By Corey Fields At the turn of the 17th century, an English lawyer named Thomas Helwys had become part of a separatist congregation in Lincolnshire (it is to this congregation that many Baptists trace their roots). They were dissenters from…
Bapticostals and Episcojewbus: Hybridity, unity and faith
By Jason Coker Identity is a tricky thing! Religious identity in particular can be a hard one to figure out. I grew up in the Mississippi Delta, which actually has quite a bit of racial, ethnic and religious diversity, but…
Top 10 reasons people cite for not attending church services
Bill Wilson The photo below is of a perfect attendance pin for Sunday school. Many of you have never seen one. There was a day when it was a regular feature in churches all across America. If a person attended…
Sex and religious liberty: 2015 and 1645
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…
Resurrection hurts
By Amy Butler In what must have been a slow news week, I saw a story last week about those iconic Easter candy chicks, Peeps. It seems that about 5 million Peeps are made each day in the months leading…
10 things Millennials DON’T say about church
By Aileen Lawrimore I have a lot of Millennials in my life: my own children and their friends, nieces and nephews, youth from churches where I’ve served, plus college students I’ve met through ministry. I Snapchat and text, Facebook and…
‘It is finished’: The spiritual practice of daily examen
By Jayne Davis “When Jesus had received the drink, he said, ‘It is finished.’” — John 19:30 “It is finished.” Such powerful words. Jesus’ last words in his earthly life, the culmination of all that the Father had asked of him,…
Is love a mandate or an emotion?
By Molly T. Marshall I have often wondered why Peter was so resistant to Jesus’ offer of washing his feet. Lord knows they needed it! The grit would cling to his feet after a day of walking in dust. When…
Suicide: many questions, few answers
By Doyle Sager Springtime — a season of hope, right? Not for everyone. According to studies, more suicides occur in the warm, sunny days of spring and early summer than any other time of year. In the northern hemisphere, suicides…
Jesus’ law of respecting persons
By Kyle Henderson “Civil society” has become the newest oxymoron. People do not seem to be able to get along at all, especially if we have ideological differences. Christians are the worst. We focus on the Great Commission and the…
The powers of two
By John Chandler Joshua Wolf Shenk finds in Paul McCartney and John Lennon a master metaphor of how brilliance happens. In his recent book, Power of Two: Finding the Essence of Innovation in Creative Pairs, Shenk makes the case that…
Christ’s body image
By Starlette McNeill For the past three years, I have led a young adult women’s group. It is comprised of 18 to 35 year olds, that mysterious group and magical age range that we know exists but can’t seem to…