Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
New Rules on Hospital Visitations for Gays and Lesbians
(RNS) The Department of Health and Human Services unveiled regulations on Wednesday (Nov. 17) that will require hospitals that receive Medicare or Medicaid financing to drop any visitation policies that discriminate...
Canadian Court Rules Dissident Churches Must Abandon Property
TORONTO (RNS/ENInews) An Canadian appeals court has ruled in favor of an Anglican diocese in a property dispute with congregations opposed to same-gender blessings. In a unanimous decision released on Monday (Nov. 15),...
Vatican Says New Guidelines Will Combat Global Abuse Scandal
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican announced on Friday (Nov. 19) that it is preparing international guidelines to prevent the sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic clergy, a long-awaited response to a scandal that has...
Who Glenn Beck Thinks Environmentalists Worship
I had not intended to write another column on Glenn Beck, but a recent episode of his TV show demands a response. The program was about an environment curriculum Beck fears will be taught in public schools with a...
Georgia Baptists’ Anger over Women Pastors
The Georgia Baptist Convention recently declared the Druid Hills Baptist Church no longer a "cooperating church" because the church has a woman pastor. Mimi and Graham Walker are co-pastors of the church....
The Danger of Corporations Buying Public Opinion
"Brainwashing" conjures up images of restrained captives, subjected to various kinds of deprivation and a steady rhythm of carefully designed information that leads them to embrace new ways of thinking. With varying...
Survey: Four in 10 Americans Say Marriage is Obsolete
(RNS) Marriage is on the decline in American society, with nearly four in 10 people claiming the institution is obsolete, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center. The Pew survey, conducted in association...
Half of Americans say Obama Holds Different Religious Values
WASHINGTON (RNS) President Obama faces significant challenges on how Americans perceive his religious faith, as 51 percent say his beliefs differ from their own, according to a new poll. The 2010 post-election American...
Middle East Clergy Pray for Drought Relief
JERUSALEM (RNS) Experiencing the warmest, driest November on record, residents of the Holy Land are calling on a higher power to bring rain to this parched region. While winter traditionally arrives late here, the...
Interfaith Support Doesn’t Compromise Your Faith
A member of the congregation recently complimented our hosting a first ever joint Thanksgiving service with Muslims, Jews and Christians for the Lexington, Ky., community (7 p.m. on Nov. 21). She noticed how the Jews...
“Megamind”
I love comic books, and I love animated movies. You would think that putting both of them together would equal movie heaven for me. It did with "The Incredibles." It doesn't with "Megamind." "Megamind" is the latest...
How Do We Live Out God’s Will on Earth?
Just about every Sunday in our church, we lift our voices together and say the Lord's Prayer. This is the prayer Jesus gave to his disciples in response to their request for him to "teach us how to pray." Part of the...
Thou shalt not commit Facebook?
A New Jersey pastor has ordered about 50 married church officials in his 1,000-member congregation to delete their Facebook accounts and swear off the social networking site, according to the Associated Press. Rev....
God First
A sermon delivered Howard Batson, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Amarillo, Tx., on November 14, 2010. Proverbs 3:9 What would it look like if you put God first in your life? If a passion for following Jesus was your...
Cathedral Think
A sermon delivered by Howard Batson, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Amarillo, Tx., on November 7, 2010. If you listen carefully, you can still hear the pounding of the chisel against the limestone. Builders of the...
How Important is Your Faith?
A sermon delivered by Robert Browning, Pastor, Smoke Rise Baptist Church, Stone Mountain, Ga., on November 14, 2010. Mark 12:38-44 I have found nothing good about the marriage sabbatical that Jackie is on. Most of you...
Situational Awareness
A sermon delivered David Hughes, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, Nc., on November 14, 2010. Isaiah 65:17-25; Luke 21:5-19 What would you say the following crime stories have in common? While investigating...
Now That I Believe: I Give, Trusting God’s Abundance
A sermon delivered by Joel Snider, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., on November 14, 2010. 2 Kings 4:1-7 Morning Prayer: O God, your generosity is so great it always exceeds our ability to receive. We thank you...
Heavenly Hypothetical
A sermon delivered by David Hughes, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, Nc., on November 7, 2010. Luke 20:27-40 Even pastors have questions about heaven. For example, I wonder what it will be like when my...
Catholic Bishops Approve Baptism Accord with Reformed Churches
BALTIMORE (RNS) The U.S. Roman Catholic bishops on Tuesday (Nov. 16) approved a mutual agreement with four Reformed Protestant denominations to recognize each other’s baptisms as valid, a pact that was six years in the...
Williams, in Rome, Says Women Priests Shouldn’t be Stumbling Block
VATICAN CITY (RNS) A week and a half after losing five Anglican bishops to the Catholic Church, the leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion reaffirmed his dedication to ecumenical relations between the two...