Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Learning to spell write ain’t easy
When my second-grade teacher, Mrs. Peters, demanded good spelling from her students, I never dreamed that someday my vocational life would revolve around words. So I'm grateful for the investment of many good teachers...
Be Careful What You Ask For
Sermon delivered by Bob Browning, pastor of Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, G.A., on October 18 2009. Mark 10: 35-45 Have you ever made a request of someone and as soon as you did, you realized...
Let Go My Ego: Why We Always Crave Power
Ram Dass, the contemporary spiritual teacher and author, tells the story of a rabbi, who in an overwhelming fit of religious passion, ran into the synagogue and fell to his knees and began to cry out, "I am nothing! I...
“Where the Wild Things Are”
Jean Paul Sartre gave us the line, "Hell is other people." For Max (Max Records) in Spike Jonze's adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic "Where the Wild Things Are," that is true. Max is a child of divorce. Mom...
How Congregations Can Help Slow Spread of Flu
Frequently, I am asked about how our church handles suggestions from health organizations to help stem the tide of infectious diseases, particularly during occasions of "passing the peace" and celebrating communion in...
Just Walk Across the Room- Together
Sermon delivered by David Hughes, pastor of First Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, N.C., on October 11 2009. Amos 3:3, 2 John 4-6 For a book that is no exercise manual, the Bible talks a lot about walking! The...
Gambling making more inroads
The lottery's no longer the only game in town, at least in many towns across North Carolina. Recent challenges to laws regulating video poker and sneaky ways of skirting the law have led to a boom in "Sweepstakes"...
Deflated: Why Don’t These Top News About Balloon Boy?
I am looking away from the Balloon Boy stories. The Heenes are tragic, no doubt. Having your family drama, fabricated or not, beamed from sea to shining sea just can't be fun. I know they're reality-TV veterans, but...
“The Invention of Lying”
"The Invention of Lying" is set in a world where no one lies. No one has the ability. Ricky Gervais, who co-wrote and co-directs, is Mark Bellison, a short, fat, pug-nosed writer who aspires for the love of Anna...
Taking Sides: Does God Care About Football Games?
We have a very good football team at Fitzgerald High School this year; the Purple Hurricanes are 6-0 and ranked No. 2 in the Georgia AA classification. Head Coach Robbie Pruitt and several of the players are members of...
Do you see what I see?
Watching college football on a large screen, high-definition TV enhances the experience. And, at least in some cases, it gives a better perspective than being in the broadcast booth or even on the field.Such was the...
Groups Invite British Baptists to Return to China
BMS World Mission will officially return to China – almost 60 years after its last mission worker was expelled from the country. The historic decision was endorsed by the board of trustees on Oct. 13 and follows a...
Here’s How to Expand Your Ministry Reading List
Looking for a good book on a specific ministry topic? Seminary and university course descriptions can be a good source for books on subjects you're seeking. I'm usually looking for books related to Christian ministry,...
Was U.N.-Backed Effort in Congo Worth the Human Toll?
Dear MONUC, Washington, Brussels, London and Kinshasa: Forgive me for being so abrupt, but I have a question that demands an answer from you – the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the...
The Church and its Resurrection Gospel
This sermon was delivered by Wendell Griffen at New Millennium Church in Little Rock, Ark., on October 18, 2009. Acts 2: 22-36 Like everyone else, Christians have struggled to understand some basic questions. ...
Making the Honor Roll
This sermon was preached by Wendell Griffen at First Presbyterian Church in Little Rock, Ark., on October 18, 2009. Mark 10: 35-45. What can we learn from James, John, their request to be awarded the highest places of...
Hope and Help
Sermon delivered by Bob Browning, pastor of Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, G.A., on October 11 2009. Hebrews 4: 12-16 Hebrews appears to be a book wrapped in mystery. E. F. Scott referred to it...
The Greatness of Serving
Sermon delivered by Keith Herron, pastor of Holmeswood Baptist Church in Kansas City, Mo., on October 18, 2009. Mark 10: 35-45 No matter how hard we try, we just can’t seem to escape thinking of ourselves...
Transparency Is Essential for Christian-Based Organizations in Islamic Countries
An evangelical and a Catholic leader disavowed proselytism as they advocated witnessing to their faith recently at a global conference on the relationship between Muslims and Christians. "The employees of Catholic...
Bible Too Liberal? Conservative Bible Project Will Fix It
I wrote recently about the growing furor over plans to update the New International Version of the Bible with gender neutral language for God. Instead of the more familiar "Father," God would be referred to as...
Gated Community? Religion Often Decides Who’s In and Out
Borders are interesting concepts that have been around since the dawn of creation. Borders are those barriers that we construct to keep those we want out, out. Nations have borders, and in our current political...