JACKSON, Tenn. (BP) — C.S. Lewis in The Problem of Pain says that God often uses the experiences of suffering as a megaphone to awaken us. Suffering and pain, Lewis said, are often the essential means by which God brings…
Wellsprings of centrist evangelicalism
Discussion of the concept of an emerging evangelical center (or some other label for an alternative to the Christian Right) has taken off in recent months — indeed, in recent weeks. Hardly a day goes by without some news article…
FIRST HAND: Persecution continues in India’s Orissa state
Loving greetings in the name of Jesus Christ from the Kandhamal, Orissa, where your brethren are undergoing much persecution and need your prayer and encouragement. The effected brethren are still in fear and despair in their own villages. Several of…
On her own
Virginia Pilcher Provence, pushing 90 at the time, went on her own to the Baptist World Alliance's Centennial Congress in Birmingham, England, in the summer of 2005. She investigated and learned that dorm rooms were available at a college. She…
Thanks for partnership
I am glad to know that you are safely back to home and at your place of work. I do not want to say just a thank you. It is more than that. Your presence, message in the mission week…
OUTLOUD
“I naively believed that speaking for peace as a pastor would make sense. ” Frederick Boyle The United Methodist pastor is facing fines and jail times for violating government restrictions by traveling to Iraq in 2003 to protest the pending…
Great preaching resource
I highly recommend God's Stories, by Fred Anderson, as one of the very best preaching resources I've come across in a long time. This past Sunday I used one of the stories as a spoken call to worship, and had…
RIGHT OR WRONG?
So many current and former pastors and other church staff people have been in the news lately involved in sexual and financial scandals. What kind of background checks can a search committee legitimately implement to attempt to keep these kinds…
Preching the lectionary
As I began my sermon preparation for our Sunday worship service this week, I felt strongly led to read the Scriptures listed in the lectionary for the third Sunday in Lent. As I read all of the Old and New…