“Any time. Any place. Any race.”
Female preachers change church culture
By Pam Durso In establishing Martha Stearns Marshall Month of Preaching, the Baptist Women in Ministry leadership team’s dream was to find churches in which young and starting-out Baptist women ministers could preach. We had heard many stories from women…
A graceless gospel
The moment started innocently enough. I was walking with my wife through an exhibition hall at the Oklahoma State Fair. We were on a date just enjoying our time together. Then a stranger raised his voice from his rather sad…
Judge not, lest ye be judged
By Joseph Havey Every major religion has been the butt of a thousand jokes, but Southern Baptists nearly monopolize the punch line industry. Catholics, Muslims and Jews all have their image, but the Southern Baptist caricature is the gossiping, pie-baking,…
Faith & the Final Four
There’s something about championship games that bring out the athlete wannabe in all of us. After watching the World Series, I grew up intent on becoming the first female pitcher for the New York Yankees. One look at my wind…
When ‘religious’ isn’t religious
As I started my daily read of newspapers, I was shocked (well, disappointed) to learn that our region was one of the least religious regions in America. A new Gallup poll found that, “Only 26 percent of those surveyed in…
Resurrection hurts
By Amy Butler In what must have been a slow news week, I saw a story last week about those iconic Easter candy chicks, Peeps. It seems that about 5 million Peeps are made each day in the months leading…
A zeal he does not own
There is a wonderful, thought-provoking text by the hymn writer Frederick W. Faber (1814-1863) titled “There’s A Wideness In God’s Mercy. It speaks to this generation perhaps even more powerfully than to his own. It is not sung as often…
The last denominationalist
Correction. This column was edited after its original posting to correct errors in the third and fifth paragraphs. By Bill Leonard Duke Kimbrough McCall was an institution, bearing in himself elements of American religious corporate and institutional life across much…
Experiencing the Risen Christ
By Molly T. Marshall The scent of lilies and the return of “alleluias” means that Easter has arrived, and we are reflecting on those tender encounters of the Risen Christ with his followers. Whether unrecognized in a garden, recognized in…
Holy week demanded holy dialogue
Did Holy Week this year seem to shout out for a new dimension of holy dialogue? It did to me. It was an unusual and disruptive week in several ways. It caused me to think about the need for a…
A Corvette kind of church
By Bill Wilson One effect of growing up in 20th century America is that I love cars. Early on, I got the fever. I played with them as a kid, worked on them, collected them, admired them and dreamed of…