In the first part of this blog I suggested that there is in fact a definition of the word love which can cover all the various forms of human and divine love. It is a definition which I believe gets…
Real or imagined, persecution appears to part of Christian DNA
By Jeff Brumley Matt Cook says he frequently hears from fellow Baptists worried that the steady cultural shift away from church and faith may spell persecution for traditional Christians. It’s a fear born of constant news reports and anecdotes about…
A matter of definition
Confession time: I really enjoyed the movie Frozen the first time I saw it. And the second. And the third. And the several dozen after that too. You see, two of my three kids are at a prime Disney age…
Anchors Away
Not long ago I was sitting on a dock, watching boats scoot across the lake, when one of my wife’s co-workers started talking about her daughter. I learned she was in her late twenties, not too far removed from college,…
Ornate sanctuaries no distraction from the Word, Baptist pastors say
By Jeff Brumley You can strip a sanctuary of symbols, remove all vestiges of beauty and deny any value the aesthetic may have in worship. But experts say those elements almost always creep back into the church — one way or…
A proper starting place
With three parts out of several written and published, I have enjoyed reading David Gushee’s careful examination of the issue of homosexuality and the church. The care and sensitivity he is bringing to the issue combined with an obvious desire…
The taller I become….
We’re remembering the Freedom Summer of 1964 this year, fifty years later. During those momentous times in US history, a broad group of organizations worked together to break the tyranny of the Jim Crow laws in Mississippi. Their primary goal…
Embrace the variety
I read a blog post recently that really got me thinking. In the post, fellow ABP blogger, Alan Rudnick advocates for services based on differing worship styles to be de-segregated, that is, to be replaced by blended services containing multiple worship expressions….
Let justice roll
But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! Amos 5:24 NIV During our recent vacation Bible school I observed our students standing attentively as they belted out , “I pledge allegiance to the flag…”. We…