A little while back I bought The Green Bible. For me it was a small step towards environmental sustainability, but I must admit that I haven’t started a garden yet, although I’ve wanted to. And sometimes I don’t recycle, even…
Baptists host Episcopalians, wine
By Jeff Brumley Baptists, communion and wine are words rarely used together. But they will be the next four Sundays as First Baptist Church in Dayton, Ohio, hosts an Episcopal parish for worship while the latter’s building undergoes renovations. The…
Don’t overlook the season of Epiphany
In November 2011 I had the privilege of hearing N.T. Wright speak. His lecture title was, “How God Became King.” It’s been over a year since that day and it still sits as one of the more profound moments in…
Perspectives on immigration 2: Economic concerns and Christian response
Economic Concerns Christian perspective on the economic impact of immigration can be summarized through two different questions. One, can our nation afford the number of immigrants crossing our borders? Two, can our nation afford not to have the number of…
Lance Armstrong and confession
After years of doping allegations, Lance Armstrong finally came clean… or mostly. After denying that he cheated, the famed cyclist admitted to using blood transfusions and a cocktail of drugs to cheat. Armstrong admitted to lying as millions tuned in…
Sermon says: ‘Keep Church Weird’
By Jeff Brumley Becky and Joshua Speight were walking the walk last year when they preached on the need to “Keep Church Weird.” “Our congregation had never seen a dual sermon before, and we had never written one together,” Becky…
MLK and Mrs. Robertson
By Roger Lovette When any of us move from one place to another we take with us memories that don’t always fit into a suitcase. As we come to remember Dr. King on his birthday, I recall a Birmingham memory…
Sowing virtue
By Molly T. Marshall I am spending a week with our seminary students at a Benedictine monastery in northwest Missouri. Not only do we participate in prayer with the monks five times a day, we also study the ancient Rule…
Perspectives on immigration – the influence of religion
As a native of Florida, there is a certain pride and frustration present in a bumper-sticker message we natives desire to send to the many seasonal residents of the sunshine state. The message is simple and straight-forward, “Welcome to Florida,…
Baptism: How young is too young?
By Jeff Brumley Something just clicked for Charity Roberson when she knew it was time for her to be baptized. Roberson, now the pastor at Sharon Baptist Church in Smithfield, N.C., was 9 at the time. Some of the memories…
Prayer is our shared vocation
Make a list of some of the intractable problems facing us: natural disasters, deadly violence, international conflicts, human rights violations, mutating bacteria, political impasses, hunger and the like. That’s just my short list. You probably can add quite a few…
Lessons from Stone Mountain
By Julie Pennington-Russell It all started with my teeth. A couple of years ago I was reclining in the chair of my dentist, Dr. John Uetsuki, waiting for the nitrous oxide to kick in. “Are you doing anything special for…