Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Another perspective from another Baptist editor
By John D. Pierce, Executive Editor, Nurturing Faith Journal Many persons of a variety of religious backgrounds — including this Baptist editor — are alarmed by Georgia Baptist editor Gerald Harris’ insinuation that...
In the next issue…
By John D. Pierce The upcoming July-August issue of Nurturing Faith Journal & Bible Studies is chocked full of good, original content found nowhere else in print or online. The newly redesigned and expanded journal...
When It’s Time to Stare Down the Elephant
I climbed into an open vehicle for a night safari with about 15 other people one evening in Kruger National Park in South Africa. For the first two hours, we saw nothing except for a glimpse of the uninspiring backside...
‘A Beautiful Constraint’
One of the most significant "leadership" books I've read in the last couple of years is "A Beautiful Constraint: How to Transform Your Limitations into Advantages and Why It's Everyone's Business." Adam Morgan and Mark...
June 7, 2016
Ebenezer Baptist Church Remembers the Life, Legacy of Muhammad Ali (11Alive, Atlanta) Near Ferguson, Southern and National Baptists Leaders to Hold Meeting on Racial Reconciliation (Religion News Service) Bible Study,...
Martin Luther King: Extremists for Hate or for Love?
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" would make it on my list of must-reads for American cultural literacy. Written as he awaited release from a Birmingham, Alabama, jail in 1963, King explained why...
Does Your Church Need to Recalibrate Themselves?
Recently, I read a local church notice board with a mixture of amusement and sadness. At the top of the notice board was its headline: "Presenting the unchanging Gospel of Jesus Christ in a relevant way to a changing...
June 6, 2016
Muhammad Ali Was More Than Just a Boxer: 9 Profiles on His Life and Legacy (Vox) Ali's Brother Weeps During Church Service (Salon) U.S. Muslims Recall Muhammad Ali as Hero for Their Faith (Religion News Service)...
Pride goeth before …
"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall," according to the familiar King James translation of Proverbs 16:18. I was reminded of that on a recent visit to the ancient Greek city of Delphi,...
Many of Us Share Guilt in Exalting False God of Football
Like the people of ancient times, we still struggle with false gods. Today's false gods come in the form of money, sexual gratification, fancy homes, political power, romantic love, financial security, our looks,...
Human Rights Under Siege in Middle East, North Africa: Part 2
A greater and general regression is ongoing with respect to fundamental human rights in the stable states in the Middle East and North Africa - a trend that necessitates understanding the West's collusion with human...
June 3, 2016
BGEA/Orthodox Religious Liberty Summit Canceled After Fallout from Pope and Patriarch Meeting (Christian Today) Conservative Christians Anxious Over Declining Clout (Fox40) Possible Third-Party Presidential Candidate...
Reforms to Payday Loan Industry Deserve Church Support
There are more payday loan and title loan companies in Missouri than Starbucks, McDonald's and Wal-Marts combined. Think about that. It's hard to imagine being charged 450 percent on a 30-day loan for $650, but I saw...
Human Rights Under Siege in Middle East, North Africa: Part 1
The Facebook page of an Egyptian friend of mine was deactivated recently following his arrest by government authorities so that the opinions he expressed could not be used against him during investigations. This...
Report: Nearly 46 Million Enslaved Worldwide
Slavery is "more rampant than any time in history" with 45.8 million slaves worldwide, according to the 2016 Global Slavery Index published by the Walk Free Foundation (WFF). Fifty-eight percent of this total are...
Choosing the Apocalypse: Disaster or Utopia
Zombies. "The Walking Dead." "The X-Files." We live in a time of apocalyptic fiction. Zika virus. Ebola. Superbugs. Transgendered restrooms. Banning Muslim entry into America. We live in a time of apocalyptic fear....
Changing Our Focus from What’s Wrong to What’s Right
We start too many things with the sentiment, "Here's what's wrong." Let's be honest: A lot of things are wrong. A lot of things can get our blood boiling, our hearts pounding, our anger kindled and our hearts heavy....
Living Longer
"The ultimate [baby] boomer game today," writes Timothy Egan, "is competitive longevity." He was commenting in an op-ed on notable editor/writer Michael Kinsley's self-documented struggle with Parkinson's disease. A...
June 1, 2016
Jimmy Carter Makes One Final Push to End Racism (The Atlantic) Religion: Millennials and Worship (Montgomery Advertiser) Bible Study Group in Texas Leads to One of Most Historic Baseball Card Finds Ever (Forbes) The...
Has U.S. Society Reached a Moral Turning Point?
The U.S. is as divided as it's been in decades. We're divided politically and culturally. Geographically, we're becoming increasingly divided into ever more concentrated conservative and liberal pockets. We're...
10 Reflections Gleaned from a Decade of Pastoring
A small, fractured, "gray" congregation took a chance at change and "life" and called their first African-American and first female pastor 10 years ago. As I reflect upon the past decade of ministry, I've come to...