By Russ Dean She was surrounded by family and friends in the warmth of her own home. Her breathing stopped; the light went out; she was at peace. It was apparently just that simple when Brittany Maynard ended her fight…
A new day in America
By Jonathan Waits We are entering a new day in America. Do you feel excited yet? New things always bring with them a bit of trepidation, but there’s so much buzz about this particular new day that it can’t be…
If fear wins the day
Michael Helms Helen Cooper is a writer for the New York Times. Her coverage of the Ebola crisis is unique because she was born in Liberia and she still has family living there. Having immigrated to the United States, she…
Fliers on our windows
By Alan Sherouse To the person who canvased the First Baptist Church parking lot with political leaflets last Sunday: Perhaps you missed our “No Soliciting” sign. That I can understand. Perhaps a large parking lot full of cars was too…
Responding with love to mental illness
One in four Americans annually experience mental health issues ranging in severity from temporary psychological distress to serious depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, yet less than one-third of these Americans receives appropriate care, often because of the stigma associated with…
Jesus: A political enigma
By Seth Vopat November is here! I am counting down the days until my mailbox will no longer be stuffed with the same negative jargon of competing political candidates. I cannot wait until our television will no longer be bombarded…
The theo-politics of near/far
By Jason Coker One of the most endearing and memorable skit on Sesame Street is Grover’s epic near/far demonstration. I’ve never been able to forget it since I was a child, and the skit actually is just a little bit…
This is what we do
By Mark Wingfield Long before Ebola came to Dallas, our senior pastor became infamous among staff for this pithy response to the challenges of church work: “This is what we do.” Typically, this response is given when someone has asked…
Saints, in fact, don’t do it
By Jeff Harris I’m Baptist, so when All Saints’ Day rolls around on Nov. 1 my first response is, “Huh?” All Saints’ Day was not observed in the church of my birth, but we had saints in that church. They…