Many Americans have a clearer idea what they will do on summer vacation than how they will fulfill any God-given sense of vocation. Some Christians see vocation as limited to a select few—mostly ministers and missionaries. Even those who see…
Measured by ministry to ‘the least of these,’ how do Christians fare?
When it comes to judging livestock, some Baptists have a beef with sheep and goats. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus describes Judgment Day, with all the nations gathered around God’s throne and people separated into two groups—sheep on one side, goats…
Veteran minister reflects on black church life
BELTON, Texas—After more than five decades of ministry, George Harrison understands what African-American Christians have gained and lost in the last half-century. Harrison, pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church-NBC in Waco, Texas, and a veteran church musician, vividly remembers life…
Racial tensions simmer beneath surface in America
A neighborhood watchman in Florida shoots and kills a hoodie-wearing African-American teenager. Two white suspects in Tulsa, Okla., confess to the Easter weekend shooting of five people in a predominantly black neighborhood. Periodically, racial tensions that have simmered beneath the…
Speakers say covenant boundaries sometimes unclear
ATLANTA—The boundaries of covenant in regard to sexuality can be unclear for single adults, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender individuals and senior adults, speakers told a [Baptist] Conference on Sexuality and Covenant. Many single adults are “making up the rules as they go along”…
Look beyond denominational subculture, Baylor professor urges sexuality conference
ATLANTA—Contemporary ethical debates about sexuality cannot be separated from questions about the nature of the church and whether Christians will be shaped more by covenant community or by culture, a lecturer in Baylor University’s Great Texts program told participants at…
Focus on Jesus, interpret the Bible with humility, North Carolina pastor tells sexuality conference
ATLANTA—Christians who want to hear God’s voice—particularly when it comes to difficult issues regarding sexuality—need to approach the Scriptures with humility and a desire to know the heart and mind of Christ, speakers told participants at a [Baptist] Conference on…
Christians need to formulate embodied theology, speaker asserts
ATLANTA—Varied views on the human body in the Bible and church tradition shape modern Christians’ attitudes about sexuality, ethicist Melissa Browning told a [Baptist] Conference on Sexuality and Covenant. Christians need to formulate “an embodied theology … that is rooted…
Christians need to formulate embodied theology to challenge traditional views, ethicist asserts
ATLANTA—Varied views on the human body in the Bible and church tradition shape modern Christians’ attitudes about sexuality, ethicist Melissa Browning told a [Baptist] Conference on Sexuality and Covenant. Christians need to formulate “an embodied theology … that is rooted…