By Corey Fields Last month, former Seventh-day Adventist pastor Ryan Bell (not to be confused with Rob Bell) dropped the bombshell: he doesn’t believe in God anymore. His story has hit national media outlets such as NPR and the Huffington…
CBF helps sponsor first 5-day spiritual academy in Cuba
By Bob Allen Thirty participants from various denominations convened in November for the first Five-Day Academy for Spiritual Formation ever held in Cuba. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Florida CBF helped sponsor the enrichment event, which is a ministry of…
Baptist chaplains eye growing openness to discussion of death
By Jeff Brumley Broaching the subject of death can be a serious downer in a society obsessed with beauty, health and long life. But there are signs that may be starting to change. “There are more people who are talking…
Sometimes it’s just a matter of showing up
By Jayne Davis It was really such a simple plan. The group would meet at my house at 4:30 for coffee and dessert and then head off together to the nursing home at 6 to sing Christmas carols for residents…
A Spiritual Path to Gratitude
Brother David Steindl-Rast has contended in his writings that gratitude is foundational to a healthy spiritual life. If that is true, and I believe it is, then how might we expand our capacity for gratitude? Perhaps some reflections drawn from…
Conversion crisis?
By Bill Leonard Of his 1821 conversion, evangelist Charles Finney wrote: “As I went in and shut the door after me, it seemed as if I met the Lord Jesus Christ face to face. … No words can express the…
Saints, in fact, don’t do it
By Jeff Harris I’m Baptist, so when All Saints’ Day rolls around on Nov. 1 my first response is, “Huh?” All Saints’ Day was not observed in the church of my birth, but we had saints in that church. They…
Here’s to a better tomorrow
By Barrett Owen “Be strong and bold … for it is God who goes ahead of you.” — Moses to Joshua in Deuteronomy 31:6 I love Moses’ phrase, “God is gone ahead of you.” Rob Bell talks about it in…
Everyone needs to go to Arabia
By Bill Wilson One of the pressing concerns of 21st-century individual and congregational spiritual life is the question of depth. To be blunt, there isn’t much. Study after study has revealed the sad truth that much of what we call…