Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
“A Christmas Carol”
It's been said that before one hears the good news, one needs to hear the bad news. It's only in hearing the bad news that one can truly hear what the good news has to say, embrace it and change. "A Christmas Carol"...
What Preachers Should Have in Common with The Boss
Were I to give you a full accounting of my popular musical allegiances over the years, you would likely suggest that I should hang my increasingly hairless head in shame. The first musical act that I took seriously was...
Together
Sermon delivered by Joel Snider, pastor of First Baptist Church in Rome, Ga., on November 8, 2009. 1 Corinthians 3: 1-9 Meditation Text Many people see church as a vendor of religious services. It...
Tom’s tidbits for church leaders
Constant efforts by church leaders to meet their members' personal tastes for worship styles and times can be exhausting. Tom Long, professor of preaching at Emory's Candler School of Theology and author of Beyond the...
Face Down the Fringe Faithful Who Want Religious Test for Military Service
Demonization of American Muslims is under way among conservative American Christians who think wrongly that President Obama is showing his true colors as a Muslim and Muslims shouldn't be in the military. But this is...
Church of the Future: Urban, Progressive, More Minorities
The church of the future resides in an urban setting, consists of multiple minorities and espouses progressive social values, according to two recently released reports. While most church futurists have focused on...
Hurricane Devastates El Salvador, Destroys Baptist Church
(BWA) – Eight persons, including seven children, are missing after the destruction of First Baptist Church in San Vicente in the Central American country of El Salvador. The church collapsed following heavy showers and...
Annual Renewal
Sermon delivered by Randy Hyde, pastor of Pulaski Heights Baptist Church in Little Rock, A.R., on November 8 2009. Psalm 127:1-5; Hebrews 9:24-28 I’ve gotten into a habit that is just about...
The Promises God Keeps
Sermon delivered by Joel Snider, pastor of First Baptist Church in Rome, Ga., on November 1, 2009. Genesis 17: 1-7, 15-16 Praise the Lord! Some of you are looking at me oddly. You are thinking it is...
Church Triumphs and Troubles- Part 1
This sermon was delivered by Wendell Griffen, pastor of the New Millennium Church in Little Rock, Ark., on November 8, 2009. Acts 3: 11-26 One can learn a great deal about character by observing how people deal with...
Reckless Generosity
Sermon delivered by Bob Browning, pastor of Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, G.A., on November 8 2009. Mark 12: 38-44 Who is the most generous person you know? Has this person always been generous? Have you...
Got time for two lives?
Here's a new approach to a long-distance interview: the Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription required) reported Nov. 9 that academic advisors at Pennsylvania State University are now required to schedule at...
Christian Coalition Goes Green, Supports Climate Change Legislation
When the Christian Coalition joins the National Wildlife Federation in urging the U.S. Senate to pass a bill that will address constructively climate change, one is tempted to think of the Hebrew prophet Isaiah's...
Will We Deliver? Our Nation’s Hannahs Need Health Care
You have to wonder what would have happened if Eli the priest hadn't delivered. He had plenty of reasons to pay no attention to the woman praying at the edge of the temple. It appeared that the woman had been imbibing...
A Time for Mourning: From Kent State to Fort Hood
Editor's note: Gene Davenport gave the following remarks at the Lambuth University Quadrangle in Jackson, Tenn., on May 7, 1970. He delivered them in response to students' invitation to speak about violence at Kent...
Three Ways to Live Out the Hardest Commandment
Perhaps one of the most troubling and ignored commands of Jesus is the order to love our enemies. Spoken in the same context as Jesus' recognition that we are called to love our neighbors – that is, those easier to...
The Truth About Ruth: A Story Only a Woman Could Tell?
The Hebrew heroine story of Ruth and Naomi makes us question our assumptions that the Bible was written solely by men. I suspect we've grown up thinking that all the writers of Scripture were men. Perhaps it was never...
What Can Pig DNA Tell Us About Each Other?
I am not sure what it was about hearing that scientists had mapped the genome of a domestic pig that so captured my attention. Perhaps it was all the other stuff that I would have thought needed to be done before we...
Thanks, Vineville
The name on the sign at the busy intersection of Vineville and Pierce Avenues in Macon, Ga., will change this week as Tripp Martin, a gifted young minister, assumes the pastorate of historic Vineville Baptist Church....
When walls fall
For the past week, Germans have been celebrating the 20th anniversary of the memorable Nov. 9 evening when the gates of the Berlin Wall were opened and people long separated by concrete and checkpoints were able to...
Newcomers Provide Key Insights into Church Traditions
For the past several months, a refugee family from Asia has been visiting our church. Despite the obvious cultural and language barriers, many of our members have been gracious, accommodating and often very generous in...