Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
When Worlds Unravel, God Knits Something New
What do you do when the world you've known begins to unravel? A close friend of mine has said to me several times, "It might feel like things are unraveling, but at least we know who holds the string." The first time I...
Why Your Church Needs to Stop Counting People
An old adage suggests that the best way to measure church growth is by assessing the "three big Bs": bodies-in-pews, budgets and buildings. Baptists of all sorts, however, have called this perspective into question....
When the State Starts Crumbling: A Theology of Staying
Sometimes Lebanon is charming. When you approach the Lebanese coast as your plane takes position for landing, the beautiful mountains gushing out so close to the glassy sea captivate your attention. When you drive up...
Blessed Is He Who Writes Without Using Smiley Faces
Pity the elusive mouse who must struggle to disconnect himself in the minds of youthful humans from the ubiquitous, plasticized keyboard kind. Does anyone any longer recognize the fundamental literary distinction...
Appeals Court Rules Against Missouri Baptist Convention, Blasts Its Attorneys
The latest chapter in the nearly 12-year legal saga among Missouri Baptists ended Tuesday with another stinging defeat for the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC). A unanimous three-judge ruling from the Southern...
Prison and Faith Documentary Draws Positive Reviews Across Ecumenical Community
EthicsDaily.com asked a variety of Christians for their assessment of its new documentary "Through the Door," released two months ago. The responses disclosed that the film has struck a positive cord that transcends...
What Jesus Said…About Thirst
A sermon by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ar. March 23, 2014 Third Sunday in Lent Exodus 17:1-7; John 4:7-15 If you were here last week, you may recall that we talked about Jesus’...
Water Cooler Conversations
A sermon by Robert Browning, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Frankfort, Ky. March 23, 2014 John 4:5-42 Our attention this morning is drawn to a well in the Holy Land between Judea and Galilee. This was the site of one of...
Living Water
A sermon by Michael Cheuk, Pastor, University Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Va. March 23, 2014. John 3:4:5-42 Water. Alongside oxygen and food, water is one of the three things essential to sustain life. The...
Taking Sin Seriously: Repentance
A sermon by Jim Somerville, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Richmond, Va. March 23, 2014 The Third Sunday in Lent Romans 5:1-11 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus...
6 Things Your Church Has in Common with Universities
Churches are not the only institutions wrestling with the transition from a tradition-bound orientation toward a more relevant contemporary life. In recent years, I have had the opportunity to watch two universities...
Jesus’ Economics: “The First Will Be Last and the Last First”
In his book, "Christ: A Crisis in the Life of God," Jack Miles offers an imaginative scene revealing the subversive, revolutionary politic of Jesus. A preacher begins the sermon with the well-known proclamation, "the...
British Churches: Are US Forces Operating UK Drones?
Churches are calling for the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense to clarify its deployment of drones in Afghanistan after a defense committee report confirmed the likelihood that U.K. drones were being used by U.S....
A hard right KO’s World Vision decision
Less than a day after World Vision U.S. president Rich Stearns announced that the billion-dollar charity's board had voted not to discriminate against potential employees in legal same-sex marriages, he released a...
What I’ve Learned from Folks with Decades of Experience
One of the real pleasures of documentary filmmaking is getting to spend some intentional time with people – that is, directed moments together that can include conversation, observation, contemplation. People of all...
World Cup Preparation Ignores Migrant Workers’ Protection
More than 400 Nepali migrant workers have died on Qatar's building sites since the Gulf state won the bid to host the soccer World Cup in 2022. At the same time, more than 20 Indian laborers die on average every month...
Yes, Even Baptists Have a Liturgical Calendar
We live in a world that moves through seasons. We adjust by having different expectations and finding different hopes in each season. The church has always had a seasonal calendar of its own. Baptists, coming out of...
Where Are All These Liberian Baptists Going?
Liberian Baptists are moving. Literally. Hundreds have gone on foot in the last 10 days. Hundreds more have crowded into cars and hit the roads during March. In Liberia, the roads usually hit back. Fifty miles or so...
Why Seminaries Must Do More Than Teach Preaching
How can the effectiveness of a theological seminary be assessed? Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ABTS) recently hosted a conference organized by Overseas Council, where this question was asked. It has often been...
Addressing Recidivism Is a Shared Responsibility
When we entered an administrative section of the Bibb County Correctional Facility, we observed an officer and several inmates packing up computers. Inmates were placing black monitors and hard drives in what appeared...
4 Post World War I Lessons: How Psychotherapy Helps
"Downton Abbey" offers a dramatic, romantic vision of a family in a place and time that is no more. Picturesque as it is, this ideal is not unscathed by the trauma, terror and slaughter of World War I whose anniversary...