Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Is Loyalty to MSNBC or Fox News More Critical to Church Membership Than ‘Jesus is Lord’?
It seems to me that in order to join a church in today's religiously charged culture, you have to do more than declare "Jesus is Lord!" You also have to have an opinion on a litany of questions: MSNBC or Fox News?...
“Let My People Go! Following Jesus into Our Jails and Prisons”
Editor's note: This column is an excerpt from Stan Moody's newest book, "Let My People Go! Following Jesus Into Our Jails and Prisons." Missing in some Christian circles is a firm grasp of the doctrine of the Kingdom...
Newspaper Committed to Nonviolence, Social Justice
Tomorrow, the first day of May, is often called "May Day" and it has been observed as a special day in widely diverse ways. In addition, "Mayday" is an international radio and telephone signal word used as a distress...
Health Ministry Requires Healthy Ministers
In my weekly column in Church Health Reader, "Ask Deborah," I responded to the following question: I am finding health ministry to be more stressful than I had imagined it would be when I was going through the...
Wherever You’re From, We All Crave Being Useful
I can't seem to get the boys my husband and I met in Africa out of my mind because, as many of you know, some of the greatest gems of experience take time to sink in. One of my favorite experiences of the Kenya trip...
Charity is not a loophole
As the country's congressmen dither over who gets the blame for our ongoing budget uncertainties and sequester-fueled cutbacks in services, lots of notions about tax reform are floating about. Image from...
When Church Conflict Erupts, We Blame Wrong Thing
Themes show up in the oddest places sometimes. I'm thinking about three congregations in which Pinnacle Leadership Associates has done conflict management consulting – Baptist, Lutheran and Presbyterian. Conflicts in...
7 Ways Your Church Can Respond to Tragedy
A gunman slaughters innocents at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Bombs rip through the crowd at the Boston Marathon. A chemical plant explosion destroys homes and lives in West, Texas. Every day seems to...
We’re United During Crisis, Divided During Normalcy
For a nation whose Constitution begins with the words, "We the people," we seem to have an interesting pattern to the exercise and management of our "we-ness." I hope it is not cynical to notice an all-too-recurring...
How Your Church Can Discover Authentic Worship
In my short career, I've come across a lot of loaded words, but the word worship has been one of the most difficult to define. Everyone is looking for a church that really worships, that really knows how to praise God....
What If Immigration Proposal Applied to Christianity?
Good thing I didn't have to wait for congressional action and a leader's signature to make me a legitimate member of the nation of Jesus. Fortunately, that all got taken care of a couple of millennia ago when Peter was...
Whose Side is God On?
Sitting on the fence is not always the most comfortable place to be. In trying to avoid aligning yourself with a particular group, belief or political party, it is often easy to alienate yourself from all parties in...
Porch Talk
when he said, as the Good Shepherd, he reflected the heart and nature of God in the way he spoke and lived, they became enraged and wanted to stone him to death. Do you think Jesus knew the scribes and Pharisees were...
Healer of My Soul
A sermon by David Hughes, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, N.C. Psalm 23; Acts 9:36-43 I remember a time when I often grew impatient listening to older people discuss their bodily ailments. During visits to...
Can You Hear Me Now?
A sermon by Michael Cheuk, Pastor, University Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Va. John 10:22-30, Psalm 23 How many of you have a cell phone with you today? Those of you with cell phones, how many of you sometimes...
The Acts of an Easter People: Faithful Healing
A sermon by Jim Somerville, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Richmond, Va. The Fourth Sunday of Easter Acts 9:36-43 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and...
How Different Cultures Can Learn From Each Other
During a recent sabbatical, I had the privilege of traveling with faculty, staff and doctor of ministry students from Central Baptist Theological Seminary (CBTS) to Myanmar. CBTS has established a dynamic relationship...
Sarcasm “ That Dingy White Shirt We Keep Wearing
In "Your God is Too Small," J.B. Phillips wrote, "Self-centered and evil people really fear the good. They express their fear by mockery, cynicism and, when circumstances allow, by active persecution." Sarcasm and...
Released Prisoners Head to Bus Stop, Rummage Through Executed Man’s Belongings
Rickey Lynn Lewis was executed on April 9 at the Walls Unit in Huntsville, Texas. He was put to death 22 years after he murdered a man and raped his fiancée. He had been to prison multiple times since 1983. He had...
Evaluation without self-preservation
By John Pierce “Remarkable.” That’s what came to mind when I walked out of the “God Box” on New York’s upper west side on a cold day late in 2001, following a conversation with Bob...
Teaching an old dye new tricks
I love Egyptian art. Even though it's stylized, repetitive, and has a bit of a "color by numbers" look to it, it's also neat and orderly. The people or gods depicted may seem out of proportion to each other, but...