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….
Liberia seminary closure attributed to clerical error
An official in Liberia’s national labor court has been cleared of wrongdoing in a missing check scandal that caused temporary closure of the Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary and forced its American president into hiding to avoid arrest. Front Page Africa…
President denies Liberian seminary is for sale
The president of Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary is disputing reports on the Internet that long-respected school is up for sale. A labor court judge issued a writ of execution June 8 ordering sale of the property to raise money owed…
Liberia seminary reopens post-Ebola
By Bob Allen The Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary, one of the country’s leading schools, reopened March 2 after six months of closure prompted by the Ebola crisis in West Africa. Richard Wilson, a Mercer University professor named in 2013 as…