By Terry Maples I grew up in the Deep South in the 1960s and ‘70s. Neither of my parents received a high school diploma, which was not uncommon in our rural context. For many, this insular setting seemed to foster…
Bivocational ministry is a thing of great beauty
Jack was the bivocational pastor of the church I attended in Pennsylvania when that church licensed me to ministry as a step towards my ordination. Dale was the bivocational national leader for bivocational ministries among Baptists. Glenn was the bivocational…
SBC chaplains cannot serve ‘God and country’
By Tom Carpenter The North American Mission Board has turned the Army motto on its head. They have forced their endorsed chaplains into the untenable position of either serving God or country. Given that choice, as men (NAMB forbids women to serve…
Holy exhaustion
It’s never good when you hear a phrase that starts with, “I’m tired of…” It communicates that there is something in one’s life that is draining their energy, including their emotional and spiritual energy. Even though the actual words “I’m…
Be a nudger
During the recent commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, one small detail stood out that I never had heard before: Martin Luther King did not go to the Lincoln Memorial that day intending to say the…
The two sides of Alzheimer’s
By LuAnne Nickell Prevost October 2007 was a monumental time for my family. That was when we received the official diagnosis my father had dementia that would lead to Alzheimer’s disease. As we researched the causes of this disease it…
It floats (or what it’s like being on Satan’s payroll)
Whenever I’m asked to describe my job as a professional Christian, I usually stammer something along the lines of: “I talk about God for a living.” Or, if I’m feeling especially cynical: “It’s mostly marketing, some plagiarism, and a bit…
Thinking outside the seminary
Seminary on $3 per day? I had a great seminary experience in the 1970s. I matriculated for nine years, and earned three degrees. The total cost I paid for my seminary education was under $10,000, which was just less than…
Memories of a mountain preacher
By Bill Leonard When he preached his last sermon on July 7, 2013, 80-year-old Rev. Harold McKinnish urged the congregation to “get saved,” or reclaim their Christian faith, then “pass it on.” Steadying himself on the pulpit of the Holly…