Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Addicted to Hurry: Spiritual Strategies for Slowing Down
The hectic pace of life in the 21st century creates a fertile garden for this empowering book. Pastor and professor Kirk Byron Jones confronts his audience with the cultural expectation for speed and hurry in our...
BWA Leader Requests Delay in SBC Withdrawal
A Baptist World Alliance officer from Australia is asking that a proposed pullout by Southern Baptist Convention be postponed to allow concerns cited in the recommendation to be discussed "openly and fairly" within the...
Candidates Hit the Sawdust Trail
The 2004 presidential race is shaping up to be as much an old time religious revival as it is a political contest. Informed by consultants that 62 percent of American voters prefer candidates with religious...
Editorials Critical of SBC/BWA Schism
Baptist editors were critical of the Southern Baptist Convention's anticipated defunding of and withdrawal from the Baptist World Alliance in the first wave of editorials since news of the recommendation broke just...
‘In America’
There is a moment when the tension portrayed on screen is so powerful that "In America" succeeds as well or better than any film released in 2003. The scene involves a doll, a carnival game and the rent money. If all...
Baptist University of the Americas: Back to the Future of Missions
Texas Baptists' first Bible college has changed its name to Baptist University of the Americas and has positioned itself to provide missional answers to the rapidly changing demographic landscape of Texas, the United...
Video Game Subject of Lawsuit
A popular video game that some groups assert threatens society and should be de-shelved will have its day in court—federal court. "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City," an immensely popular video game from Rockstar Games, asks...
If We Should Lose Our Way
God told me that He was going to tell Pat Robertson who will win the presidential election in 2004. Just kidding. The messages I get from God are seldom that clear and specific and are never about politics. In case you...
Rift-free Resolution
Some days, many leaders probably wish settling disputes were as simple as determining who holds the winning lottery ticket. That's apparently pretty cut-and-dried, in spite of what Elecia Battle of Ohio says. Some...
‘The Station Agent’
In this season of big blockbusters and major contenders for Oscar, there are a few small films not getting the attention they deserve. "The Station Agent" is one of those films. "The Station Agent" tells the story of a...
Democrats Find God on Campaign Trail
Fearful of losing touch with an American public that is overwhelmingly religious, the Democrats running for president have begun talking more openly about their faith, and their efforts are getting mixed reviews. The...
Memo to the Democratic Party
Be careful about putting God into politics! I know divine politics is all the rage right now. I've read that a Democratic Party activist advised some politicians about expressing faith in their speeches. I keep hearing...
‘Mona Lisa Smile’
Why does the woman in Da Vinci's famous painting smile? The film "Mona Lisa Smile" offers one possible reason, a very profound one. "Mona Lisa Smile" tells the story of an idealistic art history teacher, Katherine...
Latin American Baptist Leaders Protest SBC Pullout of BWA
Baptist leaders in Latin America signed a statement deploring the Southern Baptist Convention's anticipated withdrawal from the Baptist World Alliance and urging defeat of a committee's recommendation calling for the...
Support the BWA
On the Friday before Christmas I learned that the Southern Baptist Convention planned to drop its membership in and support for the Baptist World Alliance. An SBC committee to study the relationship between the two...
Baptist Team Cares for Earthquake Victims in Iran
The seven members of a Hungarian Baptist medical team treating earthquake victims in Iran observed New Year's Eve by having a cup of tea, singing the Hungarian national anthem and saying a prayer, according to a...
Not a Time for Silencing Dissent
As a Christian and a Baptist, protest is my middle name—as in Protestant. We have as part of our spiritual DNA a history of dissenting against the majority opinion. In the 16th century we dissented against the hegemony...
Taking it to the Streets: Using the Arts to Transform Your Community
"Art lifts us out of the mundane and reminds us of the deeper longings of our hearts and souls that are left unfulfilled in the existential political order. Art stimulates our longing for the world we dream of but have...
Mad Cow and Food Security
A few weeks before the discovery of an animal with Mad Cow disease in the United States, I participated in an educational visit to an area cattle farm. The owner spoke to us at length concerning his operation. His...
‘Stop Rickshaw Rally’ Petition Tops 1,000 Names
More than 1,000 individuals have signed the on-line petition protesting anti-Asian stereotypes in LifeWay Christian Resources "Rickshaw Rally" vacation Bible school curriculum in a little over three weeks. The petition...
The Dos, Don’ts and Differences of Organizations: Leadership Tasks
Are you more of a leader or a manager? In reality, anyone who is responsible for getting things done in organizations must employ both leadership and management tasks in order to maintain effectiveness. Are you more of...