By Jeff Brumley Pope Francis’ historic visit to the United States energized immigration activists in a speech to Congress and gave hope to prison inmates in Philadelphia. But even before arriving on U.S. soil on Sept. 22, the pontiff also…
Pope Francis is good for Christianity
As Pope Francis visits the United States, Catholics are full of excitement as the Holy Father visits in Washington, Philadelphia, and New York. It is very clear that his leadership will set a very different tone for the Catholic Church….
Young ministers learn the pastor’s delicate balance
Elijah Zehyoue has been building toward ministry for nearly a decade. Growing up in the church in Baton Rouge, La., he began discerning God’s call as a 16-year-old. He graduated from Morehouse College as part of the Phi Beta Kappa…
Is the pursuit of personal greatness an acceptable pursuit in the kingdom of God?
According to the Synoptic Gospels the disciples apparently had a preoccupation with the pursuit of greatness. Such an interest would be applauded by any business executive or sports coach in our comparative and competitive society. But not by Jesus.
Diana Garland: Force of nature, role model, friend
When Diana Garland arrived at Baylor University in 1997, a Texas Baptist asked me to describe her. Three words jumped to mind. Force. Of. Nature. Across her lifetime, particularly during her tenure at two splendid schools of social work, Diana…
Chaplains welcome new PBS film explaining their challenging calling
By Jeff Brumley By all accounts, chaplains around the nation are pretty excited about the coming release of a PBS documentary that explains their callings, and exactly what it is they do, to the rest of the world. And what…
Confessions of a middle-aged pastor
Thirty seven years ago this past month I was called to my first church staff position at the age of 18. Thinking about those early beginnings has led me to reminisce about the peculiarity of my calling and my pastoral…
Refugee crisis spurs Baptist assistance
By Eron Henry and Robert Dilday Baptists are ratcheting up their assistance to the growing refugee crisis in Europe, as increasing numbers of migrants are fleeing war and economic dislocation for safer havens. European leaders are struggling to develop a…
Fallen Christian leaders
What follows here is a guest post written by my colleague Joel Gregory. I do not know to whom he is specifically referring and it doesn’t matter. At least once every year we hear or read about a religious (usually…
Toward a deeper understanding of Baptist ordination
The first thing I learned walking into a job at a Baptist church in West Jefferson, North Carolina was that the frontier of freedom in the Church is found in Baptist life. I was raised United Methodist and pursued ordination…
Remembering John Claypool on the 10th anniversary of his death
I have been told that long before I stepped foot on the campus of Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology the issue of what students ought to call professors was addressed at a staff meeting. At a relatively small school…
7 things I (re)discovered on sabbatical
C.S. Lewis once said that most of us don’t need to be told new things, but rather reminded of old truths. This has certainly been true in my own journey these past few months. On June 1, I entered into…