By Aaron Weaver The White House recently announced that President Obama would make good on a 2008 campaign promise and sign an executive order banning workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. According to a White…
Justice blundered
By Eileen Campbell-Reed Yesterday the Supreme Court handed down a decision on the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby case that allows family businesses as “closely held corporations” to deny coverage for the reproductive health of their employees. As a Baptist minister…
Will you be known when you die?
By Mark Wingfield Years ago, there was a national ad campaign aimed at helping Americans understand the importance of going to church. One of my favorite ads in the series showed pallbearers carrying a casket in the front door of…
I fought the law, and the law was unfair
By Joe Phelps In January I was ticketed for failing to follow directions at the scene of an accident. I was innocent, I tell you. I know. Everyone says that. But righteous indignation compelled me to have my day in…
Are church camps and conference centers going away?
By George Bullard What is your most memorable experience at a church camp or conference center? Write it down quickly before these camps and conference centers disappear. My first remembrance of Ridgecrest Conference Center in western North Carolina is when…
Why we need a ‘Third Way’
By Alan Bean Danny Cortez is the pastor of a small Southern Baptist Church in La Mirada, Calif. A few weeks ago, he created a stir in Baptistland by calling for a “Third Way” on gay marriage. In a letter…
Closing the mentoring gap
By Eileen Campbell-Reed This week more than 2,000 Baptists, who openly support the call of women to pastoral ministry, will gather in Atlanta for worship, learning and networking. The General Assembly of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and annual meeting of…
How to throw away a Bible
By Alan Rudnick After some saints of my church decided to clear out our Sunday school storage area (who wants to do that job?), an unusual question was posed: “What do we do with damaged Bibles?” I was not quite…
Who am I?
By Barrett Owen “I hurried to the gate, made my way on to the plane, stowed my luggage, and sat down next to Mother Teresa! I smiled and made eye contact. She politely said, ‘So, who are you? And what…