By David Gushee Reading John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government this spring has had a huge and still developing impact on my approach to U.S. public policy. I have always known that the normative posture of the church on an…
Myths about the separation of church and state
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a series of commentaries adapted from articles that ran in consecutive issues of Report from the Capital. By Brent Walker The United States of America is one of the most religious and certainly…
God loves the un-handyman too
By David Wilkinson It was Wilkinson versus the Wiper (as in windshield wiper). Don’t laugh. This duel was a battle to the death, my own no-holds-barred version of Wrestle Mania, waged on a Saturday afternoon in the driveway. In…
Glass houses, privacy fences and tulips
By Amy Butler A church member picked me up at the airport when I returned from a last-minute trip to an unexpected family funeral. She was holding an armful of tulips for me. “Wow! I love tulips,” I told her,…
Let the children come. Now, what are we going to do with them?
By Stacey Buford Welcoming children is a mission and a call. Jesus modeled it for us when he threw his arms open wide and gathered up an armload of precious children. As a young and inexperienced college student (who felt…
Awakening in the Middle East
By Jim Denison Who would have imagined a month ago that Hosni Mubarak would be displaced by a pro-democracy movement fueled by social media? Or that activists would oust the dictator of Tunisia, force the leader of Jordan to replace…
Another interpreter of dreams saves Egypt
By Bob Setzer Long centuries ago, God used an obscure Hebrew ex-con to save Egypt. After serving time for most of his 20s, this young man interpreted Pharaoh’s troubled dreams and was catapulted to Egypt’s second-in-command. From that exalted position,…
Where have all the revivals gone?
By Bill Leonard Recent articles in Baptist periodicals cite “professional evangelists” who confess that their preaching schedules have been reduced considerably since “churches are just not holding revival meetings” as they once did. For many congregations the tradition of one-to-two-week…
Ordinary and extraordinary
By R. Kevin Johnson This series so far has addressed the first three seasons of the structure of devotion known as the Christian or liturgical year. It follows the life of Jesus beginning with the words of the prophets during…