The transmogrification of the SBC: When Baptists no longer are Baptist

As the Southern Baptist Convention in its recent annual meeting has proved itself unreliably Baptist, it gives me pause to think about how quickly the transmogrification of this Baptist denomination into its ecclesiastical opposite has happened. Baptist folk often have...

Opinion H. Stephen Shoemaker

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What now for West, Texas?

By Marv Knox and Jeff Brumley The outpouring of sympathy and solidarity for West, Texas, has been immense since a fertilizer plant explosion killed 15 – including 12 first-responders – on April 17. Thursday’s memorial in nearby Waco underscored that by…

The Church Draft

As millions of football fans will undoubtedly will be glued to their televisions and social media, they will hunger for the latest information about NFL draft picks. The NFL draft is part pageantry and part celebration for football teams and their…

Boston bombings leave Muslim groups struggling to respond

‘Ex-gay’ leader, apologizes for involvement in reparative therapy movement

Study says kind of high school attended biggest factor in voluntarism

Pentagon to unblock SBC website

Christians and guns

By Adam English At the risk of offending, I feel compelled to express my dismay over the way the Christian community has approached the debate about guns. My fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, we have allowed political parties, news…

Obama, Bible play big in West memorial

By Marv Knox and Jeff Brumley Today’s memorial service for 12 firefighters killed in West, Texas, on April 17 was laced with prayer, scripture and the theme that tragedy brings people and communities together. Even President Obama came bearing a…

HERITAGE: What’s in a name?

One of the disturbing stories out of the American slavery saga is the question of a person’s name. The idea of being labeled and identified with a personal name is a rudimentary part of the human experience. It is the…

VITAL SIGNS: There’s no excuse

Are you an excuse maker? When someone makes a compelling case for action or movement, are you prone to start your response with the phrase “Yes, but …”? Do you see yourself as an exception to most rules? Making excuses…

OPINION: A ragamuffin homecoming

Life is full of events which remind us how far we are, at times, from the peaceful kingdom promised to us by Jesus. For the last week, so many of us have been saddened by the bombing of the Boston…

OPINION: Living and deadly worship

In Living Theatre, we would each day approach the rehearsal putting yesterday’s discoveries to the test, ready to believe that the true play has once again escaped us. But the Deadly Theatre approaches the classics from the viewpoint that somewhere,…