Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Whom Do You Serve “ Others or Yourself?
The ashy, lifeless Andes Mountains rise above the small village of Cieneguilla, Peru. The evidence of poverty surrounds this place like the mountains. It's an odd place to make a home. Everything has to be brought here...
Warning Call to Clergy about Cap on Charitable Giving
President Obama wants to limit tax deductions on charitable giving by the wealthy, those who give an estimated one-third of all charitable gifts. He thinks that capping or cutting the tax deduction on gifts will help...
As rich as Croesus?
King Croesus (pronounced "kree-sus") and his riches are still making news. Oh, you didn't know about Croesus? Join the crowd. AFP/Getty ImagesCroesus was the king of Lydia during its heyday in the sixth century, BCE,...
The Challenge Facing Christians in Gaza
It has been hard to watch again an escalation of the ongoing tragedy which is Gaza. One of the three Christian churches in Gaza is a Baptist church and a member of the Evangelical Council of Local Baptist Churches in...
When We’re Preaching, Why Not Try Honesty?
Anne Lamott infamously said, "The most powerful sermon in the world are the words 'me too.'" I read those words once – I also read them in Rob Bell's book "Velvet Elvis," which is fitting because I recently found...
Real Jubilee Can Help World’s Debt-Crushed Poor
At the start of her Jubilee year, the Queen of England said to a meeting of faith leaders "the concept of a Jubilee is rooted in the Bible." She failed to mention that a biblical jubilee has nothing to do with...
Working now, but recalling when ink was king
Ochs Museum, Lookout Mtn, TN, by JDPBy John Pierce Ink got into my blood later than most who work in journalism. It was an unplanned, unanticipated second-career move — and it came at the beginning of...
Why Our Polarized Nation Needs Moderating Voices
In 2006, political and economic commentator Kevin Phillips published a lengthy book, "American Theocracy," setting forth three predominant problems he believed were threatening the U.S. position as a leading world...
Baptist Father of Five Among Fatalities in Gaza
Salem Boulos, who attended the Gaza Baptist Church, was among the casualties who died in the recent war between Israel and Hamas. The 45-year-old father of four daughters and one son was killed when bombs dropped by an...
For TV and Real-Life Survivalists, Faith Matters Little
Americans are fascinated with surviving an apocalyptic collapse – whether a fabricated story or a feared scenario. Consider three popular TV dramas. One is the "The Walking Dead," a drama about surviving zombies, who...
Faith of heaven …
Over the Thanksgiving weekend I read Eben Alexander's popular Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife (Simon & Schuster, 2012). The book, which once topped the New York Times best-seller list,...
3 Songs That Help Refocus My Soul
In 1991, Van Morrison released "Hymns to the Silence," a two-CD tour de force that seems at least partly autobiographical. Morrison's folk-tinged and bluesy rock 'n' roll on this album, as across his whole career, has...
Judge Roy Moore’s Odd View of the Constitution
While half the nation has been celebrating and half of the nation has been mourning the re-election of Barack Obama, another election has barely been noticed outside Alabama. Judge Roy Moore, who planted a 2.5-ton Ten...
In Greece, Thankful to Count Taxis and to Worship
If 9:30 p.m. seems past a small child's bedtime, you know you are not in Greece. When my Greek friends tell me that Greek schedules are about three hours behind other countries, I know they are not talking about time...
Strength in small numbers
Most Anglicans found less than expected to be thankful for this week: after years of planning, promotion, and hot debate, a popular measure that would have allowed women to serve as bishops was stymied by a...
A stubborn knight?
By John Pierce An enjoyable day with family at SeaWorld in Orlando on Tuesday filled my theme park quota for this decade. So, on the following morning, I dropped them at the entrance to Universal Studios and headed for...
How Evangelism Can Help Us Survive Election
We have had no shortage of helpful reflections on the recent election, which seems to have cleaned the windows a bit on our national landscape that has been changing for some time – to the surprise of many who seem not...
Signs of Hope for Churches in Central Asia
In some ways it is a forgotten region of the world. It is the place of the legendary Silk Road, where exotic silks and spices travelled over some of the most beautiful but inhospitable mountain terrain in the world, in...
“Lincoln”
As critics and commentators discuss Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln," now playing in wide release, they typically mention two of Spielberg's other historical dramas: "Schindler's List" and "Saving Private Ryan."...
When Churches Create a Domesticated Jesus
"These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also." – Description/criticism of Christian disciples in Thessalonica, as recorded in Acts 17:6 Read the Bible lately? The story is one of...
Relief Helps Sri Lanka’s Flood-Stricken Families
An estimated 50,000 people across Sri Lanka have been affected by severe flooding after Cyclone Nilam battered the Bay of Bengal at the end of October. BMS World Mission is responding to the natural disaster. Worst hit...