Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Lie To Me: Americans Don’t Trust Gov’t on Healthcare
Paternalism is a dangerous thing. Someone in power thinks he knows what is best for his people more than they do. Making decisions for others is often emotional. Often the response to paternalism is a passionate...
Flash Forward: Sushi Dinner Foreshadows Family’s Future
I glanced at their table only a few sips in to my first half-priced pint of the night. When I'm waiting on someone to arrive or something to happen, I notoriously people watch. People sometimes catch me watching them....
BSCNC budget shrinking, SBC ties growing
When messengers gather at Greensboro’s Koury Convention Center for the annual meeting of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSCNC) Nov. 9-11, they’ll be presented with a proposed budget for 2010 that’s 12...
Christians Support Religious Liberty — For Themselves
It's somewhat tragic that upholding something as fundamental as the separation of church and state is often demeaned by Christians. Yet a denial of this foundational principle occurs with great frequency and is often...
No Samaritans Allowed: U.S. Prohibits Helping Migrants
Why is it that the United States prohibits me from being faithful in following my Lord and Savior's admonishment to imitate the example of the Good Samaritan? (Luke 10:29-37) During my time in the desert, while walking...
Turning the Tide: Why Church Attendance Dwindles
People don't need to go to church. At least that's how the majority of people in America act. Less than 18 percent of the population attends church on any given Sunday. In the U.S., we are chasing downhill Europe's...
‘Take a letter, Maria’ … never mind
Soul singer R. B. Greaves' 1969 hit "Take a Letter Maria" came on the oldies station. I thought of what an outdated image it presents.A boss is dictating a letter to his secretary. The image is one of her jotting down...
Going the wrong direction
My wife and I went to see the national touring company of "Grease" at the Durham Performing Arts Center, and we both came away a bit disappointed. The show's marketing efforts are built around having former American...
Good Religion Between Muslims and Christians Promises a New Day
Millions of American Christians stepped from their pews on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2001, into the news about the American attack on Afghanistan. They went from Good News to war news, from worshipping the Prince of Peace to...
Invention of Lying? SBC Head’s Nazi Analogy Offensive
The story on EthicsDaily.com about Richard Land, who heads Southern Baptists' Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, comparing President Obama's proposed health-care reform to the Nazi program offended me more than...
Dearly Departed: The Separation of Church and Jesus
Several years ago a friend of mine was working as a youth minister for a church that was exuberantly evangelistic. The pastor spoke eloquently and often about "winning the world for Christ." Unfortunately, the...
Conversation Starter: Can Churches Learn to Dialogue?
Have you ever noticed that if you talk to the same people all the time, you rarely hear a new idea? Whether these folks are family, co-workers, church members or fans of your athletic team, we tend to hang with those...
Religious liberty back home
Catoosa County, Ga., is a lovely bedroom community just south of Chatta- nooga, Tenn., and the place where I was born and raised. So I've paid attention to — but not commented yet — on the unnecessary uproar involving...
Just Walk Across the Room- Telling Your Story
Sermon delivered by David Hughes, pastor of First Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, N.C., on September 27 2009. John 3: 16, 4: 1-15; 5:24 One of the great privileges I have as a pastor is the opportunity to learn...
The Fallacy of Materialism: Solomon
Sermon delivered by Joel Snider, pastor of First Baptist Church in Rome, Ga., on October 4, 2009. 1 Kings 10:14-25 Meditation Text: Materialism is not the same as having money. As we’ve seen, once basic needs...
Defend the Weak: Will We Stop Tragedies Like Fiona’s?
It is hard to imagine a sadder story than that of Fiona Pilkington, who died with her daughter, Francecca, in a burning car on Oct. 23, 2007. They had suffered years of abuse from neighborhood roughs. Francecca had a...
“Whip It”
There are always complaints that there are not many good roles for women in the movies. Women generally get roles where the girl is morally challenged but has a heart of gold. Or the woman is codependent and nothing...
Real, Virtual Icons Can Lead to Inspiration or Apathy
We were standing in the middle of the Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia, Bulgaria. A bright high-school senior from our church was walking around the cathedral in hushed reverence, gazing upward at the towering depictions of...
How Do You Explain That?
Sermon delivered by Howard Batson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Amarillo, T.X., on October 4 2009. Acts 2: 14-41 Whenever we experience a cataclysmic event, we want someone, somehow, to put context to what we’ve...
When God Breathes
Sermon delivered by Howard Batson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Amarillo, T.X., on September 27 2009. Acts 2: 1-13 The Bible in the form of mass printing hasn’t been around all that long. Of course, the Word of...
Tag- You’re It
Sermon delivered by Howard Batson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Amarillo, T.X., on September 20 2009. Acts 1: 1-8 Luke is our writer. The first volume is his gospel. The second volume is the Acts of the...