Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Baptists Discuss AIDS, a New American Voice and Religious Liberty in Mexico
An estimated 64,000 people worldwide will die from AIDS, and 88,000 will be newly infected during the week-long meeting to the Baptist World Alliance in Mexico City, said a presenter in a forum on AIDS/HIV ministries....
Lawsuit Says Jewish Family Left Town Because Schools Promote Christianity
A Delaware school district is reportedly being sued by its insurance company, which no longer wants to pay legal bills for a lawsuit over school prayer that the district refused to settle. A Web site called...
Dancy’s Rededication
The marquee sign at Dancy First Baptist Church read this past Sunday, "God has blessed our church." Since early February the sign had read, "Forgive them. They know not what they do." More than 250 persons gathered at...
We Need Fewer Secrets
The U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) turned 40 July 4, the day we celebrate our independence. But this anniversary was not a day of celebration for the right to information in our country. Our government leaders...
Nicaragua Baptist To Receive Human Rights Award
The Baptist World Alliance will give its 2006 Human Rights Award to Gustavo Parajon, a 70-year-old medical doctor and the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Managua, at the conclusion of its annual gathering in...
Georgia Voter ID Bill Passed in Time for Primary
Georgia's Republican-controlled state election board has decided to require voters to present government-issued ID cards in order to cast ballots in primary elections only weeks away. The U.S. Justice Department...
Jurors Granted Recess in Baptist Foundation of Arizona Trial
Jurors in the Baptist Foundation of Arizona fraud trial are on a two-week break, following a week of deliberations in the longest and most expensive criminal trial in Arizona history. Jury deliberations in the 10-month...
Global Baptists Need ‘Big Ears’ to Hear God’s Voice
MEXICO CITY--Global Baptists need "big ears" to listen to the voice of God, said David Coffey on the opening night of the Baptist World Alliance's annual gathering in Mexico City. "We need big ears this week," said...
‘Kokoyakyu: High School Baseball’
The PBS documentary series "P.O.V." rolls out its second film tonight with the sublime "Kokoyakyu: High School Baseball." Director Kenneth Eng captures high school baseball in Japan through a beautiful, hour-long look...
BWA Meets in Mexico City, Lotz Looks for SBC Reform
More than 500 global Baptists are expected to gather this week in Mexico City for the general council meeting of the Baptist World Alliance, the premier worldwide Baptist organization, which the Southern Baptist...
The Founding Fathers and Baptists
A newspaper religion reporter sent me an e-mail and asked what I thought the founding fathers--and specifically George Washington--meant by freedom of religion (the First Amendment). Here's my response: The original...
Australian Baptists Are Chief Advocates for Micah Challenge
Australia may be known as the nation "down under," but Australian Baptists are on top of the Baptist world in terms of advocacy for the Micah Challenge. The Micah Challenge is an ambitious initiative that presses...
Congress Spars Over Plight of Palestinian Christians
A battle is being waged in Congress over the plight of Palestinian Christians and who is to blame--the Palestinian Authority or Israel. The war of words began May 19, when Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., chairman of the House...
Vote For Jesus
The primaries are now over and the main races are set for November. Marriage is also safe. With the Marriage Protection amendment to the Alabama state constitution, marriages in our state are now secure from the...
Rhetoric Kills
Rhetoric kills--specifically the war rhetoric emerging from Washington D.C. to justify the invasion of a country which posed no strategic threat to the United States. As we prepare to celebrate the 4th of July, we can...
Unlike Moses, Pastor Has Seen ‘The Face of God’
Sorry, Moses. I have to tell you that I've trumped you. I realize that the faith journey is not a competition, so please don't hear me bragging about this. In fact, it was one of the most humbling, if not gratifying,...
Halving Global Poverty Receives Scant Baptist Action
Political advocacy for the goal of the Micah Challenge to halve global poverty by 2015 finds little action among worldwide Baptists, save those in Australia. The Baptist World Aid-Australia is "the lead agency for MC,...
SBC 2nd VP has Past Ties with Unification Church
Wiley Drake, recently elected as second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention has been involved in several events hosted by Sun-Myung Moon and the Unification Church. Although Drake, pastor of First...
Honoring the Past with Commitment to the Future
What a difference a year makes! What a difference many of you have made for me over the past year. I have gone from no hair to hair, from no weight to the weight room, from a lot of memory holes to a lot fewer memory...
American Baptists Respond to Region’s Withdrawal
American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. has changed its standing rules to accommodate churches of the former Pacific Southwest region that want to remain American Baptist despite their region's vote to leave the...
Professor Challenges ‘Free and Faithful’ Baptists to Reclaim Ethics Heritage
ATLANTA--A Baptist professor urged theology schools supported by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship to move quickly to build "a 21st century ethic that is shaped by free and faithful Baptists," saying Baptists are in...