By Jeff Brumley John White has competed against some of the world’s top athletes — and ministered to still more of them. “I raced against [future three-time Tour de France winner] Greg LeMond once and he would never know this, but…
Cal Baptist women’s tournament run comes up one game short
By Bob Allen In just their second season after moving up to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the California Baptist University women’s basketball Lancers were Cinderella in this year’s NCAA Division II championship tournament. Unranked going into the tournament and…
Super bowl idolatry
Thus, I may not watch any of the Super Bowl-mainly because with all of the hype it seems to border on being idolatrous. Consider the cost of attending the Super Bowl. Five days ago I checked to see what it…
Lofty fundraiser leads Baptist to climb Kilimanjaro
By George Henson Bertha De La Garza ascended to loftier heights than before by climbing Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro this summer. The Baptist from Abilene, Texas, also reached new spiritual heights during the hike, which raised money for a global sports…
Professor says Michael Sam is no Jackie Robinson
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist pastor and seminary professor says Satan is pleased with comparisons being drawn between Michael Sam, the first openly gay football player drafted by the NFL, and Jackie Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball’s color…
Missed church last Sunday? What do you need to do?
An increasing number of people miss church on Sundays, or other times during the week when primary worship services or small groups gather. The average number of weeks active Christians attend church is decreasing. The benchmark of at least 48…
Who does God want to win the Super Bowl?
I remember watching the pregame coverage of Super Bowl XXXII in 1998 and being shocked when a reporter asked Green Bay Packers’ defensive end and ordained minister Reggie White if he thought God wanted him to win the Super Bowl….
Football wager drawing Baptist churches together
By Jeff Brumley While plans have yet to be made by two churches who bet a mission trip on the BCS championship game, the pastors of the two Cooperative Baptist congregations say the wager’s impact is already producing spiritual fruits….
CBF churches scrimmage over BCS game
By Jeff Brumley Two Cooperative Baptist churches — one in Alabama, the other in Florida — are embroiled in a social media rivalry over college football that’s making headlines and inspiring mission work. It all started Tuesday when Bill Shiell, the senior pastor at…
Leaving Samaria for the suburbs
By Trey Lyon I recall my college New Testament professor explaining the words of John 4, “now Jesus had to go through Samaria,” as the author’s way of saying that Jesus went there on purpose, and that going through Samaria…
I gave up fantasy football for my family
Way back in 2003, I was an unmarried rabid fantasy football and baseball fan. I spent anywhere between 10-20 hours a week tracking, reading, and researching statistics to build the ultimate fantasy football team. Sometimes, I would manage 3 or…
Flying Queens ruled women’s hoops
By Bob Allen With most eyes in women’s college basketball trained on Baylor’s 6-8 shot-blocking, slam-dunking phenom Brittney Griner, the current Texas Monthly carries a feature about a lesser-known Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated powerhouse that is the winningest women’s…




