Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Deliver Us From Evil
We are a long way from Kosovo, and it has been a long time since things there were on the front page of our minds. New York, Afghanistan and Iraq lead the list of hot spots that now dominate the attention of the world....
Shared Ministry
While sipping coffee at the local coffee shop one morning, a fellow patron asked, "What do you do?" I explained that I was an executive minister for a middle judicatory and that I served as a resource person to various...
Mission Agencies Differ on Deploying Missionaries in War Zone
Southern Baptist Convention International Mission Board officials indicated they have no immediate plans to change their strategy of providing "humanitarian aid" in Iraq despite the shooting deaths of four missions...
How Rich are You?
I've always been poor. When I was growing up we never had a car, and relied on sturdy old bicycles to get around. For years I traveled on a seat on the cross bar of my Dad's bike, while my sister sat on a little seat...
Christians and Public Schools
A rough and rocky relationship has existed for some time now between segments of the Christian community and public schools. Growing partly out of integration, but also a clash with science, there are many believers...
All of Us Seek the Same God
In spring 2002, I was invited by my good friend Rabbi Sam Stahl to speak at a pro-Israel rally at the Alamo. I shared the rostrum with those whose support for Israel seemed to be predicated on the condemnation--even...
Church Leaders Brace for Hispanic Population Boom
The cultural, economic, political--and religious--impact of Hispanics in the United States is significant and growing, says a Baptist university president working to train church leaders for the continuing Hispanic...
Common Threads in Religious Fundamentalism
Four Southern Baptist missionaries for the International Mission Board were killed on March 15 in a drive-by shooting. The group was researching needs for future humanitarian projects. As these murders remind us,...
Missouri Lawyer Welcomes Shorter College Decision
The lawyer representing the Missouri Baptist Convention in a dispute over who elects trustees of five state convention agencies described Wednesday's court ruling against Shorter College "very important to Southern...
BWA a Missions Investment, Says Duke McCall
The last Southern Baptist president of the Baptist World Alliance says the Southern Baptist Convention is walking away from the BWA just as the seeds planted by earlier generations of Southern Baptist and other Western...
Giving in to Greed
Webster defines it as "excessive or reprehensible acquisitiveness." Though Scripture offers repeated warnings against it, most people find ways to read around them and justify their selfish actions. Webster defines it...
Baptist Leader Seeks Prayer for Kosovo Crisis
(BWA) Bekim Beka, pastor of the New Hope Baptist Church in Prishtina, Kosovo, has asked Baptists around the world to pray for the ethnic fighting that has erupted there with 22 people killed and more than 500...
Iraq: One Year Later
Nearly 600 American soldiers have died in Iraq--six more just last weekend. More than 3,000 have been wounded or maimed. Reliable accounts say more than 10,000 Iraqi civilians have lost their lives. No weapons of mass...
Poll Finds Continuing Anti-American Sentiment in Muslim Countries
On the eve of an apparent car-bomb attack on a hotel frequented by foreigners in Iraq, a poll of nine countries found majorities in some Muslim nations saying that suicide bombings and other violence against civilian...
Nader for President
Whether you like Ralph Nader or agree with his bid for the presidency, surfing his Web site offers a breath of fresh campaign air. Nader, who announced his candidacy for president of the United States Feb. 22, says on...
Spiritual, Evangelical, Sacramental and Plural
The religious history of America is best understood if we talk about four traditions that have characterized the life of believers: Spiritual, Evangelical, Sacramental and Plural. For 500, these have shaped our nation,...
Louisiana College President Resigns Amid Concerns Over Academic Freedom
Louisiana College's president announced Monday he is stepping down, heightening tensions at a Baptist school already marred by a controversy over academic freedom. Alumni and friends moved ahead with plans for a vigil...
Missouri Baptists Asking Judge to Reconsider Lawsuit Dismissal
The Missouri Baptist Convention plans to ask a judge to reconsider and modify his ruling dismissing a lawsuit against five convention agencies before filing an appeal, the convention's attorney said Tuesday. Attorney...
BWA Leaders Hear Reports of Growth
While discussing a threat that its largest member convention is pulling out, members of the Baptist World Alliance Executive Committee heard good news about Baptist work prospering on continents around the world. In...
Marginalized View the Cross Through Different Lens
I recently watched Mel Gibson's film "The Passion," a powerful interpretation of the last hours of Jesus' human life, which I'm sure will resonate with the dominant culture. Yet for some, the movie has become inerrant....
Lawsuit Dismissal More Than ‘Bump,’ Critic Says
Leaders of the Missouri Baptist Convention downplayed last week's dismissal of its lawsuit as a "bump in the road" on the way to recovering the convention's right to elect trustees of five "rebellious" entities, which...