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…
Be a church that invests
By Bill Webb The strongest and most effective churches give a lot of attention to investing. They have a biblical mandate for doing so. One such passage is in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:19-21: Do not store…
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,…
Being Baptist — in the best sense of the word
By Amy Butler I work right around the corner from The Gallup Organization’s headquarters here in Washington, so I’ll just say up front that the informal poll I recently took on Facebook should not be considered strictly scientific. That being…
Another Prostate Prayer — Recovery
By Ed Sunday-Winters Six weeks ago, my urologist told me that I had prostate cancer. A week ago, I had surgery to remove my prostate. Today I am recovering from that surgery and marveling at the medical technology that has…
When churches jump the shark
By Derik Hamby When does a church “jump the shark?” That phrase refers to the time Fonzi, the star of the TV comedy “Happy Days,” jumped a shark (literally) and has served as an example of a TV show that…
Opinion: How to change the world
(ABP) — During the presidency of Ronald Reagan, divorce rates escalated. Gay marriage first became legal during the administration of George W. Bush. How does culture change? What works? What doesn't? James Davison Hunter's latest work, To Change the World:…
How to change the world
By Jim Denison During the presidency of Ronald Reagan, divorce rates escalated. Gay marriage first became legal during the administration of George W. Bush. How does culture change? What works? What doesn’t? James Davison Hunter’s latest work, To Change the…
The Texas textbook war in historical context
By Bruce Gourley The latest skirmish in white Southern religion’s war against history recently reached its climax in Texas. As has often been the case since the antebellum era, cultural religion won and American history lost. Christian fundamentalists on the…
Why ‘stuff’ happens
By J. Michael Poole “Stuff” happens. This slogan (except in a less family-friendly form) originated in the movie Forrest Gump when Forrest stepped into a clump of rather disgusting canine discard, prompting him to shrug his shoulders and say, “Stuff…
Our heretical Baptist heritage
By Cody J. Sanders One thing our Baptist heritage teaches us is that sometimes heretics make the best Christians (or at least good Baptists). So it’s not surprising to hear that Baptists are still being named as heretical for being…
A few words for the Class of 2010
By Marv Knox The strains of “Pomp and Circumstance” have been wafting through auditoriums, arenas and gymnasiums for several weeks now. They will echo for a while longer, as schools — from kindergarten through university — conclude the academic year…