By Bob Allen While reaffirming their previous stance against gay marriage, Southern Baptists in Oklahoma denounced a “culture of divorce” permeating society — including churches — in a resolution passed by the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma Nov. 9-10 in Oklahoma City….
Survey says many Christians reluctant to talk about marital problems at church
By Bob Allen While 94 percent of Protestant pastors believe their churches are safe places to talk about marital difficulties, fewer than half of churchgoers who divorced in the past five years discussed their marriage problems with the lead pastor,…
Hard sayings, unexpected grace
By Bill Leonard Fifty years ago my parents got divorced after almost 30 years of marriage. A decade or so later, my dad remarried, this time to a “widow woman,” as Southerners say, whom he’d known since childhood. They remained…
Love already won
My grandmother, Eva Mae Thomas, was my first catechizer and theologian. At the age of 12, she put a pen and notepad in my hand and asked me to “write down all the Scriptures that the preacher says.” There were…
Epiphany: why Jesus talked about children and we should too
Epiphany and the path to common ground I learned about the season of Epiphany from the book of Daily Office Bible readings I stole from the Episcopalians some thirty years ago. First, I wondered why the advent readings focused on…
‘Third Way’ pastor says disunity bigger problem than homosexuality
By Bob Allen The pastor of a church recently kicked out of the Southern Baptist Convention says disunity in the church is a bigger hindrance to evangelism than tolerating differing views about homosexuality. Danny Cortez, teaching pastor at New Heart…
Should Christians fear being ‘on the wrong side of history?’
By Roger Olson We have all heard people say that Christians should adjust their view of sexuality because otherwise they are going to turn out to be “on the wrong side of history.” That’s code for turning out to have…
Evangelical context may contribute to divorce, says Baylor sociologist
By Jeff Brumley It’s been known for years that American conservative Protestants divorce at the same or higher rates than either more moderate Christians or those of no religious affiliation at all. But a Baylor University professor said sociologists are…
Mom CBF, Dad SBC, I love you. Stop fighting.
Divorce hurts children. My grandparents’ divorce still hurts their children and their grandchildren to this day — even though both have been dead for years. Certainly, the pain has lessened in time, but the wound is still there, for many…