By Molly T. Marshall Twenty years ago few Baptist seminaries used the language of “spiritual formation” or “spirituality.” That was thought to be a Roman Catholic term, and while Baptists used terms like “discipleship” or “piety,” we had yet to…
What’s your spiritual practice?
Is our faith something we are or something we practice? Last week, one of the first questions I was asked at the Chaplaincy Institute for the Arts and Interfaith Ministries while attending a training in the art of spiritual direction was: “What…
Accident reminds editor of life’s value
By Bill Webb I experienced my first ride in an ambulance on May 12 after suffering the first traumatic injury in my 60-plus years. I had been thrown from a bicycle near the end of a leisurely ride with my…
Street-side prayer
By Amy Butler As a pastor, I have plenty occasion to pray, both in formal expressions like Sunday morning worship and the many casual occasions when someone says off-hand, “Let’s ask Amy to pray for us; she’s a pastor!” So…
Ministry can be a rat race, literally
By Amy Butler Few people know how truly glamorous it is to be a pastor. We sit around reading and praying most days, sipping coffee and thinking deep thoughts about the state of the world and God and things like…
Chilean miner credits God for rescue
By Kalie Lowrie Trapped in a mineshaft in Copiapó, Chile, in 2010 with 32 other miners, Jose Henriquez experienced firsthand God’s provision during 69 days of waiting and praying for rescue. “Without any doubt, the power of God has no…
Santorum gets prayer at Baptist church
By Bob Allen A Catholic presidential candidate received a prayer of blessing from a Southern Baptist mega-church during a campaign visit to Memphis. Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn., invited GOP hopeful Rick Santorum to the…
The 20-year war in Iraq
By Ken Sehested I don’t know what it was that penetrated my groggy reading of the Sunday morning paper, sitting at the kitchen table, the coffee maker’s final perks hacking like a smoker’s cough. Something, subliminally, coming from the radio…
Celebrate our missionaries
By Ricky Creech How blessed Baptists are to be known as a missionary people. I love missionaries. They are my heroes, not because they are superhuman or different from me, but because they sacrifice much every day for the cause…