It may now seem surprising to many United Methodists, and even more Baptists, that for most of our histories in the United States, all Methodists and Baptists were regularly designated as evangelical denominations. The most important reason is that both...
By Bill Leonard “On July 28, 1914, World War I began when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.” That’s how the “Today in History” column in the Winston-Salem Journal referenced the centennial of World War I. The “Great War” lasted from…
By Bob Allen A Baptist college in Georgia fighting the possible loss of accreditation turned to mourning July 30 with news that President Ergun Caner’s 15-year-old son had died unexpectedly. Braxton Paige Caner, a rising sophomore at Aledo High School…
By Aaron Weaver On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. In the immediate aftermath of that landmark ruling, Christian conservatives took to social media and television to declare victory and many…
While politicians apportion blame for the thousands of unaccompanied Central American children arriving at our border, the faith community looks for ways to help. I over-simplify, of course. We confront a complex tangle of rhetoric and response, and there are…
By Jeff Brumley Many American congregations are modernizing worship in an effort to lure Millennials and other young people either into church or back to church. “For some, the instinct is to radically alter the old model: out with the…
By Bob Allen The American Baptist Churches of Connecticut has withdrawn the ordination of a pastor accused in criminal and civil cases of misusing his ministerial status to bilk the elderly. Judy Allbee, executive minister of the regional arm of…
By Joseph Phelps Today’s news, from wars to weather, make many wonder if our world is spinning toward disintegration. Will bad news win in the end? Albert Einstein theorized, “God did not create evil. Just as darkness is the absence…
