By Daniel Vestal “Where have we discerned God at work in our midst?” The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship considers this question at the end of each monthly staff meeting. This time of reflection and sharing is usually the highlight of the…
When Jesus had a pacifier
By Bill Leonard For more years than anyone remembers First Baptist Church, Highland Avenue, in Winston-Salem, N.C., has marked Advent with “The Nativity,” a living reenactment of the birth of Jesus presented in worship on the second Sunday of the…
Enrich your life by living gratefully
By Rabbi Rami Shapiro What are you grateful for? Try not to cough up the usual suspects: sunsets, daisies, puppies, babies and babies playing with puppies among the daisies at sunset. True, I’m grateful that the earth orbits the sun,…
Advent a progressive journey toward Christmas
By Barry Howard When observed faithfully and progressively, Advent can prepare us for a Christmas celebration filled with mystical wonder and deep meaning, a spiritual communion that far exceeds the buzz of shallow commercialism. In the rural church of my…
This Advent season, just you wait
By Marv Knox We need Advent particularly badly this year, and not simply because it’s a prelude to Christmas. Advent marks the beginning of the church year and starts four Sundays before Christmas. Advent takes its name from the Latin…
Do dogs go to heaven?
While we were away for Thanksgiving with our two daughters who live in New York, our middle daughter, Erin, called with the drastic news that her 13-and-a-half-year-old white lab named Hannah Marie Furr-Yeager (her husband just called her “Good Girl”)…
Lovers and dreamers
By Amy Butler The feelings the movie brought back were warm, and leaving the theater in gathering darkness I couldn’t help thinking to myself: “Some days I wish life were as simple now as it was back when The Muppet…
Words alone won’t stop Baptist predators
By Christa Brown Penn State has hired former FBI director and federal judge Louis Freeh to investigate gaps in how the university handled allegations of child sex crimes involving former football coach Jerry Sandusky. To assist him in the task,…
EDITORIAL: This Advent season, just you wait
We need Advent particularly badly this year. And not simply because it's a prelude to Christmas. Advent marks the beginning of the church year and starts four Sundays before Christmas. Advent takes its name from the Latin word adventus, which…