Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Catholics and Baptists Have Different Sacraments but Similar Child Abuse Scandals
Addressing the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, conservative columnist Cal Thomas wrote in a syndicated piece before Easter that the sexual scandals in Catholicism and Protestantism were different. After...
Baptizing Evangelicalism into Baylor (Part One)
The influence of organized evangelicals on Baptists in recent decades has been significant. Take the case of Baylor University since the days of Robert Sloan. President Sloan, reared a Southern (read "Texas") Baptist...
Supporting War but Opposing Health Reform
The health care debates over the last year have aroused strong feelings and exposed polarities within our nation. Many have written articles and given speeches in support of and in opposition to the reform efforts....
How would you tell the story?
The Easter account found in Luke 24:1-12 is surprisingly subdued. It portrays the women who first visited the empty tomb as "perplexed" and "terrified" before being convinced by angels that Jesus had risen. The male...
Why call it “good”?
When my son asked me why we call the day of Christ's crucifixion "Good Friday" instead of "Bad Friday" or "Black Friday," I had to admit that I wasn't sure. In fact, I don't know if anyone has a definitive answer.When...
“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers”
An Oscar-nominated documentary is worth finding in your community, as it goes to the heart of presidential history, national security and the First Amendment, among other things. "The seeds of Watergate occur in the...
Will We Help Terminal Patients Feel Whole?
We Christian ethicists often sound more like overprotective parents than scholars seeking to promote social justice and welfare. It looks like we are against everything. Our approach to social policy often resembles my...
The Meaning of Easter? Free Cars!
I don't care if he's a Christian and a pastor, I feel like smacking Bill Cornelius upside the head with Mama's cast-iron skillet. It's clear that the man needs some sense knocked into him, or at the very least some...
The Language of Stones
A sermon delivered by, Joel Snider, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., on March 28, 2010. Luke 9:36-40 Meditation Text: Opposition to Christian witness cannot succeed; and the truth will come out, it cannot long be...
Riding into the Eye of the Storm
A sermon delivered by Robert Browning, Pastor of Smoke Rise Baptist Church, Stone Mountain, Ga., on March 28, 2010. Luke 19:28-40 Out of all the things that Jesus did, this one puzzles me the most. Riding into...
Contrasting Conquerors
A sermon delivered by Wendell Griffen, Pastor of New Millineum Church, of Little Rock, Ark., March 28, 2010. Luke 19:28-40; Philippians 2:5-11 There were two processions into Jerusalem that Passover week of the first...
Into Jerusalem
A sermon delivered by Keith Herron, Pastor of Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City, Mo., on March 28, 2010. Luke 19:28-40 March 28, 2010 Like it or not, we can’t assume that folks know what’s going on...
The Fragrance of our Gift
A sermon delivered by Keith Herron, Pastor of Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City, Mo., on March 21, 2010. John 12:1-8 March 21, 2010 Nancy Angier once described our sense of smell as, the second-sexiest organ of...
Lottery Is a Form of Public Tax Evasion
The lottery is a form of public tax evasion, a way to avoid dealing with needed tax reform at the expense of the poor and those with addiction issues, said Oregonian faith leaders in a series of interviews with...
Gospel’s Minor Characters Play Major Roles
The Gospels are stories. That seems like an obvious statement, but making it may help us understand how to become better readers of these stories. Instead of viewing them only as historical records of what happened in...
Haiti Mission Team Targets Real Needs
A small team from the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention recently spent a week in Haiti. The purpose of our visit was to listen and learn, to offer a ministry of encouragement, to review our first phase of...
Woodstock for Christians, sort of …
I recently had lunch with Jeff Wray, who's promoting the "Life and Faith Tour," a series of three ambitious Christian-themed outdoor events billed as "the ultimate family experience." Each one promises a day of diverse...
Health Care Foes Echo Civil Rights Objections
The adoption of the health care reform bill is one of the great achievements of recent American history. Until now, the United States had been the only industrialized nation not to have a system of universal health for...
Two Crowds to Follow. Which Will We Choose?
The crowd is loud and excited. Their enthusiasm grows as they catch a glimpse of a man riding a borrowed horse. Some have seen him do the unbelievable. Most have heard the stories. He heals the sick, gives sight to the...
Economic Recovery on the Poor’s Backs
The crux of the Christian story gets played out in the coming days. But where will the drama be staged? Everybody – Christians and non-Christians alike – knows the plot of the drama by now, even if it will go through...
Grace: Available to All – No Conditions
The 15th chapter of Luke is a pivotal and compelling bit of storytelling because there are three stories told sequentially, each illustrating the same lesson. In many ways, Luke 15 has been considered "a gospel within...