“Take him out! Blow him up! Take him out! Blow him up!” the children chant during a vacation Bible school program at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in Lexington, Ky. With eerie music looming over the scene, the viral TikTok video...
Like the rest of the country, I watched the news in shock and disbelief just days ago as unspeakable headlines scrolled along the bottom of the screen: “School shooting in Newtown, CT;” “Gunman attacks elementary school;” “More than 20 feared…
I have been listening to Mumford & Sons’ new album Babel. Its deep biblical allusions and challenging lyrics about relationships and redemption invite repeated listenings. There’s enough in the album to keep my attention for a while. Two songs in particular have…
By Bob Allen Spurgeon’s College, the largest of seven colleges affiliated with the Baptist Union of Great Britain, has chosen a new principal to succeed Nigel Wright, who is retiring next August after 13 years in the post. He will…
By Bob Allen Former presidential candidate turned talk-show host Mike Huckabee stood by controversial comments blaming the deadly Dec. 14 shootings in Connecticut on the lack of religion in public schools. The day 27 people, including 20 children, died in…
I usually find the opinion column by Lisa Cole Smith to be “cutting edge” and quite insightful. Her “Missing the forest for the trees” is no less so, except for her statement that (as Virginia Baptists) “we missed an…
WASHINGTON (RNS) — More than a third of Americans believe the severity of recent natural disasters is evidence that we are in the “end times” described in the New Testament — a period of turmoil preceding Jesus’ Second Coming and…
The lectionary epistle reading for last Sunday contained this well-known verse from Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say rejoice!” In light of the school shooting that took place in Newtown, Conn., Friday morning, Paul’s words almost seem…
TAPPAHANNOCK, Va. — Has your pastor ever given away $5,000 in cash following a Sunday worship service? It happened on Sept. 30 at Beale Memorial Baptist Church in Tappahannock, Va., when 50 volunteers were handed a crisp $100 bill by…
WASHINGTON (RNS) — More than a third of Americans believe the severity of recent natural disasters is evidence that we are in the “end times” described in the New Testament — a period of turmoil preceding Jesus’ Second Coming and…
