Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Life in the Long Season of Accomplishment
Sermon delivered by Keith Herron, pastor of Holmeswood Baptist Church in Kansas City, Mo., on July 19, 2009. II Samuel 7: 1-14a Since the first of the summer, we’ve been walking with David, the smallest son of Jesse...
Great Experiments in Liberty
This sermon was preached by Doyle Sager, pastor of First Baptist Church in Jefferson City, Mo., on July 5, 2009. 1 Peter 2:9-17 I hope you are having a good Independence Day weekend. This weekend, lots of fireworks...
A head wound, and good news
I hadn't seen this much blood since two of my teeth were knocked nearly through my cheek during a college intramural football game almost 40 years ago.It started with a ceiling fan, though not in the way you might...
The price of peace … in Missouri
What is the price of peace? For Southern Baptists in Missouri the latest invoice is $100,000 according to a report from Baptist Press.This bill comes after years of Missouri Baptist Convention leadership pouring lots...
Bringing God Home
Sermon delivered by Keith Herron, pastor of Holmeswood Baptist Church in Kansas City, Mo., on July 12, 2009. II Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19 There’s a less-than-subtle mixing of King David’s public and private life in this...
You can’t live without it
Happily home from Israel and having gorged on the homegrown tomatoes, squash, and bacon I'd been missing, I reflected on the importance of having something to drink.Before the trip, we encouraged participants to read...
The Family: Ideas Will Prosper Even if It Fades
Jeff Sharlet is author of "The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism At The Heart of American Power," the story of a secretive quasi-evangelical organization, founded in the late 1930s, which has insinuated itself into the...
Defining Words’ Meaning is Path to Control
In Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland," there is a scene where Alice and Humpty Dumpty are having a conversation about words. "'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty says, in a rather scornful tone, 'it means just what...
For 400 Years: ‘Every Baptist is a Missionary’
Baptists have a reputation for being a missionary people. And that activism surely flows from the radical commitment of the early Baptists to the lordship of Jesus Christ and a fresh engagement with scripture. ...
Bless Arthur
Arthur Blessitt quickly became one of the more recognizable figures of the "Jesus Movement" (hippie Christians) of the late '60s and early '70. He helped to make Christianity cool for young people of that era — like...
The Family: Hitler, Stalin as Leadership Role Models
Jeff Sharlet is author of "The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism At The Heart of American Power," the story of a secretive quasi-evangelical organization, founded in the late 1930s, which has insinuated itself into the...
First Rule of Falling Leaders: Blame Something
In his book "How the Mighty Fall," Jim Collins identifies the third stage as "denial of risk and peril." One of the markers of this stage is externalizing blame. Rather than accept full responsibility for setbacks and...
Hunger Pangs? You’re Fuller Than You Know.
I tried on bathing suits at a department store recently, and I have to admit that I looked adorable. Adorable as in 25 years ago and four months' pregnant. But that is not really a very cute look on me now. My...
The Family: An Evangelical Society in the Shadows
Jeff Sharlet is author of "The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism At The Heart of American Power," the story of a secretive quasi-evangelical organization, founded in the late 1930s, which has insinuated itself into the...
Why Do Politicians Love Complex Solutions?
I challenge anybody to provide a simple, definitive and declarative interpretation of the opening statement in Ephesians. From verses 3 to 14, so much is going on here that translators can't even agree where to put...
The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama
In "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama," Gwen Ifill helps people to think about the meaning of recent political achievements of black politicians who are realizing electoral success in new ways....
A Sacred Duty
Sermon delivered by Heather Entrekin, pastor of Prairie Baptist Church in Prairie Village, K.S., on July 12 2009. Lamentations 1: 1-6. Last week, in preparation for this service, I visited the Midwest Center for...
Speak Anyway
Sermon delivered by Heather Entrekin, pastor of Prairie Baptist Church in Prairie Village, K.S., on July 5 2009. Ezekiel 2: 1-5. Some time ago I read a story in the newsletter of First Baptist Church of Los Angeles...
They Were All Together
Sermon delivered by Heather Entrekin, pastor of Prairie Baptist Church in Prairie Village, K.S., on May 31 2009. Acts 2: 1-21 Bumper sticker theology is not always the best, but I saw one in a pastor’s office that...
Resurrection Happens
Sermon delivered by Heather Entrekin, pastor of Prairie Baptist Church in Prairie Village, K.S., on May 3 2009. Pslam 23, John 10: 11-18. How is it that a Psalm maybe 2,500 years old about sheep and shepherds can...
Leafy Green Justice
Sermon delivered by Heather Entrekin, pastor of Prairie Baptist Church in Prairie Village, K.S., on Apr. 26 2009. Acts 4: 32-35. My husband, Peter, and I saved a baby bunny a couple of weeks ago. It took a lot of...