By Eileen Campbell-Reed In recent weeks two prominent progressive Baptist churches moved to call well-known Baptist pastors. Notably in both calls the pastors are women. Riverside Church in New York City is set to call Amy Butler and Watts Street…
Baptismal mishaps
By Naomi King Walker Some faith traditions embrace infant baptism. These are memorable occasions for everyone except the child, who is too young to remember anything, and only later knows of the event’s significance through photos, stories and certificates. For…
SCOTUS got this one right
The Supreme Court ruled Monday in a tight decision (5-4) that the town of Greece, NY did not violate the Establishment Clause in choosing to open their legislative sessions with prayer in spite of the fact that the prayers were overwhelmingly offered…
Ceremonial prayer
By Bill Leonard “Ceremonial prayer” — that’s what Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy called the rite that the high court approved by a 5-4 vote in the case of Town of Greece v. Galloway, a ruling that allowed the town…
The glass ceiling for women in ministry only slightly cracked
I recently returned from the Exponential church planting conference in Orlando where I spent time thinking about women in ministry; especially women in church planting. I sat in on all three workshop sessions led or co-led by a woman in…
Which Jesus do you follow?
By Miguel De La Torre As an ordained Southern Baptist minister of the Good News, I am instilled with a mission to evangelize those held in Satan’s grip, in the hope that they repent from their sins and find salvation…
On baptism and peace
Baptism was abused and used violently as a form of capital punishment in 16th century Europe, a time of significant Anabaptist persecution. The death method of choice was drowning in order to mock believer’s baptism. Water has the amazing capacity…
The gardener, the garden and plants
By Bill Wilson This is the third of a series of three attempts to flesh out a parallel between gardening and congregational life. Gardens, plants, horticulture and growth processes are a steady theme in Scripture. Repeatedly, Jesus taught and told…
Teaching Bible in public schools: Not a good idea
By Chuck Queen In April the Mustang, Okla., school board voted to adopt the Museum of the Bible curriculum developed by writers and researchers associated with Steve Green, the owner of Hobby Lobby, a family-owned crafts store chain whose suit…
Motives matter
If a random Google search is anything to go by, it was Ralph Waldo Emerson who originated this clever quip, albeit in a slightly altered form: “I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not…
‘Spider-Man 2’ is just setup for sequel
By Michael Parnell The Amazing Spider-Man 2 falls prey to its makers’ desires. They hoped to create a movie that makes us want to go to see its sequel. To do that there has to be much in the story…
All in for multisite churches? Not so fast.
By John Chandler Multisite churches are a “new normal” in American Protestantism. According to Leadership Network, multisite churches statistically: • Reach more people evangelistically than single-site churches. • Tend to spread healthy churches to more diverse communities. • Have more…