Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
American Muslims Condemn Anti-Christian Riots in Pakistan
The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is appalled at news of the riots in Gojra, Pakistan, in which several homes belonging to members of the Christian community were destroyed and about seven people were killed....
Latest Buzz: Recession’s New Victims Are Men?
Have you heard the latest buzz? Some writers and commentators are now calling the recession a "he-cession." The new word, coined somewhere out on the blogosphere, incites fear and trembling in the masses because now...
So You Think Pastors Can Dance? Think Again.
It's the last thing any middle-aged Baptist preacher with barely enough rhythm to clip his own toenails without minor injury wants to face. But after a special appearance on the Today Show and hits on YouTube now...
The Longings of the Heart
Sermon delivered by Bob Browning, pastor of Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, G.A., on July 26 2009. John 6:24-35 Why does fresh baked bread smell so good? Is there another aroma that says welcome...
Churches Must Become Authentic, Relevant
I live in that region of the United States dubbed the Bible Belt. In my county, there are more than 100 churches of various denominations and various sizes. All of them are part of the wider Christian tradition,...
Jesus Didn’t Avoid Sick People. Why Should We?
In the fifth chapter of the Gospel of John, the writer tells the story of a man that had been crippled for 38 years. Jesus asked him a simple question: "Do you want to be healed?" Jesus told him to stand up and walk,...
BWA: UN’s Climate Change Meeting in Copenhagen Is Landmark Event
From Kenya to Nepal, from Australia to America, global Baptist leaders see the harmful realities of global warming and are pinning their hopes for governmental action on the United Nation’s upcoming conference on...
My friend Eddie
One of the best things about attending each year’s annual gathering of the Baptist World Alliance is that I get to spend a little time with Eddie Enim, an impressive pastor-leader who lives near the coast of southern...
Bread for Hungry Lives
This sermon was delivered by Wendell Griffen, pastor of the New Millennium Church in Little Rock, Ark., on August 2, 2009. John 6:24-35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be...
Do You Have a Servant’s Heart?
Sermon delivered by Bob Browning, pastor of Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, G.A., on July 19 2009. Mark 6: 30-34, 53-56 I look forward to hearing reports from our mission teams when they return...
Delivering on our promises
Businesses have different ways to express appreciation for our patronage. It's the boisterous "Welcome to Mo's" greeting that arrives before the oddly-named burritos and other entrees. At Chick-Fil-A, "my pleasure" has...
Newsblog: BWA celebrates 400 years
AMSTERDAM -- As Baptist World Alliance representatives gathered July 30 to celebrate 400 years of Baptist life, former secretary general Denton Lotz told them that Baptists must continue the struggle for religious...
Newsblog: Virginia’s John Upton nominated for BWA president
EDE, THE NETHERLANDS -- John Upton, executive director of the Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV), will be the nominee for president when the BWA convenes for its World Congress in Honolulu next summer....
BWA Nominates Two “Virginians” as President-Elect, First Vice President-Elect
John Upton has been nominated to be the president-elect of the Baptist World Alliance, the largest organization of global Baptists with some 37 million baptized believers. If elected at the BWA's 20th Baptist World...
BWA Leader Calls Free-Market System ‘Flawed’
The global economic system received a sharp moral critique from the president of the Baptist World Alliance in a report to worldwide Baptists meeting in Ede, Netherlands. "[T]he current unfettered free market system...
“G-Force”
When animals act like humans, we think it's funny. Put a chimp in a suit and tie. That is comedy gold. "G-Force" attempts to mine that gold. The movie centers on a group of rodents and a fly. Three of the rodents...
Health Care’s Two Masters: Healing and Making Profits
The nation is in the midst of struggling to find a solution to a national health care system that continues to be beyond the means of average Americans. As I write these words, many congressional factions...
Major Moments in Global Baptist History (Part Two)
Yesterday I posted the first half of a two-part report on a Baptist World Alliance forum recounting significant moments in Baptist life through the 400 years we've been around. The BWA's annual gathering is currently...
Flashy, cashy Rev. Ike is gone
Before current "prosperity gospel" preachers like Kenneth Copeland, Paula White and rightly-named Creflo Dollar hit our TV screens, there was the well-polished "Reverend Ike" calling his disciples to get wealthy by...
Activist and Academician Show Baptists Are Transformers
An unassuming woman without theological credentials in a male-dominated faith tradition may be one of the most transformative figures at the Baptist World Alliance's annual gathering in Ede, Netherlands. "I'm not a...
“In the Loop”
The one-liners fly off the screen like rapid-fire artillery in the political satire "In the Loop," triggering long bursts of laughter when they hit their intended targets in the audience. In between those laughs,...