Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Catholics Look into Buying Crystal Cathedral
(RNS) The Crystal Cathedral, which has put its iconic campus up for sale to end a bankruptcy crisis, has an interested party that needs a large cathedral: the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, Calif. The diocese—the...
Mormons Add Shorter Stints to Boost Missionaries
SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) As Mormon leaders seek to add more senior couples to their shrinking missionary force, they’re hoping that less will mean more: less time and expense, more missionaries. The Church of Jesus Christ...
A Useful Lesson on Jesus’ Bad-Parable Day
Confusion about the "real" meaning of Jesus' familiar (and evidently authentic) parable of the sower and the seed could have a simple explanation: He was just having a bad day on all sorts of fronts. After all, most of...
“The Tree of Life”
I immediately zoned in to the opening scenes of Terrence Malick's new movie, "The Tree of Life," when the haunting quotation appeared from Job 38. "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth … when the...
Is America Ready for a Mormon President?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church, is America's homegrown religion. Founded in 1830 by Joseph Smith, the Mormon movement began by embracing all that was already present in...
Natural wonder
On a day when I had few obligations at the Baptist World Alliance meeting, I took a break from business and joined a small tour to see some of the notable sights on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. The pewter factory and...
The Trinity at Work
A sermon delivered by David Hughes, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, Nc., on June 19, 2011. Genesis 1:1-4a; Matthew 28:16-20; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 Preaching on the Christian doctrine of the Trinity has...
Rejoice!
A sermon delivered by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark., on July 3, 2011. Zechariah 9:9-12; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 What is your favorite pet peeve? I would allow for testimonies,...
God, Country, and a Few Inconvenient Truths
A sermon delivered by Wendell Griffen, Pastor, New Millennium Church, Little Rock, Ark., on July 3, 2011. Exodus 5 5Afterwards Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Let my...
Matchmaker, Matchmaker
A sermon delivered by Keith Herron, Pastor, Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City, Mo., on July 3, 2011 The Third Sunday After Pentecost Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67 Psalm 45:10-17; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30; Romans...
Saintly Relics, from the Macabre to the Magnificent
(RNS) St. Patrick’s tooth. Justin Bieber’s hair clippings. The bloodstained gloves that Mary Todd Lincoln carried to Ford’s Theatre. What do they have in common? They are relics—prized keepsakes, preserved because of...
Episcopal Church Defends Top Bishop’s Record in Nevada Abuse Case
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Episcopal Church is rejecting charges that its top leader, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, mishandled the ordination of a former priest who is now accused of sexual abuse. Jefferts...
Dalai Lama Turns 76 as He Kicks Off D.C. Peace Festival
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Dalai Lama celebrated his 76th birthday in Washington on Wednesday (July 6) by speaking before throngs of well-wishers and kicking off an 11-day peace event in the U.S. capital. Sporting...
Why Millennials Rarely Connect With Churches
The latest buzz about the postmodern, millennial group in Baptist life is that "they don't care about the conservative resurgence." There is also a growing feeling that says, "They don't care about the institutional...
A Suggested Political Solution to Immigration Reform
A solution to our immigration problem is a path to lawful permanent residency for undocumented immigrants without the full political rights of citizenship. This solution gives immigrant advocates what they want the...
Statistician: British Churches Will Continue to Decline
Church membership in the United Kingdom is set to continue its century-long decline in the next decade, but there is enough evidence to show churches are "not fossilizing" and in many instances are still "vigorously...
A long way for a meeting
A spot just north of the equator 12 time zones from Raleigh seems an unlikely place for a meeting of the North American Baptist Fellowship (NABF), but such is life in the Baptist World Alliance. The NABF is one of six...
City Attorney Questions Proposed Circumcision Ban
(RNS) In a potential blow to the proposed San Francisco circumcision ban, the city’s top lawyer has concluded it is unconstitutional to ban the practice as a religious ritual, but allow it as a medical procedure. The...
Schuller Loses Vote at Crystal Cathedral
(RNS) Crystal Cathedral founder Robert H. Schuller has been removed from a voting position on the board of the iconic glass megachurch he started in Southern California five decades ago. “Recently, the board of...
Schismatic Bishop Faces Trial over Holocaust Denial
BERLIN (RNS) The case of an outspoken schismatic bishop headed back to court on Monday (July 4), with lawyers for British Bishop Richard Williamson saying he shouldn’t be punished for downplaying the severity of the...
Breaking the Tradition of Reactivity; Building Moral Capital for Immigration Reform
Only after Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, a Southern Baptist, signed into law the nation's harshest anti-immigration bill did the state's goodwill faith leaders voice their public opposition to the law. One wonders what...