Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Tennessee Baptists Reject Settlement with Belmont
The Tennessee Baptist Convention on Tuesday authorized a special committee to use any means necessary, including a lawsuit, to resolve a leadership dispute with Belmont University. Earlier in a specially called...
‘Nanny McPhee’ Arrives on DVD
Emma Thompson is back … with the DVD release of her latest starring and screenwriting turn in "Nanny McPhee." "McPhee," which opened in the States in January with decent business, stars Colin Firth as the widowed Mr....
Arkansas Pastor to Be Nominated for SBC President
Northwest Arkansas pastor Ronnie Floyd will be nominated as president of the Southern Baptist Convention next month in Greensboro, N.C. Johnny Hunt, pastor of First Baptist Church in Woodstock, Ga., announced Sunday he...
Military Bill Would Allow Chaplains to Pray According to ‘Conscience’
Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee last Wednesday approved a military bill that would allow chaplains to pray "according to their own conscience," while rejecting an amendment requiring chaplains...
Mohler Repeats Call for ‘Exit Strategy’ From Schools
Southern Baptist seminary president Albert Mohler on Wednesday renewed his call for Christian parents to have an "exit strategy" from public schools. On his live radio show, Mohler fielded a call from a listener who...
Tennessee Baptists Meet to Discuss Belmont
The Tennessee Baptist Convention meets Tuesday in an historic special session to deal with a dispute over trustee selection at Belmont University. Belmont receives about 3 percent of its funding from the state...
Rumored SBC Presidential Candidate Says He Isn’t Running
A Georgia pastor named at a February Bible conference that has become the traditional forum for announcing the favored candidate for president of the Southern Baptist Convention told his church April 30 he has declined...
The Darfur Imperative
Beyond all the important things that we are doing, there is one thing that we all must now do: stop the genocide in Darfur. For some time now, the world has known the facts of Darfur: up to 450,000 people dead and...
Group Calls for Greater Cooperation Among Southern Baptists, Other Christians
A group of conservative Baptists has issued a statement warning that "narrowing of cooperation through exclusionary theological and political agendas" seriously threatens the unity and mission of the Southern Baptist...
Baptist Educators Don’t Share Negative View of Profession
Anti-public school resolutions considered the last three years by the Southern Baptist Convention applaud teachers who choose to work in public schools as a Christian witness in a place of darkness. But four Baptist...
‘United 93’
There are some people who have made watching "The Passion of the Christ" a part of their Good Friday traditions. I have friends and family members who make a point to watch the film each year. I have not seen "The...
Call Me Pollyanna
Spring is in the air—the birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming and another anti-public school resolution is being proposed by some Southern Baptist activists. To be honest I have never quite understood this...
Following Jesus In A World Of Deception, Violence And Fear
Christian faith has deep connections to social and political issues, including how we respond to violence, fear and deception. Reflecting on the culture of Australian public life, a group of Christian leaders has...
Misusing Jesus’ Name
I am tempted to file a defamation of character lawsuit on behalf of Jesus. I wish Jesus would do it himself, but I know he won't. He would much prefer that we win people over to his viewpoint by preaching his word and...
Southern Baptists Discuss Ways to Evangelize Jews
A Southern Baptist Convention mission strategist and an expert in evangelizing Jews are scheduled speakers at this year's meeting of the Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship. According to Baptist Press, Ed Stetzer,...
Homeschool Advocacy Group Endorses ‘Exit Strategy’ Resolution
A homeschool advocacy organization with a paid membership in the tens of thousands on Tuesday endorsed a resolution calling for Southern Baptist churches to develop an exit strategy from the nation's public schools....
American Baptist Region Votes to Leave Denomination
American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. moved a step closer to splintering over homosexuality on Saturday, when delegates representing churches of the American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest voted...
Pastor Proposed Resolution Countering Call for ‘Exit Strategy’ from Schools
A Tennessee pastor is proposing a counter-resolution to one submitted to the Southern Baptist Convention resolutions committee calling for an "exit strategy" from public schools. For the third straight year, Christian...
BCE Board Members Preview Baptist-Jewish DVD
Members of the Baptist Center for Ethics' board of directors on Monday previewed a soon-to-be released DVD aimed at improving relations between Baptists and Jews. "Good Will for the Common Good: A Resource for...
Alliance of Baptists Declares Itself ‘Anti-Racist’
The Alliance of Baptists went on record last week declaring itself "a self-consciously anti-racist group." The Alliance, a 117-church organization started 19 years ago in a break with the Southern Baptist Convention,...
Justice and Self-Interest
The New Scientist magazine, published on Nov. 5, 2005, has an interesting article that complements a recent sermon I preached on "Mammon." Classical economic reasoning is typically based on the assumption that people...