Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
The Journey to Bethlehem: Better Roads
A sermon delivered by Joel Snider, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., on November 27, 2011. Isaiah 40:1-11 Morning Prayer: O God, our Father, in this season of Advent, we pray that you would be ever near to us...
God’s Thanksgiving
A sermon delivered by Howard Batson, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Amarillo, Tx., on November 27, 201 Luke 15:11-32 This parable is often called the parable of the prodigal son. I think it’s better entitled in a way...
When God Came Down…Already
A sermon delivered by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark., on November 27, 2011. First Sunday in Advent Isaiah 64:1-9; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 It’s all begun, hasn’t it? Put on your seat...
Generous Gratitude
A sermon delivered by Joel Snider, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., on November 20, 2011. Psalm 100 Morning Prayer: Eternal Father and Giver of all good gifts, the week looms before us and we think of so many things. ...
An Advent Prayer for Our Predicament
A sermon delivered by Wendell Griffen, Pastor, New Millennium Church, Little Rock, Ark., on November 27, 2011. Isaiah 64:1-9 64O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake...
2012 Candidates Asked to Sign Religious Freedom Pledge
(RNS) An advocacy organization for persecuted Christians has asked the 2012 presidential candidates to sign a pledge stating they would make religious freedom a priority in the United States and overseas if they win...
D.C. Tosses Complaint Against Catholic University Dorms
WASHINGTON (RNS) The District of Columbia has dismissed a complaint against The Catholic University of America that charged the school’s return to same-gender student housing discriminates against women. In an order...
Update: Pope Won’t Face Charges for Not Buckling Up
BERLIN (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI can cross an outstanding charge of failing to use a seatbelt from his list of worries. The southern German city of Freiburg on Wednesday (Nov. 30) threw out charges against the pontiff...
Occupy Protesters Fill Void Left by Churches
I watched recently as a team of workers at a fast-food store coordinated their efforts to create my meal just as ordered. They worked intensely and quickly, standing above hot and dangerous stoves as they'd been doing...
Waiting in Hope “ An Active Spiritual Practice
Pleadingly, the prophet Isaiah writes: "O that you would tear open the heavens and come down ..." (64:1). If writing today, he might put it this way: we desperately need you to show up, O God! This reading from the...
British Minister Urges Baptists to Support Muslim Family
A minister campaigning to save the family of a Muslim convicted under anti-terrorism laws from eviction is appealing to Baptists for support. Rev. Gary Serra di Migni is backing a campaign to save the family home of...
Nurture faith by nurturing knowledge
Baptists Today's new Nurturing Faith curriculum has been out for about six months now, and it's picking up some really nice reviews from the many classes and churches that have given it a try. Users seem especially...
British Government Scales Back Solar-Panel Assistance
The British government's plans to reduce the amount paid for energy generated by solar panels has been criticized by green campaigners and Christian groups – though one major industry provider has welcomed it....
Why We Can Do Without Most Economists
One week before the Great Crash of October 1929 – which precipitated the Great Depression – Irving Fisher of Yale University, perhaps the most distinguished U.S. economist of his time, claimed that the American economy...
Is Your Life Always Winter, Never Christmas?
Famously, when Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy stepped through the wardrobe in the old professor's house, they entered the fantastic land of Narnia. It was winter. In fact, Mr. Tumnus, the Faun, said to the children: "It...
Charitable Giving Up Slightly but Still Ailing
(RNS) Charitable giving is trickling back up as the economy heals, but it could take years to return to pre-recession levels, nonprofit leaders say. Giving totaled $291 billion in 2010, according to the 2011 annual...
Episcopal Bishop Cleared of Abandonment Charge
(RNS) The Episcopal bishop of South Carolina, who has distanced his diocese from the national denomination since its sanction of openly gay bishops, has not “abandoned” the Episcopal Church, a church committee...
Accused Janitor Says Priest Blackmailed, Abused Him
MORRISTOWN, N.J. (RNS) For four years, Jose Feliciano told a jury on Monday (Nov. 28), his rage grew. The former church janitor said his employer, the Rev. Edward Hinds, had been extorting him, forcing him into...
Hook, line and Kool-Aid
By John Pierce Although not an educator by training, I keep wondering about the degree to which critical analysis can be taught or at least nurtured. Why? Because, obviously, independent thinking is in short supply....
Tunisia a Test for Moderate Islam
TUNIS, Tunisia (RNS) Nearly a year after Tunisia set off the Arab Spring of popular revolt, the face of political Islam in this fledgling Muslim democracy is a 47-year-old mother of two who favors tailored suits and...
Pope: Others Should Be Held to Same Abuse Standards
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI told bishops from New York state that “all other institutions” in society should be held to the same “exacting standards” as the Roman Catholic Church in preventing and reporting...