By Bob Allen First Baptist Church of Dallas pastor Robert Jeffress responded in his Sunday sermon Feb. 24 to controversy over NFL player Tim Tebow’s canceling an appearance at the Southern Baptist mega-church by implying the publicity-conscious celebrity was “wimping…
The new civil rights movement?
Despite what almost every single church sign says, openly LGBT people are NOT welcomed in most churches across the South and across America. Richard “Dick” Brogan was a personal friend and one of my heroes. Dick was a white Mississippi Baptist…
Letter: Shield poor from sequestration
By Bob Allen Eighty-eight faith leaders wrote President Obama and congressional leaders Feb. 25 urging them to protect hunger and poverty programs as they seek to avert government spending cuts due to take effect March 1. The letter is from…
Gay are called to bring message of redemption
I met Tommy (not his real name) back in the 1980s at our local church where I served as deacon and Sunday school teacher. We became close friends and talked about many things. Both of us being young and single,…
A gift to be simple
By Robert Dilday Whether inspired by religious devotion or just frustration with modernity, some people feel drawn to simple living. Since at least the middle of the 19th century, when Henry Thoreau described his solitary two years in a hut on…
Creativity and contemplation
In October of last year, I settled into my old Impala and drove to downtown Duluth, just outside of Atlanta. Filled with excitement, I pulled into the parking lot behind the Red Clay Theatre and checked my pocket to make…
Church sold as members go missional
By Jeff Brumley They tried hiring a consultant, new worship styles, luring nonprofits as renters and seeking other churches for mergers. But each approach fell through for the roughly 50 aging members of Scott Boulevard Baptist Church in Decatur, Ga. The congregation’s next step…
Scholar says Bible speaks to immigration
By Bob Allen A female Bible scholar, ordained as a Baptist and United Church of Christ minister, says immigration is not a “black and white” issue in the African-American community in this week’s installment of a series of Bible commentaries…
Reading Scripture is like rock climbing
Settling for the “clearest reading” of a Bible passage is not enough if doing so causes the Bible to contradict itself. In a recent interview with the New Voice Media Group (which includes Associated Baptist Press), I used rock climbing…