SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) — A teenager says God appeared to him in a grove and told him to start a new Christian church. Another person claims the Almighty talks to him through the radio. A French girl gets messages…
RIGHT or WRONG? Leave Christianity in the name of Christ
Novelist Anne Rice recently said, “I leave Christianity in the name of Christ.” Is it possible to remain faithful to Christ while leaving Christianity? Rice’s proclamation generated tremendous buzz, partially because of her notoriety and partially because such a statement…
Academy for Spiritual Formation blends learning, discipline, community
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Growing up in a Baptist church and later working part-time as a youth minister, Johnny Sears always believed his faith had to go deeper than a set of beliefs or activities. “How do we take prayer…
Survivors, witnesses of lynching tell tales of fear, faith and forgiveness
WACO, Texas — Eighty years ago, an 11-year-old African-American boy walked in the dark on an Alabama country road, listening for the sound of his uncle’s truck and waiting for a promised ride home. But someone else came along, and…
Teaching virtue at the movies in 2011
By David Gushee It’s 2011, and the real problems of our real world will impinge soon enough. But for this one column I want to linger over four great movies that I experienced in the waning days of 2010 —…
Year in review: Baptist deaths in 2010
Here are some notable Baptist newsmakers who died during 2010. — Bill Hogue, 82, former executive director of the California Southern Baptist Convention, Jan. 13. — Max Lyall, 71, a concert and church pianist who taught for 25 years at…
Year in review: News makers in 2010
(ABP) — The year 2010 began badly with a deadly Jan. 13 earthquake in Haiti that killed an estimated 230,000 people and affected 3 million. The 7.0 magnitude quake left what was already one of the world's poorest countries in…
Worth repeating: The year in quotes
(ABP) — Here are some of the more memorable quotes that appeared in Associated Baptist Press stories and commentaries during 2010. "In the midst of your concern for me I want you to compare my situation with the 4 billion…
Surprises of 2010
By David Gushee Christmas draws near and 2010 comes to a close. For my year-end column, I offer scattered musings on what were, for me, some of the biggest surprises of 2010. In no particular order, I am surprised: —…