Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Chickens and eggs, browsing and ads …
Have you noticed how good some web sites are at displaying ads that target your particular interests? The practice feels both intrusive and a bit scary, but impressive at the same time. Facebook, for example, has been...
What Young Children Can Teach You About Faith
Our twin grandchildren, Aiden and Hannah, recently stayed over for a weekend while Mom Carissa and big sister Lily were away on retreat with the middle school church youth group. I had almost forgotten how verbal...
Two Dangers of Culture of Excessive Flattery
Decades ago, in her influential book on lying, philosopher Sisela Bok asserted that lying has implications for the morality of the choices we make in both private and public life. In the main, Bok advanced strong...
Seven Things I’ve Learned about Faith in the Public Square
After 21 years of heading up the Baptist Center for Ethics (BCE) and a dozen years of EthicsDaily.com, I've learned a lot about faith in the public square. Here's a short list. First, it takes a long time to say hello...
Expected surprises
By John Pierce While reading Sky magazine on a Delta flight last year, I got a chuckle out of a comment by Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti. It was in one of those personal Q&A pieces. “My wife, Ashley,...
Reader and weep
I know the correct phrase is "read 'em and weep," and that it's more commonly used when someone displays an awesome winning hand in poker (I know this from movies), but I couldn't escape some weepy thoughts when I saw...
“Looper”
Movies have played with the idea of time travel in many ways. Most famous is probably the trio of "Back to the Future" movies. In them, we see how changes in the past, wrought by one from the future, can create huge...
The Paradigmatic Evangelism of Bill Clinton
Recently – that is, since the Republican and Democratic National Conventions – President Obama has shared the suggestion that former President Bill Clinton be appointed to a newly created cabinet post of "Secretary of...
Discovering What Motivates Kids to Learn
Bralyan loves bugs. I met him during the first week of school as I conducted the standard assessment of how many words he could read per minute from a second-grade story. After the assessment, I gave him the customary...
Extreme Makeover
A sermon delivered by Robert Browning, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Frankfort, Ky., on September 30, 2012. Mark 9:38-50 Years ago, a man decided to install a new television antenna on the roof of his house. Just for...
God’s Bouncers
A sermon delivered by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark., on September 30, 2012. Psalm 124:1-8; Mark 9:38-41 We’ve all gone through periods of time when things don’t go well for us in...
Doing the Word, Part V: Learning to Pray
A sermon by delivered by Jim Somerville, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Richmond, Va., on September 30, 2012. James 5:13-20 My first church was in the little town of Newcastle, Kentucky - about forty-five minutes away...
Making Language Equal for Both Genders
American schools have long taught the English grammar rule that allows the words "man" and "he" to refer to both males and females. This practice has evolved along a convoluted path. According to Carolyn Jacobson in...
Survey Reveals Attitudes of White Working-Class Men
The column series Sightings lives week by week. In my other life as a historian for 60 years, I have lived by 250- and 500-year chunks of American life. My colleagues and I know that you cannot write religious history,...
Skype Interview: Bob and Janice Newell Discuss Albania House in Athens
"Porta" means "door" in Albanian and Greek. It has also come to signify a place of "help, hope and wholeness" for Albanian immigrants in Athens, Greece. PORTA – The Albania House in Athens is the topic of a new Skype...
When October comes
When October comes, here in the South, the hardwoods hold tight to their spring couture. While northern forests blaze crimson and gold, our woods cling to shades of ragged green -- the dogwoods alone have morphed to...
Finding the Truth is Tough During Political Season
Especially as we draw close to our quadrennial presidential election, we are inundated with authoritative voices telling us for whom to vote and why. It is often very difficult to find the kernel of truth hidden among...
Desiring Righteous Lives Spurs Work for Justice
A few years ago, my wife and I were leading a study on the Beatitudes (a variation of the Latin word for "happy," "fortunate" or "blessed") of Jesus found in Matthew 5:1-12. When it came time to begin my sermon...
Why Having It Your Way in Church is Deadly
The 21st century is the age of hyperindividualism. We want what we want. Hyperindividualism is in the water we all drink, and its impact is pervasive in modern American life. Before we make a major purchase, we develop...
Five Ways That Christian Educators Grow Disciples
When I was a youngster, my home church called Jim Tucker as director of education and promotion. Brother Tucker was a Christian educator. He directed all of our education programs, including Sunday school and Training...
How Electronic Communication Can Scuttle Intimacy
I recently had the chance to sit in on a day-long seminar at the fall meeting of the North Carolina Psychological Association. The topic should interest most anyone concerned with keeping families together in today's...