By Jeff Brumley It was a cold winter’s night in 1971 when 6-year-old Monica Phillips developed a terrible earache on a family visit to Abilene, Texas. “I had these earaches fairly often and they were quite painful,” Phillips recalled. But…
A woman of valor
By Wes Spears The latest book to cause a stir in the often echo chamber-like Christian blogosphere is Rachel Held Evans’ A Year of Biblical Womanhood. In it, Evans spends a year trying to live up to the supposed imperatives…
Poll: Most favor contraceptive mandate
By Bob Allen Nearly two out of three American adults believe businesses and organizations should be required to provide contraceptive coverage in their employee health-care plans, even if it violates the employer’s religious beliefs, according to a recent survey by…
‘Complementarianism’ costs Cru director
By Bob Allen The director of University of Louisville’s chapter of Cru, formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ, has been demoted after refusing to allow female staff to teach Bible studies to mixed-gender audiences. According to World Magazine, Daniel…
Woman pastor marks milestone
By Jack Brymer The youngest of four children — three girls — born to a successful Baptist pastor and a wife who was equally dedicated to the congregation and denomination, Sarah Jackson Shelton suspects that being a pastor is part…
I’m for my friends
By Ircel Harrison The story goes that a politician was once asked where he stood on an issue. He responded, “Some of my friends are for it. Some of my friends are against it. I’m for my friends.” I thought…
Alternative gifts counter Black Friday
By Jeff Brumley When it began nearly a decade ago, the Alternative Christmas Gift Fair at Boulevard Baptist attracted barely 100 church members and generated a few thousand dollars for participating nonprofits and mission groups. But it has since generated…
Equal time with Al Mohler
By Miguel De La Torre Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., was quoted widely concerning the re-election of President Barack Obama. If afforded equal time, here’s how I would respond to comments attributed to him…
Ministry reaches out to strippers
By Kaitlin Warrington Jesus loves strippers, too, but fear of the unknown too often hinders Christians from reaching out to women trapped in the sex industry, a leader in an outreach ministry to exotic dancers said at a recent conference…