For the past 15 years, Alan Bean has found himself involved in some of the biggest criminal justice controversies in Texas and Louisiana. In 1999, the mild-mannered Baptist minister founded Friends of Justice and assumed the role of prophet and…
Advent: Jesus’ DNA?
By Bill Leonard “What was Jesus’ DNA?” That’s a question my Wake Forest University colleague, physics professor Jed Macosko, says someone once asked him. Macosko mentioned it while concluding a superb lecture on DNA, Darwinism and evolution offered in the…
Ayn Rand, the reluctant apostle of the Religious Right
How did Ayn Rand become an icon of the Religious Right? It’s not what she would have wanted, Lord knows, and yet, there it is. Ayn Rand despised Jesus, and would have despised him all the more if she had…
Shallow congregations only take off their shoes and socks
Since they only plan to wade into the shallow end of the pool, or a few feet into the river, lake or ocean, the typical congregational participant only needs to remove their shoes and socks. And we are not talking…
Colorblind artist feels drawn to draw Christ
By Tyler Agnew Colorblind artist Lance Brown spreads the gospel with paint. “I shouldn’t be able to excel in the field of art, but God has allowed me to,” said Brown, who calls his ministry Painted Christ. “This is part of…
Which six pastors best represent Baptist preachers? A review of Joel Gregory’s Global Anthology on Baptist Preaching
Four years ago Joel Gregory, Professor of Preaching at George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University, was commissioned by the Baptist World Alliance to study representative Baptist preaching throughout the world. Talk about taking a bite out of an…
Churchcraft
I have coined a new word: Churchcraft. What I mean by Churchcraft is an individual’s ability to say and do the things that will help to build the organized church. My observation is that a lack of Churchcraft is the…
Opinions!
Baptists are an opinionated crowd. We were taught to be that way. Preachers invest a lot of time and energy saying we ought to do this and that we should not or must not do that. If you grew up…
In sermon and blog, preacher laments ‘lily white’ Jesus
By Jeff Brumley As both a writer, comedian and a pastor, Susan Sparks knows how to work an audience and a congregation. And whether on stage or behind the pulpit, she also knows how to raise eyebrows and a temper…