Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Freedom in Grace
A sermon by Michael Cheuk, Pastor, University Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Va., on June 30, 2013. Galatians 5:1, 13-25 Freedom. Freedom is a word that is almost synonymous with America. We Americans love freedom,...
On the Road with Jesus: Three Would-Be Followers
A sermon by Jim Somerville, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Richmond, Va., June 30, 2013 The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost Luke 9:51, 57-62 It’s good to be back in the pulpit. For the past few Sundays I’ve been having...
Heroes to Goats
By John Pierce During his recent trip to Africa, former President George W. Bush responded to a reporter’s question about the conflict or compatibility of gay marriage with his Christian faith by continuing his...
What Mickey Mantle Can Teach Us About Discipleship
I have loved baseball all my life. It is a wonderful game with a rhythm of its own. It's the only major sport where the game is played on its own time, which doesn't designate a specific length of time, only innings....
When You Should Take a Risk for the Gospel
For a couple of weeks, the image of Nik Wallenda walking a steel cable hundreds of feet above a canyon floor without the protection of a net or tether has been in my mind. I watched the live broadcast of the feat,...
What the Big Bad Wolf Can Teach Your Church
You remember the story of "The Three Little Pigs," don't you? Sent out by their mother to make their way in the world, they live in fear of the "Big Bad Wolf." Their first order of business is to build their houses....
Hemingway, Jesus and Death at a Children’s Hospital
It's not at all uncommon to see death notices posted on the side of buildings on the streets in Athens, Greece. This is the remarkably economical and semi-efficient means by which a local neighborhood is notified of a...
How Pastors Can Help Congregants Accept Death
How often from the waiting rooms and hallways of hospitals do I hear, "Let us hope he can rally again!" or "Is it really over?" Several years ago, I stood by the bedside of an elderly woman who was in the last minutes...
Churches No Longer Rely on Denominations for Help
Some church leaders disagree with the idea that we now live in a post-denominational world. If they are arguing that issues of doctrine and polity are still important to many Christians, I can understand their position...
Territorial meanderings …
Coming down to earth from nine days of Baptist meetings in Jamaica had its positive and negative aspects. The upside was finding several ripe tomatoes on my vines, enough squash for multiple meals, and plenty of bell...
Proud Texan Ashamed of Death Penalty Record
I am Texan through and through. I was born in Mississippi, but I got here as quick as I could. I believe that barbecue ought to be eaten without sauce and that chili is better without beans. There is only one...
4 Reasons Parents Should Make Children Attend Church
"So, I have to" seems always to kill grace. After all, if "I have to," then it must not be grace. Clever teenagers have been going down this route for centuries - or at least since I was a teenager. We try to work...
BWA Gathering Has High Points and a Belly Flop
The annual gathering of goodwill, global Baptists ended last week in Ocho Rios, Jamaica with a number of high points – and one major blooper. Founded in 1905, the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is the largest network of...
Why Pastors Should Consider Smaller Churches
Although I grew up in the rural South and cut my spiritual teeth in a small, rural church, I never really fancied myself remaining there voluntarily in adulthood. As a ministerial student, I followed a common track...
Jonah: The Exception that Proves the Rule
The most common popular image of the prophet is that of the lone voice crying in the wilderness, speaking to the community on behalf of God: "Thus says the LORD." We often miss the other side of the coin, the image of...
Missouri Baptist Convention Quietly Settles Lawsuit, Fails to Tell Members
Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) officials quietly settled last year a lawsuit, agreeing to pay $500,000 to the estate of a deceased businessman. The settlement represents another chapter in a long list of legal...
BWA wrapping up …
Things are winding down for Baptists gathered in Ocho Rios for the 2013 annual gathering of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), held July 1-6. For those who might be interested, here are a few highlights from the...
Enforced enthusiasm
Spending July 4 in another country has its ups and its downs. The annual gathering of the Baptist World Alliance is commonly held the first week of July, meaning that I’m usually in another country when July 4...
Companies Convince Amish to Sign Away Drilling Rights
I recently ran across this disturbing story by Claire Thompson on Grist.org about how fracking companies exploit a theological loophole in the religious tradition of the Amish. "Energy companies in eastern Ohio – home...
BWA Speakers Praise Jamaican Revolutionary Hero
During the annual gathering of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, several speakers urged Baptists to offer their praise for a 19th-century Baptist deacon and preacher, Sam Sharpe, who played an...
To Bill Maher, Here’s Why Words Still Matter
It is common knowledge that the perennial Food Network star, Paula Deen, has used a condescending and derogatory term toward African Americans and spoken warmly of the world of the genteel antebellum (pre-Civil War)...