Suggestions to Ensure You Vacation Well
I'm not known for my rest and relaxation skills. After a fun weekend of hanging out together, a friend said, "Renée, you should have a warning sticker on you that says, 'Warning: Highly Active Person.'" My idea of a...
7 Options to Survive the Coming Pastor Shortage
I assisted dozens of churches as they sought a new pastor during my 14 years serving as a judicatory minister. It was always a challenge to find a pastor for smaller churches, and it became increasingly more difficult...
July 26, 2016
Tim Kaine's Jesuit Spirituality Just Might Appeal to 'Nones' (Religon News Service) Trump Promises Change; Southern Baptists Remain Divided (Biblical Recorder) 'Atheism' is Still a Slur in American Life, DNC Emails...
Rejecting Muslim Stereotyping, Focusing on God’s Mission
May 2016 was the centennial anniversary of the Sykes-Picot Agreement between Britain and France. Following secret negotiations in 1916, Britain and France agreed on the new borders of the Middle East as they predicted...
Which Set of Questions Best Defines Your Church?
What drives your church? The questions we are asking and answering reveal what we are really about. All of us, individuals and congregations, are answering a set of questions through how we live. When it comes to...
July 25, 2016
Baptist University of the Americas Moving to New Location (San Antonio Express News) Officials Remove Christian Flag from Bryan County Superior Courtroom (WJCL) Dem VP Candidate Tim Kaine Heads to Church, Sings in...
Church Isn’t the Place to Avoid Hard Questions
Do you like questions? I question how much I like questions. Sure, for someone like me who likes to have a good discussion or debate, questions are a powerful tool. They can innocently be used to obtain new information...
When Anxiety Attacks: 3 Questions to Correct Your Course
Anyone feeling anxious? A better question: Anyone not feeling anxious? God's people in the 21st century suffer a serious malady. We mouth the words of faithfulness while we live lives dominated by anxiety and...
July 22, 2016
How Donald Trump Divided and Conquered Evangelicals (Rolling Stone) Dobson Endorses Trump, While Evangelical Leaders Advise Voting for the Lesser Evil (Christianity Today) Trump Supporter Jerry Falwell, Jr. on Russell...
When You Struggle to Love Your Neighbor
"The most damaging idolatry is not the golden calf but enmity against the other." The renowned anthropologist, Rene Girard, wrote that, and its truth is not easily admitted. Most of us like to believe that we are...
12 Healthy Trends Emerging in Revitalizing Churches
There are a lot of adjectives that can be used to describe churches: Vibrant churches, mega churches, healthy churches, dying churches, transitioning churches and emerging churches, just to name a few. While some may...
July 21, 2016
Ben Carson Defends Connecting Hillary Clinton to Lucifer (CNN) Mike Pence's Journey: Catholic Democrat to Evangelical Republican (New York Times) KKK Fliers Distributed in Some North Georgia Neighborhoods (Atlanta...
Key Moral Issues Arise in GOP Platform
A key item of business at political conventions will be adopting party platforms. Offering a party's official take on key issues, platforms serve to define a party and guide its candidates and activists for four years....