Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
6 Signs Your Congregation Doesn’t Smell Right
I regularly read outside the world of congregational life in an effort to understand leadership issues. In Fast Company magazine, I found an article dedicated to helping startup entrepreneurs establish healthy...
Will children support their parents?
The April 6 Parade magazine included an interesting take on relations between the "boomer" generation, now moving into retirement, and their children, the "millennials." (Here's a similar report from NPR). While...
Christians, Muslims Collaborate to Curb Terrorism, Encourage Peace
I was thrilled to see Qazi as he and his son, Ameer, walked into the Middle Eastern suite at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. Qazi and I had recently met in Nepal at the Interfaith Leaders Network only...
Skype Interview: Alia Abboud on Lebanese Churches and Syria’s Civil War
"It's a ministry of compassion, from A to zed." So says Alia Abboud, director of development and partner relations for the Lebanese Society for Educational and Social Development (LSESD), as she characterizes how...
“Noah”
Having been in one of those Billy Graham evangelistic movies nearly 50 years ago, I consider myself qualified to provide a legitimate review of a Christian movie. The movie is "Noah." Since there was so much buzz about...
Taking Sin Seriously: Penance
A sermon by Jim Somerville, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Richmond, Va. March 30, 2014 The Fourth Sunday in Lent Ephesians 5:8-14 For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of...
Seeing is Believing
A sermon by Bob Browning, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Frankfort, Ky. March 30, 2014 John 9:1-41 Our attention is drawn this morning to an encounter Jesus had with a blind man. While we know little about this man, we...
What Jesus Said…About Sight
A sermon by Randy Hyde, Pastor , Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ar. March 30, 2014 Fourth Sunday in Lent Psalm 23:1-6; John 9:1-41 Mud and light don’t seem to go together, do they? Mud and light. It was...
Blind Faith, Seeing Unbelief
A sermon by Michael Cheuk, Pastor, University Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Va. March 30, 2014 John 9:1-41 Once upon a time, there was a man blind from birth. From the moment he was born, his eyes were shut to the...
Blindness of the Second Order
A sermon by Keith Herron, Pastor, Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City, Mo. The Fourth Sunday of Lent John 9:1-41 March 30, 2014 I Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14 It’s a simple story really. A man was born...
Is Your Church’s Worship Like a Grounded Goose?
Jesus' conversation with the woman of Samaria in the Gospel of John provides one of the most significant statements about worship in the Bible. The Father seeks, Jesus says, those who worship him "in spirit and truth"...
What Does Love Do? Sometimes, It Shops for Shoes
Her name is Mickey and she found me on Tuesday of last week, timid and uncertain. If you look up the definition of "mousy" in the dictionary, the entry should have her picture next to it. She is petite and naive...
Why Smaller Churches Must Focus on Unique Vision
Smaller churches often accomplish more by doing less. Sometimes a smaller church feels it must compete with the larger churches in the community to attract people. This is always a mistake because the smaller church...
BWIMNC believes God is still creating
GREENSBORO -- Baptist Women in Ministry of North Carolina (BWIMNC) celebrated its 31st convocation March 28 at College Park Baptist Church in Greensboro, focusing on the theme "God is Creating Still." The group's...
‘Noah’
I came away from seeing Darren Aronofsky's latest film, "Noah," both confused and a little irritated. I wasn't sure if I had been informed, entertained or inspired. Much of the buzz around the film has been focused on...
British Chaplain’s Twitter Feed Focuses on Spiritual Care
Working in healthcare and interested in the spiritual side of care? A new Twitter feed created by a Baptist chaplain might be of interest. The @WeChaplains account is designed to provide a forum for those working in...
Individualism Isolates Us from Ourselves and Others
The recognition that each individual is a person of value and worth and "has certain inalienable rights" is one of the hallmarks of Western civilization and the Enlightenment worldview. Individualism also has roots in...
Ask Jesus into Your Heart: A History of the Sinner’s Prayer
Many evangelical pastors conclude sermons by urging non-Christians to "ask, receive or invite Jesus into their heart," or to pray a version of what some call the "sinner's prayer." Some evangelicals, including Baptist...
Why My Family Has Chosen to Stay in Lebanon
Living in Lebanon when you have the opportunity to leave is a choice that demands a "theology of staying." Four ideas, which may form the starting components of such a theology, come to mind when I consider why my...
Restoration of Protestant Work Ethic Preferred Over Entitlement Mindset
Albeit much maligned, the Protestant work ethic is preferable to the secular entitlement ethic. If you are curious about the restoration of the Protestant work ethic with the focus on hard work and thrift – and without...
CBFNC looks to the future
GREENSBORO, NC – Transformation, engagement, and community are the operative words in a new vision plan adopted by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina (CBFNC), which celebrated its 20-year history by...