The world is always falling apart. The sun stops shining. The sky goes dark. The war in Israel is overwhelming. The divisions in our country are painful. Poverty and prejudice surround us. After a recent Gallup Poll, the headline was,…
New book on Kentucky’s oldest Baptist association finds the more things change, the more they stay the same
A recent book about the first Baptists in Kentucky reveals present-day Baptists face many of the challenges that vexed their 18th and 19th century ancestors, Aaron Coyle-Carr said during an online discussion presented by Baptist History and Heritage Society. “The…
As a woman called to ministry, my heart is broken, and the wound is very old
Two days after I learned that the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee formally voted to remove St. Matthews Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., from denominational membership, my chest began to hurt. Right in my sternum, there was pain I can…
In Tennessee and Kentucky, religious freedom claims and COVID prevention plans are in conflict
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to strain the already contentious boundaries of religious practice versus public policy. In the same week the U.S. Supreme Court ruled New York may not restrict religious worship gatherings to prevent the spread of coronavirus, two…
Kentucky landscape artist draws calm from the storm of her childhood as a missionary kid
Shawn Marshall paints serene landscapes that bring calm to corporate offices, galleries and homes. These meditative images, however, are a way for her to continue processing the chaos of childhood years spent in a war zone as a child of…
My Dad witnessed the last ‘legal’ hanging in America
My dad, Tom Moody, was there. Aug, 14, 1936. Owensboro, Ky. The last legal public hanging in America. “My brother and I got up before dawn and hitchhiked into town,” he said many years later. “There were lots of cars going that…
How I met my mother: Learning to say goodbye before you’ve said hello
Roy and Delyte Cantwell of Independence, Mo., both at the age of 32, in early 1956 began the arduous process of adopting a child since they were not able to have a child in the usual way. On Feb. 28,…
Is the Kentucky attorney general a sell-out?
“There is always a place for posers who are willing to sell out their own people,” my Facebook post read. “Gain the world, and lose your soul.” The reference was to Daniel Cameron, the Kentucky attorney general, who had just…
Franklin Graham, toxic charity concerns send churches packing from Operation Christmas Child
Years of viral news articles describing Operation Christmas Child as a form of toxic charity have contributed to a movement of churches away from the Samaritan’s Purse ministry.