By Bill Leonard In 1645, Anglican clergyman Daniel Featley wrote of the “Dippers” (Baptists) rampant in England: “They preach, and print, and practice their Heretical impieties openly; they hold their Conventicles weekly in our chief Cities, and Suburbs thereof, and…
At Lent: Sin, evil and us
By Bill Leonard On Feb. 10, 2015, three Muslim students at UNC-Chapel Hill — a married couple and her sister — were shot by one of the “neighbors” in their apartment complex. The New York Times reported: “The victims’ families…
Secularism rising: How should Christians respond?
By Bill Leonard “Secularization is the historical process whereby religious faith, religious involvement, religious identification, and religious institutions weaken, fade or become less significant in society. And while secularization is in no way inevitable or irreversible … when we look…
Baptists, Methodists seek to overcome differences to minister together
By Jeff Brumley Nowadays, Baptists and Methodists seem the least likely to become entangled in theological disputes or battles over turf and members. Pulpit swaps and shared downtown ministries are increasingly common between them. But that was not always the…
Studies, experts suggest why some Christians like church shopping
By Vicki Brown You’ve been a member of the same church for a few years. While you may not know everyone in the congregation well, you are acquainted with most folks in your Sunday school class. One Sunday morning you…
Uncoerced faith remains a burning question
By Bill Leonard On Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015, the terrorists who call themselves an Islamic State released a lurid video showing the decapitation of 21 Egyptian laborers working in Libya. Taken hostage in January, largely because they were Coptic Christians,…
Tasting the Kingdom
By Bill Leonard Each January for the last three years I’ve joined a group of students in visiting the Haywood Street Congregation in Asheville, N.C., and each time we’ve gotten a taste of God’s New Community (aka the Kingdom of…
Baptist leaders eye hopes, fears for church in 2015
By Jeff Brumley Some congregational coaches hope to see a return to Christ-centered values in the American church, while some Baptist scholars are eager for Christians in the United States to hear and feel the pain suffered by persecuted counterparts…
Epiphanic moments
By Bill Leonard “When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were 2 years old and under, according to the…