By Derik Hamby I personally do not know Brad Hoffman or Nancy Stanton McDaniel. Both are now candidates for the Baptist General Association of Virginia presidency. That last sentence was hard to type. “Candidates” is a strange word for those…
Reformation Day — 498 years and counting
By Brett Younger Seminary professors spend a lot of time around 24-year-olds. As a result, we spend a lot of time feeling old. Our church experience is different from theirs. My parents took me to church three times a week….
Evangelicals, admit racism is real
By Alan Rudnick News broke on Wednesday that South Carolina deputy Ben Fields, who brutally abused a student in school — WWE-styled — was fired. The abuse was caught on tape. This incident was the latest in a series of…
The African-American roots of Bonhoeffer’s Christianity
By Alan Bean Dietrich Bonhoeffer was the only prominent Christian in Germany to grasp the hideous spiritual implications of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis from the outset. Martin Niemoller’s famous ”first they came for” litany sketched out a typical pattern…
Death is behind them
By Molly T. Marshall Death remains a great mystery for humans, and we want to know more about what transpires on the “other side.” As my friend Babs Baugh says, “I just wish I could get a postcard.” We do…
With God as our source congregational vision is more than numbers
By George Bullard Let’s be certain about vision. It is not easy. The vast majority of pastors, staff persons and lay leaders have a really difficult time understanding vision. It is not second nature to them. Vision may be something…
No character transformation in ‘Steve Jobs,’ just a really unlikeable guy
By Michael Parnell The Bible makes it clear. We are all sinners. We all have come short of the glory of God. In the new bio-pic, Steve Jobs, the tagline for the movie reads, “Can a great man be a…
Baptist Women’s World Day of Prayer: Reflections, memories and prayers
By Nora O. Lozano La versión en español está disponible aquí. This coming Monday, Nov. 2, Baptist sisters worldwide will be observing the Baptist Women’s World Day of Prayer. This year marks the 65th anniversary of this observance, and women…
Día Mundial de Oración de las Mujeres Bautistas: Reflexiones, recuerdos y oraciones
Nora O. LozanoTraducido por Cristina Rodríguez Alejandro An English version is available here. Este próximo lunes 2 de noviembre, las hermanas bautistas de todo el mundo conmemorarán el Día Mundial de Oración de las Mujeres Bautistas. Este año se cumple…
Christian stuff the world needs, part 3: Fear not
By Corey Fields We hear a lot about the declining influence of the church. Christians today, however, have a very urgent opportunity to provide what I believe can be the most powerful prophetic witness to some serious moral issues. This…
Four reasons Ronnie Floyd is both right and wrong
By Mark Wingfield Here’s a sentence I never thought I would write: I agree with Ronnie Floyd. The outspoken Arkansas pastor currently serves as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and he dropped a bombshell at a recent event when…
God’s vision for congregations is not about me
God does not necessarily want your congregation to be successful, to grow big, to compete with others churches, to be the church with the best reputation, to have the most beautiful buildings, to have the friendliest people, to have the…