Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Failed Leaders Reject Truthful Messages
In Hans Christian Andersen's classic children's story, The Emperor's New Suit, a leader is surrounded by advisors and a kingdom full of people who refuse to tell him the naked truth. Motivated by their desire to appear...
Virginia Baptists Play Key Role in Rejecting Rezoning for Mosque
The southern cradle of Baptist religious liberty voted last week against religious liberty for Muslims, and thereby, for the prevailing cultural establishment of Christianity. The Board of Supervisors for Henrico...
Come to Macon; hear Pat Terry
During my interview with Pat Terry, that appeared in the November issue of Baptists Today, the talented Nashville songwriter and Christian music pioneer said he was itching to get back on stage after a long absence. I...
Revive Judaism in India
Jews have lived in India since the time of the Buddha, some 2,500 years ago. While this link does nothing to explain the popularity of Buddhism among Jews (the Buddha lived in northern India, the Jews, of course,...
How to Network at a Conference
I often find the best networking happens at conferences, and not at local bars for young professional night. After all, everyone there (at the conference, that is) theoretically has similar interests, professions, or...
War on Christmas Is Back, Thanks to Atheists and Christian Fundamentalists
Aside from the humanists/atheists and Christian fundamentalists, about the only ones who benefit from the verbal brawls over the war on Christmas are the cable TV talk shows, which both feed on and feed off the...
Bwaid Assists Displaced Persons in Congo
Washington, D.C. (BWA) -- Baptist World Aid, the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance, has provided $30,000 for relief in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The grant is offered in the wake of...
Times Change, Roots Remain As Kate Campbell Releases 12th Album
All people are products of their times, said Kate Campbell, but maybe not everyone realizes that. It's the job of artists to point that out. Campbell is among the best at this--a product of her own times who possesses...
For Christians, Racial Reconciliation Is More Than a Habit of the Heart
In order for racial reconciliation to be an act of discipleship, white Christians must start at the ethical beginning, that place where we learn what sin is by learning of Christ's grace: worship. Although I believe...
Tough Times Can Open Door to Transformation
As a pastor and follower of Jesus, the teachings of the Bible and the initiatives of Christ are constantly re-formatting my lifestyle, calling me to leave behind the errant ways of my past so that I might live more...
Translation station
There are folks, you may or may not know, who make it their business to translate things into a written language for apes. Instead of words, the apes recognize and "read" lexigrams -- picture symbols for words or...
GBC tackles old bus problem
As mentioned in the blog below, the Georgia Baptist Convention (GBC) passed a policy earlier this week that gives Executive Director Bob White and the GBC Administration Committee the authority to reject undesired...
A time to mourn …
Permit me, please, some time to grieve. My denominational family home of almost 30 years isn't home any more. The locks haven't been changed, but the message on the welcome mat outside the Baptist State Convention of...
N.C. Baptist Convention Eliminates CBF Giving Option
Messengers to the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina on Nov. 12 voted 431-354 to eliminate any possibility of contributions to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship through the convention's new single giving plan....
‘Happiness Is …’
Call me naive, but I was always taught that the captain goes down with the ship, meaning that the guy who is steering the ship joins his future with the ship. I'm not going to dabble in politics today. I am going,...
Don’t Perpetuate Economic Injustice
How can it be possible that so many people who claim allegiance to Jesus can be so complacent about the plight of the poor? How can they ignore what Jesus said about loving our neighbor? Unfortunately, even though the...
Regional New Baptist Covenant Meetings Planned
Inspired by the vision and success of the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant held earlier this year, several Baptist groups are planning similar regional gatherings for 2009. Next year will also mark the 400th...
What Are Sermons Worth?
During my first semester at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in the fall of 1979 I had the privilege of taking a course on Job that was taught by Dr. Clyde Francisco. One day Dr. Francisco was talking about...
Survive the Apocalypse With Humanity Intact
The voice of fear will argue for a fixed pie, a world of limited resources, and the need to grab as much as we can as fast as we can, others be damned. The voice of love will speak of a renewable world where life is...
Islamic Religious Personality Plans Reality Show
"Khaled, 40, is among a new breed of media-savvy Muslim clerics who have taken to the stage and are beaming messages to millions across the Middle East on a series of dedicated pan-Arab TV shows and channels,"...
Why Faith Matters in a Time of the New Atheists
Let's stop assuming that folk know why faith matters. Let's start making the case for faith outside the circle of faith. So, let's stop assuming that folk know why faith matters. Let's start making the case for faith...