Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Democracy Grows As Truth and Honesty Prevail
Most of us would love to see more democracy in the nations of the world. Just suppose the Middle East had a fledging democracy 50-plus years ago. Iran did have a thriving and growing democracy, until August 1953. The...
Prominent Baptist Church Votes Not to Expel Dissident Members
A prominent Southern Baptist church in Nashville, Tenn., narrowly voted to retain 71 members in what would have been one of the largest church-member expulsions in recent history of the Baptist faith. A total of 1,000...
God’s Kingdom is a Kingdom of Sharing
In Luke 12 Jesus tells a parable about a rich man who had plenty. In fact, the man had so much grain that he decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones. This rich man believed that because of his new windfall...
Less-predictible living
This will be brief. A quick return to writing and editing awaits me. Deadlines know no difference between weekends and weekdays. But I am not complaining.I like the flexibility and challenges of demand-based work over...
An honorable dream
As noted previously, LifeWay Resources' annual statistical study of the Southern Baptist Convention demonstrated in rather clear fashion that the SBC, which had long defied the trends of mainline denominations by...
Battling Prejudice at Home and Abroad
I recently traveled to Romania, where Buckner International enables churches to give shoes and socks to orphans who live in group homes. Meeting these children to give them humanitarian aid was amazing. Considering the...
Family Research Council Urging Pastors to ‘Cross the Line’ in Political Endorsements
A Religious Right spokesman with ties to the Southern Baptist Convention says he plans to counsel pastors to "cross the line" in telling church members how they should vote in the upcoming presidential election. Kenyn...
Will the Christian Left Criticize or Justify Obama’s Divorce from Wright?
Senator Barack Obama filed divorce papers against Reverend Jeremiah Wright on the grounds of irreconcilable differences one day after his pastor of 20 years appeared at the National Press Club, even though Wright's...
Throw this cliche’ under the bus
Following the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's controversial public addresses earlier this week, several television commentators were quick to say that the feisty Chicago preacher had thrown his former parishioner under the bus....
Trespassers Will Be Baptized
"Trespassers Will Be Baptized" is the creative and whimsical title of a new book written by Elizabeth Emerson Hancock Trende, known more affectionately by us at Central Baptist Church as Emy, daughter of Greg and...
Liberation Theology a Significant Theological Movement
The Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Sen. Barack Obama's former minister, continues to be a factor in the ongoing presidential campaign. His recent media blitz has put his theology and social views on the front burner. I find...
Conservative Methodists Accused of Trying to Buy African Votes With Cell Phones
A multi-year effort to turn the United Methodist Church to the right on controversial issues like homosexuality suffered a setback at General Conference meetings being held this week in Fort Worth, Texas. Early in the...
Leader Says ‘Conservative Resurgence’ Failed to Produce More Evangelism in SBC
A movement launched in 1979 to purge the Southern Baptist Convention of so-called "liberalism" failed in its promise to deliver a more evangelistic denomination, according to an SBC statistician. "The Conservative...
LEEDing By Example
Curiously, churches have lagged far behind institutions of higher education and corporations in paying attention to environmental responsibility and sustainability in constructing buildings. In some conservative...
Christian Television Network Reports Growing Audience in Iran
Iran's mix of political instability and harsh enforcement of Sharia law are combining to produce an unexpected result--increased interest in the gospel message--reports a broadcasting ministry operated by and for...
Hi-tech promotes high-touch churches
You can visit many churches that show no signs of awareness that we live in a digital age, awash in multiple media venues and online opportunities for social networking. For some folks, I suspect, a simple sanctuary...
Choosing odd stories
Selecting stories for print or web is much more art than science. But it is a part of an editor's job.Stories are chosen for a variety of reasons such as interest, intrigue, relevance and sometimes oddity. Such was the...
Southern Baptist Mission Board Sponsors Exhibit for Messianic Jews
The Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship, a ministry formed in 1990 to preach the gospel to Jews, will for the first time have a booth this year in the exhibit hall at the Southern Baptist Convention. Baptist Press...
Gospel Tears Down Idols and Shrines of Politics and Race
Analyzing election results is a tricky business, even for the experts, and I'm no expert. But it's hard, at least for me, not to try to get a feeling for what is happening and finding patterns that reveal where the...
Faith and Values in Summer Superhero Films
Over the past five years, superhero films have been not only among the most popular movies in America, but in some cases, also some of the most theologically and spiritually-profound movies in our cinemas. I know this...
Fresh voices
The "Ministry of Writing" course I teach at Campbell University Divinity School is a challenge for me, given that my students are at various levels of preparation. And, it's a challenge for students, given that I...