Why did Paige Patterson write a book about biblical counseling? Without rehashing events already thoroughly chronicled by the media and covered extensively in Baptist News Global, we are talking about the former president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, who counseled…
Advice for churches on navigating the political climate of the coming election
On Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, Americans will go to the polls to elect the president of the United States. Political disagreements have been a part of this country since its inception, but these conflicts have escalated over the last decade….
My Old Kentucky Prayer
The world is always falling apart. The sun stops shining. The sky goes dark. The war in Israel is overwhelming. The divisions in our country are painful. Poverty and prejudice surround us. After a recent Gallup Poll, the headline was,…
‘Vermin’: Trump crosses fully into Nazi territory
One of the most dangerous things about Donald Trump is the way he has normalized hate speech. The venom and vitriol come so often that even when it is reported, its extremism fails to register with a fatigued and desensitized…
The good graduate student: A modern parable
This past Sunday was beautiful. After a wonderful worship service, many of us walked downtown for Williamsburg’s PrideCon, an annual event put on by Love is Love Tidewater. It was a welcoming environment where people felt safe and free to…
‘Do you think I am still a Christian?’
My work with Doubter’s Parish puts me in correspondence with large numbers of people. Many of them ask interesting questions about God, Jesus, faith, theology and church. For example, a few months ago a reader who no longer believes in…
A passionate appeal for life vs. death in Gaza
I am the Tuesday designated driver, and this is the fifth and last week. I sit in the waiting room, waiting for my friend to have her radiation therapy treatment administered. The 150-mile roundtrip to Central Arkansas Radiation Therapy Institute…
I’m a gun owner, and I believe drastic changes are needed now
I was given my first gun around age 10 to 12. It was a pellet rifle, which I still have today. My second gun was a 12-gauge double-barrel shotgun, a gift at about age 14, which I still have but only…
November 22, 1963, took my life in a new direction
November 22, 1963, was a Friday. It began normally. I was a junior at Tallulah High School in Tallulah, Louisiana. After lunch that day we were scheduled to attend an assembly in the gymnasium. Between lunch and the assembly word…
If Supreme Court is consistent on valuing life, it will keep ban on domestic abusers bearing arms
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in U.S. v. Rahimi, a case about whether abusers subject to domestic violence restraining orders have a Second Amendment right to bear arms. Their decision will reveal whether the Court’s conservative…
The fifth freedom: freedom from hate
The following message was delivered by Jimmy R. Allen, then secretary of the Christian Life Commission of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, at the Oak Cliff Community Thanksgiving Service, 1963 — six days after the assassination of President John…
Blessed are the public figures for they will be shown mercy
As Christians and consumers, what can we do to prevent our favorite public Christian figures from feeling like they are subjects to us? Even as Christians, we are fans from various genres of music and worship and inspiration. We can…