I am a child of the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s and an early adult in the ’80s. Over those decades geopolitics were complicated by the Korean War and then Vietnam. The simmering Cold War heightened anxiety and demanded political and military…
An open letter to Elijah Brown, Baptist World Alliance CEO
I am chagrined by the Baptist News Global report that you used your position with the Baptist World Alliance to dismiss T.J. Williams-Hauger from his participation with two BWA commissions: Interfaith Commission and the Racial Justice Commission. My chagrin rests…
The Freddie Freeman Effect
Over the last two years, Freddie Freeman, the five-time All-Star first baseman for the Atlanta Braves, has become a focus for folks eager to extrapolate the meanings of a mixture of national crises that include health, economics and the forging…
Don’t forget the religious implications of geopolitical upheaval
For weeks the world has been holding its breath as the simmering tensions between Russia and Ukraine reached a boiling point. When Putin’s Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, the pot boiled over. Already we have seen via global news…
Of pronouns and postures among Baptists and Catholics
On Feb. 15, reports of an Arizona Roman Catholic priest’s assumed liturgical blunder — using “we” rather than “I” in baptisms over a decade — flooded news feeds across a wide spectrum. I was not surprised that Religion News Service…
The Atlanta Braves and the window of hope
The voice of James Earl Jones — as Terrance Mann in The Field of Dreams — touches a nerve of spirit for millions of baseball fans. Since 1989 the words nearly have become sacred: “The one constant through all the…
William Richard Tolbert III, Liberian Baptist leader, murdered in Monrovia
William Richard Tolbert III, 68, the last-born son of the late William R. Tolbert Jr, Liberia’s 20th president, died Nov. 1 in his apartment in Monrovia, Liberia, after being assaulted by a yet-not-known assailant. The Ministry of Justice in the…
Q&A with Richard Wilson on applying Ebola lessons to COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t Richard Wilson’s first go-around with a deadly virus outbreak. He’s the Columbus Roberts Professor of Christian Theology and chairman of the religion department at Mercer University. He also served as president of the Liberian Baptist Theological…
Liberia Baptist seminary taps new leader
Trustees of the Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary have selected a pastor from North Carolina as the school’s next president. The Rev. Terry Henry, senior pastor of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Wilmington, N.C., for 28 years, officially takes office Jan. 1….