By mid-September, most churches have completed their 2014 budgets, or are close to doing so. Weeks, or in some cases months, of analysis and planning have produced a financial plan for spending that will guide ministries and missions in the…
LEADERSHIP LINK: Ministry to those with life-threatening illnesses
Sooner or later a deacon who ministers to families or who is part of a hospital visitation team will care for a person with a life-threatening illness. Ironically, just when we need to move closer to church members who are…
EDITORIAL: The God we’d like to believe in
Curiously, S.E. Cupp, an atheist, has written a book taking issue with the treatment Christianity has received by what she calls a liberal media. The author of Losing Our Religion: The Liberal Media’s Attack on Christianity, Sarah Elizabeth Cupp, is…
EDITORIAL: Spiritual schizophrenia
When CBS wanted to visually portray “the perfect American small town” in the trailer of its highly touted series, Under the Dome, the camera came to rest on a classic white frame church building. Curiously, whenever TV and movie producers…
OPINION: The Trayvon Martin case as a symbol
Anyone who followed the Florida v. George Zimmerman court case closely was probably not surprised by the verdict. Even to this legal layman, who saw only snippets of the arguments provided by the media, it seemed that the prosecution’s task…
EDITORIAL: Egyptian hope
According to a recent Associated Press report, for many years Egypt’s Christian minority refused to become involved in politics for fear of reprisals. They relied, instead, on their church to make their case to those in power. When Hosni Mubarak…
LEADERSHIP LINK: Church governing documents: Are they necessary?
Baptists have always placed a high priority on starting new churches. As the new churches come into being, one of the questions they face is what kind of governing documents they need. In Baptist circles, four kinds of governing documents…
EDITORIAL: Movin’ on
As I write this, the Southern Baptist Convention is winding up its annual meeting in Houston and one of the voices raised was that of Fred Luter, convention president. Divisions among Southern Baptists must end, Luter said. As reported by…
Occult obsession now a folk religion, say some
Many Americans love sinking their teeth into stories about vampires, and some fans live for the latest tales of the undead. But as vacationers pack their beach bags with “teen paranormal romance” novels and movie-goers await World War Z, what…
Occult obsession not a passing phenomenon but a folk religion, say some experts
Many Americans love sinking their teeth into stories about vampires, and some fans live for the latest tales of the undead. But as vacationers pack their beach bags with “teen paranormal romance” novels and movie-goers await World War Z, what…
LEADERSHIP LINK: As I write this
Every church has a few of them. Some have many — people who live with chronic pain or illness. Some of them live in families or in retirement communities, but many of them live at home, getting by the best…
America exporting new religion, Australian theologian insists
Fascination with zombies and vampires reflects a global New Spirituality which America shapes through pop culture, said theologian Ross Clifford, author of The Cross Is Not Enough: Living as Witnesses to the Resurrection. Clifford, principal of Morling College in New…