Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
3 Questions to Ask as You Study the Bible
Every so often, I stumble upon a new way to read and study the Bible. Scripture tells us that it is good to meditate on God's Word day and night (Psalm 1:2), but it is difficult to know how to dig deep in its...
Praying and Doing: Getting the Balance Right
Oliver Cromwell, during the English Civil War (1642-51), is supposed to have told his soldiers, "Put your trust in God, but keep your powder dry." A perfect blend of the "spiritual" and the "practical." And that blend,...
April 13, 2016
How Religion Affects Everyday Life (Pew Research Center) Trump Touts Wrong Evangelical Leader as a Supporter (CNN) Mississippi Governor's Church a Window into Gay Rights Debate (Clarion Ledger) North Carolina Governor...
Of prophets, and fools
Prophetic words are needed, but not always welcome, especially when the prophets are among us, or when their words hit too close to home. It was Jesus who said “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s...
What Role Does Marriage Play in Poverty?
Marriage plays a significant role in the struggle against poverty, contrary to the argument that is made in some liberal quarters. For reasons that I don't understand, some have an almost reptilian reaction against the...
Is There a “Christian Economics”? Part 1
For good reason economics is traditionally labeled "the dismal science." Even the best economists in the world radically disagree with each other about how best to predict a society's economic future and how best to...
When Your Church Dives into Despair, Try 20-Year Test
There is a school of thought running rampant in congregations these days. It is revealed in statements like the following: "This is the worst pastor/ group/recession/president/ situation/era/event that we have ever...
April 12, 2016
The Bible is Really Old, Handwriting Analysis Reveals (Live Science) Backlash Grows Over Widespread Christian Discrimination Against LGBT Community (NBC News) 95 Mississippi Authors, Including John Grisham, Call for...
Getting off course
By John D. Pierce Jordan Spieth’s final-round meltdown at the Masters yesterday is the top sports story today. In tragedies of all kinds, there is more emphasis on the one who lost than on the victor. It was a most...
How You Can Be a Good Steward of Your Anger
The anger is palpable, isn't it? The presidential primary campaigns of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have, in different ways, focused and channeled a lot of the anger people feel. Trump and Sanders diverge radically...
When You’re Helpless: The Power of Prayer and Ritual
In the movie based upon Jane Austen's classic novel, "Sense and Sensibility," there's a very poignant scene where one of her young heroines, suffering from acute pneumonia, is lying in bed hovering between life and...
April 11, 2016
Charlotte Church Feeds the Bodies and Souls of Uptown's Homeless (Charlotte Observer) North Carolina Funding Church: 93 Percent of 'Scholarship Program' Vouchers Go To Religious Schools (Raw Story) On Divorce,...
Are U.S. Christians Being Persecuted – Or Just Whiny?
The topic of Christian persecution came up during a pastor's roundtable luncheon I attended a few years ago. I was gathered with a dozen other pastors who met three to four times a year for fellowship, a nice meal in a...
How Much Should You Pay Your Bivocational Pastor?
What is the proper compensation for a bivocational minister? Churches who ask me this question are often concerned that they are not adequately compensating their bivocational minister but are not sure what would be...
April 8, 2016
Why the Onslaught of Anti-LGBT-Discrimination 'Religious Freedom' Laws? (CNN) Tennessee Southern Baptist Leader Urges Support for Revived Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill (Nashville Scene) Tennessee Bill Would Allow Counselors...
Trump, Cruz Tied Among Evangelical Voters
One of the dominant media narratives about religion in the 2016 presidential campaign remains that Republican frontrunner Donald Trump wins among self-identified evangelicals. However, an analysis of the voting data...
Martin Luther King Jr.: A Theologian with Passion for Reconciliation
Though revered and claimed as an inspiration by people with a wide range of religious and political commitments, Martin Luther King Jr., as he often reminded audiences, was nurtured in the black church. King demanded...
3 Questions to Help Your Church Engage its Community
I don't hear it much anymore, but it still happens. While doing a church consultation on engaging their community, someone in the room will tell this story: "I remember back in 1968 when this church began. We went door...
Georgia Baptists Have Opportunity to See Preview of ‘The Disturbances’
Georgia Baptists will have an opportunity to hear a previously untold story about Christian missions. EthicsDaily.com's forthcoming documentary, "The Disturbances," will be previewed during a breakout session at 10:15...
What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?
Conversations about vocation and calling are one of many gifts I receive from my students at Mars Hill University. As they get closer to graduating, they inevitably ask questions like: "What's next? Grad school? What...
Economically Fragile Greece Faces Refugee Crisis
My wife and I recently returned to Athens, Greece, to minister among Greeks and Albanians. The lives, fortunes and misfortunes of many there continue to matter to us, despite the reality that we no longer live among...