Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Missouri Baptist Conflict Complicated by Judicial Ties, Changes
As the Missouri Baptist Convention's lawsuit against five Missouri Baptist ministries neared its fifth anniversary, judicial changes occurred that could impact the outcome of the legal conflict. Two appeals court...
The devil you say!
Did Time magazine intentionally undercut its intriguing story about Billy Graham's amazing string of relationships with eleven U.S. presidents by portraying him on the cover as the devil in disguise?I read the copy...
Tow Trucks to Torture Instruments
"To everything there is a season," says Ecclesiastes. For most things, it seems, there is also a museum. On a recent visit to the magnificent city of Prague, some interesting choices of museums were available. I...
Huckabee Compares Iowa Success to Jesus’ Feeding of 5,000
After a surprise second-place finish in the Iowa Republican straw poll on Saturday, Aug. 11, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee claimed victory. Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister and former president of...
The Temptation (Luke 4:1-15): Bible Commentary for the New Baptist Covenant
The temptation narrative of the Gospels, particularly in Luke 4:1-13, raises questions about the nature of temptation and what it means to be tempted. In 1988 an enormous controversy arose surrounding the release of...
Will the fourth time be the charm for First Dallas?
On Sunday, members of First Baptist Church in Dallas confirmed earlier speculation by calling Robert Jeffress to become the church's new pastor. Jeffress is the fourth pastor chosen in hopes of finding a long-lived...
‘The Simpsons Movie’
When was the last time a movie had the catalyst for its story set in church? The last one I remember is "The Blues Brothers" in 1980. "The Simpsons Movie," now playing, really begins its story in the midst of a church...
Call to Conscience—Save Darfur
Belmont United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn., has a large, simple green sign with white letters facing a well-traveled street: "A Call to Your Conscience: SaveDarfur.org." A large postcard with the call to...
Fear and Trembling Among the Faithful
I've never met Brent Beasley, senior pastor at Second Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn., but I have become a huge fan. In a recent column at Ethicsdaily.com, Beasley asks the question, "Why are Christians so prone to...
Parham, Patterson Discuss Role of Women on Fox News
Is it "God's will" for women to stay at home? Robert Parham and Paige Patterson took up the issue Monday morning on "FOX & Friends." "We should never claim for the Christian faith what the Bible does not claim for...
Stealth denial
The August 13 issue of Newsweek magazine carries an impressive story about the length to which well-paid spin-meisters will go to deny the overwhelming scientific consensus that global warming is a real and present...
Teachers in space
After more than two decades of waiting, teacher Barbara Morgan is orbiting the earth, getting accustomed to zero gravity and preparing to conduct three live classes as part of NASA's troubled teachers in space program....
‘Newsweek’ Rightly Identifies Global Warming Deniers as ‘Denial Machine’
"Newsweek" exposed this week the axis of corporations and conservative organizations that oppose the scientific evidence that human actions are causing global warming as the "denial machine." The magazine's insightful...
Baptist Pastor in Azerbaijan Sentenced to Two Years in Prison
A Baptist pastor in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison for using violence against police breaking up a meeting of his house church and arresting him in...
Democratic Presidential Hopefuls Address LGBT Forum
Democrats participated Thursday night in a first-ever televised forum by presidential candidates focusing exclusively on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. The forum, held is Los Angeles, was co-sponsored...
The power of McWorship
I suppose it shouldn't be surprising to learn that most preschoolers would think food tastes better if it comes in a McDonald's wrapper. Or, so says a scientific study that made the newspapers this week.The study,...
Does Your Teenager Know You Care?
From age 25 to age 30, I worked as a youth minister. It was my job to stay on top of youth culture. Sometimes I became an important link between teenagers and their parents. At times I felt like an interpreter, helping...
Families of South Korean Hostages Disappointed by U.S.-Afghanistan Summit
The families of 21 South Korean Christians held captive by the Taliban in Afghanistan lashed out at President Bush and Afghani President Hamid Karzai for failure to negotiate an end to the 21-day-old hostage ordeal....
Barry Bonds*
Wednesday was declared Barry Bonds Day in San Francisco. Bonds was given a day because the night before he broke one of the most revered records in sports--the career home run record. Bonds hit career home run No. 756...
Moral Activist Charged with Prostitution Avoids Felony Charge Related to Suspicious Check
Coy Privette, a well-known Baptist preacher and family values champion arrested three weeks ago on prostitution charges, won't face additional charges in connection with a suspicious check written from his bank account...
Why Are Christians So Prone to Fear?
Like most pastors in Memphis, I received a mailing from a group called Memphis City Churches. As the president of the Memphis Ministers Association, I am at least somewhat aware of ecumenical organizations in town, and...