Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Does Your “Lunk Alarm” Sound Around Mature Believers?
I confess that I enjoy working out. I've always been a relatively large guy, mostly around the middle, but there is something biologically and spiritually cathartic about a good, sweaty workout every morning at about...
During Gun Debate, Let’s Examine Culture of Violence
The Miami Herald's Leonard Pitts recently had a good column titled "Fantasies vs. Real World Tragedies." He described the lunacy of at least two sides of the gun issue (indeed, there are many sides). I agree with...
Skype Interview: Eileen Kidd and Tutoring Immigrants in North Carolina
"We have learned to love them, as well as they have learned to trust and to love us." That's what Eileen Kidd, member of Piney Grove Baptist Church in Mount Airy, N.C., says about her church's new relationship with the...
My Way
By John Pierce Some people have accused me of beginning every day by participating in a coffee ritual at the closest Panera Bread Company. That’s a barefaced lie, of course. They are closed on Christmas day....
Need Something to Give Up for Lent? Try Negativity
With Easter fast on its way (the creme eggs have been on the shelves since before Christmas), many of us will be marking the Lent period by giving up something that we feel we would struggle to live without. My past...
“Burning for Freedom: A Theology of the Black Atlantic Struggle for Liberation”
Editor's note: This column is adapted from the original publication on The Baptist Times and is reposted here with permission. The Baptist Times will publish further excerpts on their website. Why "Burning for Freedom:...
Syrian Christians Live Through Betrayal, Redemption
Over the past many months, some Syrian Christians and their leaders have made comments that surprised me. "The West has betrayed the Christians of Syria and abandoned them. They support and arm the rebels who not only...
You go girl
Danica Patrick won the pole position for next week's Daytona 500 on Sunday, posting the fastest time among 45 competitors. She was not only the first woman to win the pole for the Daytona 500, but for any race in...
Will Nemo Awaken Us to Climate Change Reality?
I had such a terrible flu that I had no idea that snowstorm Nemo was predicted. However, when it hit, everyone in its path knew that Nemo was here. That path was similar to the track Hurricane Sandy took just a few...
Carnival Cruise Debacle Teaches Ironic Lesson
After five hellish days in the Gulf of Mexico, the Carnival cruise ship that suffered the catastrophic effects of an engine fire finally limped its way to port in Mobile, Ala. Most of the once-stranded wayfarers made...
Moral Witness by Signature – Does It Make a Difference in Public Square?
Does moral witness by signature really make a difference in the public square? A common practice is for organizations or coalitions to make public moral pronouncements with a host of signatories. These pronouncements...
Sandy’s tricky legacy
We all remember "Superstorm Sandy," the monstrous tempest that left a wake of destruction along the northeastern shore. Since we've come to expect the federal government to foot the bill for natural disasters...
Uncomfortable truth
By John Pierce Whew! Glad I was not among the 4,000-plus passengers aboard a cruise ship that lost its power and drifted at sea before a slow tow into Mobile last night. But I don’t want to hear another report...
Seeing “Small, Small” Victories Will Transform You
Soon after I arrived in Liberia at Ricks Institute for the first time in February 2007, I learned "small, small." The lesson still evokes my emotion. When I arrived, the wars were fresh memories and evidence of the...
Wilderness Temptation: Self-Interest vs. Common Good
The Synoptic Gospels all include the wilderness temptation narrative. Matthew and Luke go into great detail recounting the three different temptations of the devil. Mark, on the other hand, simply puts it this way...
For Christians, Immigration Reform Rooted in Solidarity
I have spent more than five years as a student of immigration law as a paralegal and a student of theology and ethics in my calling as a minister of the gospel. Both have made me keenly aware that in our culture of...
Great Themes of the Bible: Service
A Sermon By Joel Snider, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga. February 10, 2013 Romans 12:1-13 Morning Prayer: O God, the challenges of this world seem so great and we feel so small. Inspire in us the conviction...
The Call to “People-Catching” Living
A sermon by Wendell Griffen, Pastor, New Millennium Church, Little Rock, Ar. Luke 5:1-11 5Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2he...
Only At Baskin Robins
A sermon by Robert F. Browning, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Frankfort, Ky. Luke 9:28-43 February 10, 2013 This morning, our attention is drawn to an unusual event in the life of Jesus that occurred on a mountain in...
When the Going Gets Tough
A sermon by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ar. February 10, 2013 Psalm 138:1-8; Luke 5:1-11 A local pastor does television spots, perhaps you've seen them, and in one of them he quotes...
Look and Listen!
A sermon by Michael Cheuk, Pastor, University Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Va., on February 10, 2013. Luke 9:28-36 One of my guilty pleasures is watching the Home & Garden TV channel. I enjoy watching shows...