Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
3 Ways to Confront Lebanon’s Prostitution, Sex Trafficking
Last June, a close friend of my wife's and mine died. Cindy was someone who transformed our life, faith and spirituality. She taught us about frailty, vulnerability and suffering by showing us something of Jesus in the...
5 Skills Required for Today’s Ministers
Several blog writers that I follow have recently posted observations about the needs of pastoral leaders in the contemporary setting and in the coming years. They have asked questions like, "What are the competencies...
Choose Now. Which Side of History Will You Be On?
Recent conversations and commentary have included the intriguing observation that positions taken and decisions made often reflect a desire to be on "the right side of history." Coming as it did on the heels of a hotly...
Christian Leaders Offer 5-Point Statement on Immigration Reform
Christian leaders – representing the broadest expression of American Christianity – have agreed on a five-point statement calling for immigration reform. Catholic, Pentecostal, Orthodox and Mainline Protestant bishops...
Frog in my pocket
By John Pierce Mr. Aubrey Greeson was among the first male teachers I experienced at the highly acclaimed Boynton Elementary School just east of Chickamauga National Military Park. In those glory years, the school...
In our wake …
You can tell a lot about a person by what he or she leaves behind. That would be particularly true when someone dies and family members or friends pick through the finances, belongings, or correspondence of the...
4 Cultural Trends That Will Challenge Churches
At First Baptist Church of Asheville, N.C., we've been taking a close and hopeful look at the challenges and opportunities we face. That crucial work continues, and I've suggested that, as we do it, we need to keep in...
5 Points to Help Christians Be Good Citizens
Citizenship is about identity, belonging and – in the European Union, at least – how the individual plays his or her part in the building of a democratic society. One helpful definition I read recently was:...
When Churches Cooperate, Our Neighbors in Need Win
Warming our hands on Americanos, we were sitting downstairs in a Costa Coffee shop on a cold Tuesday morning – a retired Catholic layman, a Pentecostal woman, an Anglican priest and me. We'd met to pray for the night...
Follow-ups …
A couple of thoughts that follow on two earlier blogs ... Last Friday I meandered on the subject of living and walking positively, with one's head up, as opposed to stumbling along heads-down in a perpetual pity party....
How Do Introverts Survive in Extroverted Churches?
The Hellenist widows were the first group in a local congregation to cry foul and complain that their needs were not being met (Acts 6:1-7). The latest are the introverts. Thanks to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator...
How One Group Seeks to End Human Trafficking
Global Women is an organization of abolitionists! We pray for and long for an end to the travesty of modern-day slavery that is human trafficking. Embedded in the DNA of our 11-year history are strategies to educate...
Celebrating Equality for All “ on Groundhog Day
Are you ready for the observance on Feb. 2? Have you made plans for the observance? Will you do the observance in private or with a group? What do you expect to follow from the observance that falls on Feb. 2? Do you...
People of the Book
A sermon delivered Keith Herron, Pastor, Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City, Mo., on January 27, 2013. Third Sunday after Epiphany Nehemiah 8:1-10 Psalm 19; Luke 4:14-21; I Corinthians 12:12-31a At the dedication...
When Scripture Comes Alive
A sermon delivered by Wendell Griffen, Pastor, New Millennium Church, Little Rock, Ark., on January 27, 2013. Psalm 19 1The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. 2Day to day...
Short Pieces of String
A sermon delivered by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark., on January 27, 2013. Psalm 19:1-14; Luke 4:14-21 The publisher Henry Luce bought Life magazine in 1936. Prior to that, it was...
Jesus’ Inaugural Address, Part 1
A sermon delivered by Michael Cheuk, Senior Minister, University Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Va., on January 27, 2013. Luke 4:14-21 In today’s Gospel lesson, Luke the Gospel writer records Jesus’ first public...
Ever Had a Crisis of Faith?
A sermon delivered by Robert Browning, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Frankfort, Ky., on January 27, 2013. Nehemiah 8:1-12 Our attention this morning is drawn to the Old Testament book of Nehemiah. It was named for one...
Great Themes of the Bible: Spirit
A sermon delivered by Joel Snider, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., on January 27, 2013. Isaiah 44:9-20 Morning Prayer: O Lord, our God, we pray today for the full measure of your spirit. Come to us, surround...
Our Worship Language Needs to Reflect God’s Nature
Much has been written in recent years about the negative effects of using masculine imagery and pronouns when referring to God. The Scriptures tell us that God is neither male nor female because God's nature...
16 Reflections Gleaned from 1 Day of Silence
We Protestants are wordy people. We are known for our emphasis on the Bible, the Word of God, and also for our preaching and evangelism. Words are our strength. But they are also our weakness. Often, in our prayers, we...