Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Spiritual Fitness Tracker: How to Get Your ‘10,000 Steps’
My wife and I gave each other personal fitness trackers last Christmas. These are tools that you wear on your wrist. The tracker keeps count of the number of steps that you take during the day, the miles that you walk,...
July 20, 2016
Baptist Church in DeKalb County Rallies to Help Muslim Neighbor (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) Showing Hospitality – Smoke Rise Baptist Church (CBF) 'God Break Racism!' Evangelicals on D.C. Mall Pray for Hope and...
July 19, 2016
The Declining Influences of White Christian America, in Charts (US News) Cave Art Reveals Religious Encounters Between Europeans and Native Americans (UPI) From Mass Shooters to Tornadoes, Church Preparedness Ramps Up...
Will Your Compassion Break Through Racial Barriers?
Although there are many lines that divide our country today, the most visible and contentious one is the line of race - in particular how black and white people perceive and act toward each other. The reality of...
During Turmoil, Modern-Day Prophets are Guiding Lights
When Jesus calls Matthew to be a disciple (Matthew 9:9-13), we're told that faithful Jews questioned Jesus' choice because Matthew was a tax collector who hung out with the wrong kind of people. To respond to the...
Survey says…
By John D. Pierce Here’s the bottom line: Conservative Christians are the least flexible when considering social change and the most likely to blame their steadfast resistance on God. Most Americans (6 out of 10) don’t...
Facing Racism: Do We Really Know What Others Feel?
Much that has been said in recent days regarding all the shooting incidents has generated more heat than light. The one thing nearly everyone agrees on is that each shooting is a tragedy that should not have happened....
Even Adults Can Learn From the Children’s Message
A cartoon in my Facebook newsfeed showed a pastor in front of the church behind the pulpit saying, "There's been a complaint from a few of the members that the sermons are too intellectual. The following adult members...
Corrections Spending Has Outpaced Education for Three Decades
Corrections' budgets at the state and local level "have increased about three times as fast as spending on elementary and secondary education," according to a U.S. Department of Education report. There was 107 percent...
Playing catch-up
Blogging about a trip that's more fun than work feels a bit self-serving, or like bragging, but I figure some folks might enjoy the pictures and a reflection here and there, so I press on. It's easier to read than...
‘The Free State of Jones’
"The Free State of Jones" is a heartbreaking movie. The film stars Matthew McConaughey and is about Newton Knight, the rebel against the Confederacy in Jones County, Mississippi, during and after the Civil War. I won't...
Global Baptist Gathering Expands Christian Community
I didn't celebrate July 4 this year - at least not in a typical manner. No fireworks. No hot dogs and hamburgers cooked on a grill. The only red, white and blue that I was around that day was on an American Airlines'...
Circle of Protection Request Meeting With Clinton, Trump to Discuss Hunger and Poverty
The Circle of Protection (CoP) is requesting a meeting with both presumptive 2016 U.S. presidential nominees to discuss their plans for assisting the poor and hungry at home and abroad. The alliance of Christian...
July 15, 2016
Megachurch Pastor Robert Jeffress Would Vote for Trump Over Jesus (Raw Story) Baptist Journalist: Roger Ailes is Our Gun-Toting, Bible-Clinging Culture War General (Fox News) White Conservative Christian America Not...
Questions Abound As Nation Grapples with Violence
Haven't we had enough of rage and death? Hasn't enough blood been shed to convince us that this is a way that leads down into a pit from which there is no return, no hope and no end? Is there no capacity for mutual...
Australian Baptist Leader’s Long-Term, Healthy Ministry Tips
How has he managed to "stay fresh over the long haul," sustaining a 40-year ministry with the same congregation? That question is often posed to Bill Brown, senior pastor of Syndal Baptist Church in Australia and...
Churches Provide Sanctuary as South Sudan Struggles to Keep Peace
South Sudan found itself on the brink of civil war on Thursday, July 7 - two days before the fifth anniversary of the nation's independence. A new round of fighting broke out in the capital city of Juba between Sudan...
A Modern-Day Exodus Tale Unfolds Across Europe
We all know the Exodus story. The story of the Israelites' captivity as enslaved peoples in Egypt and their harsh treatment by the authorities at the time. We know of their miraculous escape led by Moses through the...
Cold days, warm fellowship
Joining this year's Nurturing Faith Experience in Yellowstone and the Tetons has been quite the experience so far, with an unexpected arctic blast that brought July temperatures into the 30s, but failed to put a chill...
How the Church Can Speak Up for the Thin Blue Line
Dallas Police Chief David Brown gave a remarkable, live 25-minute interview with CNN's Jake Tapper about the shooting in Dallas. I caught a portion of the Sunday afternoon interview. I was surprised by what I heard. I...
Video Interviews Highlight Global Baptists
More than 50 nations were represented in Vancouver during the Baptist World Alliance's 2016 annual gathering held last week. Baptist leaders from Australia, Fiji, Liberia and the United States spoke with...