What went through her mind during the final minutes of her life? What feelings of terror flooded her heart as she crouched on the rock-strewn barren ravine bank just outside her native village of Charikar in Afghanistan? Powerless to prevent…
Leader says get over fear of Muslims
By Bob Allen A Baptist minister and interfaith leader says it is time for Americans to get over their fear of Islam and get on with the assimilation of Muslims into their neighborhoods. “As a society we simply have to…
Baptist group supports gay marriage
By Bob Allen A half-day event is scheduled July 30 in Northfield, Minn., to promote Baptist opposition to Nov. 6 ballot initiatives in several states asking voters to define marriage as a legal union of one man and one woman….
BWA formally hires leaders
By Bob Allen The Baptist World Alliance formalized appointments of two executive staff members July 6 during leadership meetings in Santiago, Chile. Rothangliani Rema Chhangte, originally from India but who worked most recently for American Baptist Churches USA, begins Aug….
NABF plans 2014 anniversary
By Bob Allen North Americans attending the July 2-7 Baptist World Alliance annual gathering in Santiago, Chile, convened Thursday afternoon to preview plans for the 50th anniversary celebration of the North American Baptist Fellowship in 2014. The March 6-7, 2014,…
‘Business as mission’ fulfills calling
By Jeff Brumley Some Christians live out their faith by pastoring churches, visiting prisoners or serving as missionaries. Jordan England does it by designing and selling furniture. “This is my calling,” said England, the 31-year-old owner and CEO of Industry…
TRENDING: Movement thinking, part 1: Adaptive methods
A powerful and welcome trend today is the conversation about starting movements. Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, Seth Godin’s Tribes and Ori Brafman’s The Starfish and the Spider have electrified and mainstreamed this topic. A movement is an informal grouping…
HERITAGE: A life for missions
Helen Emery Falls personified missions. As the daughter of a pastor, she early learned the Christian message, but it was her mother who inspired her about missions. As a teenager she felt called to full-time Christian vocation. She spent the…
EDITORIAL: Celebrating America
Can there be a better time than the days surrounding July 4th to contemplate the values and mysteries of being American? I realize that some object to the commandeering of the term “America” to apply only to the United States….
OPINION: O, Death
O, Death O, Death Won’t you spare me over til another year Well what is this that I can't see With ice cold hands takin’ hold of me Well I am death, none can excel I’ll open the door to…
VITAL SIGNS: Describe a healthy pastor search process, please
The search process for a new pastor is both an exhilarating and a risky time for a congregation. Healthy congregations go at this task from the framework of a spiritual discernment process that is unique to the free-call tradition of…
OPINION: It’s not about Sunday
We need to focus more on Sunday morning. We need to start a new worship service. We need to do more to get young people through our doors. These are the cries so often heard in the 21st century Baptist…