At the BGAV Annual Meeting a few years ago, I attended a breakout session led by the Religious Liberty Committee. Admittedly, I don’t remember what the presentation was about. But I do remember a conversation I had with one of…
Host church withdraws from boycott, divestment and sanctions discussion
By Bob Allen The Alliance of Baptists had to scramble to find a venue for its Sept. 18-20 conference on waging peace and justice in the Holy Land when the host church withdrew its invitation the day before the meeting….
SBC megachurch hosting presidential forum
By Bob Allen Republican presidential candidates Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee are reportedly confirmed for a “North Texas Presidential Forum” at 3 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 18, at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. The 40,000-member megachurch…
If Jesus ran for president
First of all, I want to note that I don’t think Jesus would ever run for President of the United States. It wasn’t his thing. He didn’t come as a great political Messiah, and often he seemed ambivalent to the…
Listening to the Pope
Most of us Protestants, perhaps, have not paid a lot of attention to what the Pope has said and done through the years. But things have changed somewhat since Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was elected Pope in February 2013.
I’m tired of saying “I’m Sorry!”
I’m sorry. It may be the most common phrase in my work. I am sorry about the death; I am sorry about the diagnosis; I am sorry you didn’t like the music, the sermon, the temperature. It seems that I…
Nepal remains ‘secular’ state
By Bob Allen Lawmakers in Nepal rejected an effort to declare the Himalayan nation a Hindu state, adopting draft language to a new constitution Sept. 14 maintaining its status as a secular state. The news brought relief for minority groups,…
Robert Jeffress prays ‘special blessing’ on Donald Trump
A Southern Baptist megachurch pastor asked God’s blessing on Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump in an invocation at a Sept. 14 campaign rally in Dallas. Trump, addressing a crowd estimated at 17,000 Monday evening at the American Airlines Center, thanked…
What if schools enjoyed pork-barrel largesse and the military depended on corporate charity?
One recent slow morning, in late August, the grocery stores’ circulars in the newspaper caught my attention. I began to wonder how things might be different if certain fortunes were reversed. Instead of “back-to-school” it’s “back-to-basic-training” discount offers. Imagine, if…