Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Who gets the church’s attention?
Reaching younger persons is often the subject for conversation among church leaders who are rightly concerned about next-generation vitality and leadership. But at times it seems to come at the expense of a broader...
Patriarch unveils Kremlin icon hidden after Russian Revolution
MOSCOW (RNS/ENInews) A fresco of Christ on the Kremlin Wall in Moscow plastered over after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution has been rediscovered and presented in a ceremony attended by Patriarch Kirill I of the Russian...
Muslim Group Releases Ads to Counter Wave of Bigotry
WASHINGTON (RNS) A Muslim advocacy organization has released public service announcements ”including one featuring a Muslim firefighter who responded on 9/11 ”as part of a campaign to fight recent anti-Muslim bigotry....
Former United Church of Christ President Admits Affair
(RNS) The former president of the United Church of Christ is divorcing his wife and is in a committed relationship with a former co-worker at church headquarters, the UCC announced. The Rev. John H. Thomas was general...
What to Say When a Glenn Beck Believer Calls
After the Washington Post placed my column about Glenn Beck on the top line of a Tuesday afternoon e-mail, I got a call from a man who was angry. He demanded, "Where in the Bible does it teach social justice?" I...
Your Invitation to Be a Born-Again Vegan
I am a born-again vegan, obnoxiously trying to convert everyone to my lifestyle. My own conversion was a response to social ethics. At the start of this year, my wife and I became vegans – that is, we do not eat any...
What Ever Happened to Following the Way of Jesus?
In the book of Acts, Luke says that Paul, who then was "still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord," went into Damascus looking for those "who belonged to the Way" (Acts 9:1-2). This is how...
When laws get in the way of justice
Hector Villanueva has been doing everything right. Having lived in the U.S. since he was three years old, Hector is a legal immigrant, has a green card, works hard, and makes his community a better place. He and his...
Christian Women Prefer Sunday Services to Shopping, Study Says
(RNS) Protestant and Catholic women in the United States have grown unhappier since stores have stayed open on Sundays, according to a study by economists from Israel’s Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and...
German Catholic Bishops Release New Sex Abuse Guidelines
BERLIN (RNS) Officials and employees of Germany’s Roman Catholic Church will be required to immediately report suspicions of child abuse to the police under new guidelines set to go into effect on Wednesday...
Faith-healing Family Pleads not Guilty to Manslaughter
OREGON CITY, Ore. (RNS) Two members of an Oregon church that preaches faith-healing pleaded not guilty Monday (Aug. 30) to manslaughter charges for failing to provide medical care to their infant son, who died shortly...
Glenn Beck: Defending Faith or Perverting Gospel?
The new Defender of the Faith has spoken. The decree from Glenn Beck has been declared. His judgment rendered. According to Beck, President Obama practices a version of religion that is "a perversion of the Gospel of...
How CBF Can Catch a Cultural Wave
Surfing a wave looks so easy: At the right moment the surfer paddles like crazy, then quickly jumps up on the surf board, maneuvering into the curve of a breaking wave and gently balancing herself between the forces of...
When Death Arrives Despite Fervent Prayers
What happens when you pray for someone to be healed of cancer and they die anyway? That's what we were asking at Anna Reinstein's funeral on a recent Tuesday. Anna was only 51 years old, a beautiful young mother with...
What I Believe: Confident in Salvation
A sermon delivered by Joel Snider, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., on August 22, 2010. Acts 16:25-34 Morning Prayer: We thank you, Father, for this world and the many places that we see your presence. ...
Table Manners: Humility & Hospitality
A sermon delivered by Keith Herron, Pastor, Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City, Mo., on August 29, 2010. Luke 14:1, 7-14 This is a wonderful little story about the “table habits” of Jesus and the conversations...
Resting Easy
A sermon delivered by David Hughes, FirstBaptistChurch, Winston-Salem, Nc., on August 8, 2010. Exodus 20:8-11 In 1924, a young Scotsman named Eric Liddel entered the Olympic Games. Liddel was a terrific sprinter,...
Lord’s Supper Meditation: On Waiting Til Tomorrow
A sermon delivered by Randy Hyde, Pastor, PulaskiHeightsBaptistChurch, Little Rock, Ark., on August 22, 2010. Psalm 71:1-6; Luke 13:10-17 Luke doesn’t say it here, but he does earlier in his...
Not all Evangelicals blindly led
Criticism from an insider should be heard with greater consideration. There is no ulterior motive. No partisan loyalties at work. Such is the case with Russell Moore's excellent critique — titled "God, the Gospel and...
How Churches Are Like Your Local Coffee Shops
Our community is not large, but we now have several coffee shops. As I stopped by one this morning, I started thinking about the differences among the several that I frequent. There is, of course, the major national –...
Seeds of Doubt: When Facts Outlive Their Usefulness
"You're entitled to your own opinions," the saying begins. "But you're not entitled to your own facts." Maybe not. But we're at least entitled to ignore or deny as many facts as necessary to reach a conclusion more...