By Derik Hamby This past May I traveled to a preaching conference in Denver. To save expenses I stayed outside the city and traveled in on light rail each morning and back each evening. The trip lasts about 45 minutes…
Baptist politics and the BGAV
By Derik Hamby I personally do not know Brad Hoffman or Nancy Stanton McDaniel. Both are now candidates for the Baptist General Association of Virginia presidency. That last sentence was hard to type. “Candidates” is a strange word for those…
Choosing sides, teams or labels in the CBF serves no purpose
A recent BNG article reported a seminary professor’s comments on the “moderate” label for some in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. In the 1990s I was a student at Southern Seminary in Louisville. The Southern Baptist Convention decided to create a…
What the pope could teach even Baptists
Pope Francis is quickly becoming my favorite Pope. I did not grow up Catholic but did grow up seeing Pope John Paul II in the news. I always liked John Paul. But when Pope Benedict came into the position I…
Churches and water balloons
Sitting in a dunking booth at a children’s water day is a wake up. Cold water splashed on me as children enjoyed hitting the target to dump water on the preacher. We raised money for a playground and we had…
The tyranny of Sunday
The Sunday sermon is a beast that is difficult to handle. It comes every week and it comes fast. Each week we are expected to be our best and to preach a sermon that will leave folks moved and challenged. …
Jesus, Buddy the elf, and the reindeer that ran over grandma
I enjoy hot cocoa, chocolate covered peanut butter snacks, sausage balls, and homemade Christmas cookies. I enjoy the lights and I also enjoy looking for the tackiest as well as the most beautiful. I love sneak Santa games and real…
What Baptists can learn from Twinkies
Hostess Cup cakes are going out of business. Twinkies, Zingers, and all the rest are endangered species. Hoarders are buying boxes and putting them on Ebay. True fans are hoping someone will buy them soon. The blame for the downfall…
The Gospel according to the Ewoks
Disney bought Star Wars for $4 billion! I simply can’t imagine $4 billion. I am confident that is enough to handle Han Solo’s debt to Jabba the Hutt. My first response was to be critical. Lucas had always said he…