I needed to be at Antioch Baptist Church in Orange County at 9:30 on a Sunday morning in August of last year. Shortcut directions routed me through the backdoor. From I-95 I took the Thornburg exit and headed west through rural…
SECOND OPINION: Pastors need pastors, too
When I left seminary, I was just dying to get into a pastorate so I could try out all the good ideas that had been germinating through all those hours and hours of sitting in a seminary classroom. I believe…
OUT LOUD
“Christianity is a religion for sinners. It doesn’t encourage you to sin; it encourages you not to. But it provides a way of forgiveness and redemption. That’s what Tiger Woods, like many sinners, needs.” Brit Hume The Fox News analyst,…
Cindy McCain’s comments–What do you think?
Earthquake shakes, but doesn’t tumble, faith of Haitians
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (RNS) — Did God abandon Haiti? No, say its people of faith — and there are many here in a place without much beyond faith. The earthquake was a sign of God’s presence. So, it should be no…
EDITORIAL: Seeing the vision and living the dream
As I write these lines, the calendar says it is Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, and I’m in a reflective mood. Since my introduction to American Indians came via a round-screened Zenith television set in the mid 1950s, I viewed…
Black churches team with hospitals to push better diets for congregants
CLEVELAND (RNS) — For Deborah Taylor, keeping her body fit and eating well is a way of honoring God. So, when Taylor, a financial assistant for University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center, heard about the hospital’s Body & Soul program for…
YMCA seeks to reclaim ‘C’ in its name
SHERWOOD, Ore. (RNS) — The wooden box, not quite big enough to hold a pair of shoes, sits on the reception desk, just inside the Sherwood YMCA. Once a day, Roger Button empties the box, finds a quiet place to…
Church scores with men on football Sunday, attracting crowd to service
EAST ORANGE, N.J. (RNS) — Pastor Dwight Gill figures if there is one thing that will bring more men to church, it’s football. So, at New Hope Baptist Church, NFL doesn’t stand for National Football League, but rather for New…