Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Anti-Muslim Immigration Video Spreads Fear, Distorts Truth
“Muslim Demographics” is a fear-mongering, fact-distorting video on YouTube posted by an anonymous source. The video has gone viral with almost 5 million views thanks to conservative Christians who are posting it on...
Bible Can Withstand Honest Questions about Its Origin
The Bible has a long and rich history in Western society; no one can deny this fact. Its wisdom has brought many people comfort in times of sorrow, distress and confusion. Its stories have spoken to the hearts of...
If Your Church is Dying, Can You Give Birth to Another One?
The responses to my previous posting about hospice care for dying churches have not given much attention to the "new birth" aspect. One way to ease the loss of dying is to provide something that will live on after the...
Call her “Doctor J”
It's graduation season for colleges and universities, a number of which are awarding honorary doctorates to a variety of luminaries. One of the least famous but most deserving of those recipients was honored May 8...
Evangelicals’ Support of Torture Reveals Double Failure
A recent study conducted by the Pew Research Center Forum on Religion and Public life reveals a disturbing statistic. According to the poll, nearly 62 percent of white evangelical Christians believe that torturing...
No Matter Who’s in Charge, Total Power Often Corrupts
I haven't had much empathy for the Republican Party in recent years, but I'm finding myself identifying with Sen. Olympia Snowe these days. "We have not made any dramatic changes as a party that would suggest there...
When Churches Make Changes, It’s Best to Start Small
Leadership guru Peter Drucker once wrote, "Effective innovations start small." Some would disagree with that approach. At least one consultant has suggested that if change is necessary in an organization, do it on the...
In D.C. on the National Day of Prayer
The National Day of Prayer has been around for decades. But during the eight-year tenure of former President George W. Bush, it took on a different flavor. He hosted an annual observance in the East Room of the White...
What Makes People Good?
Sermon delivered by Bob Browning, pastor of Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, G.A., on May 3 2009. John 10: 11-18. Have you ever seen a real, honest-to-goodness shepherd tending his flock? Unless you have...
National Day of Prayer Should Unite, Not Segregate, America
On April 17, 1952, President Harry S. Truman signed a bill proclaiming a National Day of Prayer to be declared by each succeeding president at an appropriate date chosen by that president. In 1988, President Ronald...
Three 19th Century Women Offer Inspiring Examples of Motherhood
Let me let you in on a little known secret. Mother's Day is one of the hardest sermons to preach all year. Surprised? There are few lengthy texts that lend themselves naturally to the topic. It is hard to say anything...
“Ghosts of Girlfriends Past”
For me to tell you that the new romantic comedy "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" is a predictable movie is equally predictable. Anyone who's read Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" or seen any of its cinematic variations...
Politicians Leave Poor to be Devoured by Economic ‘Wolves’
It pains me to say it, but it appears that Jesus is anti-laborer. Not "anti-labor," mind you, since, as far as I can tell, the New Testament is silent on the rights of workers to organize. But, according to the...
Leaving Neverland
This sermon was delivered by Erica Hartman, a student at McAfee and winner of the John R. Claypool Preaching Award at McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta, Ga., on May 5, 2009. John 21:1-19 After these things...
Don’t read my blog today …
As I lay in bed this morning, listening to the predawn serenade of our bedroom window birdie, I pondered what subject to approach in today's blog. Several subjects came to mind, but none stood out more than the...
Enfolded by Love
Sermon delivered by Keith Herron, pastor of Holmeswood Baptist Church in Kansas City, M.O., on May 3 2009. John 10: 11-18. It’s all there in John’s gospel, if you ever wanted to be a shepherd, if you ever...
Earliest Baptist Advocated Religious Liberty for Muslims
Religious liberty for Muslims was a cry from the Baptist cradle in Christian England. That call came a year after King James I published the King James Version of the Bible in 1611, one of his attempts to dampen down...
Teen to British Baptists: Oppose Discrimination against Young
After a passionate speech from an 18-year-old, British Baptists passed a resolution condemning the use of 'mosquito' alarms to deter anti-social behavior among young people. The Baptist Assembly, a gathering of the...
Christian License Plates: Newest Way to Trivialize Our Faith
Recent proposals by lawmakers in South Carolina and Florida to offer state-sponsored, overtly Christian license plates should have one group particularly offended. And it's not the atheists, secular humanists or...
The radio and mom’s discernment
The early morning radio voice of Luther Masingill — with Mom clanging around the kitchen — was the background music of my childhood and youth. After six decades, Luther is still on the air in Chattanooga to eagerly...
Long After the Hurricanes, Churches Continue to Meet Needs
Bridgewater Church of Madisonville, La., didn't have to go far to find a way to engage in God's mission. This Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) partnering congregation just went down the street. There, the...