Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Can “We” Move Beyond Debate to Dialogue?
Speaking recently to an interfaith dialogue group, Baptist historian Walter Shurden drew upon Jewish philosopher Martin Buber's "I and Thou," one of the 20th century's most influential works on genuine relationship and...
No Matter What the Future Holds, God is Present
As violence rocked the center of Beirut again and as I have watched the crisis in Syria unfold with all its horrors, I've wondered where does God fit into all of this? The fear and anxiety is palpable. The political...
Sadly, Mudslinging Campaigns Are Nothing New
I am eagerly anticipating the November elections. Not because I am ready for the candidates and propositions I support to win, but because I am ready for the campaign season to be over. Thanks to ubiquitous news...
Clergy Endorsements for President Stack Up Amid Criticism
"Our nation will hold one of the most critical elections in my lifetime. We are at a crossroads... I strongly urge you to vote for candidates who support the biblical definition of marriage between a man and a woman,...
SBC Leader Breaks Promise, Endorses Romney
The main political spokesman for the Southern Baptist Convention officially endorsed Republican Mitt Romney for president on Friday, despite insisting for years that he would not endorse candidates because of his SBC...
There may be giants
It seems lame to say -- after they swept the Detroit Tigers to win the World Series -- that I was pulling for the San Francisco Giants. The odd thing is how I came to care. Photo: Russell Yip, The Chronicle / SF...
Answers Elusive for Refugees in Morocco
We left the Hotel Oujda at 6:30 a.m. to catch the train to Fez. It was a relief to check out of the 1970s-looking hotel that could qualify as shabby-chic if the owners had been going for that look intentionally. There...
Domestic Slavery in the Contemporary Arab World
There is an issue in our Arab region these days that has become so blatantly intolerable that most people seem to have instinctively shut off their natural capacity to see it or to talk about it: the situation of...
Incivility Is as Hazardous as Elections Are Important
The 2012 presidential election is the "most important election of our lifetime." So claim candidates and their supporters. Lefties make that claim. Righties make that claim. Preachers make that claim. "We're at the...
Making Love Just
When I was invited to review Marvin M. Ellison's Making Love Just: Sexual Ethics for Perplexing Times (Fortress, 2012), I anticipated something along the lines of a more progressive interpretation of sexual ethics than...
5 Ways Pastors Can Know It’s Time to Move On
How do clergy and church staff know when it's time to move? Often this question arises in one of two circumstances: when an attractive opportunity comes along or when one's current ministry setting grows uncomfortable....
Don’t Panic! 5 Ways Your Church Can Draw Young Adults
Maybe you heard about or read about the study that came out. We are becoming a less religious nation. Or at least we are by certain definitions. According to the Pew Forum, some one-third of persons under the age of 30...
So Much Sacrifice Means We Must Value the Vote
When the United States was founded, the only persons allowed to vote were free white men who owned property. White women could not vote. White men who did not own property could not vote. Non-whites were denied the...
The Sons of Entitlement
A sermon delivered by Keith Herron, Pastor, Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City, Mo., on October 21, 2012. Mark 10:35-45 The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost Job 38:1-7 (34-41); Psalm 1`04:1-9, 24, 35c; Hebrews...
Job: Only a Man
A sermon delivered by Jim Somerville, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Richmond, Va., on October 21, 2012. The Twenty First Sunday after Pentecost Job 38:1-7 (34-41) Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind: "Who...
Ministry Reminders for Prophetic People
A sermon delivered by Wendell Griffen, for the ordination of Rev. Marie Mainard O'Connell, First Presbyterian Church, Little Rock, Ark., on October 21, 2012. Luke 4:14-30 14 Then Jesus, filled with the power of the...
Thank God for the Church
A sermon delivered by Michael Cheuk, Senior Minister, University Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Va., on October 21, 2012. 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 There once was a church where the pastor and the music minister were not...
Tinted Windows and Bodygaurd
A sermon delivered by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark., on October 21, 2012. Psalm 104:1-9, 24; Mark 10:35-45 As a child, did you ever play church? I rather doubt that our children...
Great Themes of the Bible: Messiah
A sermon delivered by Joel Snider, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., on October 21, 2012. Luke 7:18-22 Morning Prayer: O God, we pray in the hope, the belief, and the confidence that you will provide for our...
4 Things You Can Expect from Social Media’s Future
Editor's note: This is the second column in a three-part series. In my previous article, I wrote about what social media looks like now and how churches might use it. This world is moving fast; in this article I want...
Candidates Talk About Middle Class, Silent on Poor
Through three debates we have seen the presidential candidates discuss a variety of topics. One topic that both candidates focus most of their time and energy on is making sure the middle class is strengthened. They...