Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
“The Age of Stupid”
"The Age of Stupid," a 90-minute film about the consequences of humanity's current behavior, is the rare project that mixes documentary with straight-up drama. Some segments feature Pete Postlethwaite—simply called...
Federal Help for Premiums Leaves Church Workers Stranded
Shortly after President Obama took office in January, he announced the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) would provide COBRA premium assistance to workers who have been laid off since Sept. 1, 2008....
Misguided Pentagon Covers Turned Bible into War Propaganda
It was happening more than six years ago, but that doesn't make it any less disturbing. Newly declassified documents reveal that a series of top secret briefings prepared for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and...
Upstairs Downstairs
Sermon delivered by David Hughes, pastor of First Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, N.C., on May 17 2009. John 15:9-17 If you were with us last Sunday, you know I talked about what it means to be...
Jewelry Co-Op Gives Inner-City Girls a Chance for Future
Informed of a sale, Ebony's eyes sparkled like jewels. "Somebody bought my earrings!" she shouted, reflecting a new sense of pride. The earrings on the table at an exhibit in Little Rock at the Cooperative Baptist...
Maybe What the Church Really Needs is a Loss of Power
The news has spread far and wide. It’s been discussed in Newsweek, debated in faith publications, chewed on in sermons and Sunday School classes across the country. According to the 2009 American Religious...
New Creed of Many Christians: What Would Jack Bauer Do?
Almost daily it seems that the American public and wider world learn more about how people were tortured and subjected to other inhumane treatment during the Bush administration. Most recently, President Obama reversed...
Bible abuse
It was happening more than six years ago, but that doesn't make it any less disturbing.Newly declassified documents reveal that a series of top secret briefings prepared for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and...
Five ways to enliven the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting this year
1. As a point of order, ask if Louisville, Ky., was freely chosen by a planning committee — at Al Mohler’s urging — or predetermined by God before the formation of earth to be the 2009 meeting site.2. Hang around the...
Economic Policies That Help Poor Should Be Pro-Life Priority
Shirley Bogard was an impressive teenager in the Kentucky Baptist church where I was pastor. The church awarded her its scholarship for the most deserving teenager so she could train as a nurse. She was a devoted...
“Angels and Demons”
There are rules to how thrillers work. One of them is that you have to help your audience buy into the premise of the story. Ron Howard knows how to make a good thriller, but in "Angels and Demons" he gets strapped...
Churches with Country-Club Mentality Resemble Narcissus
In the gospels we encounter stories that depict some churches all the time, and all churches some of the time. Consider Luke 10:38-42 – the story of Mary and Martha. Martha rightly seeks to be hospitable to Jesus,...
Pentagon Reports with Biblical Quotations Illustrate Crusade Mentality
The New York Times asked me a week after Sept. 11, 2001, what I thought about the Pentagon's initial code name of "infinite justice" for the evolving war against terrorism. ''The word 'infinite' is another word for...
Help my unbelief
If you're just not into church, what do you do on Sunday morning? Sleeping in is very popular, and so are early morning shopping trips. If you want to see a really big crowd at 11:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning, go to a...
The Gift of Children and the Gift of Family
Sermon delivered by Dr. Joel Snider, pastor of First Baptist Church in Rome, Ga., on May 10, 2009. 1 Samuel 1:21-28 First Samuel, chapter 1, is one of many of the best stories from the Old Testament, and these stories...
Fine Wine
Sermon Delivered by David Hughes, pastor of First Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, NC, on May 10, 2009. John 15:1-8 Let’s be honest. Baptist preachers don’t make a habit of discussing fine wine in church,...
Religious Resolution Distorts History about Nation’s Founding
A resolution to affirm the religious heritage of the United States has resurfaced in Congress, sparking a familiar debate about whether America is a "Christian nation." The Congressional Prayer Caucus, a group of...
National Ministries Announces Luncheon Screening of “Beneath the Skin” in Pasadena
National Ministries will screen the award-winning documentary "Beneath the Skin: Baptists and Racism" at its luncheon with a panel discussion at the biennial gathering of the American Baptist Churches-USA in Pasadena,...
How Will We Help Our Veterans to Handle War’s Stress?
I worked in a television newsroom in the late '70s. Back then, the most inflammatory phrase you could attach to a person's name was "Vietnam veteran"... as in: "Vietnam veteran Joe Smith has been arrested today and...
After midnight
Aging is a dirty trick in that behavioral changes occur without one's intent or permission. For example, "sleeping in" now means I'm not at the coffee shop when the doors swing open at 6:30 AM.Staying up late means I...
Southeastern tightens the screws
A friend of mine who has previously served as a field supervisor for Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary students taking supervised ministry won't be doing so any longer.In recent years, Southeastern has asked...