Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
SBC Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Funding
A new challenge unveiled by Southern Baptist Convention leaders to increase support for the Cooperative Program unified giving plan would have disqualified from leadership at least seven of the 13 "conservative...
Church Bombed During Civil Rights Movement Designated Historic Landmark
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., site of a racially motivated bombing that killed four African-American girls in 1963, was declared a National Historic Landmark on Monday. On the morning of Sunday,...
SBC President Terms Church Fires ‘Theological Terrorism’
Southern Baptist Convention President Bobby Welch on Monday termed recent fires at Baptist churches in Alabama "theological terrorism" and said he is surprised and doesn't understand why the media isn't making more of...
Albert Mohler on Singleness and Childlessness
Albert Mohler continues to demonstrate that he is not content to let the Bible be the Bible. In a December 2005 interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Mohler defended one of his more interesting authoritative...
CBF Should Become a Denomination, Former Leader Says in Book
The former head of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship says in a forthcoming book he wishes the group had long ago formed a new denomination, because the Southern Baptist Convention he once identified with no longer...
Pastoral Ethics and Church Process
As I entered one pastorate, the church's chapel hadn't been redecorated in nearly 40 years. It had fixed pews with dust-laden, deteriorating cushions, peeling green paint, poor lighting, a dilapidated organ, an old...
Baptist Newspaper Article Critical of Mission Board
Speaking engagements of North American Mission Board President Bob Reccord appear aimed at selling his own books and personal ministry instead of promoting home missions, an article in a Baptist newspaper suggests this...
‘Christian Statesman,’ Han Wenzao, Dead at Age 83
The news of the death Feb. 3 of Dr. Han Wenzao in Nanjing, China, caught my wife and me by surprise. Jody put her hand to her mouth, for it was like losing a member of the family. We paused to pray for his wife, Zhuo...
‘Eight Below’
Most kids love snow and dogs. Combine them in an adventure film, and the hook is set. In "Eight Below," Frank Marshall directs his first feature film since 1995's "Congo." But this Disney film, which opens nationwide...
World Baptist Leader Calls for Greater Sensitivity in Media Treatment of Religion
A global Baptist leader said Muslim reaction to newspaper cartoons satirizing the Prophet Muhammad should prompt discussion about how the media and arts treat all religions--including Christianity. Baptist World...
If It’s Broken, Then Let’s Really Fix It
Gov. Bob Riley deserves a lot of credit for trying to do something about Alabama's grossly unfair income tax structure. The fact that we begin assessing income tax on a family of four that earns as little as $4,600 is...
Why Ethics Bills Are Not Ethics: Lessons Learned From Baseball
The Tennessee Legislature just passed a comprehensive ethics bill that aims to restrain the influence of special interests in law-making by way of limiting the monetary access of lobbyists to legislators. The law,...
NCC Calls for ‘Dialogue of Civilizations’
The National Council of Churches has called for a "dialogue of civilizations" amid interfaith tensions inflamed after European newspapers published offensive cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, setting off violent...
Roy Moore Trailing Race for Alabama Governor
Ten Commandments Judge Roy Moore is trailing Gov. Bob Riley 2-to-1 in the race for Alabama's Republican gubernatorial nomination June 6. A Mobile Register/University of South <Alabama poll released Sunday showed...
The Key Question in a Marriage: Observations From 28 (Almost) Years of Marriage and Ministry
This June 3 will make it 28 years since saying "I do," "I will" and "I promise" to my wife, companion and partner, Angela. I know she could have done better but, thank God, she said, "I do," too. I know I am better off...
Christian Couples Choose ‘Biblical Courtship’ Over Dating
Oriel O'Gorman is thinking about buying roses for his fiancée, Heather Pardee, for Valentine's Day, but there won't be any romantic hand-holding, hugging or kissing. That's because the two 23-year-olds are saving...
Wars Are Man’s Doing, Not God’s
The nation has a rich history of ministers who have gone to the public airways either as hawks or doves. Generally, the hawk model has been more visible. German churches offered their church bells to be melted down...
Georgia Voter ID Bill Returned to Lower Court
A federal appeals court on Thursday kept in place an injunction blocking enforcement of Georgia's voter ID law, while sending the case back to a lower court in light of a new bill passed by state lawmakers last month....
Church Holds Forum on Intelligent Design
The battle over intelligent design rages from Pat Robertson's declaration that God would refuse divine protection to citizens of Dover, Pa., for refusing to teach ID in their schools to more than 400 churches that...
Texas CLC Leader Dies
Phil Strickland, who worked with Texas Baptists' ethics, public policy and religious-liberty agency for nearly 40 years, died Feb. 11. Strickland, 64, battled cancer for many years. In recent months it developed into...
‘Jack Johnson and Friends: Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George’
The animated feature "Curious George" opened last weekend to positive reviews and about $15 million in box office revenue. It also sports a terrific soundtrack of (mostly) original songs by Hawaii native Jack Johnson....