Fifty years after the Supreme Court case that excluded required prayers from public schools in the USA, confusion reigns around this issue. One of the easiest ways to rally some conservative Christians emotionally is to proclaim that prayer must be…
After 50 years, confusion remains over school prayer
By George Bullard Fifty years after the Supreme Court banned prayer in public schools, confusion reigns around the issue. One of the easiest ways to rally some conservative Christians is to proclaim that prayer must be restored to public schools….
Deacons in a Baptist church are a waste if . . .
Sarah looks at the ballot for deacons for the coming year in her congregation. Today in the Sunday worship services is the annual election of a new set of deacons. As she looks at the ballot, she wonders to herself,…
Think attendance in your church is declining? Think Again
Some eyewitnesses claim the attendance in their congregations is declining. This may be true. In some cases, however, congregations do not know how to count. If you think attendance in your congregation is really declining, I invite you to think…
Fear and congregations that give in to it
How many times have you heard there are three kinds of people in this world? One memorable version of this is from the 1960s “spaghetti” western starring Clint Eastwood that referred to the good, the bad and the ugly. When…
Absolute complexity is not allowed here
More than 35 years ago I was working on a graduate degree in the sociology of religion at the Southern Seminary in Louisville. The time came to declare the subject of our thesis. Some of us were sure and others…
Are there good reasons to start new congregations?
A quarter of a century ago I moved to South Carolina in response to the call of the largest Baptist body in that state. Baptists of various tribes in South Carolina lacked a commitment to starting new congregations. I was…
You can’t cover up and soar with faith
My wife and I got married on an important day in American political infamy. June 17, 1972. Oh, you do not know what this celebrates? Perhaps it is because the event — the Watergate break-in — is not nearly as…
When is a world organization not a world organization?
Several mornings at the Baptist World Alliance Annual Gathering as I arrived for worship, I picked up a headset to hear the English interpretation of worship that was held primarily in Spanish, but also in other languages. That had never…