By Barry Howard This week I’ve had the privilege of sitting around the table with a distinguished group of future ministers and veteran ministers in a retreat setting as we collaborated about our sense of calling, the challenges and opportunities…
We’re all in Deepwater
By Joseph Perdue As a Floridian, it is especially heart-wrenching and anger-inducing for me to watch the tar balls and oil slicks from BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster advancing inexorably on my state, destined to destroy our abundant wildlife and mar…
After GCR, beware a new golden calf
By Bill Webb The report and recommendations of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Great Commission Resurgence (GCR) Task Force were in no real danger of being rejected by messengers to last week’s SBC annual meeting in Orlando. Task force leaders apparently…
The wisdom in staying anchored
By David Gushee This year I have been working my way through the books dropped from the Protestant canon. I admit that when I was a Catholic kid I never read them and after I became a Baptist I believed…
The Kingdom of God looks like…
By Amy Butler When I first took up preaching every Sunday I made the decision to follow the Revised Common Lectionary as a guide for worship planning. It would be nice to say that I chose to do this because…
Reflections on Father’s Day
By Charles Deweese Several years ago my father, Philip Deweese of Asheville, N.C., issued an imperative, but ironic, challenge to me: “Son, don’t ever turn 65.” Although temporarily startled, I knew what he meant. After turning 65, he had experienced…
Executive Committee treats new boss shoddily
By Norman Jameson Frank Page was elected president-elect of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee during a bizarre and shoddy exercise June 14 in Orlando. Page is currently vice president for evangelism of the North American Mission Board and is…
Faith, politics and Mom
By Jim Denison “Never discuss religion or politics in public,” my mother used to warn me. Today’s column probably proves the wisdom of her advice. Last week, USA Today reported that four Christian lawyers who vowed to be God’s ambassadors…
Grandpa’s gift of mistaken identity
By David Wilkinson Sometimes being mistaken for someone else is a high compliment, especially when it puts you in some good company. Some of my fondest memories are the times I went quail hunting with my dad and grandfather outside…
Worship spaces should be sanctuaries
By David Stovall What has happened to reverence for God and respect for the sanctuary of God? Before we can answer, we need to understand the meaning of reverence, respect and sanctuary. To have reverence is to have a deep…
Is discomfort at church good or bad?
By Bill Wilson Here at the Center for Congregational Health, we spend many hours each week helping clergy and congregations navigate the tricky waters of expectations and living together in positive and encouraging relationships rather than confrontational ones. I’ve recently…
Clashing visions of marriage
By David Gushee On Saturday morning, June 5, 2010, I read that Al and Tipper Gore are separating after 40 years of marriage. On Saturday afternoon, I stood at the front of the First United Methodist Church in Jackson, Tennessee,…