I had a day off, so I went up the highway a bit. You may remember previous visits I took to Bubba-Doo’s in this column. It’s an old mom-pop gas station with a store that boasts the world’s best hamburger….
Letter to the Editor: Responses to the livestream worship debate
Letter to the Editor: February 17, 2022 Dear Editor: I am grateful to the many people who responded to my opinion piece, “A Cautious Case Against Livestreaming Worship.” The readership for this less than 800-word piece far exceeds any of…
The meaning of Jesus in these odd times, part two
In his fascinating study, American Jesus: How the Son of God became a National Icon, Boston University professor Stephen Prothero wrote: It is highly unlikely that Americans will ever come to any consensus about who Jesus really is, but they…
Whatever happened to Southern Baptists and church autonomy?
Neither one of us had a clue what we were doing 12 years ago, but a friend and I started a church. We didn’t know anything about starting a church, but we knew a great deal about church. Between us,…
Blessed are both new wineskins and new wine
Expressing the words of the Bible in contemporary language has a long history, as an internet search demonstrates by noting that “the earliest translation into a vernacular European language other than Latin or Greek was the Gothic Bible, by Ulfilas,…
Brian Flores, the Rooney Rule and some lessons for churches seeking diversity
“It happened again!” That was my thought when I got up to leave the church interview. Although this was pre-social media, I can remember it like it was yesterday. A very well-meaning friend sent my name into the medium-size church…
Letter to the Editor: A response from Oklahoma Senator Rob Standridge
Letter to the Editor February 15, 2022 Dear Editor: Per your article on Feb. 7, 2022, I was smeared for filing bills trying to protect the religious freedom of religious and Christian citizens in Oklahoma. Although I did remove the religious…
On the dangers of renting God
As Janice and I drive down Shell Road near our home in Georgetown, Texas, we routinely pass businesses with their attendant advertising signs. Although I tend to ignore them, there is one sign I just cannot disregard. Five minutes from…
I’m late to Game of Thrones, but I recognize this talk of ‘the old gods’
After hearing so much ballyhoo, I finally broke down and started watching Game of Thrones. As usual, I am late to the party (GOT premiered in 2011). My wife has long refused to watch it, but I finally caved, so…
YHWH vs. the Singularity
In a recent issue of The Atlantic, novelist and playwright Ayad Akhtar argues that we have now arrived in the age of the Singularity, the hypothetical point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in never-before-foreseeable…
How a 5-minute phone call changed my view of being a pastor
A five-minute phone call completely changed the way I think as a pastor. Every Monday in our church staff meeting, one of our team members leads a devotional before our collective time of prayer. On this particular Monday, one pastor…
Yes, I like the ‘old’ hymns too, but not the ones you may think
Yesterday, a friend agreed with an article about liking old hymns more than much of today’s worship music. This is right where I live. With 50-plus years of music ministry under my belt, and as a bit of a self-proclaimed…