Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
How Should You Respond to People Begging?
For many people living or working in large cities, being asked for money is an everyday experience. It can often cause feelings of distress, guilt and confusion. What is the best way to respond to someone asking you...
Do Churches Participate in Euthanasia by Omission?
Euthanasia is the act or practice of killing someone who is very sick or injured in order to prevent further suffering. Some call it "mercy killing." Usually it involves a decision made by someone who has the power to...
Watch out; they’re grabbing another one!
By John Pierce Words get redefined continually. Sometimes pejorative meanings simply evolve. For example, the English word “awful” once meant “full of awe,” or “awesome.” It was even used to describe God. Today it...
Why Church Disciple Programs Yield Religious Bullies
So many of the discipleship programs I have been through have focused on teaching me to do religious things like prayer, Bible study and tithing. These are all good things to do. But here's the thing that stands out to...
Ministry Occurs When You’re Willing to Show Up
People still ask me why I became a minister after a long career as a university teacher and administrator. Some of them graciously acknowledge that I was doing ministry even when my job title was "professor" or "dean."...
Refugees in French Camp Endure ‘Awful Conditions’
To leave people in such an inhuman place is a scandal, whatever one's views on immigration. That was the response of Sam King, pastor of Calne Baptist Church in Wiltshire, United Kingdom, who recently saw the shocking...
October 21, 2015
Six Fires at St. Louis Churches Under Investigation, Reward Offered (NBC News) Vote is 20-1 on Flying Confederate Flag at Tenn Courthouse (CBS News) African-American Southern Baptist Church Booted for Calling Female...
A Few Ugly Words about Beautiful People
One of the world's leading fashion designers was quoted in The New York Times as saying, "I hate ugly people. Very depressing." Well, if you look anything like me you almost feel you should apologize to the poor little...
Why Christian Missions Can’t Slack on Follow-Ups
Christians have an ethical responsibility to follow through by presenting the results of a missional project in an honest and straightforward fashion. After all, we owe a debt of gratitude to those who catalyzed the...
What Is G-Word? And Why It Needs to be on Your Church’s Agenda
Religious leaders wrote President Obama two weeks ago about the G-word. The G-word is genocide. It's a charged word. It's an ugly one. It's a word that makes U.S. presidents and other international leaders squirm. To...
Dragging God into our politics
By John Pierce There is much to not like about the campaign season when candidates seek to devour opponents within their own party before eventually embracing the bruised but surviving nominee as a much-more acceptable...
As Trash Piles High, Is This Lebanon’s Arab Spring?
I was traveling when the recent popular uprising began in Lebanon. At first, it emerged as an outcry to the trash crisis that has been engulfing Lebanon with its stench for several months now. Lebanon hasn't had its...
Fantasy Sports Exploits Poor with Lure of Easy Wealth
Fantasy football remained on the periphery of my consciousness until this season. These primarily online games allow sports fans to "draft" players to be on their virtual team. Points are earned based on football...
Confession Today
A mission of Sightings and the special mission assigned me here is to relate faith and faiths, as mediated by media, to public life. My sub-mission is to keep suggesting that many, if not most religious "happenings"...
October 19, 2015
More Than 7,000 People at Prestonwood Baptist Church for Presidential Forum (Dallas Morning News) Baptist Free-for-All: Cruz Over Huckabee (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) White Evangelical Voters Boosting Carson in GOP Poll...
New stuff from Nurturing Faith
At Baptists Today, we're well into our fourth year of providing a challenging Bible study curriculum we call Nurturing Faith that I write, which means we're on our second time through the Revised Common Lectionary as a...
Educating Children about Religions’ Impact on Society
What's the latest controversy about public education in your area? In my state of Tennessee, the topic is "teaching about Islam" to middle school students. Some parents (and outside instigators) are concerned that the...
The Moral and Economic Issues of Climate Change
In the run up to the Paris Climate Change Conference, COP21 - Nov. 30 through Dec. 11 - some significant economic considerations are emerging. A 2006 report compiled by Nicholas Stern dealt with the economics of...
Lessons from Ruth Speak to Middle East Immigration
I lift my eyes from the modern 21st century Middle East to immemorial antiquity, where two women are performing on the stage of history. Ruth the Moabite and Naomi the Israelite are crossing the desert back to Judah...
4 Ways to Help Your Teens Navigate Social Media
Some teenagers check their social media accounts 100 times per day. A CNN article titled "#Being13: Inside the Secret World of Teens" provided this and other eye-opening insights into the impact of social media on...
Report: 4 Areas Where Religious Freedom Falling Short
Persecution of Christians and other religious minorities by non-state actors, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), was a primary emphasis in a newly published U.S. State Department report. Released...