Lauren Sturdy and Jeff Brumley Imagine standing on a riverbank looking up at a roaring waterfall, watching as person after person washes over the edge, plunges into the water and drowns. A caring person has two options — pull them…
Dissent and debate at church? Embrace it, experts say
By Jeff Brumley Churches should welcome, not shun, debate and dissent, a pastor told a gathering of Baptists last week. In fact, spiritual growth depends on tolerating and engaging those who hold divergent views, Taylor Sandlin of Southland Baptist Church…
Churches must be creative to meet coming ‘Boomer wave’
By Jeff Brumley Congregational coaches are warning churches against becoming so fixated on Millennials and other young people that they ignore the surging population of Baby Boomers already in their midst. But those experts say most congregations simply aren’t ready…
Volunteerism, vital for missions, transforms individuals and churches
By Brian Kaylor The leaders of faith-based disaster relief agencies know it as they respond to catastrophic weather in Texas. And so does Greg Morrow, pastor of First Baptist Church of California, Mo. What they and others know is that…
Pray for McKinney while in Dallas, ministers urge CBF Baptists
By Jeff Brumley Baptists and human rights, women in the Old Testament and the benefits of parish nursing are just a few of the topics Fellowship Baptists will be talking about at General Assembly this week. And there’s another topic…
Jesus and our restrictive pools
It’s happened again. Fortunately, this time no one was shot or killed, so we can breathe a collective sigh of relief. That is, relief in the sense that innocent black children were “only” traumatized, their lives were “only” threatened and…
Urban missionary brings faith, hope and food to troubled inner city
By Ken Camp Some labels seem contradictory — urban farmer, for instance. Ask Daron Babcock what he knew about agriculture, poultry-raising and animal husbandry before he launched Bonton Farm-Works in South Dallas. “Zero. I’m surprised these girls are still alive,”…
Waco shoot-out distorts their experience with bikers, say some Baptists
By Jeff Brumley Nine dead, 18 injured, 170 arrested — and a sullied reputation for motorcyclists everywhere. At least that’s how some have interpreted the May 17 shootout between motorcycle gangs in Waco, Texas. But Baptists who love riding say they…
Army of aid mobilizes as storms, flooding pound Texas, Oklahoma
By Jeff Brumley Folks in the Southwest have just about had it with the weather during the past month. Oklahoma and Texas in particular seemed to have been singled out for meteorological abuse in the form of tornados, hail storms…