Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Churches Should Offer Shelter From Life’s Blizzard
In the prelude to "A Hidden Wholeness," Parker Palmer offers a powerful metaphor for life in local churches today. He tells of a time when farmers on the Great Plains, at the first sign of a blizzard, would run a rope...
500 Dead After Religious Violence in Nigeria
Nigerian Baptists have asked for prayer following the latest interreligious violence that has left an estimated 500 people dead. The president of the Baptist Women's Union of Africa, Motunrayo Adegbilero, has written...
When Burial’s Unaffordable, Grief Compounds
I have been exploring the funeral and burial customs of impoverished people in the Latino community of upstate South Carolina. I began doing this recently after considering the high cost of funerals in general. Some...
The Power of Love
Sermon delivered by Bob Browning, pastor of Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, Ga., on Jan. 31, 2010. I Corinthians 13 “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love” I...
Good news on two fronts
Today's newspaper carries two stories that offer hopeful good news.The headline story noted that the nation's top military leaders are finally starting to talk seriously about ending the "don't ask, don't tell" policy...
Travel with Global Baptists for 40 Days Through Lent to Easter
Forty days focused on Lent might keep us from a privatistic faith and lead us to a robust public faith. Look what happened to Jesus during his 40 days of prayer and fasting in the wilderness. He rejected the...
NASA: 2000s Was Hottest Decade on Record
A new study from NASA reports that 2009 is tied as the second warmest year since modern recording began in 1880, falling a fraction of a degree behind 2005. The study, conducted by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space...
Too Often, Christians Rely on Their Own Strength
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." (Mark 1:14-15)...
Three books to share with others
Name three books, other than the Bible, that you would highly recommend. This is not an attempt to determine (subjectively) the greatest or (objectively) the top-selling books.Rather, it is a way of sharing with others...
Thinking about God, Marx and Adam Smith
A newspaper blog headline – "Marx, God and Faith in the Markets" – grabbed my attention last week and introduced me to Reinhard Marx, who is unrelated to the much more famous Karl Marx, although both are connected to...
Why Immigration Reform Can’t Wait
President Obama very, very briefly mentioned immigration reform in his State of the Union. Opponents of comprehensive reform argue that given the state of the economy and the political shot heard round the world in...
Will Churches Still Plug Into Denominations?
The discussion about the future of denominations continues unabated. A series of videos and articles offered by Leadership Education at Duke Divinity provides some fresh insights for the discussion. In one video,...
A Love Body
This sermon was delivered by Larry Greenfield, executive minister of American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago, at Federated Church of Wauconda, Ill., on January 31, 2010. I Corinthians 13 Good morning, Federated...
Write the check today
If you are one of the millions of folks in the Southeast whose neighborhood roads looked like this on Sunday, and whose church services were canceled due to snow and ice, write the check today.As a pastor for 26 years,...
Do Married Couples Deserve Tax Breaks?
The row over Conservative Party plans to give tax breaks to married couples has made headlines in a way that shows it has touched a few nerves. Conservative Party leader David Cameron believes that marriage is an...
Baptist Church Damaged in Iraq Explosion
(BWA) – First Baptist Church of Baghdad in Iraq was damaged by an explosion about one third of a mile from the church building. The incident occurred on the morning of Jan. 26 after a suicide bomber drove an 18-wheel...
Collegiality: Does It Threaten Christian Schools?
One of the most revered terms – and principles – in higher education is "collegiality." It is at the heart of the educational enterprise, regardless of discipline. Specifically defined, collegiality is the quality in a...
The Potter and the Clay
Sermon delivered by Joel Snider, pastor of First Baptist Church in Rome, Ga., on January 24, 2010. Jeremiah 18:1-11 And this is true of our individual lives. If some hard circumstance comes into your life -- and it may...
Prophet on the Edge
Sermon delivered by Keith Herron, pastor of Holmeswood Baptist Church in Kansas City, Mo. on January 31, 2010. Luke 4:21-20 Kyle Childress wrote of the story of what happened when one of his town’s football heroes was...
A generous act
Tragedy brings out our best compassion. Money and other resources are flowing into devastated Haiti.Faith groups are always at the forefront of such efforts in providing emergency services, daily provisions and...
Life is too short …
I heard a radio report about a new Google app called "Google Xistence" that can supposedly live your online life for you, posting random tweets and Facebook status reports, and interacting with other social media...