Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Why can’t the prosperity gospel work?
Anyone who's watched much television preaching or visited certain churches has certainly run across someone promoting the prosperity gospel, the notion that God wants to make us all rich so we can be an example of...
How Close Does Your Spiritual DNA Match Jesus’?
Archaeologists recently announced that they had made a significant find in the ruins of a church that had been built in 660 A.D. in present-day Turkey: a small stone coffin containing a wood fragment that in the past...
Praying For All to Live Peacefully in Egypt
Like many others, I have been shocked and saddened by the loss of life in Cairo and elsewhere this past week as the Egyptian military has cracked down on the protesters supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and the ousted...
As Religions Collide, Some Positive Stories about Baptist Interfaith Engagement
Islamists have burned churches and attacked Christians in Egypt in recent days, alarming Christians worldwide. Buddhist hard-liners have targeted the minority religious communities of Christians and Muslims in Sri...
Should You Choose a Downwardly Mobile Lifestyle?
Over the past few months, I've been reading articles on the concept of "downward mobility." I'm fascinated by the different perspectives because it's a term my husband, Andy, and I have increasingly come to use to...
Worship Grows in New Federal Prison for Women
Five days before Christmas 2012, the first inmates arrived at the Aliceville Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) work camp. This is a new federal prison for women in rural west Alabama. The work camp is for...
7 Reasons Smaller Churches Struggle and Close
Leadership guru Max De Pree is well known for stating that the first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. As one who has spent a lifetime providing leadership to smaller churches, I want to define the...
Changing times …
Campbell University held its faculty orientation August 15, and change was in the air. The new School of Osteopathic Medicine has opened, for one thing, to much fanfare. The afternoon session was held in one of the two...
Leading Congregations “ A Calling, Not a Career
There is a mantra I hear often from my generation of church leaders. It gets voiced loudly by pastor search committees, nominating committees and church organizations committed to a mission of embodying "God's new...
No Greek Heroes Today, But We Worship Other Gods
I like the stories of the ancient Greek pantheon of gods. Their stories are always less godlike and usually way too human, with problems of lust, envy, jealousy and revenge. They can be tricked, lied to and make deals....
Jesus’ Division Will Eliminate All the Others
It's pretty typical for Americans to think we're number one, especially when it comes to wealth. But we're not. In terms of income per person, we rank behind Norway, Luxembourg, Singapore, Switzerland and Hong Kong. I...
Rotten Bones
A sermon by Howard Batson, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Amarillo, Tx. Proverbs 14:29-30 August 11, 2013 Proverbs 15:1 “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 16:32 “He who is...
Ready
A sermon by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ar. August 11, 2013 – A Lord’s Supper Meditation –...
Blessing of the Children
A sermon by Robert Browning, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Frankfort, Ky. August 11, 2013 Luke 18:15-17 Recently, the Pope met with a large group of Italian and Albanian schoolchildren. After mingling with them for a...
Don’t Always Play it Safe
A sermon by Robert Browning, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Frankfort, Ky. August 4, 2013 John 11:1-16 Communion Devotion On April 15, two explosions shattered the euphoria of the 2013 Boston Marathon. What started as a...
On the Road with Jesus: Have No Fear, Little Flock!
A sermon by Jim Somerville, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Richmond, Va. August 11, 2013 The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost Luke 12:32-40 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give...
The Eyes of Faith
A sermon by Michael Cheuk, Pastor, University Baptist, Charlottesville, Va. Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 (Heb 11:1-3, 8-16) Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what...
The Path
A sermon by Keith Herron, Pastor, Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City, Mo. The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 August 12, 2013 Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23; Luke 12:32-40 John Claypool...
Are You Ready for Your God Moment? It May Be in a Cave.
During seminary, around 1990, I served a Louisville, Ky., church as associate minister of music. In addition, I had some children's ministry responsibilities that included assisting our on-the-ball children's Sunday...
Some Churches Exploit Peoples’ Emotions
I am a bit worried about a friend of mine. He's on holiday in Cyprus and has lost his bag that contains his mobile phone, his wallet and other important items. He has managed to find an Internet cafe and sent me an...
Moving Beyond Prison Reform Options of Blaming Society or the Individual
Conservatives can provide the leadership to reduce the mass incarceration of United States citizens without forfeiting any conservative principles, so wrote Eli Lehrer, president and co-founder of R Street Institute, a...