Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Does Your Church Shush? 3 Questions to Ask
It was while at a church's regular Sunday gathering recently that I heard a child most definitely being "shushed." What I found interesting, although not that surprising, was that the one doing the "shushing," was not...
Faith Community Builds Social Capital
Given the number of Americans who identity with no religion, the aggressive anti-Christian agenda of some atheists, and those who water down the practice of traditional Christianity, practicing Christians would do well...
Helping Others is Both Free and Costly
At PORTA – the Albania House in Athens – we're all about giving. We give of ourselves, and we give nearly everything we do for free. There are many reasons for this. For one, as what Greeks call a "spiritual" center,...
Consumption: New Religion During Christmas Season?
Recently, I watched a TV advertisement for a show on Oxygen called "My Shopping Addiction." As the title implies, it follows people who have a real addiction to shopping. I know of tobacco, alcohol and drug addiction,...
Skype Interview: Michael Ruffin Discusses Blogging Prayers
"It reminds me that I'm to be praying without ceasing, like Paul said." That's what posting daily prayers to a blog will do, says Michael Ruffin, pastor of First Baptist Church in Fitzgerald, Ga., in a new Skype...
Theft by taxes
Do taxes qualify as stealing? That's the impression one gets from a Baptist Press report on the Nov. 14-16 meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in Milwaukee. During a session on "wealth redistribution,"...
This Advent, Are You Listening to God?
Editor's note: This column is the second part of a four-part Advent series from the Gospel of Mark on waiting, hearing, repenting and believing. Read part one here. The fundamental statement of belief from ancient...
Moving Past Our Differences for the Common Good
It was a very long table. And round it we were crammed together, ambassadors, representatives of various foreign ministries, nongovernmental organizations and a few assorted religious leaders like me. This was my first...
Advent Rules: Do They Apply Seasonally or Annually?
Here's the question that must be asked during Advent: Do the Rules of Advent apply only in Advent? Or to put the question another way: Do the Advent Rules apply beyond the special period (in the Western church)...
Skype Interview: David Hull Discusses “Living Christmas Tree”
"It really is a logistical challenge every year, but fortunately we're in Huntsville, Alabama, which is the engineering capital of America." The logistical challenge mentioned by David Hull, senior pastor of First...
Wilderness Guide
A sermon delivered by Keith Herron, Pastor, Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City, Mo., on December 9, 2012. The Second Sunday of Advent Luke 3:1-6 Malachi 3:1-4; Philippians 1:3-11 (Walking to the pulpit,...
How Would You Get Ready?
A sermon delivered by Jim Somerville, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Richmond, Va., on December 9, 2012. The Second Sunday of Advent Luke 3:1-6 Since we started our year-long, every-member mission trip back in September...
God With Us: Anticipation
A sermon delivered by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark., on December 9, 2012. Second Sunday in Advent Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 1:68-79 It was the first time Zechariah had spoken in nine...
Peace Child
A sermon delivered by Michael Cheuk, Pastor, University Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Va., on December 9, 2012. Luke 1:68-79 When some children are born into the world, they already have a host of expectations on...
This Year, Give the Gift of Peace
A sermon delivered by Robert Browning, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Frankfort, Ky., on December 9, 2012. Luke 1:68-79 Our attention this morning is drawn to the birth of John the Baptist, the prophet who prepared the...
American idols
By John Pierce Thanks to satellite radio Morning Joe travels with me. Recently, the Baptist-raised, Catholic-educated and often irreverent Joe Scarborough was gushing over the Rev. Tim Keller and his new book, Every...
Churches Are in Minority at Christmas “ And That’s Good
Our current Christmas celebration habits are a uniquely post-World War II phenomena. Much of the excess we experience stands at odds with the way Western society approached the holiday only a few years ago. This shift...
Measuring Religious Intensity of Catholics, Evangelicals
Sciences live by measurement, be it of size, temperature, numbers or pace. So do social scientists in the world of religion. David Gibson in Religion News Service and the Washington Post's "On Faith" blog featured the...
Theological Contours Don’t Have to Divide Us
I live in South Oxfordshire in England where many of the villages are chocolate-box pretty, the land is fertile, the meandering Thames adds its own unique fingerprint and the air is clean. Well, except when our beloved...
The Mother of all Floods?
Every now and then, someone comes up with a purported proof for something like Noah's flood. "Answers in Genesis," the Australian group behind the elaborate Creation Museum in Petersburg, KY, is still trying to build a...
Today’s Seekers Prefer Belonging Before Believing
Believe – Become – Belong These three words are prominently displayed on the attractive new sign, just below the church's name. This sign, in front of the new church building, is located on a busy highway near where I...