Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
7 Deadly Tactics if Screwtape Advised Your Church
Remember Uncle Screwtape's lengthy and insightful advice to his nephew Wormwood in the "Screwtape Letters," published in 1942, by C.S. Lewis? Senior demon Uncle Screwtape advises junior demon Nephew Wormwood on how to...
April 10, 2018
Thousands March Downtown in Atlanta to Commemorate MLK’s Funeral Procession (Atlanta Journal Constitution) Women are More Religious Than Men in the United States (World Religion News) Catholic’s Church Attendance...
Your Church, Local Schools Can Partner to Bless Community
My mother served as the principal of two different public schools I attended. Most of the time it was not an issue. In seventh grade, however, I did learn that it is especially awkward being called to the principal's...
When Jesus Faces Legion: Making Sense of Today’s Evil
New Testament scholar John P. Meier wrote of the enormous distance between the social world of Jesus and modern Western societies in their views of unclean spirits and exorcism. People of the first-century...
CDC: Opioid-Related Deaths in U.S. Continue to Rise
Two-thirds of the 63,632 drug-related deaths in the U.S. in 2016 were tied to opioids, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Released on March 29, the report analyzed data on the...
April 9, 2018
‘Lynchburg Revival’ Activists Warn of Rising Christian Nationalism (NPR) Inside the White House Bible Study Group (BBC) School Prayer Will Improve Public Education, Kansas Lawmaker Says (Newsweek) Evangelicals, Other...
OK’s Students Deserve More Than Lawmakers’ Crumbs
I was a youth minister for 10 years before I became a public school educator. During that decade, I don't recall ever asking for a raise or an increase in the youth budget that I was responsible for. The truth is that...
Celebrating the Hard but Glorious Work of Teaching
The nightly news is full of reports from schools. From the scenes of striking educators in West Virginia to the horror of the shooting in Florida, teachers have occupied my mind a lot these days. Of course, I work in a...
God Loves All Creation – Not Just Human Beings
Everyone has heard much about God's love. But do we sufficiently comprehend the extent of that love? Probably not. To begin with, it is important for us to realize that God's love is not just for human beings. Perhaps...
April 6, 2018
‘Gay on God’s Campus’ (Inside Higher Education) Arizona Republicans Win House Argument to Put the Word ‘God’ Back in State’s Schools (KJZZ) The Contract with Authoritarianism (New York Times) Why White Evangelicals...
Doubting the ‘double cure’
By John D. Pierce Every funeral I attended as a child — and I attended way too many — included some warbling rendition of “Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me.” I hate that song. I associate it with the sight of waxy, dead,...
Christians for Public Education
From the creation of the world in Genesis to the dire warning of tyranny's destruction in Revelation, the Bible is filled with valuable lessons. Much of the Bible perpetuates truths about religious convictions and...
It’s Time for Christians to Stand Up for Public Schools
It almost goes without saying that there is an ongoing attack on "traditional" public schools in the U.S. Students are being treated as commodities as their parents are encouraged to shop around for the "best" school....
Report: Climate Migrants Could Top 143 Million by 2050
There could be 143 million climate migrants within three regions of the world by 2050 if trends hold and no action is taken to mitigate the impact of climate change, according to a World Bank report. Released on March...
April 5, 2018
Faith Groups Rally Against Racism on Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Death (Huffington Post) Georgia Southern Baptist Church Disassociated from Association Due to ‘Unchristian Racism’ (Batesville Herald...
Profiles in Goodwill: Nathan Edwards
Nathan Edwards is managing member of Missional Business Services LLC. 1. Where did you grow up? Nashville, Tennessee. 2. What is your favorite verse, book or story in the Bible? Why? Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead...
Ministering in Our Schools Prepares Kids for Future
Having just completed the pilgrimage of Lent to Easter, now I think about what it means to be an Emmaus-Christian, ready to run full speed back in to the waiting city to be witnesses to our own experience of blessing...
4 Ways Your Church Can Support Public Education
I had the privilege of serving as an adjudicator for the extemporaneous speaking competition in the Region 5-AA Literary Meet. The event took place in early March at Lamar County High School in Georgia. The class of...
April 4, 2018
Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Speech Remembered 50 Years Later (WIVB) New Documents Reveal How the FBI a Televangelist to Discredit Martin Luther King (Religion & Politics) Jesse Jackson: Losing MLK ‘Hurts all the...
Why Privatizing Public Schools Threatens Education
It will come as a surprise to many people to learn that there is currently a full-blown effort underway to privatize our nation's public schools. Public schools are a cornerstone of our democracy, and fully 90 percent...
Right Side of History: Removing Barriers to Education
Two contemporaries who represent significant landmarks in modern education passed away last week. This prompted some reflection on vision, determination and an effort to be on the right side of history. The first was...