Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Resurrection Changes Everything
A sermon delivered by Joel Snider, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., on April 24, 2011. 1 Corinthians 15:20-28 Morning Prayer: We thank you, Father, that we have risen this day to the promise of life and we offer praise...
Resurrection Faith
A sermon delivered by Wendell Griffen, Pastor, New Millennium Church, Little Rock, Ark., on May 1, 2011. John 20:19-31 Jesus Appears to the Disciples 19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and...
The Holes of Doubt
A sermon delivered by Keith Herron, Pastor, Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City, Mo., on May 1, 2011. The Second Sunday of Easter John 20:19-31 This year perhaps more than any I’ve seen before, Easter has taken on a...
A Christ with Real Scars
A sermon delivered by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark., on May 1, 2011. Psalm 16:1-11; John 20:19-31 Except maybe for a few of the small children in our gathering today,...
Wheaton Alumni Rally Around Gay Students
(RNS) Gay and supportive alumni of Wheaton College have formed a new organization following a recent chapel series at the flagship evangelical school on “Sexuality and Wholeness.” More than 400 signatories have signed...
Ala. Governor Calls Jews Brothers and Sisters
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (RNS) Gov. Robert Bentley, who came under fire earlier this year for telling non-Christians that “you’re not my brother and you’re not my sister,” twice referred to Jews on Tuesday (May 3) as his...
Reformed Denominations Join to Plant Churches
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (RNS) The Reformed Church in America and the Christian Reformed Church are joining together after they split more than 150 years ago to launch a church planting project in four “test areas” across...
Faith Leaders Cite Justice, Caution Celebrating Bin Laden’s Death
The Islamic Society of North America released one of the first statements from the American faith community about the killing of Osama bin Laden. ISNA "joins all Americans in thanking President Obama for fulfilling his...
The Shakertown Pledge: Nine Ways to Make a Difference
Thirty-eight years ago last week, on April 30, 1973, a group of people gathered at the site of a restored Shaker village near Harrodsburg, Ky. It was there that the Shakertown Pledge was written. The Shakers, as most...
How to Draw Easter Crowds Every Sunday
Some weeks fade from memory quickly; others stand out for their significance and impact. This year, the week of Easter and following was a memorable week for us to learn some indispensible things about being a vibrant...
An Ethical Reflection on Osama bin Laden’s Death
I admit that when I read the first Facebook status saying Osama bin Laden had been killed, I was relieved. But my relief faded after reading six or seven of these. As I saw my friends' joy over bin Laden's death, I...
Print it, freely
Yesterday, as American newspapers were glutted with continued coverage of Osama Bin Ladin's death, most readers were completely unaware that May 3 was "World Press Freedom Day." The observance was declared by the...
Justices Sidestep Catholics’ Case Against San Francisco
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Supreme Court on Monday (May 2) declined to hear a Catholic group’s appeal accusing San Francisco supervisors of violating the Constitution when they disparaged the Catholic Church’s opposition to...
Vatican Praises Bloggers as Church’s Public Opinion
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The pope may not be ready to start a blog or a Twitter account, but the Vatican is taking note of the unruly world of the blogosphere, recognizing its potential and the value of online...
Economic Bell Tolls for Nation’s Church Steeples
(RNS) Atop the tiny, white-columned 1842 church where Glen Likens was baptized, where he married his wife, where their children were baptized, where they still worship on Sundays, the steeple is rotting. St. Mark’s...
Why It’s Time to Proudly Wear the Liberal Label
Once upon a time it was a good thing to be liberal, but today it seems that to be a liberal is to be godless and unpatriotic. In this age of Limbaugh, Hannity and Coulter, the word has become so disrespected that many...
Why Some Churches Remain Mum on Social Issues
The United States has spent well nigh a trillion dollars in a war against people in Iraq after having been misled – if not willfully deceived – into the war. What did your pastor say to your congregation about it? The...
When an Enemy Falls, How Do We Respond?
Upon receiving word from President Obama that the world's "most wanted" criminal had been killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan, revelers took to the streets in Washington D.C., New York City and on college campuses...
Feeling Troubled While Still Grateful for Justice
You'd think it would be so simple. You'd think that I would be able to look at a simple formula like "Osama bin Laden killed thousands of Americans + Now American forces have killed Osama bin Laden = Justice has been...
Celebrating a free press
The Newseum in Washington, D.C. Photo by John Pierce.By John Pierce President Thomas Jefferson famously said: “…Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or...
Feminist Pioneer Challenges Orthodox Patriarchy
JERUSALEM (RNS) Tova Hartman opens the door to her apartment with a warm smile, speaking softly and casually dressed. With her down-to-earth femininity, she doesn’t exactly look like a rabble-rouser within Orthodox...