I was early to Fred Craddock’s funeral. Cherry Log Christian Church is less than two hours from Atlanta, but a trip to Appalachia seems farther so I gave myself way too much time. I had been told to eat at…
The ‘next America’ demands change from churches
The headline for this column is misleading. The “next America” actually is the “now America.” To paraphrase the late cartoon character Pogo, “We have seen the future, and it is here.” And it means most Baptist congregations and their denomination…
Churches on the chamber of commerce list
Economic development. Networking. Community engagement. These phrases may come to mind when someone thinks about chambers of commerce. Varying in size and capacity, they mobilize businesses and organizations in order to promote economic growth. And, yes, they’re known to engage…
10 ways to increase value of and engagement in church participation, part 2
It seems so sad that church has become a place to go rather than an experience to have each day of life. Too often the routines of our church participation fuels disengagement more than deepening our engagement in the faith…
The day that Alice Cooper came to church
On President’s Day weekend, one of those long weekends when “School’s Out,” Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Damon Furnier, better known as Alice Cooper and his wife Sheryl, joined us for worship at First Baptist Pensacola, unannounced. In fact, there was…
Essential practices for young congregations, part 3
Impacting the Vitality and Vibrancy of Churches For Decades to Come The ministry practices congregations establish during their first seven years of life, that must be re-envisioned and renewed every seven years thereafter, are institutionalized by the time congregations are…
Labeling moderates
A few days ago there was a news piece posted here reporting on an interview with Dr. Roger Olson in which he argued that what he sees as the leftward theological drift of some in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (no…
Baptists, Methodists seek to overcome differences to minister together
By Jeff Brumley Nowadays, Baptists and Methodists seem the least likely to become entangled in theological disputes or battles over turf and members. Pulpit swaps and shared downtown ministries are increasingly common between them. But that was not always the…
Essential practices for young congregations, part 2
Impacting the Vitality and Vibrancy of Churches For Decades to Come The ministry practices congregations establish during their first seven years of life, that must be re-envisioned and renewed every seven years thereafter, are institutionalized by the time congregations are…