Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Chrismon Trees: Visible Reminders of the “Reason for the Season”
It is almost here again – the Christmas season. In a few days, the smell of roasting turkey and fragrant dressing will promise savory goodness. Tucking away harvest décor will swiftly follow our second slice of pumpkin...
Failure of Immigration Reform Opens Door to Wider Church Involvement
Comprehensive immigration reform in the current Congress appears dead, another painful reminder of how broken Washington is and another promising opportunity for the church to be the church. "[W]e have no intention of...
Driftwood, deadfall, and hanging on
Sunrise on Jekyll Island's Driftwood Beach during a staff retreat for Baptists Today ... the beachfront on the northeast end of the island is a twisted mass of dead trees, some standing and some fallen, some unmoved...
Is Your Church a Short Story or Epic Novel?
The fall in the publishing industry is known as the big important book season. It's similar to all the award-winning movies coming out toward the end of the year. Every year about this time, important books and movies...
4 Reasons Your Church Should Prevent Christmas
On one of his many on-the-road trips, Charles Kuralt, the noted television journalist and writer, befriended George and June Butler, a couple in Vermont. The Butlers operated a small farm where they raised vegetables,...
Barna Study Focuses on Faith of Pastor’s Children
Are pastors' kids prodigals? A new Barna Group survey uncovered ambiguous results. Senior pastors with children at least 15 years old were surveyed, and 40 percent of the 456 respondents noted that their children had...
Praising people within professions
By John Pierce It not unusual to see or hear a promotion to honor a certain profession: teaching, law enforcement, nursing, etc. Indeed there are persons within those professions who deserve our gratitude. Blanket...
Who Owns the Earth? Many of Us Don’t Know.
According to the story, President Lyndon B. Johnson was walking across the tarmac toward a plane when one of his assistants informed him that the plane he was walking toward was not his. LBJ's response was, "They're...
Where is God When the Bad Stuff Happens?
Where is God when bad things happen? This question has perplexed and frustrated those afflicted with suffering, grief and pain. Theologians and philosophers have wrestled with scriptural texts and rational thought...
Why I Hate “Silent Night” During Advent
I hate "Silent Night." Okay, not really, but I have been accused of somewhat negative attitudes toward this well-known (and admittedly beautiful) Christmas carol. It began one fall at a worship-planning meeting when...
Philippine Baptists Report on Devastation in Country
Five Baptist World Alliance (BWA) member organizations in the Philippines reported on the widespread devastation in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan that devastated parts of the southeast Asian country on Nov. 8. The five...
Ahas: Nearsighted
A sermon by Randy Hyde, Senior Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ar. November 10, 2013 2 Chronicles 28:16-23; Matthew 6:19-24 They say that today’s age of sixty is the new forty, whoever “they” are....
Stand Firm
A sermon by Michael Cheuk, Pastor, University Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Va. November 10, 2013. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17 Have you ever had a time when you were totally gripped by panic and fear? I remember...
Worthy of God’s Calling
A sermon by Michael Cheuk, Pastor, University Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Va. November 3, 2013. 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12 Today is All Saint’s Sunday on the Christian calendar. It is a day for remembering and...
Called Alongside
A sermon by Keith Herron, Pastor, Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City, Mo. The Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost II Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17 November 10, 2013 Haggai 1:15b-2:9; Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21; Luke...
The End of the Road: Part I
A sermon by Jim Somerville, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Richmond, Va. November 10, 2013 The Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost A funny thing happened while we were on the road with Jesus: it came to an end. Back...
How to Introduce Your Children to Advent
A few years before our first child was born, my husband and I joined a Baptist church that celebrated Advent. Neither of us had past family traditions of Advent, so we began creating traditions. We tried calendars,...
Smaller Churches Have Their Place, Too
On our best days, small churches feel strong and mighty. We celebrate and build on our strengths and move forward knowing and sharing the love of Jesus. On our not-best days, however, we can feel discouraged. Without...
How Some Movies Become Cultural ‘Game Changers’
An ad for the recently released movie "12 Years a Slave" promoted it as a "game changer" in understanding the slavery experience. I take that to mean it will be one of those landmark expressions that will have a...
Neither mega nor church, but still …
How did I manage to miss this until now? Several newspapers and TV outlets have reported the past few days on a supposedly thriving movement of "atheist mega-churches." Photo from 123RF.comFrom what I find in the news...
Will You Schedule a Screening of Our Documentary on Prisons and Faith?
Richmond's Bon Air Baptist Church will sponsor the premier screening in Virginia of our forthcoming documentary on prisons and faith on Feb. 17, 2014. Watch for more details. But for now, know that we will be screening...