Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Jail Term Prolonged for Baptist Pastor in Azerbaijan
A Baptist pastor in Azerbaijan must remain in jail for at least two more months while a criminal investigation against him continues, a court ruled Aug. 22. But supporters of imprisoned pastor Hamid Shabanov welcomed...
Random thoughts
While driving to the office this morning, I heard a radio report about which television shows had won Emmy awards. Not only had I not seen most of the shows, particularly in the "drama" category" -- I'd never heard of...
Report: LifeWay Pulls Magazine Featuring Women Preachers
LifeWay Christian Stores reportedly pulled a Christian magazine from its racks because five smiling women on its cover are pastors."It is contrary to what we believe," Chris Turner, a spokesman for the Southern Baptist...
Thumbs Up for President Bush
President Bush deserves a word of thanks from goodwill Baptists for his inclusive approach to one of the three religions in the Abrahamic faith tradition. For the past eight years, he has hosted in the White House an...
Through Christ We Find the Strength to Love Our Enemies
There is no doubt that Jesus commanded his followers to love their enemies. Moreover, there is no room for negotiation with Jesus on this point. No intelligent person can present a persuasive argument against taking...
Vounteer, or else!
"Most Southern Baptists do believe that while husband and wife are equal, that in a marriage the wife is to voluntarily place herself under 'the servant leadership of her husband,'" said Richard Land, Southern Baptist...
Big money, dead students, no problem (updated)
What are the marketers at MillerCoors thinking?They're thinking they will make a keg full of money, of course.The indisputable fact that a new product will kill both gullible users and innocent bystanders has no impact...
Must-Watch Thriller Weaves Together Muslim-Baptist Narratives
An action thriller ripping across three continents has a storyline about the son of an Islamic cleric, who displays admirable piety and wrestles with moral ambiguity, and the son of a Baptist preacher, who discloses a...
Must-Watch Thriller Weaves Together Muslim-Baptist Narratives
An action thriller ripping across three continents has a storyline about the son of an Islamic cleric, who displays admirable piety and wrestles with moral ambiguity, and the son of a Baptist preacher, who discloses a...
Living a Life of Significance
Rev. Olu Menjay could have lived a comfortable life in America. As a refugee from the Liberian civil war, he was granted a green card. After graduating from Mercer and Duke Divinity School, he was in pursuit of a...
Beneath Black, White–and Brown–Skin
Laura Cadena, a fifth-generation Tejana, recalls a story about when her grandmother moved from Laredo to Dallas, Texas: "She remembers getting on a bus and the sign saying 'Whites Only' or 'Blacks Only,' and she didn't...
Shared needs build community
This current economic crisis makes us nervous. We feel less secure — which we are financially.Politicians and economists blame everyone but themselves. And silver linings are hard to find.Perhaps one ounce of good in a...
Wanted: Peacemakers in the Culture War
There's been lots of bad news this past week. Hurricane Ike ran ashore over Galveston, Texas, and folks as far away as Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky felt its force. The collapse of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae was quickly...
Obama Campaign Introduces Faith-Based Merchandise
The Obama campaign is reportedly rolling out a line of faith-themed merchandise catering to religious voters. BeliefNet's "God-o-Meter" blog--a tongue-in-cheek scorecard of God-talk in U.S. elections--published an...
Moderate and Conservative Southern Baptists Differ on Race at Three Points
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary doctoral student David Roach is writing his dissertation under the working title of "The Southern Baptist Convention and Civil Rights, 1954-1995." These bookend dates begin with...
Big hearts, big help — and good news
Yesterday, my compadre John Pierce devoted his blog to exploring the legitimate question of whether disaster relief is still news. I don't know if we've had a lot more disasters lately, or if there's more relief work...
American Baptist Pastor in Palin’s Hometown Says Her Election Would Be a ‘Disaster’
Sarah Palin is a front-line culture warrior whose election as vice president would be a "disaster" for the country, says an American Baptist pastor and longtime nemesis in local politics in the governor's hometown of...
Baptist Ethicist in New DVD Was FBI Target
Much has been written about Baptist ethicist Henlee H. Barnette, including the fact that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was interested in some of his activities. But so far as we know, Barnette's FBI file hasn't...
Serious Thinking Requires Moving Beyond ‘Liberal’ and ‘Conservative’ Labels
Once upon a time (say as late as 1948), the terms "liberal" and "conservative" actually held clearly defined meaning. Conservatives generally regarded change or experimentation via government to be dangerous. They,...
Is disaster relief still news?
Deadly floodwaters overtook parts of Central and South Georgia in the summer of 1994. Representing the state Baptist newspaper, The Christian Index, editor Bill Neal and I headed out of Atlanta quickly to give thorough...
Ten Years Later
As we drove into the cemetery, I could see through the windshield of my brother's car the flagpole at the entrance, and the flag itself--flying at half-mast."What a nice thing to do for Mom," I thought. But at the same...