Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Profiles in Goodwill: Dimitrina Oprenova
Dimitrina Oprenova is associate minister at First Baptist Church in Sofia, Bulgaria. 1. Where did you grow up? Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria. 2. What is your favorite verse, book or story in the Bible? Why?...
Coach’s 3-Prong Philosophy Applies to Churches
Even fans of other Atlantic Coast Conference basketball teams reluctantly admit that the late Dean Smith was a great basketball coach. Smith co-wrote, with management expert Gerald Bell, "The Carolina Way," a few years...
July 14, 2015
After Confederate Flag Comes Down, Charleston Church Starts New Chapter (CNN) Fox News Pastor: Churches that Offer Sanctuary Worship a “Wimpy Little” Jesus “of Their Imagination” (Salon) Judge: Rankin School District...
Odds and ends
Nearing the end of our three weeks with the Fourth Expedition to Lachish, here are a few notes on aspects that are different, if not odd. Being not tourists, but the attraction. Lachish is not on most tour itineraries,...
July 13, 2015
Crowds Cheer as Confederate Flag Removed from South Carolina Confederate Capitol (NBC News) One Battle the Confederate Flag is Still Winning (CNN) Texas Officials: Schools Should Teach that Slavery was 'Side Issue' to...
Early Christians’ Radical Actions Really Not So Radical
The book of Acts includes two summary passages that describe the character of the first century church: Acts 2:42-45 and 4:32-37. In both references, the early believers gathered for worship, prayer, fellowship and the...
Profiles in Goodwill: Michael Okwakol
Michael Okwakol is senior pastor of Agape Baptist Church in Kampala, Uganda, president of the All Africa Baptist Fellowship and vice president of the Baptist World Alliance for 2015-20. Okwakol's Skype interview with...
4 Ways Your Church Can Be a Healthy Family
Twenty years ago our congregation adopted five core values. The one which speaks to our internal relationships says, "In relationships ... Family." Our church covenant expands this core value: "As a group of gathered...
What Does It Really Mean to be Righteous?
The word "righteous" is out of fashion, conjuring up images of humorless people out of touch with this world who call their misery joy. It's an unfair caricature. If one were to ask an ordinary member of any church...
Global Poverty Reduced, Shortfalls Remain
The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) have produced the "most successful anti-poverty movement in history," according to the final MDG report issued this week. The MDGs are eight targets to reduce global poverty and...
Profiles in Goodwill: Jayzel Jayakaram
Jayzel Jayakaram is president of the Baptist Association of South Africa. 1. Where did you grow up? In a farming community in Glendale and Stanger, in the northern parts of Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa. 2. What is your...
July 10, 2015
South Carolina House Votes to Remove Confederate Flag from Statehouse Grounds (Washington Post) Jenny Horne's Tearful Speech Against Confederate Flag Shakes S.C. House (CNN) S.C. Governor Haley Signs into Law Removal...
Articulating rocks
Normally, when I think of articulation, it relates to speech. Some people are more articulate than others, better able to speak clearly and descriptively. The word can also apply to other fields in which the issue is...
Profiles in Goodwill: Neville Callam
Neville Callam is the general secretary and chief executive officer of the Baptist World Alliance. Neville's articles that have appeared on EthicsDaily.com are available here, and news articles by the BWA staff are...
Skype Interview: Joel Gregory
"The Baptist Olympics." Spectacle and pageantry. It's a striking image, summoned by Joel Gregory, to characterize the upcoming Baptist World Congress in Durban, South Africa. Gregory, who holds the George W. Truett...
What Our Founders Meant by ‘Liberty and Justice for All’
I observed our congregation's students standing attentively as they enthusiastically declared, "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America" during Vacation Bible School. We often recite these words...
July 9, 2015
U.S. House Votes to Ban Confederate Flag at Federal Cemeteries (The Hill) Americans United Attacks 'Bogus' Religious Liberty Claims (Baptist News Global) Seventh Day Adventists Vote Against Female Ordination...
Where’s Waldo?
As I noted in a previous blog, the task of sifting on an archaeological dig can be tiresome and filthy work, but also rewarding: it's like playing the children's book game "Where's Waldo?" Yesterday I didn't find...
When Governments Talk Austerity, The Poor Suffer
When was the word "austerity" first used as a politico-economic term for the approach to dealing with the post-2008 banking crisis? My friend who asked me this always raises the kind of questions which act as warning...
3 Lessons Your Church Can Learn from The Rolling Stones
I was lucky enough to be among 40,000 people attending a recent Rolling Stones concert. It's amazing that the Rolling Stones have been able to stick together for so long - more than 50 years and counting. But what's...
Study: Species Becoming Extinct at Alarming Rate
Many important stories have made national headlines in recent weeks, but one story about a sixth mass extinction was likely overlooked. A USA Today article provides horrifying statistics from a recent report concerning...