Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Baptists Trapped, Need Supplies in Escalating Attacks on Lebanon
American Baptists are trapped abroad and Lebanese Baptists are overwhelmed with refugees as Israel continues attacking Lebanon in response to Hezbollah terrorism. "Yesterday night was quite rough in various towns and...
The Challenge of ‘Left Behind’
One pastor's story can offer some insights on the popularity of this fiction series. Jason Byassee writes in his article "Enraptured: What's Behind 'Left Behind'?" that he had never met anyone who believed in the...
Southern Baptist Group Promotes Christian Schooling
An organization promoting Christian schooling among Southern Baptists has a new program to help pastors and church leaders organize a viable alternative to public schools. "Christian Schooling 101," a workshop that...
Baptist Peacemaking Group Condemns Violence in Middle East
A Baptist peacemaking group on Friday called on both sides of mounting tensions in the Middle East to back down from the brink of war and to negotiate toward a peaceful resolution. A caucus of members of the Baptist...
Christian Bloggers Should Have An Ethical Standard
I remember hearing about bloggers for the first time two years ago. They were all the rage at the Democratic National Convention. There were even reports about how much or little their work was influencing events,...
Blogger Shines Light on Baptist ‘ValleyGate’
David Montoya made a name for himself in the 1980s for secretly tape recording a private meeting to expose a fundamentalist political machine intent on influencing the election of a Baptist state convention president...
Judge Blocks Georgia Voter ID Law
The same federal judge who last year blocked enforcement of a law requiring Georgia voters to present picture IDs to go the polls on Wednesday also said a new law aimed at fixing constitutional problems in the old one...
Comment at BCE Luncheon Prompts Response
A throwaway line at last month's Baptist Center for Ethics 15th anniversary luncheon earned the attention of Fox News and rebuttal on a conservative Web site. In his June 22 keynote address at the Atlanta meeting, Bob...
An Ephesian Breeze
Scripture is full of idol stories. The Book of Acts has two idol stories, one in Athens (Acts 16) and one in Ephesus (Acts 19). Paul was coy in Athens, a disposition he rarely displayed. Ephesus was a tougher audience,...
Baptists Organize to Fight Human Trafficking
The World Cup not only created a flurry of new interest in soccer in the United States, it also inadvertently brought focus to the global problem of human trafficking and prostitution. In Germany, concern that up to...
What Are Your ‘Controversial’ Movies?
Several weeks ago Entertainment Weekly listed what it considered to be the 25 most controversial movies. EW's list included movies huddling around three predictable themes: violence, sex and religion. Films targeted...
Baptist Peace Fellowship Director Resigns
Gary Percesepe is leaving after two years as coordinating director of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America to become dean of the McMaster School for Advancing Humanity at Defiance College. BPFNA President...
BWA Grows, Highlights Human Rights
MEXICO CITY--Baptist World Alliance grew by over one million members in the past year, according to statistical data presented to delegates at the General Council meeting last week in Mexico City. BWA membership stood...
The View From The Sidelines
Years ago, priest and writer Henri Nouwen was serving as chaplain on a Dutch cruise ship making its way to Rotterdam. They were in a thick fog. Everyone was edgy and nervous as the ship crept along virtually blind in...
Filmmaker Moore Gives ‘Sicko’ Update
Michael Moore updated supporters July 7 on his upcoming film, "Sicko," which examines America's health-care industry. Moore said he's spent most of 2006 shooting the movie and has gotten about 75 percent of it in the...
BWA Launches Search for New General Secretary
MEXICO CITY--The Baptist World Alliance will announce a new general secretary in March 2007, if the search committee sticks to its published time line. BWA General Secretary Denton Lotz announced in March he would not...
Japanese Baptists Present Declaration Against War
The committee meeting was running into siesta time in Mexico City, so I was hardly prepared to have the last presenter drop a bomb that blew me away. This choice of analogies drips with historical irony, as Michio...
Baptist General Convention of Missouri Accepted as BWA Member
The Baptist General Convention of Missouri was approved as a member of the Baptist World Alliance at the BWA annual gathering and General Council meeting, held July 3-8 in Mexico City. The membership committee...
Sexual Politics Mar Meeting of Teacher Union
The American Family Association is reporting that the National Education Association has voted to endorse gay marriage, while officials with the teacher union maintain the group has no position on the subject and...
Baptists Struggle to Move Beyond Words to Actions to Halve Global Poverty
Global Baptists heard both success stories about national Micah Challenge campaigns and that some union/conventions have accomplished almost nothing meaningful to reduce global poverty by half by 2015. Speaking at the...
HealthSouth CEO Turned Evangelist Convicted of Bribery
More than a year after he was acquitted on charges of accounting fraud, former HealthSouth CEO turned religious broadcaster Richard Scrushy was convicted last week of a bribery scheme along with a former governor of...