Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Agreement on Warming Climate, Disagreement on Why
Widespread agreement exists in the U.S. that the global climate is warming, but the reasons behind the temperature increase are debated, according to a Gallup survey. Sixty-three percent of respondents said that they...
March 30, 2016
Civil Rights Activist Visits First Baptist Williamsburg to 'Pass the Torch' (Virginia Gazette) First Baptist Church Tuscaloosa Expels Alabama Governor, Female Staff Over Admitted Extramarital Affair (Christian Today)...
Recalling Light-hearted Moments Over 25 Years
Babs Baugh reminds me that I'm too serious, that I need to lighten up. And of course, she is right. My seriousness does come with the territory. Immigration, Baptist-Muslim interfaith relations, poverty, incivility,...
Bibles Aplenty But Few Folks Actually Read Them
How is there still massive ignorance of the Bible when it is more widely available than ever before? I reflected on this dilemma of mass Bible ownership versus declining Bible "engagement" at the end of my Weekly...
How Do We Curb Alcohol-Linked Deaths in U.S.?
Many of the great 19th-century women leaders in the U.S. were against what they considered three great evils: slavery, discrimination against women (including no voting rights) and alcohol. The first two evils have...
March 29, 2016
California Church Forgoes Easter Services to Feed Homeless (Santa Rosa Press Democrat) Georgia Governor Nathan Deal Vetoes Religious Anti-LGBT Discrimination Bill (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) ACLU Sues Over...
Evangelicals Minimally Engaged in Presidential Campaign
U.S. evangelicals are minimally engaged in the 2016 presidential campaign, despite significant focus by media outlets on the importance of gaining the evangelical vote. "Only one out of five evangelicals (20 percent)...
How God Opened Doors for One Immigrant’s Journey
Noemi was 16 years old when she left her home in Ejido Manacal in Chiapas, Mexico. The oldest of seven siblings, she saw how her mother and father, a Pentecostal pastor, struggled to make ends meet. Manacal is a...
March 28, 2016
Obama and Family Attend Easter Service at Historic Church (ABC News) Church Preservation Battles Heat Up in Pennsylvania (CBS Local) Florida Governor Signs Law Ending Funding to Clinics Providing Abortions (Reuters)...
March 26, 2016
Easter Traditions: Bunnies, Eggs, Whippings, and Crucifixion (National Geographic) Easter in Jerusalem: Record 850 Gaza Christians Permitted for Christian Holy Day in Bethlehem (Gospel Herald) Alabama Church Organist,...
March 25, 2016
Devout Christians Across the World Celebrate Easter (Daily Mail) Georgia Christian Parents, Offended by the 'Far East' Religion of Yoga, Get 'Namaste' Banned from School (Washington Post) U.K.: Pottery Fragment Offers...
3 Ways That Politics May Affect Your Church
Christian churches have a grand opportunity in the United States from now through the year's end. This presidential campaign is more raucous and polarizing than we've seen in some time. Christian disciples with very...
Women More Active Than Men in Many Global Faith Communities
A gender gap is evident in religious engagement around the world and particularly in the United States. Analyzing data from six faith traditions - Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews and the religiously...
Beeting the food trends
By John D. Pierce Much of the food my family consumes now had no presence or even awareness in my childhood home: quinoa, orzo, sushi, kale to name just a few. Words, nor foods, like couscous, arugula, chipotle,...
What Role Do You Play in Passion Drama?
Luke's rather long portrayal of the first part of Good Friday starts early in the morning at a gathering of the Sanhedrin. This "supreme court" of Judaism is where the religious leaders solidified their position that...
Being Christian Doesn’t Mean Being Against Islam
What do you believe? How do you decide what you believe? Is it because you read it somewhere, someone you know and trust told it to you, or you witnessed or experienced something that led you to draw a particular...
Heart Attack is Reminder that Creation Care Includes Us
My recent heart attack and subsequent bypass surgery have reminded me about the importance of caring for all of creation, including our bodies. Even with the limited exposure that I've had to the outdoors in recent...
March 24, 2016
Supreme Court Deeply Divided Over Religious Freedom, Reproductive Rights (USA Today) Why Five Christian Colleges and Southern Baptists Miss Scalia in Obamacare Case (Christianity Today) Disney Speaks Out Against...
Ups and downs in Raleigh
March 18 was a happy day in Raleigh, as about 900 smiling North Carolina Cooperative Baptists gathered for a full day of worship, learning, business, and joyful fellowship at Hayes Barton Baptist Church. Participants...
Mentoring: Jack Causey’s good cause
By John D. Pierce This month Jack Causey wraps up his good work with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina. In that role since 2007, Jack has assisted churches in times of transition and has been a...
Her Faith Was Renewed When Her Neighbor Did This
Foot washing will be a part of many Maundy Thursday services tomorrow. The act is intimate and can be uncomfortable to participants. At the Last Supper, the act as performed by Jesus was both practical and the perfect...