As the war in Ukraine has passed its seventh month, a shift has occurred. Ukrainian forces have reclaimed parts of occupied territories causing Russian state rhetoric to become even more extreme and desperate. Fighting has intensified in the east and…
Thom Rainer launches new emphasis on evangelism
Thom Rainer is widely known as the former head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Lifeway Christian Resources, but now he is set to open a new chapter as he launches both a new company and a new book, I Am…
Jesus would turn over tables in this Crisis Pregnancy Center
During my first stint in seminary, I visited a Crisis Pregnancy Center to write a paper for a class on health and spirituality. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. When I arrived, the director and I met for a…
Evangelicals’ hypocrisy is sending their neighbors to hell — and they don’t care
American evangelicals’ most besetting — and most damning — sin is hypocrisy. “Evangelical” has taken on a political connotation, of course. But at their core, modern-day evangelicals are Christians who actively pursue the conversion of sinners, believe the Bible is…
Choosing the underdog
Growing up, I was short and stocky, which made me a less-than-prime candidate for athletics. In seventh grade, I wanted to play football like my friends. I was too small to be a lineman and too slow to be in…
God calls all kinds of people to behold the Lamb of God, West tells CBF
God uses different people in different ways, just as seen throughout creation, Houston pastor Ralph West told the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship June 30. “Have you noticed in a careful reading of Scripture that God doesn’t do any two things in…
Challenges and opportunities for evangelism today
“What if evangelism is one of the things that our world needs most?” Brian McLaren’s penetrating question offers an apt avenue to launch this essay. His question takes us on a different tack from most essays and books on evangelism,…
Of Christians singing on a plane, outrage, shame and a better song
Is it good manners for Christians to break into public songs of worship in the confined space of a commercial airplane in flight? Is it fair for a Muslim politician to question whether people of her faith would have been…
What is the gospel, or what must I do to be saved?
The answer to the great question of how to be saved was supposed to be easy. When I was a kid, they said to “invite Jesus into your heart.” It sounded good, but I wasn’t sure what that meant. To…