Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
If America Has an Obesity Campaign Akin to Smoking Campaign, Will Churches Join It?
America's expanding waistline and worsening health have triggered the call for a health campaign akin to the one waged against tobacco. "When I look at what's going on with obesity, it reminds me of what was going on...
Are You Inconsistent? 10 Questions to Ask
Potential hypocrisy notwithstanding, here are my 10 questions for the week: No. 1. Why is it that so many political and religious ideologues describe those on the other side of the aisle as "extremist, virulent,...
Southern Baptist Leader Relies on Sexual Metaphors
A Washington Post animated editorial cartoon titled "Pelvic Politics" featured last week the voice of Southern Baptist politico Richard Land on the topic of contraception and religious liberty. Although there is little...
British Church Pilots Community Food Project
A church in Great Britain has piloted a community cafe that combines growing fresh produce, preparing great food and learning how to eat well on a budget. Nosh is a pop-up cafe that has been opening between noon and 2...
Travelblogs, of the delayed kind
If all goes as planned, this entry should automatically post on Monday, May 28. As you can see, there's not much to it. I'd like for it to be a colorful account of my first few days in Santiago de Cuba, where I'm...
What is the Mark of Genuine Patriotism?
As is well known, in a debate over the payment of taxes, Jesus asserted that we are to "render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's." George Weigel called this "a revolutionary...
What a Preacher Learned When He Stopped Preaching
I barely made it through the Easter Sunday sermon. Through a severely hoarse voice, I did manage to croak out the affirmation that "Christ is risen, he is risen indeed." Like all preachers, I had been hoarse many times...
How College Students Study Less, Earn Better Grades
The blog world is atwitter with newsfromarecentsurvey (the NationalSurveyofStudentEngagement) showing that today's college students are studying considerably fewer hours than their predecessors did a generation or two...
Don’t ask me to measure friendships
By John Pierce There is a common tendency for people to criticize Facebook — especially those who use it the most. Even though it’s free. Criticisms generally relate to unwelcome changes. The “If it...
Pretty …
Photo: American Friends of Tel Aviv University One of the things that makes us human, I think, is an aesthetic sense, an appreciation of beauty. We like pretty things: it's a part of who we are, and there's nothing new...
An Amish Lesson After Obama Affirms Same-Sex Marriage
Since you probably don't know a thing about me, let me toss a few factoids at you, so you'll at least know a bit about where I'm coming from on this and future issues. I'm in my late 50s, am a third-generation American...
End-Time Doomsayers Make Islam Their New Anti-Christ
In 1970, evangelical author Hal Lindsey penned a book that became a staple of Christian end-time table talk. The title said it all: "The Late Great Planet Earth." In this book, Lindsey laid out the now all-too-familiar...
Pastor to Egyptian Christians: Vote for Best Candidate
A prominent evangelical Egyptian pastor has warned his congregation against voting for purely protecting Christian interests in the presidential elections that begin in the Middle East country on May 23. Pastor Sameh...
Character for the 21st Century
A sermon delivered by Joel Snider, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., on May 20, 2012. Colossians 3:1-17 Morning Prayer: Make ready, O God, the graduates of this spring semester. Make them ready for the new...
A Prayer for People Who Aren’t Trying to Escape
A sermon delivered by Wendell Griffen, Pastor, New Millennium Church, Little Rock, Ark., on May 20, 2012. John 17:6-19 6”I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you...
He Will Be Glorified
A sermon delivered Keith Herron, Pastor, Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City, Mo., on May 20, 2012. Ascension Sunday Acts 1:1-11 Saying goodbye is terribly difficult. Remember when you were taken to your first...
How to Solve the Skyrocketing Incarceration Rate
Several journalists, scholars and politicians have been looking at the proportion of Americans behind bars, how we got here, and what we might do about it. Martha Teichner presented a story on this subject on CBS...
How Increasing Minorities Will Impact Religion
On May 17, the New York Times' headline read "WhitesAccountforUnderHalfofBirthsinU.S.; TippingPointReached; ImplicationsforPolitics, theEconomyandaNation'sIdentity." On the same day The Wall Street Journal underscored...
14 Pieces of Advice for New Ministers
The landscape of hiring and managing staff is rapidly changing for congregations. What are the implications for the men and women who desire to serve in those congregations? What does this dawning of a new era in...
Think books
By John Pierce For one year now, Baptists Today news journal has carried the Nurturing Faith Bible Studies by Tony Cartledge along with youth studies and children’s helps. We are grateful for the excellent...
Study to show thyself passing …
The blog world is atwitter with news from a recent survey (the National Survey of Student Engagement) showing that today's college students are studying considerably fewer hours than their predecessors did a generation...