By Jeff Brumley No one expected a vacation Bible school run by a visiting Baptist youth group to be a catalyst for racial healing in Shaw,Miss. Yet, by all accounts that’s just what the June visit by 34 youngsters from Houston’s South Main…
Church ‘eviction’ sparks controversy
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist church planter in New York City said he never intended the firestorm of criticism that started with him writing a blog about losing the congregation’s meeting place after promoting a sermon series about sexuality….
Interim pastor consoles grieving church
By Bob Allen God did not cause last week’s brutal murder of a minister’s wife in a normally quiet neighborhood in Homewood, Ala., but is in control of the situation, the interim pastor of a grieving congregation said Sunday at…
REFLECTIONS FROM NEW YORK: Realizing the Kingdom
Talking about the “Social Gospel” within a congregational setting can often be difficult. The phrase has come to mean many different things to different people. In recent years public figures like Glenn Beck have spoken negatively of the Social Gospel,…
OPINION: What are we willing to pay for?
Last week, Thom Yorke, lead singer of the band Radiohead, pulled his new album from Spotify in protest of the low return artists receive from the music-sharing site. Pandora and other such sites have similar practices, offering music free or…
Living sacrifice
By Vicki Brown In biblical times, priests offered animal and grain sacrifices—as thanksgiving or to seek forgiveness for sin. Sacrifice meant death. But in Romans 12:1, the Apostle Paul called on believers to be “living sacrifices.” How does a believer…
Giving it up for Jesus
By Vicki Brown In Romans 12:1, the Apostle Paul called on believers to be “living sacrifices,” but what does it mean for a Christian to sacrifice in contemporary times? For Roger Olson, the Foy Valentine Professor of Christian Theology and…
Baptists aid earthquake relief in China
By Bob Allen The World Relief Office of American Baptist Churches USA is sending $10,000 in emergency relief funds from the One Great Hour of Sharing offering to aid earthquake victims in China. Funds will be divided evenly between two…
EDITORIAL: Spiritual schizophrenia
When CBS wanted to visually portray “the perfect American small town” in the trailer of its highly touted series, Under the Dome, the camera came to rest on a classic white frame church building. Curiously, whenever TV and movie producers…
Service set for slain minister’s wife
By Bob Allen A memorial service is scheduled Saturday for a Baptist minister’s wife found slain July 23 in her home in Birmingham, Ala. First Baptist Church of Birmingham released a statement July 25 announcing the death of long-time church…
Glorieta owners up buyout offer
By Ken Camp The new owners of Glorieta Conference Center have increased the maximum amount to buy out leaseholders on the property from $40,000 to $100,000. Glorieta 2.0, the Christian camping group taking over the cash-strapped New Mexico facility from…
Accused camp chaperone out of jail
By Bob Allen A North Carolina man charged with sex offenses at a Baptist youth camp got out of jail July 23 after a judge reduced his bond from $350,000 to $20,000. Clyde Wesley Way, 68, was arrested July 10…