Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Organized Labor Still Alive and Well
Labor Day is coming up. In the United States, as with most legally mandated Monday holidays, in the minds of most it has lost any inspirational significance and has become just another three-day weekend. In fact, its...
“Kansas vs. Darwin”
Ah, Kansas. Wheat. Tornadoes. State fairs with pig races and booths selling a pork chop on a stick. Those are some popular images of the 34th state admitted to the Union. But here's a fact: In May 2005 it became ground...
SBC pastors, people on different pages
The "battle for the Bible" may be over among Southern Baptist pastors, but people in the pews are less likely to pledge allegiance to inerrancy.Responses to a survey by the research arm of LifeWay Christian Resources,...
When Christians look stupid
Stuart Shepard says he was just kidding when mounting a video campaign to pray down rain on Sen. Barack Obama's acceptance speech this Thursday night in Denver. But his passion sounded a bit stronger than any mild...
The Importance of Living an Authentic Life
By now the Bigfoot story is no longer big news. It was all a big hoax. What puzzles me is how the claim of two North Georgia men finding a dead Bigfoot in the mountains ever became big news. USA Today carried the story...
College Presidents’ Alcohol Project Deserves Failing Grade
As of Aug. 25, a group of more than 125 college presidents and chancellors have signed on to promote one of the dumbest ideas ever to emerge from an administrative office. They want to combat binge drinking among...
Most Americans Think Churches Should Stay Out of Politics
For the first time in at least a decade, a majority of Americans believe churches should keep out of politics as opposed to expressing their views on social and political concerns. The biggest shift occurred for...
College presidents’ project deserves failing grade
As of August 25, a group of more than 125 college presidents and chancellors have signed on to promote one of the dumbest ideas ever to emerge from an administrative office -- they want to combat binge drinking among...
Until God’s Redemption Is Complete, We Must Be Discontent
In an earlier column, I wrote about how we discover contentment through the experience of God's continual presence, the present that God gives us to live today and the relationships God brings into each of our lives....
Converting the Church
I must have been about 10 when I first went to Disneyland in Southern California around 1968. Going to Disneyland was a dream come true for me. My parents scraped and saved to make this trip possible. Like every other...
Christianizing Campaigns
Every morning when I walk to my office, I pass the centerpiece of Belmont University: the 150-year-old bell tower. From it currently hangs a 20-foot banner advertising "Debate 08," the Oct. 7 town hall presidential...
The answer is on the table
The best one-liner from the recent Rick Warren conversations with the presidential candidates came from Democratic contender Barack Obama when the Saddleback pastor asked him to define "rich."With a smile, Sen. Obama...
They’re people, too
The Beijing Olympic games have brought any number of fascinating stories, some of which the Chinese authorities would very much have liked to keep under wraps.There is, for example, the story of two elderly women who...
“Man on Wire”
In a well-known historical moment on Aug. 8, 1974, Richard Nixon went on TV to resign the presidency. The day before, much less well-known before now, a Frenchman named Philippe Petit walked a high-wire strung between...
Christian Leaders as Power Brokers
It sounds like the beginning of a corny joke: Two Christian guys walk into a Baptist church and tell the pastor they want him to help one of them become president of the United States. Sad thing is--it's not a joke. It...
“Man on Wire”
In a well-known historical moment on Aug. 8, 1974, Richard Nixon went on TV to resign the presidency. The day before, much less well-known before now, a Frenchman named Philippe Petit walked a high-wire strung between...
Wiley Drake Takes Up Prayer Call for Rainout of Obama Event
A Focus on the Family Action broadcaster has apologized for a tongue-in-cheek video asking people to pray for rain during Barack Obama's outdoor speech at next week's Democratic National Convention, but a former...
Baptists better when together
The Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC) held its annual meeting in Atlanta earlier this month. According to a Religion News Service report, the 47-year-old convention passed two dozen resolutions related to...
“Henry Poole Is Here”
Henry Poole (Luke Wilson) is a man looking for a cocoon. He just wants to buy a house in his childhood neighborhood, get lots of alcohol and frozen pizza from the supermarket down the street, and hunker down to live...
Listeners of Religious Radio Below Average in Knowledge of Current Events
People who listen to religious radio shows like "Focus on the Family" are less knowledgeable about current events than the average American, according to a recent survey on media consumption by the Pew Research Center...
“Henry Poole Is Here”
Henry Poole (Luke Wilson) is a man looking for a cocoon. He just wants to buy a house in his childhood neighborhood, get lots of alcohol and frozen pizza from the supermarket down the street, and hunker down to live...