For the past few weeks, I have been enjoying the second season of one of my favorite shows available to stream. There are some Tolkien purists who do not care for the show, but I will not quibble with some…
When being a pastor is ‘the most important calling,’ family values take a back seat
Most of the noise at this month’s Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting was from men attempting to cement their pastoral power over women, Christian nationalists attacking religious liberty, messengers seeking to censure SBC leaders publicly, and the convention voting to…
Still a high and holy calling
I want to say a word on behalf of a sometimes overlooked category of ministry. I refer to the Baptist pastor who maintains a sense of God’s calling to ministry and serves God and people faithfully, month by month, year…
An out-of-the-box lesson from Barbie
My girlfriend and I went to see the Barbie movie a couple of weeks ago. We expected the movie just to be laughs and giggles because we thought it was a kids’ movie with a lighthearted story. However, that was…
On graduation and the priesthood of all believers
Each year on the first Sunday of May, University Baptist Church of Charlottesville, Va., honors our graduates and reads a litany of blessing as we commission them “to tend to the world and help set it right once again.” As…
This isn’t about me
Editor’s note: Last Sunday, Victoria Robb Powers was installed as the first female pastor of Royal Lane Baptist Church. This column is drawn from her comments to the congregation. This is, indeed, a significant, historic moment, and while it…
As a pastor, knowing it’s time to move on comes with joy and sorrow
Scanning the last page of my notes, I throw myself into the benediction with the force of a poorly hung door caught unexpectantly by a summer breeze. I attempt to hold the moment by stitching together a series of detached…
Celebrating a new generation of ministers overtaken by ‘the call’
In the 50th year of my ordination to “the gospel ministry,” I can’t recall the exact time when I first experienced “the call” from God to do that. Given that I was Texas Baptist born and bred, I may have…
Campbell institute helps youth try on vocation as ministry
At 18, Jillian Brookshire already knows she wants to pursue a career in law, maybe even politics. What the Raleigh, N.C., resident didn’t know until more recently is that her professional interests may also represent a calling on her life….