Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Ministry in a Political Year
So what good is the church in an election year? If you don't tell people how to vote (You can't!) and you don't advocate for a political party (You shouldn't!), what exactly can and should you do? Ignoring the election...
Missouri Association Declines to Censure Church With Ordained Woman
The executive council of a Baptist association in Jefferson City, Mo., has voted to take no action against a church for ordaining a woman minister. Doyle Sager, pastor of First Baptist Church of Jefferson City, hailed...
‘Judas’
Why did Judas Iscariot betray Jesus Christ? Many will of course say the betrayal was divinely ordained, and they'll leave it at that. They won't seek to understand historical context or human motive. Not so with ABC's...
Texas Convention ‘Revisioning’ for Future
Having survived the Southern Baptist Convention's moderate/fundamentalist wars as one of the few state conventions under moderate control, the Baptist General Convention of Texas is now fighting another battle:...
New Beginnings
When I was about 4 years old, my father's company transferred him from Louisiana to Ohio. I don't remember much about that transition, except that it ultimately didn't happen. Instead of accepting the job transfer, my...
Bush and Ridge ‘Endorse’ Terrorism Show, Producers Say
President George Bush and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge are giving the government's seal of approval to a new TV show about terrorism, according to an entertainment news story. "D.H.S.—The Series," which refers...
Chosen: Part One
Most people who know of the story of Jesus wonder what he did between his birth and his baptism. The four Gospels of the New Testament give few hints. About the only story we get comes from Luke, who writes of a...
‘The Passion of the Christ’
Before the first frame of the movie ever came up, a couple on the theater's back row was making sure tissues would be handy. Sure enough, before Jesus made it out of the Garden of Gethsemane—the opening sequence of...
Trying to Find a Reason to See ‘The Passion’
Like everyone else, and Christians especially, "The Passion of the Christ" is overwhelming me. Actually, I haven't yet seen the film, but I am feeling pummeled by daily e-mails from family and others, all urging me to...
BGCT Cutting Formal Ties With LifeWay, Leader Reports
The Baptist General Convention of Texas is ending its formal relationship with the Southern Baptist Convention's LifeWay Christian Resources, according to an announcement Tuesday at a meeting of the BGCT Executive...
BCE Leader Calls for ‘Pan-Baptist’ Network
Mainstream Baptists need a new "pan-Baptist network" built on technology and common ideals in order to stop "enabling" fundamentalism in the Southern Baptist Convention, says Robert Parham of the Baptist Center for...
Appreciative Inquiry in the ABC
The American Baptist Churches, U.S.A., are currently involved in a project called, "Seek It--Finding God's Way for a New Day" for the purpose of developing an over-arching vision for the denomination. The tool being...
Mainstream Resolution Supports BWA
Two-hundred "mainstream" Baptists passed a resolution Saturday urging churches and other bodies to add the Baptist World Alliance to their budgets to offset an anticipated $300,000 loss in annual funding from the...
When Does a Child Becomes a Person?
Few matters of moral significance are as culturally explosive as the care of unborn children. It is difficult to enter the public conversation in ways that do not inflame passions or invite accusations. But the...
Christians and the Creation
If the Creation story describes humanity's appointment as steward of the earth's resources, then as caretakers, humans are called to protect, preserve and safeguard those resources so that all can benefit and enjoy its...
Walking a Biblical High-Wire: An Interview With Charles Carner
In the summer of 2001, a film crew gathered in Morocco to portray Jesus' final hours. It wasn't a crew for Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," which was shot in Italy. This crew was shooting the TV movie "Judas,"...
America Needs More Baptists, Balmer Says
America needs "more Baptists" to help recover its bedrock commitment to the separation of church and state, religion professor and author Randall Balmer said Friday. Balmer, a professor at Columbia University and...
BCE Leader Calls for ‘Pan-Baptist’ Network
Mainstream Baptists need a new "pan-Baptist network" built on technology and common ideals in order to stop "enabling" fundamentalism in the Southern Baptist Convention, says Robert Parham of the Baptist Center for...
Gibson Movie Touts Catholic Teaching, Baptist Pastor Says
The story of Jesus' death in Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" will likely seem more familiar to Catholic viewers than to Protestants. That's because Gibson, a traditionalist Catholic, closely follows the...
‘The Passion’ Invites Question: Why Did Jesus Die?
The world is abuzz about "The Passion of the Christ." I admit, I didn't want to see it. I couldn't make it through "The Pianist" or "Gladiator." How could I endure two hours of torture--on the screen and in my gut? But...
Beating Burnout
Feeling a little burned out? You might want to get a group of friends together and bang on some drums. It seems to help, according to a recent study involving some long-term care workers. Employees at the Wesbury...