Congregations need a hopeful learning season that will help them see the same things they have seen for many years in a different way. This gives them insight into what it will take to continually transform congregational life. Likely this…
The new (de facto) Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, And I am against abortions, And I am against homosexuality, And I am against women in leadership in the church, And I believe every word of the Bible,…
Wichita school’s five pillars incident shows confusion and prejudice
Minneha Core Knowledge Magnet Elementary School in Wichita, KS is the center of an uproar last week after a photo taken on the first day of school showing a large “5 Pillars of Islam” display was shared online. The Wichita…
Cherry picking the Bible
A few weeks ago Neale Donald Walsch had a post on Huffington Posts’s Religion blog entitled “Buffet-Style Bible Believers” to which I’ve wanted to respond, but have had little time until now. The message of the post is nothing new….
You’re not the boss of me
How well do you respond when you find yourself in the middle of what you consider to be a power struggle or a challenge to your authority? Power struggles can happen when complete strangers won’t let us park where we…
Running the race on the first saturday of May
Reflections from Saturday May 4th I’m pondering the significance of this day–the first Saturday of May in 2013. Traditionally in my place of residence, Columbia, S.C., it marks the beginning of the transition from spring to summer. Temperatures typically start…
What kind of Baptist are you?
Do you know the story that periodically makes the rounds about the guy standing on the edge of a bridge ready to jump off to commit suicide? Along comes another person who engages him in conversation trying to get him…
Flawed heroes
Flawed heroes are the only ones available. This should not surprise us. Take biblical heroes for example. A friend and I have been discussing the Noah story lately. My friend is not taken with Noah. As he notes, Noah tells…
Reading Scripture is like rock climbing
Settling for the “clearest reading” of a Bible passage is not enough if doing so causes the Bible to contradict itself. In a recent interview with the New Voice Media Group (which includes Associated Baptist Press), I used rock climbing…