Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Does the U.S. Government Have a Drinking Problem?
Alcohol causes America more drug problems than illegal drugs. Not surprisingly, the alcohol industry hates its product being identified as a drug. It especially hates for its product, which is an illegal drug for...
The Moral Is the Message: An Interview with Communication Expert Quentin Schultze
"Can you imagine Jesus Christ being concerned about the speed of computer processors rather than justice and mercy?" So asks Quentin Schultze, well-known author, speaker, consultant and professor of communication arts...
Ad Says Jesus, Others Accept Sun Myung Moon at Spirit-World Meeting
In a full-page advertisement in the July 10, 2002, issue of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (and reportedly in newspapers around the world), The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification—a Unification Church...
“The Emperor’s New Clothes”
From "It's a Wonderful Life" to "Mr. Holland's Opus," film characters have yearned for another life, only to discover that the life they are living is better than anything they could have imagined. This seems to be a...
Pro-Health Leader Criticizes Drug Czar and Beer-Soaked NASCAR
The nation's "Drug czar," John Walters, has drawn sharp criticism from a pro-health organization for his decision to use a beer-sponsored race car driver to promote an anti-drug message. Walters, the director of the...
States Look to Gambling to Cure Budget Woes
Across the nation, states are betting on gambling and against raising taxes to deal with budget problems. "Faced with massive, unexpected debts, many states are taking a fresh look at gambling as a possible cure to...
Has Pleasure Become an American Idol?
One of the oldest searches known to humanity is the search for happiness. Perhaps the widest path cut in this search is the path of pleasure. One of those who espoused this path was Epicurus, a Greek who lived more...
Three Cheers for the Blue-Collar Crowd
Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Wednesday evening: nine miners trapped. Sunday morning: nine miners saved. "Praise the Lord," the governor said; throughout America, all the people said, "Amen." It was a marvel, we all...
The Enduring Legacy of Sept. 11
In the days and weeks immediately following September 11, we had a chance to witness a sense of national unity, and even national community, not evident in this country in a long time. In the face of terrible pain and...
Wages of Ministry Documented in New Study
New data collected by the Baptist General Convention of Texas as part of a nationwide survey paints a detailed picture of how churches are paying their ministers and church staff. For the first time in many years, the...
Decreased Charitable Giving Taxes Non-profits
Non-profit groups are feeling pinched as charitable giving lags in 2002, according to several recent articles. A downturned market has individuals and companies minimizing, delaying or even canceling donations...
Evangelicals Address Global Warming at Oxford Conference
Evangelical Christians from the United States and Great Britain and many of the world's leading climate experts recently gathered at Oxford University's St. Anne's College for a three-day conference on global warming....
Dobson Endorses U.S. Senatorial Candidates
Despite James Dobson's fervent endorsement of U.S. Rep. Ed Bryant in the Tennessee Republican primary against former Governor Lamar Alexander, Bryant lost the senatorial race. Alexander won 54 percent of the primary...
Leadership Styles: Part One
What is your leadership style? Are you a forceful leader? Do you express yourself with flair? Do you lead from behind the scenes? There are several leadership styles, and each has benefits and limitations, as well as...
“Signs”
There are two types of people in the world, the distinction resting on how we interpret the incredible. One type sees only luck or coincidence. The other sees a sign or a miracle. That's what Graham Hess (Mel Gibson)...
What Responsibility Do Churches Have for Worldcom?
CEOs, politicians and pundits are scrambling to explain the ethical collapse of big business. They blame compromised auditors, dishonest executives, weak board directors and lax law enforcement officers. Charles Colson...
Putting Your Pain in Perspective
How do you handle your own pain and suffering? Whether you are experiencing the physical pain of illness, the emotional distress of grief, or the spiritual affliction of persecution, your suffering must be put in...
Baptist World Aid Responds to Floods in Bangladesh, India and Nepal.
Once again heavy rains and flooding have devastated parts of the Indian sub-continent. In the Indian state of Assam, over 750,000 people from 830 villages have been affected. In Bangladesh, it is reported that over 2...
‘Aisle’ Be Watching You: Movie Matrimony
Christian ministers focus on marriage as a union. Movies, on the other hand, focus more on the obstacles that may prevent that union. Movies need conflict, and attempts to unite two people—and their families—usually...
Nine Words of a Christian Marriage
Words have power: power to create and power to destroy; power to build up and power to tear down; power to bless and power to curse. Paul the Apostle had it right when he wrote: "Let no word come out of your mouth but...
Asking the Hard Questions of Your Church
For many church leaders, summer is the time of preparing for the new church year—leadership retreats, planning and evaluation. Let me raise some hard questions for assessing your church's faithfulness in fulfilling the...