Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Who is Trying to Get Your Attention?
Sermon delivered by Bob Browning, pastor of Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, G.A., on August 16 2009. John 6: 41-51. My father’s mother lived to be ninety-six. Her hearing was almost gone in her...
Misunderstanding the Bible
Sermon delivered by Joel Snider, pastor of First Baptist Church in Rome, Ga., on August 23, 2009. 2 Timothy 3:14-17 Meditation Text: The Bible is a book for the future, about the future, and written with...
Treasure in Clay Jars
Sermon delivered by Keith Herron, pastor of Holmeswood Baptist Church in Kansas City, Mo., on August 30, 2009. 2 Corinthians 4:7; Isaiah 40: 28-31 Souls have bodies the Bible tells us ... or is it the other way around?...
Crunch Time: Nestle Urged to Improve Ethics
Stop buying Kit Kats and Yorkie bars and start demanding improved ethical standards from the company that produces them. That's the challenge from Stop The Traffik, an international movement that has stepped up its...
Ideas vs. Ethics: What’s Your Faith’s Foundation?
For many Christians, the role of faith and works has always been difficult to grasp. Many read and think they comprehend Paul's statement, "It is by grace through faith that you are saved not by works." (Ephesians 2:8)...
Why Does the Name of Your Organization Stink?
I set up a Cool People Care booth at Vanderbilt University as part of their freshman orientation. I was there – along with hundreds of other community organizations – to chat about what we do and how we can help...
Horse whispering
Last week I had a chance to visit Oak Ranch, a 755 acre residential facility operated by North Carolina Baptist Children's Homes (BCH). We'll have a feature on Oak Ranch in the North Carolina edition of the October...
Non-prophet religion
Someone at prophecies.org has revealed the staggering news that (drum roll, please) President Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ.This insight will require some rethinking on my part. At a McDonald's in Rome, Ga., in 1980,...
On wings of chickens
About a week ago, I got to serve as chief cook and bottle washer for a poverty immersion experience that my wife Jan led in downtown Raleigh. One of the activities involves a meal at which participants draw popsicle...
Barna Bungles Survey Comparing Large, Small Churches
I first saw it on Twitter – "Big differences in what small churches believe vs. big churches" – or something like that. Then, I saw it again a couple of days later. So I clicked the link and found myself staring at a...
Who’s Going To Be the Anti-Christ Today?
In 1970, evangelical author Hal Lindsey penned a book that became a staple of Christian end-time table talk. The title said it all: "The Late Great Planet Earth." In this book, Lindsey laid out the now all-too-familiar...
History Lessened: Exhibit Reveals Unvarnished Truth
"One is astonished in the study of history at the recurrence of the idea that evil must be forgotten, distorted, skimmed over. We must not remember that Daniel Webster got drunk but only that he was a splendid...
Remembering Ana
An email from David D'Amico that I received yesterday morning as my plane made its way to the gate in Atlanta brought sadness, prayers and reflections on a beautiful life. His lovely wife, Ana, had died after a...
What Profit Is Moral For Private Health Insurance Companies?
Before the moral question about the profit of private health insurance companies can be answered, we need to have more financial information from them. Here are some simple, straightforward and fair questions that need...
Change Hurts: Ending Ministry Traditions Is Never Easy
You've heard the joke about changing a light bulb: "How many Baptists does it take to change a light bulb?" "None. Baptists don't change anything." Several years ago, I was working with a ministry that invested a great...
They’re Serious? Two Preposterous Public Statements
I took note of two public statements in recent days that must have been calculated to draw attention because both were – in my humble opinion – preposterous. Former – and probably future – presidential candidate Mike...
Around the world at 13 years?
So, what would you do? Laura Dekker, a 13-year-old girl who lives in the sea-loving Netherlands, wants to take out her 26-foot boat, The Guppy, and sail around the world, according to the Associated Press.All by her...
What Does Ramadan Contribute to American Life?
"Why are you torturing yourself?" my friend asked when he learned that I am abstaining from food, drink and other sensual pleasures from dawn to dusk for a whole month. Worse, I am keeping a regular work schedule. In...
Want to Show Mercy? Things Are Going to Get Messy
My late mother was, according to the testimony of many whose perspective is much more unbiased than mine, one of the finest Christians you could have ever wanted to know, but she nonetheless provided me with a very...
Choosing Sides: In Health Care, Jesus Sides with Poor
In recent days I have received and heard comments from folks who are against health care reform because, as they say, "Jesus would not worry about health care reform because Jesus was not concerned with politics." Most...
You Are What You Eat
This sermon was preached by Carra Hughes Greer, minister to families with youth, at Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, Ga., on Aug. 23, 2009. John 6:56-69 I am always so excited when I get an opportunity to...