By Jeff Brumley New Year’s resolutions usually involve vows of eating better, exercising more and maybe delving into the self-help section at the book store. But for others it also means renewing or reinventing efforts to get right with, or…
Welcoming the child
By Molly T. Marshall I don’t know about you, but if there is a baby in the room, I want to hold it. I want to feel those little fingers curl around mine, and I love the compact weight of…
Pastor says Newtown needs privacy, time
By Bob Allen A Cooperative Baptist Fellowship pastor who ministers near Newtown, Conn., says one of the best things people can do to help right now is to pray for first responders coping with psychological trauma and clergy who are…
Churches grieve Sandy Hook shootings
By Bob Allen Pastor Jason Coker opened his third Sunday in Advent sermon at Wilton Baptist Church, written earlier in the week, with words describing irrepressible joy. “Circumstances dictate change,” Coker told parishioners Dec. 16 before switching gears to preach…
Churches grieve Sandy Hook shootings
By Bob Allen Pastor Jason Coker opened his third Sunday in Advent sermon at Wilton Baptist Church with words describing irrepressible joy written early in the week. “Circumstances dictate change,” Coker told parishioners Dec. 16 before switching gears to preach…
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…
Praying behind his back
Recently my family was honored to participate in my son’s ordination to the Gospel ministry. After heeding a call from God, enduring seven years of higher education and gaining quality experiences, his church in Topeka, Kansas felt it was time…
Think, vote, pray
Today we have an opportunity to exercise our civil liberty by going to the polls to vote. Tom Brokaw reminds us that we will go freely and “not at the point of a gun or a tank” and that is…