Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
French Kids Insured from Bullying
Driven by reports of brutal schoolyard bullying, several French companies launched insurance plans last year that would reimburse students for almost anything from stolen textbooks to ripped clothing, according to...
Kids’ Site Offers High Tech Look at Biblical Stories
Kids4truth.com is a virtual playground for kids. The home page is filled with animation. The graphics are soft and reflect the look of artwork on the Disney Channel or Nickelodeon. One of the most impressive and...
Selling Movies to Religious America: An Interview with Jonathan Bock
Hollywood understands one thing: money. And if there's one thing religious America has, it's money. And if there's one thing religious America has, it's money. So says Jonathan Bock, who's put these ideas together and...
Silence of the Lambs: Christian Leaders Mute on Enron
The Enron bankruptcy occurred with a flood of news stories about deceit, lying, greed, dishonest gain and finger pointing. And Christian leaders are struck dumb. Those who always have something to say about America's...
Kids and Heroes
We've heard a lot about heroes since Sept. 11. Much discussion focused on New York City's brave firefighters and police officers, those who lost their lives in the World Trade Center and those who worked on...
Slavery Alive and Well Across the Globe
Pop diva Britney Spears was in for a surprise when she recorded chart-topper "I'm a Slave 4 U" on her latest album. Last month, the singer received letters from iAbolish.com personnel, one an escaped slave, raising...
Religion Gaining Influence
The influence of religion on American life has reached a record high, according to a recent Pew Research Center study. The December study revealed that 78 percent of the nation's population said the influence of...
Leading Congregational Change: A Practical Guide for the Transformational Journey
An old, established, downtown church finds its membership dwindling, but meets various sources of resistance to change from within its existing membership. A suburban congregation experiences an influx of twenty- and...
Baptist World Aid Helps Victims of Volcanic Eruption in Congo
Baptist World Aid (BWAid), the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance, made an initial emergency grant of $10,000 to help those who have fled the volcanic eruption of Mt. Nyiragongo. In an urgent...
Nashville-area Pastor Calls Islam Evil, Claims it is Greatest Threat to America and Gospel
Islam threatens both the American way of life and Christianity, said a Nashville-area minister who is preaching a four-part sermon series on the evils of Islam. "I want to go on record as telling you that I believe the...
“A Beautiful Mind”
"A Beautiful Mind" isn't exactly what the trailer leads one to believe it is. It's better. Much better. It's better. Much better. Yes, it's about John Forbes Nash Jr., the mathematical genius. Yes, it's about his quest...
The De-industrialization of the Rural South
Following World War II, Pickens County, Ala., like many other counties in the rural South, "chased smoke stacks" with good success. A major electronics company built a plant near Reform and at its peak employed 800...
To Be and Do Church Differently: Living in the Unfinished Reformation
With the dawning of a new year we are all learning to live with many changes and with courage and faith in the face of the 'new normal' caused by terrorist attacks on our country. While many lives and families faced...
Poll: Stress Growing Among Americans
More Americans experienced stress in their daily lives than they did seven years ago, according to a recent Gallup poll. Forty-two percent said they frequently experienced stress, while only 20 percent said they...
Islam: A Profile
The Shahada, or confession of faith, states that "I bear witness that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God." A devout Muslim will always repeat the Shahada upon rising and at bedtime. It is...
Cracking Your Congregation’s Code: Mapping Your Spiritual DNA to Create Your Future
Richard Southern and Robert Norton are partners in Church Development Systems, a consulting practice focused on church renewal and growth. Both Episcopalian laypeople, they offer a helpful volume on church vitality...
Bonfires of the Anxieties
Members of Christ Community Church in Alamogordo, N.M. made news recently by igniting what they called a "holy bonfire." Pastor Jack Brock urged his flock to burn evil books, such as Harry Potter and Shakespeare. So,...
NBC Ends Voluntary Ban on Hard-Liquor Ads, Draws Criticism from Health and Religious Groups
The NBC network ended a 50-year voluntary ban on hard-liquor advertisements in mid-December when it announced a multi-million dollar contract with Guinness-UDV, an alcohol conglomerate. "NBC should reverse its decision...
The American Baptist Churches in the USA
The ABC/USA is the corporate expression of approximately 1.5 million Baptists in North America, with its greatest numerical strength in the Northeast, Midwest and West. Founded in 1907 as the Northern Baptist...
The Southern Baptist Convention
Like other religious groups in antebellum America, Baptists split over the issue of slavery. Baptists in the South created a separate organization when the Triennial Convention, the national foreign missionary society,...
Social Justice: A Baptist View
Social justice is not the first thing most Americans associate with Baptist churches. Even among Baptists the connection is not a strong one. Yet, Baptists have consistently struggled for a more just society. Baptist...