Few people were flying into Warsaw in the first half of March. Those who were displayed a similar intensity — an unpolished, gut-level sense of mission. Russia had invaded Ukraine on Thursday, Feb. 24. A half dozen former U.S. servicemen…
Report from Ukraine: ‘In the midst of the suffering, God is at work’
As the war in Ukraine has passed its seventh month, a shift has occurred. Ukrainian forces have reclaimed parts of occupied territories causing Russian state rhetoric to become even more extreme and desperate. Fighting has intensified in the east and…
Note to self: Get rid of resting jerkface
I stopped by the bank the other day to cash a few checks for pocket money. The teller already was having a bad day, I surmised, as she completed a tense conversation with a co-worker while I approached her window….
600 Ukrainian Baptist churches actively responding to humanitarian need
Baptist churches in Ukraine are providing around-the-clock humanitarian relief in increasingly difficult circumstances as Russia’s offensive widens, the European Baptist Federation said in a March 8 situation report. “Ukrainian Baptists continue to respond to the war in their country. Churches…
Celebrating a new generation of ministers overtaken by ‘the call’
In the 50th year of my ordination to “the gospel ministry,” I can’t recall the exact time when I first experienced “the call” from God to do that. Given that I was Texas Baptist born and bred, I may have…
Arkansas church creates innovative program to declare jubilee for those in need
When plans to return to their church building for Advent were canceled by the ongoing pandemic, the congregation of Pulaski Heights Baptist Church turned their attention from inward to outward and ultimately declared Jubilee. Beginning in mid-March, the Little Rock,…
Nine chapters that summarize how I got from there to here
When we became the co-pastors of Park Road Baptist Church in 2000, we were introduced to the Park Road Clergy, an informal fellowship of six churches within about a mile of our office. For 20 years, six pastors have met…
Magic takes minister places other pastors ‘can never go’
“I do not like to be called a Christian magician,” David Garrard, a retired children’s minister and magician from St. Matthews Baptist Church in Louisville, says. “I’m a magician who is a Christian.”
How do the Gospel, social justice ministry and meditation mix? Ask Joe Phelps
If it were anyone else but Joe Phelps, news of a retired Baptist preacher extolling the virtues of meditation as a means of social justice may sound like a sign of the End Times.