Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
U.S. Is Oddly Quiet about Religious Liberty Success
If you haven't read Michael Gerson's Washington Post opinion piece in which he lists a few terrible examples of recent, intensifying persecution of Christians in some nations where followers of Jesus are in the...
Why Your Ministry Should Behave Like a Lava Lamp
Authors and poets have a great gift for using just the right combination of words to create powerful images. They do so with very few words, and the trick is using words powerful enough to convey large concepts. I like...
Pope Francis’ Catchword Could Be Our Watchword for 2014
As Pope Francis set aglow the global community in 2013, he has a phrase that could ignite a new way of Christian engagement in 2014, especially with those with whom we disagree and those we tend to dislike and...
Inside, outside
Downton Abbey fans were cheered Sunday night by the American premier of the "upstairs/downstairs" drama's fourth season on PBS. That's true, at least, for those who haven't cheated by watching the previously-aired...
What’s Out? What’s In? 5 Evangelical Trends for 2014
Several years ago I predicted $5-per-gallon gas. Thankfully, we never got to that point. Despite my obvious fallibility, I'm framing my prognostications in the familiar "what's in and what's out" categories in sharing...
Magi’s Visit Reminds Us Rulers Must Rule with Justice
Christians across the world celebrate Epiphany today. This day, also known as "Three Kings' Day," is a time to remember and celebrate the coming of the Magi to see and pay homage to the Christ Child. We are familiar...
Survey: Strong Affirmation of Human Evolution in U.S.
Religion has a significant influence on views of human evolution, according to a recent Pew Research survey. A majority of white mainline Protestants, white Catholics, Hispanic Catholics and religiously unaffiliated...
Epiphany Signals the Coming Light of God’s Justice
No matter how bright or dark this past year has been, a new year brings the light of a wide-open future. This is a time of year when we all sense that we have a clean slate - a feeling expressed in our resolutions to...
Why Many Pastors Will Need to Reinvent Themselves
One of the problems impacting the ability of some ministers seeking to find a place to serve is the growing numbers of churches that are becoming bivocational. My region currently has many more bivocational churches...
Same old, good old …
Image from http://www.hdwallpapersinn.com.So here it is, another new year, and I find myself making the same resolutions I made last year, and the year before. Perhaps you've had that experience? Surprisingly, I don't...
What We Don’t Understand About the Mysterious Magi
They've been called kings, wise men, astrologers, sorcerers and magicians, but we ought to call them what they are: magi. I know that doesn't tell us anything about them, but that's the point. We know what all those...
Baptist of the Year: Linda Leathers
Linda Leathers is EthicsDaily.com's pick as Baptist of the Year for 2013. She is the CEO of The Next Door (TND), a Nashville-based prison ministry that seeks to meet the abundant needs of women released from prison,...
Let’s Remember Those Persecuted for Christ’s Sake
In the book "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe," C.S. Lewis takes us to the land of Narnia. When it is living under the authority of the White Witch, it is "always winter, never Christmas." There are people living...
7 Discerning Questions to Help You Navigate 2014
The confluence of Christmastime, the end of a calendar year and the beginning of a new one, tends to prompt a season of reflection. Various media provide us with reviews of the significant events and people from the...
Duck Dogma
I've refrained from comment on the ongoing flap over "Duck Dynasty" partriarch Phil Robertson's comments about homosexuality in part because it seemed that more than enough had been said, and in part because the whole...
Faith-Based Prisons: More Religion Equals Less Crime?
The state penitentiary in Angola, La., recently made headlines because it hosts an in-house seminary that offers a two-year associate degree in pastoral ministries and a four-year bachelor's degree in theology. The...
Why You Should Weigh Your Words Before You Say Them
Have you ever said something and then wished you hadn't said it? The words come out and you immediately wish you could reel them back in. But the thing about words is that you can't unsay them. It is like pulling the...
Year-End Giving Options to Baptist Center for Ethics
Eighteen percent of charitable giving happens in December, more than double the next highest month, according to one report on charitable giving. Another philanthropic organization estimates that 22 percent of online...
A Person of Love
A sermon by Michael Cheuk, Pastor, University Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Va. December 22, 2013. Matthew 1:18-25; Isaiah 7:10-16 Here we are on the fourth and final Sunday of Advent, just three days away from...
Opening the Gift of Christmas: Open Love
A sermon by Jim Somerville, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Richmond, Va. December 22, 2013 The Fourth Sunday of Advent Matthew 1:18-25 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had...
Love Never Fails
A sermon by Robert Browning, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Frankfort, Ky. December 22, 2013 Matthew 1:18-25 I wonder how long it took Joseph to go to sleep that night. After all, it is hard to sleep when you are...