By Alan Bean This sermon was recently preached at a memorial service for those who have lost loved ones in the past calendar year. Before preaching, I sang an old country gospel song by Merle Travis, I am a Pilgrim…
Can prayer be abusive?
By Laura Rector A conservative Christian man “prayerfully” spanks his spouse as Christian “discipline.” A Christian institution “prays” for those who lose their jobs in a restructuring. A Christian employer uses prayer to promote going along with an agenda, rather…
Learning from faith’s circumference
By Doyle Sager My acting experience is pretty limited. Besides a couple of high school plays, my only claim to fame is the role of a wise man during Maple Grove Baptist Church’s Christmas pageant (and I’m not sure I…
Taking offense, but for the wrong reasons
By Joe LaGuardia In a society where people seem so easily offended there is no surprise that few call themselves Christians. Christianity is an offensive faith, there is no way around it. Unfortunately, for too many it has become offensive for…
Church the way it used to be?
By Mark Wingfield On a recent visit back to my hometown in Oklahoma, I heard about a church that has adopted the motto, “Church the Way It Used to Be.” Later, I did an Internet search for this phrase and…
Looking, straining, yearning, waiting
By Adam McDuffie We find ourselves in the midst of Advent, waiting once again. Every year, we go through every day and every month, but come December, we find ourselves in the same place: waiting once again. O come, O…
One Baptist pastor’s response to Jerry Falwell, Jr.
By Elizabeth Lott In Sunday’s sermon, I shared the following words with my congregation, St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church: We are living in confusing times. We know of great violence and threats of violence. We are told by the 24-hour news cycle…
Choosing between cultural-Christmas and advent
By Jonathan Davis Cultural Christmas time is full of sentimental things, like decorating the tree with the same meaningful ornaments year after year, making Christmas cookies with the family (with grandma’s secret recipe), and even singing tunes reminiscent of childhood….
No elf on our shelf
Like most American Christians, my family celebrates Christmas with a mix of Jesus and Santa Claus. Our stockings are hung by the fireplace; there’s a nativity set on top of the mantel. We sing “Rudolph” and “O Come, All Ye…