Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Turning Around British Baptists’ Declining Numbers
The number of members in our Baptist churches in Great Britain is down, but not by much. The number of baptisms is down, too, by rather more proportionately, but again not by much. Figures for children and young...
Words matter. Actions, too.
I often describe myself as a "word man" -- reading and writing, listening and speaking are all important to me, and all of them require words. Doing them well, I think, requires an adequate vocabulary and a reasonable...
When Marriages are Eternal, Single and Divorced Mormons Struggle
SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) To many Americans, religious or not, chastity before marriage is a quaint tradition at best and emotionally damaging at worst. After all, more than 90 percent of men and women, according to...
Report: U.S. Churches Continue Growth, Decline Trends
(RNS) While mainline Protestant churches in the U.S. continue to experience decades-long decline, the memberships of Pentecostal traditions are on the rise, according to new figures compiled by the National Council of...
Greek Church Sues for Right to Rebuild at Disputed Ground Zero site
(RNS) Greek Orthodox officials on Monday (Feb. 14) filed suit against the agency charged with rebuilding Ground Zero over the disputed fate of tiny St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, which was destroyed by falling...
Why Should You Care About the Septuagint?
"Septuagint Day" was Feb. 8, as declared by the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies. Only a tiny fraction of the population has any clue what the Septuagint is, but we need to change that. The...
More Older Adults Seeking Religious Education
When I was a young seminary student just out of the military, I was befriended by my next-door neighbor in seminary housing. He was in his early 50s with grown children. After serving as a lay leader in churches for a...
BCE’s Annual Luncheon Showcases New Documentary, Gains Corporate Sponsor
The Baptist Center for Ethics will screen its forthcoming documentary on immigration at its annual luncheon scheduled for June 23 in Tampa, Fla., in conjunction with the general assembly of the Cooperative Baptist...
Boynton: a man, an idea, a place
By John Pierce Henry Van Ness Boynton was mentioned in an article that my friend, colleague and Civil War historian Bruce Gourley sent to me last evening. That name rang a bell in my mind and heart. Boynton, according...
Report: Churches, Charities not in Competition for Dollars
(RNS) Houses of worship and other charities often aren’t in competition for dollars but instead tend to reap donations from similar donors, a new study shows. Slightly more than 50 percent of people who financially...
Child in Faith-healing Case Continues to Improve
OREGON CITY, Ore. (RNS) A 13-month-old child who faced blindness in one eye after her parents treated her with prayer instead of seeking medical care continues to improve, a state caseworker told a juvenile court....
Top Church Official Indicted in Philly Abuse Probe
(RNS) Advocates for victims of clergy sexual abuse are hailing the indictment of a senior Roman Catholic official in the U.S. on charges of endangering the welfare of a child for failing to remove abusive priests from...
“Health-Care Ethics: A Comprehensive Christian Resource”
Every week we hear of a new drug, life-saving therapy or reproductive technology, and our communities are filled with families wrestling with whether to withdraw ventilator support from a loved one. Evangelicals often...
What Will House Republican Budget Cuts Do to Churches?
House Republicans want to cut federal spending by $100 billion during the next seven months at the expense of programs protecting the poor. At the same time, Republicans want to boost security for themselves with a...
Why Christina Aguilera’s Flub Fascinates Us
As someone who offers up the high-wire act of public performance every Sunday, I have more sympathy than most for Christina Aguilera's widely publicized flubbing of the national anthem at the Super Bowl. What appears...
Need more friends … or less
I noticed today, when switching from "home" to "profile" on my Facebook page, that I had precisely 666 friends. Yikes. It's not that I'm superstitious, or that the Apocalypse of John's reference to 666 has anything to...
At 102, George Beverly Shea to Receive Lifetime Grammy Award
(RNS) Prominent Gospel singer and longtime Billy Graham associate George Beverly Shea will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards this weekend (Feb. 12) in Los Angeles. Shea will be...
In Soggy Netherlands, a Modern Noah Builds His Ark
UTRECHT, Netherlands (RNS/ENInews) If there was ever a country that understands floods, it is the Netherlands, where one-quarter of the land is below sea level, and it is here that a modern Noah is constructing an ark....
Towey Named President of Ave Maria University
(RNS) Domino’s Pizza magnate Tom Monaghan has stepped down from leading the conservative Catholic university he founded near Naples, Fla., and named the former director of the White House faith-based office as...
Not All Healthy Congregations Require Neckties
I was in relatively warm Orlando visiting friends last Christmas when I attended Sunday services at College Park Baptist Church. I am a former pastor there, and now the pastor no longer wears a necktie for Sunday...
Gun Debate More Than “Toss ‘Em” and “Tote ‘Em” Extremes
I am neither ashamed of nor secretive about being a hunter, fisherman, part-time farmer, a beekeeper and a lover of the great outdoors. I don't believe any of these practices is inherently harmful or unethical....