By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention’s chief spokesman on public policy said Oct. 10 that issues facing military chaplains are part of a larger trend in society to endorse “a bland, generic, nothing blob of civil religion over genuine…
HERITAGE: ‘The Column’ at 30
Thirty years ago this fall the editor and associate editor of the Religious Herald, Julian H. Pentecost and Tom Miller, respectively, invited this soon-to-be-columnist to lunch. They presented a proposition that their lunch guest begin to write a Baptist history…
VITAL SIGNS: The high cost of self-preservation
A young pastor was recently recounting the events that led to his dismissal. Throughout the painful ordeal, he had relied upon a small group of spiritually-mature trusted advisors to help him navigate the uncertainties he faced. As events unfolded, he…
TRENDING: What our words tell us, part 2: Demoralization
David Brooks’s recent New York Times op-ed column on Google’s “ngram” analysis revealed a stunning surge of individualism reflected in our language and literature in recent years. Another element revealed by analysis of words trending upward is what Brooks calls…
WINN RECOMMENDS: Books that matter
Some of the very best stories are the true ones. Here are two memoirs and one collection of heroic figures that would be worthy of your time. Booked, by Karen Swallow Prior (T.S. Poetry Press) Prior is an English…
Baylor student gives life to stranger
By Jeff Brumley Retired maintenance worker Bill Allison of Puxico, Mo., was diagnosed with stage-four leukemia just over two years ago and, being in his 60s, was told his chances of finding a bone marrow donor were slim at best….
Longtime CBF worker Latha Bandela dies
By Jeff Huett Latha Bandela, a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field worker for more than 17 years until 2011, has died at the age of 66. She suffered a brain aneurysm and passed away Friday at an Atlanta-area hospital. In 1994,…
SBC agency sues against Obamacare
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention agency that provides insurance for denominational employees filed a lawsuit Oct. 11 claiming the Affordable Care Act violates the religious liberty of faith-based organizations that do not meet the government’s narrow definition of…
SBC agency sues against Obamacare
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention agency that provides insurance for denominational employees filed a lawsuit Oct. 11 claiming the Affordable Care Act violates the religious liberty of faith-based organizations that do not meet the government’s narrow definition of…
Book says faith overcomes discrimination
By Jeff Brumley It took about a year of legal action, preaching, public demonstrations and letter writing for religious groups to see most of Alabama’s draconian anti-immigrant law overturned. Now that coalition of faith — which includes Baptists, Catholics, Episcopalians…
BGCT chaplains won’t wed gay couples
By Bob Allen Military chaplains endorsed by the Baptist General Convention of Texas cannot officiate at same-sex marriage ceremonies, according to new guidelines announced Oct. 9. According to a news release, the Texas Baptist Chaplaincy Relations Office issued guiding principles…
Blogger: SBC leaders ignoring abuse decree
By Bob Allen A Georgia pastor and blogger says denominational officials are ignoring a resolution adopted at this year’s Southern Baptist Convention calling for a zero-tolerance policy toward the sexual abuse of children in churches. Peter Lumpkins, who blogs at…