Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Big
A sermon delivered by David Hughes, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, Nc., on May 30, 2010. Psalm 8 I love the story of Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. Watson taking a camping trip together. As they...
Fresh Air
A sermon delivered by David Hughes, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, Nc., on May 23, 2010. Romans 7:18b-24; 8:1-2, 9-17 (The Message) Today is Pentecost Sunday, the official birthday of the Christian...
Making the Difference
A sermon delivered by Wendell Griffen, Pastor, New Millennium Church, Little Rock, Ark., on July 4, 2010. 2 Kings 5:1-14; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 The Mission of the Seventy 10After this the Lord...
In Economic Crisis, British Christians Urge Generosity
As the United Kingdom tightens its belt following the emergency budget, Christians there are being challenged to live generously, invest in their communities and give society a taste of the kingdom of God. Chancellor...
Lessons From Vacation Bible School For Adults
I taught fourth-graders in my church's Vacation Bible School recently. It was my first effort as a VBS teacher. I learned a lot and remembered things I had forgotten. I learned children are a doorway to Jesus' kingdom...
Candidates’ Religion: Personal, Not Political
The relationship between religion and politics is always a messy one – sometimes too messy. As the recent primary elections in South Carolina and Nevada have demonstrated, politicians can easily use religion as a...
Politicians Misstate Military Service, Others Misrepresent Accomplishments
Are biographical embellishments as certain as death and taxes? Gov. Jan Brewer (R-Ariz.) recently said, "Knowing that my father died fighting the Nazi regime in Germany, that I lost him when I was 11 because of that...
Showing Stubborn Courage to Protect Environment
I heard my friend Larry Schweiger, president of the National Wildlife Federation, speak recently at a conference in Nashville about the connection between the Gulf spill and our need to address global warming. I've...
Four Humane Tips for Church Search Committees
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." We have heard this phrase from Matthew 7 since we were toddlers, so why don't ministerial search committees practice it? Although I am no longer in a judicatory...
Worth the price
So, it's a scorching July day, and I'm sweating through blue jeans and boots and a long-sleeved denim shirt. Why?Because it's blackberry season, that's why.Blackberries are a treasure for cobbler-holics, but they don't...
Passing U.S. Laws Won’t End Africa’s Violence
In light of the all the press about the Conflict Minerals Trade Act and a series of breathless press releases over the passage of the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, why on earth do advocates think...
What Challenges Await New Baptist Covenant’s Follow-Up?
Late next year, a second major gathering will be held under the banner of a Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. That is about all that is known at this point. The highly successful event held in Atlanta in the...
The heart of freedom
It’s hard to approach the July 4 holiday without musing on the subject of freedom. I like to recall freedom songs, for example, whether patriotic or popular, religious or related to the Civil Rights movement. I like to...
Nothing taller than freedom
On this Independence Day weekend our thoughts flow toward the freedoms we often enjoy without adequate awareness or gratitude. Regardless of ideological differences, the celebration of our basic human liberties should...
Goodwill Baptists Can Hang Together or Separately
Before her benediction at the Baptist Center for Ethics luncheon last week in Charlotte, N.C., Babs Baugh gave me a compliment with a twinkle in her eye. She said, "It's good to be friends with the person everybody...
Finding God in Everyday Moments
Finding God in a busy world is something I have returned to on and off over the years. I have led one or two devotional days on the theme but have done so from the perspective of a fellow traveler rather than with any...
Nation’s Founders Valued Religious Freedom
I would not hazard a guess as to how many preachers in these United States will make some reference this Sunday morning to our nation's Founding Fathers, and their reliance on the Ten Commandments in forging the laws...
Anticipating another New Baptist Covenant gathering
Late next year, a second major gathering will be held under the banner of a Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. That is about all that is known at this point.The highly successful event held in Atlanta in the winter...
God Stories: Follow His Call
A sermon delivered by Howard Batson, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Amarillo, Tx., on June 27, 2010. Genesis 12:1-20 Have you ever had to move? Just pull your family up by the roots. Put all your belongings in...
Chariots of Fire
A sermon delivered by Robert Browning, Pastor, Smoke Rise Baptist Church, Stone Mountain, Ga., on June 27, 2010. 2 Kings 2:1-18 “Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the...
Oil Companies Take Risks to Feed Our Addiction
Recently, my mom sent me a news clipping containing yet another searing image of a raging petroleum fire. The bright yellow inferno at the burn site is belching an ugly, black plume of smoke into the sky. Only this...