The media is abuzz with a newly published report from the Vatican regarding the inclusion of divorced Catholics, homosexuals, and those who use birth control. Traditionally, those groups of people inside and outside the Catholic Church are persona non grata of…
How Hurricane Hugo broke the racial barrier
Twenty-five years ago on September 21, 1989 Hurricane Hugo made landfall in the Charleston, SC area and brought significant destruction in almost two dozen counties. At that time I was working for Baptists in South Carolina and supervised the department…
RG3, false persecution, and Christianity
There’s a big uproar over Robert Griffin III reversing his shirt inside out at a press conference. RG3’s shirt read, “Know Jesus Know Peace” or “No Jesus No Peace”. (Cool play on words there.) Over at Fox News, they are creating a controversy….
Recovering the “new evangelism”
Fifty years ago, in May 1964, a diverse group of Baptists from across North America gathered in Atlantic City to celebrate the culmination of a five-year evangelism campaign (1959-1964). With the participation of American Baptists, African-American Baptists, Canadian Baptists and…
Gaza children learn NC Christians care about them
As the bombs began to fall, we grieved that we could leave but they could not. My wife, Emily and I are members of Watts Street Baptist Church in Durham, N.C. In November, 2012, we had the unique opportunity to visit…
All denominations should care baptisms are down among Southern Baptists
The first response of many people may be “I don’t care”. That’s fine. You have that right. But you ought to care. More about that later. Keep reading. Why Are Baptisms Down Among Southern Baptist Churches? First, take note of…
Finding the associate pastor you need
The role of the associate pastor or minister is one that many churches think they cannot afford. In reality, the are a variety of ministry callings that do not involve staffing a full-time pastor or minister. In many cases, the…
FutureBaptists: A collaborative missional movement
March 6thand 7th a diverse group of Baptists from North America gathered in Philadelphia for the 50th anniversary of the North American Baptist Fellowship [NABF] of the Baptist World Alliance. Using the title—FutureBaptists: A Collaborative Missional Movement—this gathering was more…
Enon Tabernacle Rocks!
I thought if I arrived for worship about 20 minutes before the service was scheduled to start I would be there in plenty of time. I was wrong. Even though Enon Tabernacle, which can be found at www.enontab.org, has a…