By Eileen Campbell-Reed This week a new poll reports, “One in every four Americans say they had a great deal of stress in the previous month.” National Public Radio, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Harvard School of Public Health…
Still challenged by wealth and poverty
By Russell Waldrop Jesus’ disciples have always struggled with the harshness of his teachings on wealth and poverty. Some have rejected them as a “social gospel;” others have upheld them for that very reason. A few have lived them out…
What do we stand for?
By Adam McDuffie Recently, I was walking back from lunch and saw a trickle of people walking along the street. They had clearly just left a demonstration of some sort, which I now know to have been the March for…
Navel gazing
By George Bullard All my life I have loved attending denominational celebration events and conventions. I love least the formal meetings. I love most the networking. I love seeing my friends in ministry and meeting new friends in ministry. It…
What’s in a name?
By John Carroll Hugh Hollowell, pastor to the homeless of Raleigh, N.C., through the scrappy and brilliant ministry Love Wins, told me a story once that I haven’t been able to shake. He has a good friend who is quite…
Reckoning with the children on our doorstep
By Alan Bean What do we do with the unaccompanied children, some say as many as 100,000, who have surrendered to American border officials in the last few months? Barack Obama speaks of a humanitarian crisis but thinks fast-track deportation…
Supreme Court ruling legalizes religious discrimination
By Bruce Gourley On June 30 the United States Supreme Court, in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, ruled that the religious beliefs of employers trump the free conscience and civil rights of employees. For traditional Baptists, the decision hearkens to earlier…
In HBO’s ‘The Leftovers,’ concept of Rapture gets secular treatment
By Michael Parnell HBO pioneered the adult television series, shows that usually appear on Sunday nights. Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire and the recent True Detective are examples of these series, but I like to think of them…
Hobby Lobby decision protects free exercise of religion but could boomerang
By Marv Knox Hailed by conservative Christians as a victory for religious liberty, the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision provides points to ponder, as well as occasion for both celebration and concern: • Since the court previously ruled corporations may…