Two teenagers banging out a duet on an out-of-tune, Sunday School classroom piano. I’ll admit it. that’s the first thing I think of when I see the words, “heart and soul.” And yet, it’s what I’ve chosen to call this…
Accident reminds editor of life’s value
By Bill Webb I experienced my first ride in an ambulance on May 12 after suffering the first traumatic injury in my 60-plus years. I had been thrown from a bicycle near the end of a leisurely ride with my…
BWA annual gathering is about relationships
On Saturday I left for Santiago, Chile to attend the Annual Gathering of the Baptist World Alliance. I look forward to seeing current friends and making new friends from throughout the world. Periodically I am asked by a Baptist in…
Learning not to be perfect
We live in a world where from a young age we are critiqued. From kindergarten on we get grades that tell us how close, or far away, we are from perfection. To be perfect is the goal for which we…
Real American exceptionalism
By Henry Green Baltimore recently completed a weeklong Sailabration commemorating the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. Events involved tall ships, fireworks and great pride for the host city. In Baltimore, events of this nature cannot help but also…
Which would you prefer? Babel or Pentecost?
A friend from the Middle East is in a serious relationship with an American of another race. Her two children, born in the Middle East but raised in the U.S., are dating women from Asia. No one thinks anything about…
One car length
“Has this ever happened to you?” I inquired of my pastor from the middle of the highway. “Over four hundred funerals,” the text came back. “Not once.” I blame it on the merge. If you’ve ever driven in New York…
You can’t say that
It showed up on a Facebook post in response to my sermon: During the sermon, Don spoke for one of David’s brothers saying, “SHUT UP!” It was at this point that a squirmy four-year old looked up at me with…
Thinking inside the box
By Amy Butler The leadership art of “thinking outside the box” sounds progressive and cutting-edge. Everybody is talking these days about thinking outside the box, but the reality of the practice is not all that glamorous. I prefer the leadership…
Fixing v. ‘fixing to’
My grandfather had a little phrase, a real “southernism,” that he constantly used whenever somebody asked if he intended to do something. “I’m aiming to,” he would respond. I was never quite sure if he meant by it that he…
CBF Task Force Report: A new way to Collaborate
Sharing. Collaborating. Networking. If I were to summarize the CBF Task Force Report to the General Assembly, specifically about the Ministries Council, then those would be some of the buzzwords that keep rising to the surface. The idea is this:…
What kind of church?
By Molly T. Marshall Making my way up I-35 from Fort Worth to Kansas City after the CBF gathering, I saw the following sign: “Going to hell? Ask Jesus into your heart. Be Saved. Contact a Christian-based church.” Any of…