By Bob Allen Southern Baptists’ top spokesman for moral issues wrote President Obama recently supporting gun-control measures that don’t infringe on the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms. Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the…
Gay minister arrested in sit-in
By Bob Allen An openly gay ordained Baptist minister and his partner were arrested Jan. 22 in Louisville, Ky., for refusing to leave the county clerk’s office after they were denied a marriage license. Maurice “Bojangles” Blanchard, 34, and his…
Wild Goose 2013 dates announced
By Bob Allen Dates and venue have been announced for Wild Goose 2013, an annual festival of music, spirituality, social justice and art for progressive evangelicals under a theological and missional tent commonly known as “emergent Christianity.” First held in…
Our culture of violence requires adaptive change
I owned one gun in my life. It was a single shot 22-gauge rifle. My father gave it to me when I was around 12 years old. I sold it to a friend for his grandson 16 years later. In…
Former minister pleads guilty to abuse
By Bob Allen John Langworthy, 50, former associate pastor of music and ministries at Morrison Heights Baptist Church in Clinton, Miss., pleaded guilty in Hinds County Circuit Court to five of eight felony counts of gratification of lust against young…
CBF nominee termed natural choice
By Bob Allen Parties involved in the nomination of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s next executive coordinator termed the choice of Texas Baptist leader Suzii Paynter an embodiment of core values of inclusiveness that have shaped the moderate Baptist movement since…
When we can’t forgive, we’re stuck
To celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary, Nancy and I went to “Les Miserables,” a musical I had never seen before. Nor have I read the 1,500 page novel, although I’ve been hearing references to it all my life. Unavoidably,the…
Sermon says: ‘Keep Church Weird’
By Jeff Brumley Becky and Joshua Speight were walking the walk last year when they preached on the need to “Keep Church Weird.” “Our congregation had never seen a dual sermon before, and we had never written one together,” Becky…
What if Jesus were gay?
Wendell Berry has effectively stirred the pot. In my homestate, Kentucky, at my alma mater, Georgetown College, Berry spoke about gay marriage. He spoke to the cultural palpitations revealing a diseased spirit. It’s a spirit steeped in hate, and maligned…