Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
‘Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher’
"Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher," a documentary directed and produced by indie filmmaker David Di Sabatino, isn't easy to categorize. Its opening credits probably say it best: This film is "A Bible...
‘She Stoops To Conquer’ not Humorous in the Real World
Some 85 years ago, after World War I, the United States attempted to produce an Arab democracy: A modern Arab state from the Turkish border to Morocco on the Atlantic coast. This hope of President Woodrow Wilson and...
British Baptists Call for Day of Prayer for Work with Children
Baptists in Great Britain next year will observe a national day of prayer for children, prompted by news that the number of those 12 and under in Baptist churches had declined by 30,000 during the last two years. "We...
Mastermind of Missionary Murders Executed in Yemen
The man convicted of plotting the 2002 murders of three Southern Baptist missionaries was executed Sunday by firing squad in Yemen. Ali Al-Jarallah, convicted of planning the attack on a Baptist mission hospital in...
Australian Baptist Leaders Fear Negative Impacts of Workplace Reform
Australia's Baptist leaders have issued a statement of concern over possible negative impact of federal workplace reforms now before Australia's parliament. Billed as "a simpler, fairer national workplace relations...
New Center Offers New Beginnings
I'll say it. Muhammad Ali scared me as a kid growing up in Ohio. He was unorthodox and ominous, as he bragged about his greatness and banged his opponents into submission. He was brash and, yes, black, and seemed...
Wal-Mart Seeks Allies in Churches
The battle over Wal-Mart's image is turning to pulpits. According to the Los Angeles Times, the company is recruiting sympathetic clergy to speak out against a documentary film being shown in churches that is critical...
Let’s Challenge Youth to Say ‘Yes!’ to God’s Invitation
How are contemporary churches helping youth develop a sense of vocation for their lives? In reality, an honest response to the question would likely be: "It is not a question of how? We are not even addressing the...
‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’
Poor Harry Potter. In his latest adventure he faces fire-breathing dragons, an hour-long underwater swim and a maze that rises up to claim those who walk in it. And then it gets worse: He has to get a date for the Yule...
Re-Thinking Moral Values
A few Sunday nights ago while tooling around my radio dial, I got a surprise. I heard Dr. Robin Meyers say he had been a columnist for six years for the Oklahoma Gazette and he held the record for the most number of...
Educating Toward Meaningful Faith
What is marriage, and who has the right to define it? When is it right to go to war? Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? Questions like these form typical Sunday morning discussion fare for adults in the...
The Sin of the Archbishop
I hold Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in high esteem as a churchman, intellectual and compassionate person. I especially admire his commitment to think Christianly, sometimes "outside the box," and...
Baptist College Expels Black Students in Post-Katrina Incident
Officials at Baptist-affiliated William Carey College aren't commenting about allegations by four former students expelled for using a college-owned generator after Hurricane Katrina claiming they were singled out for...
‘Just Friends’
Ah, the fat suit. How did Hollywood ever manage a comedy without one? Even though Ryan Reynolds straps one on for part of this holiday comedy, he manages quite nicely without it, too. The actor from TV's long-gone "Two...
‘Walk the Line’
"Walk the Line," the latest offering from director James Mangold ("Girl Interrupted," "Identity"), chronicles the first 36 years of the life of rock and roll pioneer and country music legend Johnny Cash (Joaquin...
Georgia Lawmaker Denies Race Behind Voter ID Law
The House sponsor of Georgia's controversial voter ID bill has fired back at a newspaper report implying race was part of her rationale. State Rep. Sue Burmeister, R-Augusta, sponsored the House version of a state law...
Taking Stock at Thanksgiving
When rural families gather to celebrate Thanksgiving Day soon, a wide variety of emotions about the past year and the coming year will be expressed by some and suppressed by others. The Thrashers, Gibsons, and Wests...
American Baptists Take Stronger Stand Against Homosexuality
GREEN LAKE, Wis. (American Baptist News Service)—The General Board of the American Baptist Churches, U.S.A., on Friday voted in favor of a region-sponsored petition from cooperating churches asking the denomination to...
Baptist Congressman Wants Time Frame for U.S. Withdrawal from Iraq
A Baptist congressman is among Democrats pressuring the Bush administration to set a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. On Thursday Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a decorated Vietnam veteran and military hawk,...
‘Capote’
Joseph Fletcher put forth the tenets of "situational ethics," stating that each situation dictates proper action and that love ultimately guides the process of decision. What we see in "Capote," the new film biography...
‘Call Waiting: God’s Invitation to Youth’
One of the significant challenges for the contemporary church is the encouragement of Christian vocation for its future leadership. Kay Shurden and I took on this challenge in a small book we have written, Call...