Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
In West Africa, Doctor Says Ebola’s End in Sight
A cold-blooded killer, Ebola has claimed more than 9,000 lives across West Africa since the outbreak began in December 2013. Thirteen months later, a BMS World Mission doctor serving in Guinea says that the number of...
February 17, 2015
Tennessee Lawmaker Wants Bible to Be State's Official Book (Christian Today) Newspaper Issues Correction After Obama is Called Antichrist (Houston Chronicle) Here I Am, Send Me … Anywhere But the Ministry (Baptist News...
February 16, 2015
Jimmy Carter: Women's Rights the Fight of My Life (CNN) ISIS Releases Video Claiming Beheadings of Egyptian Christians (CNN) Egypt Says it Bombed ISIS Targets in Libya After Killings of Christians (CNN) 'We Want to be...
When We Make Children Live in Shadows
A little boy from Honduras is in my classroom. He speaks Spanish but is learning English and tries with all his heart to learn new words and strange phrases that will allow him to live in his new world here. He is 9...
4 Ways for Your Church to Address Diversity
Many challenges face the church today, but one of the most significant is our ability to live, function and minister in a world that is increasingly diverse. Perhaps the issue is not that the world is more diverse but...
Lesson from Super Bowl Ads: How to Market Love
The Super Bowl is the one night of the year when I actually want to watch the commercials. With the ad spots going for top dollar, this is the time when new and creative advertising is offered to the viewing public....
Dangerous love
According to a consumer spending survey by the National Retail Federation, Americans were expected to spend $18.9 billion dollars this year on Valentine's Day. That works out to more than $142 per person, up from $133...
February 14, 2015
Nation's Largest Christian Bookstore and Gift Chain Files for Bankruptcy (Michigan Live) Nashville Church Properties Draw Developers (The Tennessean) Evangelical Portland Church Loses Funding Because Pastor's Support...
Texas Legislators Condemn Human Trafficking, Vow to Eradicate It
Human trafficking is a form of human slavery, said a Texas legislator at a press conference on the steps of the Texas Capitol in Austin on Thursday morning. Rep. Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound) emphasized that "human...
British Christians Speak Out for Religious Freedom
The Archbishop of Canterbury has called on politicians, the church and the media to speak out against the "creeping climate of fear and animosity" at the launch of a new partnership to address the growing problem of...
How Does God’s Grace Shine Through You?
Transfiguration Sunday, celebrated Feb. 15 this year, concludes the season after the Epiphany, which is all about light - stunning, shimmering, flickering, blazing, sparkling, illuminating and revealing. God's light...
February 13, 2015
U.S. Satisfaction with Religion Settling at Lower Levels (Gallup) Southern Baptist Leader: Gospel Can Overcome Gay Marriage (The Tennessean) Atheists Knock Florida School on 'God Bless America' Statement (USA Today)...
Who’s in? We’ll put your name in the book
By John Pierce In recognition of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, historian Bruce Gourley has done an excellent job of pulling together month-by-month accounts of how Baptists responded to the tragic...
How Did Christians Become So Casually Violent?
I had an unusual experience on Facebook recently: a civil conversation with someone who disagreed with me about a controversial situation. This doesn't happen often so it is certainly worth nothing. However, that does...
Brian Williams and 8 Lessons in Leadership Credibility
As a Navy veteran, I have been frustrated for the past few days over the recent apology Brian Williams issued for his statements that he was aboard a helicopter that was hit by rocket-propelled grenades during the...
State of the Church Addresses Emphasize Community, Engagement
A sampling of 2015 State of the Church addresses by moderate Baptist pastors found common themes of emphasizing community and James' call to "be doers of the word." State of the Church addresses are messages designed...
February 12, 2015
Lawmaker Wants to Make Bible Official Book of Tennessee (The Tennessean) Manslaughter Charge Prompts Church to Examine Relationship With Alcohol (Washington Post) The Night Dean Smith Broke the Rules on Race in Chapel...
Escaping Life’s Daily Busyness to Hear an Inner Voice
The season of Lent, which begins next Wednesday, comprises the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter. In Lent, we take our cues from Jesus who denied himself as a spiritual exercise, denying himself of what he had...
European Baptists Appeal to Russian, Ukrainian Baptists
The European Baptist Federation (EBF) has challenged Russian and Ukrainian Baptist leaders to issue a joint statement calling for peace while acknowledging their differences. The appeal comes from EBF general secretary...
3 Habits to Help Your Church Develop Disciples
One of the most promising movements in the 21st century church is the disciple development movement. Given the post-modern context in which we find ourselves, we are driven to clarify what this Christian movement, with...
February 11, 2015
A Church Fulfills its Duty (Newsday) City, Congregation at Odds Over Century-old Church (USA Today) Colorado Bill to Let College Clubs Pick Leaders' Religion Fails (Denver Post) Mormon Church Excommunicates Popular...