Jeremiah Bell Jeter was in a dilemma. After several years of a highly successful pastorate at the prestigious First Baptist Church of Richmond, “the music demon” visited the church. In today's language, it was “the worship wars.” And it all…
OFFERINGS: Ukrainian believers take gospel to Kazakhstan
PAVLODAR, Kazakhstan (BP) — Roman Gopanchuk gestures with his left hand and leans forward to explain a Scripture passage to his home Bible study group in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan. Just outside the living room door, Gopanchuk's 8-year-old son, Timofey, plays with…
SECOND OPINION: Getting past reaction
One of the enduring tendencies in human life is reaction. Unhappy with the prevailing tendencies of a person or group we oppose, especially in situations of sharp conflict, we swing sharply in the other direction. Oftentimes when we do so…
We three kings of Orient are … mostly unknown to Christians
They came. They saw. They gifted. That's about all we know of the foreign visitors who traveled to Bethlehem to see the infant Jesus. The scene ingrained in the public imagination — a stately procession of three kings in turbans,…
Stand and deliver: ‘Knowing the people’ is key to successful preaching
(ABP) — God chose “the foolishness of preaching” as the preferred instrument for communicating the message of salvation, the Apostle Paul wrote. But when the time arrives to stand and deliver that message, how does a preacher measure whether it's…
Lectionary helps some preachers ‘divide word of truth,’ avoid repeats
(ABP) — It's Saturday night. Do you know where your pastor is? A safe guess might be “in a study, frantically developing the next day's sermon.” The pastor's task is to “carefully divide the word of truth,” but many pulpiteers…
Stand and deliver: Preachers urged to avoid pulpit plagiarism
(ABP) — If preachers pass off other people's work as their own, they automatically limit themselves to preaching about only eight commandments. “Thou shalt not steal” and “thou shalt not bear false witness” become off-limits. But preachers can avoid plagiarism…
Hillary Clinton garners applause at Warren’s AIDS conference
LAKE FOREST, Calif. (ABP) — Despite controversy over her appearance there, Hillary Clinton has reportedly gotten rave reviews for a speech on combating AIDS she gave Nov. 29 at one of the country's largest evangelical churches. The Democratic New York…
Appeals court upholds ruling against funding for Christian prison programs
ST. LOUIS (ABP) — A federal appeals court has affirmed a lower court's decision saying state funding for a Christian prison program in Iowa was unconstitutional. But the three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in its…
New Baptist Covenant program, breakouts focus on unity theme
ATLANTA (ABP) — While known for their historic independence and stubbornness, Baptists from more than 40 American and Canadian denominations and groups will converge under a banner of unity next month in Atlanta. Organizers of the Celebration of a New…
Christian website offers YouTube alternative for wary Baptists
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (ABP) — Move over, YouTube. Baptists have video cameras. And they're using them, now that they have a “safe” place to share their videos online, says Bill Nix, CEO and president of Axletree Media. Axletree's E-zekiel, a Website…
Opinion: Building bridges with Calvinists
(ABP) — Dick McCartney, my editor when I worked at the Oklahoma Baptist Messenger, used to wander into my office, bottom feeding for an editorial idea. “What should I view with alarm this week?” he would ask. There are always…