Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
God Doesn’t Separate the Donkeys and Elephants
"Never think that you need to protect God. Because anytime you think you need to protect God, you can be sure that you are worshipping an idol." – Stanley Hauerwas Afraid. It is the best way to describe my feelings...
More Carnivorous Diets Will Create Global Woes
Any conversation dealing with meat eating is geared to the minority of the world's population who can afford to be carnivorous. In order to maintain a U.S. diet, more than 9 billion livestock must be maintained to...
Churches Must Supply Oxygen for Truthful Narrative about Muslims
One narrative now dominates our global culture. Another narrative, an alternative one, is all but missing. The dominant narrative is that Muslims are a rage-filled people who hate America and react badly to events by...
Remember Soccer Moms? This Election, It’s Dot.Com Moms
Being a mom these days requires lots of skills. It is like being Cinderella in reverse (a laundress, cook, cleaner, chauffeur and scullery maid all at once for children rather than stepsisters.) At times, I feel...
Why Some Christians Neglect Feeding Themselves
How often have you heard someone say, "I'm just not being fed" as they left your church to join another? I have always thought that such a statement was a bit humorous. After observing my own children when they were...
How Do You Sum Up the Bible in 10 Words or Fewer?
In a class called "Teaching the Bible to Youth and Adults" at Campbell University Divinity School, my students were asked to think about the Bible as a metanarrative for understanding our place in the world. (One of...
Rockin’ the suburbs
So, I wanted to see the Ben Folds Five when they came to Cary NC's outdoor Koka Booth Amphitheater Sept. 16. And I wanted to see the performers well, so I skipped the bring-your-own-chair lawn tickets and shelled out...
Wrong Question for Any Campaign: “Are You Better Off?”
When I was a week short of my 8th birthday, I vaguely remember John Kennedy's inaugural address in January 1961. A key quote was, "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." We...
How Addicted Are You to Sports Violence?
"Look! Our first football cover!" was the first word I heard on my first sighting of religion in public life for Sightings after a month of pause. "Football: The Moral Hazard," words superimposed on a football game...
Unlocking Potential in Challenging Students
I hear it now and then. It invariably comes after a long day in an elementary school classroom, a day that seems like a year. "If I didn't have [student's name], I could teach my class!" You know the children who fill...
Good to get together
By John Pierce Having the Baptists Today/Nurturing Faith staff together for three days was a real treat. Rather than firing emails at each other or joining a conference call, we sat uninterrupted for many hours to...
Collateral damage
The ongoing rebellion in Syria, where a popular uprising and a ruthless dictator have given rise to more than 20,000 deaths -- often brutal killings of innocent people -- is also wreaking irretrievable damage on...
Which Fork in the Road Will Our Nation Choose?
"When you come to a fork in the road, take it." We smile at Yogi Berra's oft quoted aphorism, amused at the obvious mismatch of situation and choice. Then, with a bit of reflection, we realize that our personal and...
True Freedom Will Create Society of Justice
In the summer after the tragedy of Sept. 11, my family visited Stone Mountain, Ga., for the incredible laser show. I remember three songs from that show: Ray Charles' "Georgia On My Mind," The Charlie Daniels Band's...
Why the School Geeks Will Inherit the Earth
Billy was 7 years old when he walked through the door of my second-grade classroom. The cowlick in his hair wouldn't stay down. His shirt and shorts didn't match. He wore dark socks with his sneakers. He was clumsy,...
Grit and Grace
A sermon delivered by Wendell Griffen, Pastor, New Millennium Church, Little Rock, Ark., on September 9, 2012. Mark 7:24-37 24From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not...
Great Themes of the Bible: God
A sermon delivered by Joel Snider, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., September 9, 2012. John 1:15-18 Morning Prayer: O, God, our Father, we bow on this Lord’s day in awareness that you are our life. In these...
Great Themes of the Bible: Sabbath
A sermon delivered by Joel Snider, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., on September 2, 2012. Deuteronomy 5:12-15 Morning Prayer: Thank you, Father, for the skills, the talents, and the education that allow us to...
The Dogs of Heaven
A sermon delivered by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark., on September 9, 2012. Psalm 125:1-5; Mark 7:24-37 One of my favorite stories in all of scripture is the one about Jairus, a...
Dare to Love
A sermon delivered by Robert Browning, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Frankfort, Ky., on September 9, 2012. Mark 7:24-37 Did Jesus ever take a vacation? I doubt he would have used that word, but he did suspend his...
5 Insights to Help Your Church Survive Change
As part of our work with congregations who are engaging in the process of imagining their future, we invite them to first look back and connect with their past. One effective tool for doing that is to create a timeline...