By Leah Jackson Stacy was in love. Her heart belonged to Ray. Both were Christians and tried to live a celibate life. She was the leader of the dance ministry and a faithful member of her church. Sunday worship, Tuesday…
Herman Cain and Joe Paterno
By Jim Denison In October, Joe Paterno was the most revered coach in college football. In November, he is unemployed. In October, Herman Cain was the Republican frontrunner. In November, he is fighting for his political life. Paterno was head…
A new angle on Advent
By Ken Sehested Reformation Sunday generally has a hard time competing with Halloween — except, maybe, for our Lutheran friends. Six years before Luther commenced his Ninety-Five Theses’ complaint with the Roman church, an earlier but lesser-known reform movement took…
The tired arms of ministers
By Bill Wilson A friend recently shared a daily devotion that pointed out the story in Exodus 17 regarding Moses’ arms. Remember? As long as Moses held his staff with his arms aloft, the Israelites prevailed in their battle with…
Separate and unequal
By Bill Leonard When Jim Crow segregation laws ruled the American South, their classic defense lay in the phrase, “Separate but Equal,” meaning that while the races were divided, their facilities and services were supposedly the same. Of course everybody…
Trust the people
By Mike Smith Few words spark more immediate anxiety in a pastor than, “Preacher, we’ve found a great book, and we’re going to get a group together and teach it.” This came home when two women informed me they were…
Baptists and authority
By David Gushee The sexuality conference in April will raise many issues. But for the theologically minded, the most important issue will probably be the question of religious authority. Who or what carries binding authority in the Christian life? If…
What do we do before ‘I do?’
By William Roberts “You know of all the weddings we’ve attended this year, statistically, at least one will end in divorce.” It was an odd thing for my fiancé to lean over and tell me as we watch one of…
Out of the mouths of babes
By Amy Butler I have a secret fear of children’s sermons, largely because, even though you are leading the time, you really have no control over the situation at all. Case in point: I had to do the children’s sermon…