I am pastor of a Baptist congregation in Fort Collins, Colorado, and for the past two plus months, I have been on sabbatical. In addition to pursuing goals of resting, studying and revisioning, I have also attended three conferences, visited…
Increasing diversity offers platform for authenticating faith
Diversity is scaring the bejabbers out of America. Watch news programs on television. Listen to call-in stations on radio. And if you’ve got the gumption, read posts on Facebook and pay attention to the stuff that gets forwarded on email….
#SayHerName: A shoutout to my sisters in the wilderness
By Elijah Zehyoue #Sayhername! Tell her story! Her name is Hagar. And her story is this: As soon as the Bible begins, we learn of Hagar. As Sarah’s slave we can presume she has been with Sarah and Abraham for…
Congregational vision is a grace gift of God that we discern
When I first started consulting on vision I had a very left-brained approach. This was natural for me, because I am a hopelessly left-brained person. This meant I focused more on the vision statement than on the characteristics or qualities…
The rules are for everyone else
By John Chandler Big news in my small county: one of our local deputies was recently arrested for DUI and speeding while off-duty. Many in our community were quite upset at the offense, and those who knew the officer-turned-offender knew…
When do lives not matter?
Question: When do 140,000 American lives not matter? Answer: When they are lost at the hand of other Americans, wielding the weapons which have cost us our freedom. To be more exact, a recent study has shown that between 2002…
‘The Martian’ is an ode to science and the will to live
The Martian, based on the novel by Andy Weir, spins a tale of how an astronaut is left for dead on the hostile red planet we know as Mars. Mark Watney (Matt Damon) must find a way to survive for…
Believing on our own terms
By Starlette McNeill Rainer Maria Rilke, the Austrian-German poet and novelist, said of his work Stories of God that he was “busied with transferring God from the sphere of rumor into the realm of direct and daily experiencing.” His words…
God, guns, freedom, and idolatry in America
After another mass shooting last week, I watched countless conversations about mass killings unfold on social media and in the news cycle. As many Christians defended complete and total legislative inaction in the wake of wonton violence, I was literally…
Facts or beliefs?
A recent headline caught my eye about the teaching of Islam in some public schools in Franklin County, TN. Apparently some parents were concerned that students were receiving not simply an education in Islam, but an indoctrination. The article was…
‘He’s in the classroom’
By Bill Leonard “He’s in the classroom.” That’s what the 911 caller said to the operator in Roseburg, Ore., around 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 1, 2015. The caller alerted authorities to the brutal presence of a shooter at the Umpqua…
J. Brent Walker: Our friend and mentor
By Stephen Reeves, Aaron Weaver and Jeff Huett When we think of defenders and champions of religious liberty and the separation of church and state, we think of many from the great Baptist cloud of witnesses. We think of Roger…