By Bill Leonard “He comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lake side, He came to those … who knew Him not. He speaks to us the same word: ‘Follow thou me!’ and…
As One unknown
By Bill Leonard “He comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lake side, He came to those … who knew Him not. He speaks to us the same word: ‘Follow thou me!’ and…
As One unknown
By Bill Leonard “He comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lake side, He came to those … who knew Him not. He speaks to us the same word: ‘Follow thou me!’ and…
Unnatural disasters
By Bill Leonard In recent days a series of unnatural disasters spread across the American landscape, extending from populous Boston to the small town of West, Texas, even winding through the power-laden corridors of the United States Senate. On Patriots’…
At home in the 17th century
By Bill Leonard Seventeenth century Baptists would have known exactly what was happening when two Rowan County state legislators recently proposed a resolution, affirmed by 11 other legislative colleagues, that declared that the United States Constitution does not “prohibit states…
The last denominationalist
Correction. This column was edited after its original posting to correct errors in the third and fifth paragraphs. By Bill Leonard Duke Kimbrough McCall was an institution, bearing in himself elements of American religious corporate and institutional life across much…
Holy Week: Breaking the silence
By Bill Leonard “The Kingdom of God is here. And by the way, don’t tell anybody.” That’s what Jesus said to those he gathered up around the Sea of Galilee, at the start of things. His message, John Dominic Crossan…
Francis I: What’s in a name?
By Bill Leonard Those Catholics can do drama, can’t they? Cardinals, 115 of them, all male (still), in their red and lace vestments began the conclave to elect the 266th new pope by chanting a hymn invoking the presence of the…
Dangerous Lent
By Bill Leonard In my Baptist upbringing we didn’t pay much attention to Lent. Ash Wednesday, for example, was just another prayer meeting night. Yet, we did not disregard the classic Christian struggles — repentance, confession, humility, mortality — that…