Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Will Christian Education in Israel Vanish?
There are 8.3 million citizens in Israel: 6.6 million are Jews and 1.7 million are Arabs. More than 20 percent of the citizens of Israel are Palestinian Israeli Arabs. Admittedly, the state of Israel has provided some...
Secularized Europe Seems Pervasive – On the Surface
In 1345, on a cold Tuesday night just before Easter, a miracle happened in Amsterdam. A dying man, given the Eucharist, vomited it right back out. His caregivers were amazed to see that it had re-emerged from his mouth...
August 21, 2015
Nashville Hotel Nixes Conference for Group Cited by Charleston Church Gunman (NBC News) Freedom from Religion Foundation Aims at Gamecocks (Greenville Online) Coalition Opposes Taxpayer-Funded Discrimination (Baptist...
Why Sacred Time, Space are Vital to Your Worship
One of the beliefs shared by global religious traditions is the importance of sacred time and space. The Hebrew tradition had sacred days and seasons, like Passover and the Day of Atonement, that recalled and...
Baptists Appeal to Nepal Prime Minister, Ambassador to U.S. Regarding Religious Liberty
Baptist and Christian leaders have urged Nepal's Prime Minister Sushil Koirala to reconsider language in Nepal's proposed constitution that would make evangelism illegal. Section 31(3) of the proposed constitution...
Racial Prejudice, Racism Intertwined with Baseball
A mid-August game at Citi Field between the Pirates and the Mets involved good friends and good baseball. It also involved, in our section, a racial moment. Two young men brought a flag of the Republic of Korea to the...
August 20, 1865
Church Launches 'God's Not White' Series to Tackle Race Issues (WVTM13) Huckabee: MLK Would be 'Appalled' by Black Lives Matter Movement (CNN) Officer-Involved Shooting Near Haywood Church Probed (Asheville...
Show Your Love for God by Meeting Others’ Needs
The famed and feisty psychologist, Fritz Pearls, was once asked by a well-meaning Christian if he was saved. He responded by saying, "I am still trying to figure out how to be spent!" His retort echoes a line from...
5 Keys to Help Your Church Achieve Grander Vision
I attended a few weeks ago Willow Creek's Global Leadership Summit at Wieuca Road Baptist Church, a satellite host site for the summit in Atlanta. The unofficial motto of the summit is Bill Hybel's repeated reminder...
Trump’s Anti-Immigration Rhetoric Runs Counter to Biblical Witness
Donald Trump's headline-grabbing agenda on immigration is unbiblical and unworkable. The biblical witness is abundantly clear. We are to treat the immigrant with kindness and justice. For example, Deuteronomy 10:18-19...
August 19, 2015
Defying Detractors, Historic Philadelphia Baptist Church Seeks Sale to Developer (Philly.com) Bible Museum to Display Artifacts From Holy Land Under Deal (ABC News) Churches Must be Creative to Meet Coming 'Boomer...
Are We Redeeming Creation or Causing Its Suffering?
The hope of new life, new possibilities, new hope, new being made possible through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is the central message of Christianity. Paul describes the transformation that Christian...
Missing God’s Presence While Seeking Other Messiahs
The concept of "messiah" weaves its way through the biblical narrative and Christian theology in ways that have made it central to the faith pilgrimage. Throughout the history of covenant faith, God's liberating and...
British Churches Press Gov’t on Migrant Respect
The United Kingdom's government has been asked to "adopt language which better reflects the British values of compassion, hospitality and respect for human dignity" in its discussions on the situation in Calais,...
August 18, 2015
Charleston Church Shooting Victim's Son Throws Out 1st Pitch for Yankees (NBC New York) John Oliver Forms His Own Church and Just Keeps on Winning (CNN) Most Utah Mormons Want Their Church Out of Boy Scouts, Poll Shows...
A bridge not far enough
I spend a fair amount of time in the recliner these days, keeping my feet up and either ice or heat on my hip, whichever seems to promise relief at the time (see the previous blog if you're wondering why). While reared...
How to Change Your Church When They Resist Change
At every workshop I lead, someone will ask how he or she can lead change in their church when most of the people are content with the way things are. At the most, they confess, there are only a handful of people who...
Discovering God’s Purpose in Purposelessness
My family spent two weeks at Le Pas Opton (LPO), a Christian holiday camp in France. We were there because I was speaking one week; I don't suppose we would have thought to book an explicitly Christian holiday...
Does Your Congregation Have Healthy ‘Church-Esteem’?
What we believe about ourselves, consciously and unconsciously, directly determines much of what happens in our lives. As the Mayo Clinic explains, "Self-esteem is your overall opinion of yourself - how you feel about...
August 17, 2015
After Charleston, Black Churches Straddle Fine Line Between Security, Openness (USA Today) Notable Mississippians Join Chorus to Change State Flag (Clarion Ledger) Kasich: 'I Don't Read a Bible to Figure Out What I...
August 15, 2015
North Carolina Pastor Aims to Arm Church Members in Wake of South Carolina Shooting (NBC News) Shasta Bible College Offers New Class Taught by Man Who Can Recite Books of the Bible from Memory (Christian Post) From...