By Jeff Brumley Some pastors may look forward to — and even need — a post-holiday lull. But not Doug Dortch, the senior minister at Mountain Brook Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. Instead, he’ll be busy those first few days…
Where is God?
I am not weighing in on the gun debate. No matter which side of the debate you agree with, I do not personally know ANYONE that resonates with and in anyway condones what took place in New York and Connecticut….
Intergenerational mission
What is your favorite church or denominational buzz word or phrase? There are so many: missional, free and faithful, purpose driven, emergent, traditional, contemporary. When overused, buzz words can begin to lose their meaning. Take, for example, one of my…
Christmas key time for Hospitality House
By Jeff Brumley It’s always tough visiting loved ones in prison. A spouse or parent can see incarceration taking its toll over the years while they continue to deal with the legal, financial, social and emotional impact of the crimes….
Trailblazing Baptist woman turns 100
By Jeff Brumley It was a cold winter’s night in 1971 when 6-year-old Monica Phillips developed a terrible earache on a family visit to Abilene, Texas. “I had these earaches fairly often and they were quite painful,” Phillips recalled. But…
Not about glitter, glamour, and gluttony
Once again this year, the turkey is now soup, the rolls are finished, and the freezer is much emptier than it was this time last week. It was a grand holiday and always has been my family’s favorite. I wonder…
Missions boost holiday gratitude
By Jeff Brumley A handful of Cooperative Baptist churches are proving that short-term mission trips aren’t just for spring break, anymore. First Baptist in Gainesville, Ga. and Calvary Baptist in Lexington, Ky., sent mixed youth and adult groups to Haiti…
Alternative gifts counter Black Friday
By Jeff Brumley When it began nearly a decade ago, the Alternative Christmas Gift Fair at Boulevard Baptist attracted barely 100 church members and generated a few thousand dollars for participating nonprofits and mission groups. But it has since generated…
Sandy overshadows Isaac response
By Jeff Brumley Knoxvillian Kendall McCosh spent the better part of last week providing disaster relief — not in the Sandy-plagued Northeast but in Louisiana, rehabbing homes ravaged by winds and flooding from Hurricane Isaac on Aug. 29. McCosh, a former…