Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Panel: Stand Up to Unjust Immigration Laws
As part of New Baptist Covenant II, the Oklahoma City satellite location hosted an ecumenical panel Friday to discuss immigration. With the EthicsDaily.com documentary "GospelWithoutBorders" as a backdrop, panelists...
On being out of touch (about some things) and sadly not caring
By John Pierce My parents were ignorant and out of touch. They rarely knew the musicians and actors that my brothers and I discussed around the dinner table. Privately (for my own safety) I would roll my eyes at their...
Missing the point about Israel
Sometimes we carry assumptions so deeply that we simply refuse to let them be challenged, even if we have to ignore obvious evidence to the contrary. A checkpoint departing BethlehemBack in September, Christian...
New Baptist Covenant II Begins with Call to Unity, Challenge to Serve
ATLANTA – New Baptist Covenant II began Thursday night with a focus on unity following the touchstone passage from Luke 4 that was the basis for the first historic gathering in Atlanta in 2008. Convened by former...
Lawyer Urges Penn State to Lift Confidentiality Claims
(RNS) As the Penn State abuse scandal blares in the news, hundreds of people around the country who were sexually abused as children will watch in legally imposed silence, says a Boston attorney and expert on such...
Episcopal Head Jefferts Schori Answers Critics on Abusive Priest
(RNS) The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church on Thursday (Nov. 17) defended her decision to allow a former Roman Catholic monk to become an Episcopal priest even after he admitted to sexual misconduct with a...
Calif. Court Hands Conservatives a Victory in Prop 8 Case
LOS ANGELES (RNS) The California Supreme Court handed conservatives a big victory on Thursday (Nov. 17) by allowing them to defend a statewide ban on gay marriage that a federal judge struck down as unconstitutional...
“Take Shelter”
These are uncertain times. Even if you don't embrace the ramblings of Glenn Beck and a handful of other doom-and-gloomers, there is a lot speculation about the future of our nation and world; it isn't optimistic. But...
How Each of Us Can Discover Our Inner Prophet
Some of the more interesting discoveries a teacher gets to make come from listening to students who are discovering things for themselves. One of these occurred recently in a class on the prophetic literature of the...
Giving for Our Sake
A sermon delivered by Joel Snider, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., on November 13, 2011. 2 Deuteronomy 15:7-10 Morning Prayer: Lord of all love, we ask that you would compensate for our failures today. If...
Giving for God’s Sake
A sermon delivered by Joel Snider, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., on October 30, 2011. 2 Samuel 24:18-24 Morning Prayer: O God, we wonder if we have prayed too little. Have we forgotten friends for whom we...
Over the River and Through the Woods
A sermon delivered by Robert Browning, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Frankfort, Ky., on November 13, 2011. Joshua 3:1-17 I am confident many of you associate the title of the sermon with Thanksgiving and rightly so. In...
Jesus is Talking About Power ”Who’s Listening?
A sermon delivered by Wendell Griffen at Community Chapel at McAfee School of Theology, Atlanta, Ga., on November 15, 2011. Matthew 22:15-22 15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. 16So...
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A sermon delivered by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark., on November 13, 2011. Psalm 90:1-6; Matthew 25:14-30 There’s a real temptation for me to take it easy with this...
Invest Yourself
A sermon delivered by Keith Herron, Pastor, Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City, Mo., on November 13, 2011. Matthew 25:14-30 Nothing captured the spirit of this parable better than what a church in California did...
Don’t hit your weird uncle with a turkey leg
By John Pierce Today I received a press release offering an interview with “Confidence Coach” Bev Flaxington. The suggested topic was “getting along with family during the holidays.” I...
Catholics to Launch Shelter for Anglicans on Jan. 1
(RNS) A new Roman Catholic structure for Anglican converts in the United States will be formally launched on Jan. 1, Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington announced Tuesday (Nov. 15). The structure, technically called an...
Sexual Abusers Hard to Profile or Predict
(RNS) The grand jury report reads like a textbook profile of child sexual abuse. Jerry Sandusky, former assistant football coach at Penn State, allegedly bought one boy golf clubs and a computer, took him swimming at a...
Benetton Pulls Pope-kissing Ad
VATICAN CITY (RNS) International clothing retailer Benetton pulled a provocative ad featuring Pope Benedict XVI kissing a Muslim cleric on Wednesday (Nov. 16) after the Vatican threatened legal action to protect the...
Pessimism vs. Optimism: What’s the Alternative?
Nothing is easier to come by than pessimism. There are plenty of reasons for it. The economic outlook is (still) gloomy: scarce jobs, skyrocketing healthcare costs and crashing retirement investments. Political...
Amid Religious Conflicts, Finding Reasons for Hope
While polarization marks and blights politics in America today, and while popular culture, commerce and religion are afflicted with the all-or-nothing ideologies and practices that prevent the citizenry from meeting...