Do Christians Need a New “Plan of Salvation”?

Now and then we hear someone criticize a preacher for not preaching the “plan of salvation.” The critic is usually concerned that the church’s proclamation is veering away from an emphasis on personal salvation and into theological questions, social...

Baptists in Israel: A Hundred-Year Journey

There are plenty of holiday tours that will take you to the Seven Churches in Revelation. The sites are easily identifiable, and some of them at least retain an air of mysterious sanctity. Go to Ephesus, for instance, and you are in deep time, at least until another...

How to Spend Your Time Waiting For Jesus’ Return

In all the hoopla surrounding May 21 – a predicted day for the rapture – several things stood out. First is the fact that the prediction didn’t come true, although those folks who experienced the tornadoes in Kansas and Missouri, the earthquake in San Francisco,...

See Rock City: TravelBlog 6

The carved rock city of Petra is widely acclaimed as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and a wonder it is. Participants in the Campbell University Divinity School “Bible Lands Study Tour” visited the site May 24, most with wonder in their...

“Let the Churches Do It” Is a Deceptive Myth

Three outspoken Americans recently fed the storyline that charity is the solution to solving social problems.   When Catholic scholars charged that House Speaker John Boehner’s social service budget cuts were at odds with the Catholic Church’s moral...