By Bill Leonard At a Baptist gathering several years ago I was approached by an intense, well-meaning, recent seminary graduate (aren’t they all intense and well-meaning?) who rushed up and declared: “I’ve just seen Dr. James Dunn and he looked…
Baptist colleges complicit in sin
Last week, two Baptist colleges in Texas jumped into the debate over women’s health. Baptist News Global reported that East Texas Baptist University and Houston Baptist University objected to “providing — directly or indirectly — emergency contraceptive drugs they believe cause…
A lavish welcome to the table
By Amy Butler I’ve always been a little sensitive about being left out, and I don’t even need a therapy session to tell you why. When I was a little kid we would visit my grandparents every summer, and during…
Christian flag breaking
An excited patriot handed me one of those 10-inch flags that you stick into your lawn on July 4th.The plastic red, white and blue was intact, but the pole that once held it together was broken three stripes from the…
Which direction are you headed in?
By Scott Dickison My dear professor, the late Peter Gomes, used to say about preaching, If you don’t know where you are headed, any road is sure to take you there. I’ve come to believe this wisdom applies to more…
More alike than different
Two contrasting stories from June 2015 are etched into my mind—one upliftingly positive and the other hauntingly negative. My reflection on the two experiences confirmed for me we are more alike than we are different. I officiated a meaningful wedding…
Beware the calling
– Reflections from a spouse for ministers who support their communities during a season of funerals and tragedies Clergy, beware the calling and tread carefully before you enter into its wake. Beware the calling for it is disguised in nobility,…
When the Klan came to our revival
By Brett Younger Melanie was — depending on who you talked to — sharing the love of Christ or trying to cause trouble. Forty-five years later I like to think it was both. Nixon was president, gas was 36 cents…
Forgiveness breaks the Devil’s back
Fresh from wrestling with the Devil through forty days and forty nights, Jesus shows up in his home church of Nazareth and uses the ancient words of the prophet Isaiah to lay down his manifesto: The Spirit of the Lord…
Is CBF allergic to “contemporary” worship?
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF), young adults, “contemporary” worship, progressive theology, and “nice” Christians—let’s talk about it. To begin, I guess you, as the reader, should know I’m a 27-year-old, white male in full time ministry, and some of my closest…
Pursuing a well-lived life
By Molly T. Marshall Recently I had the privilege of attending a presentation at the Yale Club in New York City to hear a report on the project that seeks to ascertain what it means to live a well-lived life….
Bible: The Pope and Jeb Bush
[This is the fifth of a nine-part series on empowering a faith community to impact the world. Already hospitality, evangelism, missions, and ethics have been explored.] Did you hear Pope Francis? “Jeb!” was all over it. Immediately following the released…