Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
The God I Don’t Understand
For thoughtbul believers, the Christmas season prompts wonderment as we consider the meaning of God's self-giving in Christ. So, I thought it an appropriate time to post a review of Christopher Wright’s insightful new...
Five Things to Do This Week to Improve Your Career
This week should be a slow week in most places. Because Christmas is on a Thursday, and lots of people will get the day after that off, expect to see people using vacation days to get a nice week off. I'll be in Texas...
A Christmas Prayer
Lord, first of all, thank you for the careful and creative way in which you have designed this world. You have made this planet a marvelous place, filled with life and beauty. It is a privilege to recognize that we...
Doing the Right Thing for Church Staff
Doing the “right thing” is not always easy. Sometimes doing the right thing may cost you in terms of money, pride, etc. However, doing the right thing is not only the morally correct thing to do; it is the way God...
Top Religion Stories of 2008
The economy trumped religion. That was the biggest religion story of the year, according to Time magazine. Time’s latest issue is full of top 10 lists, including the top 10 religion stories of the year, compiled by...
Teens and technology
Those of us with teens in our houses know how attune they are to the latest techno-gadgets.They prefer texting to talking to their buddies.As a result, the latest phone or PDA can carry more status for this generation...
Nights of a thousand candles
Teaching on a college schedule and having a son in a year-round middle school can make for an interesting vacation schedule. As a result, our week at the beach this year came in mid-December -- for the first time, in...
Navigating Charity Options
As many individuals ponder their end-of-year giving, they are inundated with numerous cash-strapped charities making special requests. With the Salvation Army, Focus on the Family, various denominations and religious...
From Wright to Warren, Is Obama Moving from Social Gospel to Private Faith?
Barack Obama once credited a prophetic black preacher as his spiritual mentor. Now he has selected a self-promoting white preacher to give the invocation at his inauguration. What does Obama’s shift from Jeremiah...
Jon Meacham Just Doesn’t Get Religion
I can't say that I've ever been impressed by the theological insights of Newsweek editor Jon Meacham. After his recent editorial, in response to Lisa Miller's lousy cover story article on gay marriage, I'm left with...
Congrats, Dr. Gourley
Bruce Gourley is a December graduate of Auburn University, receiving a Ph.D. in American History. Congratulations!His dissertation was titled "Baptists in Middle Georgia during the Civil War" — sure to be a feature...
A Plain, Profound Nativity
My wife likes nativity scenes. We have some very nice ones that we have acquired over the years. We also have a couple of new ones; I picked up a stone nativity at St. John’s College in Minnesota last summer and we...
Five Lessons Not Taught in Seminary
Browsing in a Barnes & Nobles today, I saw a book titled Lies My Teacher ToldMe. Apparently the author takes issue with some historical stuff he thinks is misrepresented in public education. The title of that book...
Wanted: good preaching
Is good preaching worth the effort? Should it be encouraged?It is, and it should.But, it's something moderate type Baptists haven't highlighted much in recent years. While rightfully concerned about who should be able...
CBF Outreach Brings Christmas to the Poor in Arkansas Delta
The Mohawk haircut on the shepherd gave it away. This wasn't going to be a typical Christmas nativity depiction. Mary was a young African-American girl. Joseph was a Caucasian boy. Baby Jesus was a young...
Roaches and Rats: A Nativity Reflection
I must have been about three years old when this image was burned into my mind, and probably it will be the last thing I recall when I lay on my death bed as an old man. The ceiling was moving. As I focused on what was...
What is an evangelical?
The term "evangelical" is difficult to define. At its root, it refers to Protestant Christians who emphasize the "good news" of Jesus Christ. But it continually takes on pejorative meanings (more often associated with...
The Institutional Church
Most of the churches that I have related to over the years would fall into the category of institutional churches. They have buildings, staff members, budgets, participants, activities and bills. I would imagine that...
Hard Times Reveal the Depth of Our Roots
Shallow roots will not yield authentic community with poor and suffering people. I can only offer what I have first received. The watching world needs to see deeply rooted faith. My little backyard garden dried up this...
A Festival of Young Preachers
Preaching is transformational: in the life of an individual, a congregation, a community, even a nation. After all, the most effective public person of the last 50 years was a Baptist preacher from Alabama. February...
The Supreme Court and “Christian America”
A problem breeding confusion on the matter of "Christian America" is the failure to distinguish between two senses of Christian "nation." It is important to know that the Holy Trinity decision was not a church-state...