By Bob Allen The pastor of First Baptist Church in Lafayette, La., urged church members to pray and be open for “conversations about Jesus” after a deadly shooting in a movie theater in their hometown July 23. “After every mass…
A necessary heretic
Last week, the long-awaited new book Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates finally hit shelves. Its release was moved up from October to July in light of recent events yet again raising the ongoing concerns of race in…
10 Ways To Determine If Your Christianity Has Been “Americanized”
While the word “Christianity” ought refer to a single religion, the reality is that many cultures have succumbed to a process of syncretism where there are actually many, many forms of Christianity that look nothing like the original picture on…
Disputed cross memorial sold to private group
By Bob Allen One of the nation’s longest-running conflicts between church and state may end in a win-win resolution with the sale of a 43-foot cross located on public land to a private association. The U.S. Department of Defense sold…
What a pastor learned at Comic Con
Going to Comic Con International is like drinking from a fire hose. There is so much going on and you want to be part of all of it. But like drinking from that fire hose, you eventually end up being…
Rights and offenses: The Confederate flag
On Friday, July 10, at the South Carolina Capitol, the Confederate flag was removed. On Sunday, July 12, at my church, the Confederate flag was prominently displayed. I saw the oversized flag attached to the back, right-side of an oversized…
Newspaper op-ed decries bashing of Confederate flag
By Bob Allen A guest column in a Baptist state newspaper takes exception to Southern Baptist leaders reacting to the recent church shooting in Charleston, S.C., with calls to take down the Confederate flag. Edward DeVries, pastor of Village of…
Christians shouldn’t be culture’s morality police
“I like your Christ,” said Mahatma Gahndi, “but I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” There’s a billboard outside the city limits where I live. The canvas is white and in large black letters,…
‘First Amendment Defense Act’ gets Baptist support
By Bob Allen Southern Baptist leaders in two states urged support for a federal law aimed at protecting Americans who oppose same-sex marriage on religious grounds. Critics, however, say that would allow employers to fire women for getting pregnant out…
Moore hopes Planned Parenthood controversy will galvanize pro-life evangelicals
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention’s top public policy official says he hopes a controversial viral video claiming to show Planned Parenthood is selling fetal organs for profit will move evangelicals from right thinking to action on the sanctity…
Churches invited to celebrate ADA anniversary
By Bob Allen The approaching 25th anniversary of President George H.W. Bush signing the Americans with Disabilities Act is an opportunity for churches to celebrate progress and recognize work that remains to make society more open and accessible to people…
SBC leader calls for probe into Planned Parenthood video
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention’s top spokesman for public policy concerns said “it is time for the reborn to stand up for the unborn” after viewing an undercover video purported to show a Planned Parenthood official discussing the…