My jaw nearly slapped the ground when I read the words. They bellowed from Mark Coppenger, vice president for extension education and director of Southern Seminary’s extension center in Nashville, Tenn. Recently he sat on a panel that discussed the…
God is not a political football
In football, you want to move the ball forward towards the end zone. You want to exploit the weaknesses of your opponent. If they carry the ball too high on their pads it is an easy target to strip the…
Obama issues altar call —young people respond
As Obama spoke at the Democratic National Convention, Twitter commenced nearly exploding. According to Twitter, as Obama spoke there were 52,757 tweets per minute; Romney had 14,289 tweets per minute. Tweets won’t win the White House, but they reveal that…
(Re)Insert “God” here
I was having lunch with a friend the other and he was telling me about a meeting he attended with some others pastors. Apparently there was a discussion about the book of the month, and this time the topic was evangelism. One…
Romney’s faith takes center stage
If you’ve followed the election coverage much over the past year you may have realized how absent Mitt Romney’s faith was from the national conversation. This marked a big shift from his 2008 bid when his Republican opponents attacked him…
Live from the DNC: Power and vulnerability
Monday was Labor Day, and rather than starting their convention, the DNC chose to throw a big party for the city, filling Tryon Street (Charlotte’s Main Street) with vendors, bands, displays, free museum admission, and a festive atmosphere for all….
Romney and ‘war’ on religion
“There is a religious war going on in this country,” former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan told the 1992 Republican convention in a primetime address. Mitt Romney has declared that President Obama is waging a war on religion. Whether one actually…
‘Love Your Neighbor with Your Vote’
We don’t put out political yard signs at our house. For 21 years as a journalist, I could not take a publicly partisan stand on political matters. And now as a pastor, I should not take a public partisan stand….
Can corporations walk the aisle?
As the race for the White House heats up with Paul Ryan’s Republican VP nod, questions concerning corporate political involvement remain. Crucial to the debate around corporate political funding are two words: Citizens United. They refer to the landmark, 2010…