Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
August 8, 2015
Baylor Study: Religion Loses When it Competes With Beautiful Nature (Huffington Post) Can Robots be Religious? (iDigitalTimes) Fliers Put on Vehicles at Church Target Gays, Female Clergy (Delaware Online) Judge Orders...
Ouch, in spades
So, why did my lovely wife buy me a mini-beach ball featuring characters from "Frozen," the Disney movie? The decoration is extraneous: we squeezed most of the air from the ball in hopes of making a sort of cushiony...
Love Your Neighbor – Even During Election Season
Canadian singer-songwriter Steve Bell asked this simple and startling question when introducing one of his songs at a recent concert: "Could the churches of the land be known in the upcoming election campaign for...
A New But Familiar Way to Raise Disciples
My first-grade teacher was an innovator. She pushed the desks against the wall and placed carpets on the floor. We often sat in a circle and learned by stories, songs and interactive games. After that first year, it...
UK’s Black Majority Churches: From Rejection to Influence
What are black majority churches? The history of black majority churches in London is phenomenal because within a short period of 60 years they have grown from rejection to influence. Black majority churches growth...
August 7, 2015
On 50th Anniversary of Voting Rights Act, Obama Renews Call for Legislation (Washington Post) Hundreds Gather for Progressive National Convention (NBCDFW) Progressive National Baptists Call to Restore, Advance Voting...
Why the Future Looks Bright for Smaller Churches
I am often asked when I lead conferences, "What do you think is the future of the small church?" My consistent response has been that I think we will see the number of smaller churches increase in the coming years. The...
Disciples of Christ Pass Resolution on Environmental Racism
We have been reminded in recent days on a far-too-frequent basis that racism continues to be an ugly scar upon the soul of America. Most of the media attention has focused on acts of violence afflicted upon...
Is Your Church Fragile or Agile?
One of the most excruciating congregational projects I've ever experienced was a strategy planning process at a church where I served on staff early in my ministry. Over the course of 18 months, I watched as a...
August 6, 2015
Federal Agencies Provide Rules for Faith-Based Social Service Providers (Baptist News Global) Americans United: Regulations for Partnerships Between Government and Faith-Based Groups a Positive Step (AU) Poll: Trump...
Money Talks: Connecting Creation Care, Economics
I learned a valuable lesson during my time in pastoral ministry. Soon after arriving at one of the congregations I served, I noted the use of Styrofoam plates at Wednesday night Bible study. I suggested to a key church...
Churches Need Realistic Expectations for Pastor
An advertisement from a church looking for a new pastor caught my attention. It read: "Wanted: Pastor for small church. Must excel in preaching, teaching, pastoral care, administration, leadership, vision setting,...
Horizontal and Vertical Churches: Where’s the Balance?
I visit a lot of churches, having attended (more than once or twice) numerous churches of many denominations. And I read about churches. "Church life" is one of my strongest interests. I served as consultant for two...
August 5, 2015
Mormon Church Releases Photos of 'Seer Stone' Used by Founder Joseph Smith (Salt Lake Tribune) Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio Face an Evangelical Test (TIME) Jeb Bush at Southern Baptist Forum: 'The Next President Should...
Why Your Passport Makes Promise It Can’t Claim
I collected recently my daughter's U.S. passport that needed renewal, noting that it was accompanied by a leaflet that read, "With your U.S. passport, the world is yours!" Nothing shocking on first glance; just a sense...
Why Jesus Won’t Give You One-Size-Fits-All Answers
It's maddening when a person answers a question with another question. A time or two is all right, but it's frustrating when they do it all the time. Add this to the reasons that Jesus can be quite frustrating. In his...
Best, Worst, Most Unexpected Moments at Baptist World Congress
The Baptist World Congress was a splendid overall success, despite lower than desired attendance due to fears of Ebola and xenophobia in South Africa toward other foreign workers. The fellowship was warm. The worship...
August 4, 2015
Faith Holds at New Mexico Churches Targeted by Small Blasts (ABC News) First Baptist Greenville Opens its Doors to Same-Sex Couples (Greenville Online) Lawsuit Alleges 7 Year-Old Quizzed About Religion, Forced to Sit...
Paternalism, Dependency Plague Christian Missions
Sometimes helping hurts, particularly within Christian mission work. Daniel Carro, professor of divinity at The John Leland Center for Theological Studies in Arlington, Virginia, and a Baptist Center for Ethics board...
Long-Term Student Debt Injures the Common Good
We are well on our way to losing any conception of education as humanizing gift, social capital, cultural treasury, creative possibility for the future, imaginative empowerment of the minds, affections and commitments...
When Fear Goes to Your Church
"Be afraid; be very, very afraid." This was the message I heard as I listened to a sermon recently. It was a joyful worship service with enthusiastic singing and engaging congregational interaction until the sermon...