In 1872 Abram Poindexter, one of the giants among Baptists, a well-known evangelist and seasoned debater in public assemblies, died at the same time the Southern Baptist Convention was in its annual meeting. Richard Fuller, a powerful preacher of the…
OPINION: More progressive or more vision?
A recent Religious Herald article [July 29] analyzes new research that predicts a coming rise in the number of religious progressives relative to moderates and conservatives. The analysis is troubling to me for a number of reasons. First, it does…
VITAL SIGNS: We can do better
I recently spent a memorable and meaningful few days with a group of music ministers. Throughout our times of worship, breakouts and social interaction, I had many significant conversations with these men and women about their life in the 21st…
OPINION: The nature of conversion
This past June, during the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s General Assembly in Greensboro, I had the privilege of attending a workshop led by Dr. Bill Leonard, one of my former Wake Forest professors. This workshop was titled “Take Me to the…
TRENDING: Continuous partial attention
Around the turn of the century, tech-industry veteran Linda Stone coined the term, “continuous partial attention.” This state is, in the words of her June interview in The Atlantic, “the modern predicament of being constantly attuned to everything without fully…
Swallowed or saved? When small churches merge with large ones
Some see the nation’s burgeoning church merger and multisite movements resulting from larger congregations preying on smaller ones, pressuring them into relinquishing buildings and land in exchange for survival. In some circles, that’s called “steeple-jacking.” But it’s also largely a…
‘So many Baptists’ at Wild Goose
By Jeff Brumley The third-annual Wild Goose Festival opened Thursday in the mountains of North Carolina, with organizers and many participants hoping the outdoor gathering will heal divisions between conservative, progressive and moderate Christians. National leaders of the “Christian convergence”…
Minister in custody in Ala. murder
By Bob Allen An associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., was taken into custody Aug. 8 in connection with his wife’s slaying two weeks earlier. The Homewood Police Department said Richard Shahan came in voluntarily on Aug….
Minister in custody in Ala. murder
By Bob Allen An associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., was taken into custody Aug. 8 in connection with his wife’s slaying two weeks earlier. The Homewood Police Department said Richard Shahan came in voluntarily on Aug….
When small churches merge with large ones
By Jeff Brumley Some see the nation’s burgeoning church merger and multisite movements resulting from larger congregations preying on smaller ones, pressuring them into relinquishing buildings and land in exchange for survival. In some circles, that’s called “steeple-jacking.” But it’s…
Baptist camp hosts pistol class
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist camp in Illinois plans to host a National Rifle Association pistol course intended to help participants qualify for permits under the state’s newly passed concealed-carry law. The eight-hour course is scheduled for Saturday, Sept….
Ethicist criticizes Rangel’s ‘cracker’ remark
By Bob Allen A moderate Baptist ethicist compared Rep. Charlie Rangel’s recent use of the term “white cracker” to cooking celebrity Paula Deen and NFL player Riley Cooper using the “N-word.” The difference, Robert Parham of the Baptist Center for…