Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Change of Season: Making the Most of Life’s Stages
How would you describe the season you are currently experiencing? Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 is a contemplative poem about the seasons of life. Rather than letting the seasons pass meaninglessly and letting life become...
British Churches Gear Up for Back-to-Church Sunday
More than a quarter of Baptist Union of Great Britain churches will take part in Back to Church Sunday (Sept. 27) this year, and the final preparations are being made for the day itself. Around 550 churches have signed...
You can take the boy out of Georgia…
My short life as a Yankee began when Alamo "upgraded" me to a Pontiac Vibe at the Richmond airport this week. It went like this:Rental car clerk: "You reserved an economy car. Is that still OK?"Me: "Yes."Rental car...
Newsblog: Eddie Hammett joins CBFNC staff
In a move surprising only by its swiftness, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina has hired Eddie Hammett to a part-time position as "Church and Clergy Coach." Hammett's former position of western...
Contortion, indeed
My wife and I saw Cirque Dreams: Illumination at the Durham Performing Arts Center last night, and it was about as impressive as what developers did nearby in converting a shabby bunch of warehouses into the American...
African-American Baptist Applauds Carter’s “Courage”
Former President Jimmy Carter created a political firestorm on Sept. 15 by charging that some of the opposition to President Barack Obama is due to continued racism in America. Although some politicians and...
Stance Against Health Care Resurrects Religious Right
At the end of 2008, the Religious Right was in tatters. It appeared that many Americans had grown weary of the constant negative messages emanating from right-wing religious leaders. Lions of the movement like James...
Identity Crisis: Some Struggle with Different Leaders
Jody Powell died on Sept. 14 of a heart attack. He was 65 years old. Powell and the late Hamilton Jordan were among the key architects of Jimmy Carter's successful run for the White House in 1976. They subsequently...
Churches Call for Peace This Sunday
Churches in Great Britain are being urged to observe Sept. 20 as Peacemaking Sunday. The United Nations International Day of Peace is the following day. The Baptist Union of Great Britain, The Methodist Church and the...
Sing for Joy
Sermon delivered by Joel Snider, pastor of First Baptist Church in Rome, Ga., on September 13, 2009. Psalm 92:1-4 Meditation Text: Church meant two things to me when I was little; dressing up and singing. ...
The sad mixture of missions and politics
The list of casualties from the Fundamentalist takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention — now 30 years in the making — is long and growing. Yet many good church people continue to ignore this reality.Jerry Rankin's...
Just Walk Across the Room- Takng the Plunge
Sermon delivered by David Hughes, pastor of First Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, N.C., on September 13 2009. John 8:2-11; Galatians 5:22-25; Philippians 2:5-11 Nobody likes to talk about their failures. Which is one...
Unhinged Society Needs Scapegoats
Unhinged politicians, wrathful preachers, belligerent protesters and hateful pundits pursue a practice as old as the Bible. They create scapegoats. The practice of the scapegoat has its genesis in the biblical book...
A Canadian’s View on Government-Run Health Care
Americans deserve a health-care plan that is universal, affordable and compassionate. With the advent of modern technology, the gross national productivity of the country and the moral benevolence that historically...
The Cancer Creeping into Our Nation’s Character
Editor's note: The following is excerpted from "The Content of Our Character," a speech delivered by Wendell Griffen at the annual banquet of the Arkansas NAACP on Sept. 12, 2009. It is profoundly noteworthy that...
Wise Up!
Sermon delivered by Bob Browning, pastor of Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, G.A., on September 13 2009. Proverbs 1: 20-33 Who is the wisest person you know? What separates him or her from others? How did...
We expect more
This past weekend was laced with tragedy in Raleigh. Several people died in separate car crashes, including a beloved young dancer with the Carolina Ballet and a bridegroom who was going to breakfast with his groomsmen...
Love Thy Neighbor: Do We Draw the Line at Health Care?
The present health-care situation reflects the blessing and the curse of technology. By technology I refer not simply to machines, but to the complex, interlocking system in which we use our presumed knowledge from the...
Tony Blair: Faiths Must Join Forces on Aid
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has urged faith groups to link together in a bid to improve international development. Speaking in London on Sept. 14, Blair said the role of world faiths as "galvanizers" for justice...
Politicians’ Favoritism Rejects Democracy’s Ideal
I was a little concerned that the 24 Lutherans in the U.S. Congress (four in the Senate and 20 in the House; 15 Democrats and nine Republicans) wouldn't get the message when they attend church this coming Sunday....
Level Ground
Sermon delivered by David Hughes, pastor of First Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, N.C., on September 6 2009. James 2:1-17 I’ve just finished reading Jon Meacham’s Pulitzer Prize winning biography of Andrew...