By Jeff Brumley Local, regional and state church groups responded April 18 to the deadly fertilizer explosion that leveled portions of West, Texas, on Wednesday night. Baptist pastors and secretaries in congregations dotting the map around the central Texas city…
Cancer patients ‘Sojourn’ in Houston
By Jeff Brumley Imagine being 800 miles from home receiving radiation treatments while bouncing from hotel to hotel – or having to live out of a car or hospital lobby. Thanks to a housing ministry of Houston’s South Main Baptist…
Why Pope Francis is good for Christianity
As Pope Francis starts his papacy, it is very clear that his leadership will set a very different tone for the Catholic Church. Upon leaving Rome, Pope Francis paid for his own room, rejected lavish apparel, and referred to himself more as…
Underestimating staff burnout
You don’t think your staff are stretched thin? Don’t think you are above burning out? Have you checked the health of your organizational staff? Perhaps you underestimate the power of staff burnout in your congregation or organization. It’s real and…
Since it is not 1965, we have to do church different
[This is the second blog post in a series. The first was “Since it is not 1955, we have to do church different” found at http://www.baptistnews.com/blog/generational-differences/since-it-is-not-1955-we-have-to-do-church-different-2013-03-28/#.UWVSpsph7s4.] On Sunday night February 9, 1964 the Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show…
Small is big for Millennials
By Bob Allen “The gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many,” Matthew’s Gospel quotes Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount. “The gate is narrow and the…
Pastor says stats not ministry measure
By Bob Allen During 25 years as a minister, every church where Jim Somerville has served had stories of a legendary pastor and glory days when they had to put extra chairs in the aisles to accommodate overflow crowds. Somewhere…
A Corvette kind of church
By Bill Wilson One effect of growing up in 20th century America is that I love cars. Early on, I got the fever. I played with them as a kid, worked on them, collected them, admired them and dreamed of…
Group proclaims: Let there be access
By Daniel Wallace After one week of a workforce training course where he learned how to build a resume and search for jobs online, a Houston man finally found what he couldn’t the past three years: a job. That’s a common story…