By Jeff Brumley and Kalie Lowrie Hispanic Baptists and other Christians have so much to offer the American church and society that they must avoid the pitfalls of secularism and consumerism, Latino religious leaders say. That was part of the message…
White House expands religious objections to birth control
By Bob Allen The Obama administration released rules July 10 allowing “closely held” for-profit corporations to claim a religious objection to mandated coverage of contraceptives under Obamacare. Final regulations by the Department of Health and Human Services specify that in…
More alike than different
Two contrasting stories from June 2015 are etched into my mind—one upliftingly positive and the other hauntingly negative. My reflection on the two experiences confirmed for me we are more alike than we are different. I officiated a meaningful wedding…
Forgiveness breaks the Devil’s back
Fresh from wrestling with the Devil through forty days and forty nights, Jesus shows up in his home church of Nazareth and uses the ancient words of the prophet Isaiah to lay down his manifesto: The Spirit of the Lord…
Debates on racism, gay rights take toll on pastors
By Jeff Brumley Stressful times for the nation, it turns out, translate into especially stressful times for pastors. That fact was the focus of Tuesday’s Baptist News Global column — titled “A humble plea: Go easy on your pastor” — by Corey…
What about physician-assisted suicide?
” There’s more to life than living and more to death than dying.” Those are the intriguing words on the cover of Finding Frances, a 2010 novel by Janice M. Van Dyck. Frances is a 74-year-old woman who, beset by…
Two Baptist colleges ask Supreme Court for protection from mandate
By Ken Camp Two Baptist-affiliated universities in Texas and a seminary in Pennsylvania are appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court a religious liberty case regarding the Health and Human Services mandate of the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as “Obamacare.”…
How being a pastor changed my thinking on homosexuality
I managed to make it through college, seminary, and grad school with most of my prejudices intact. I won’t overstate my bigotry: “I had gay friends,” but I was the kind of person who would use that phrase when defending…
Following up: Further Reflections on Al Mohler, Racism, Inerrancy, and Theological Education
What I saw as a weakness in Mohler’s reflection was that while he acknowledged the racism of Boyce, and admitted that Southern Baptists “bear a particular responsibility” to combat racism, his arguments around “orthodoxy” and “heresy” were abstracted from real…