Patriotism or Nationalism?
Last summer, I had the privilege of hearing noted author Brian McLaren speak several times at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly. During one of the Q&A
Are Baptists Protestants?
Five hundred years ago, a clergyman named Martin was reading his Bible and felt something was wrong. What he had learned in church and seminary did not jive with what he read in his Bible. “Perhaps, I am missing something,” he thought.
The Limits of Luther
During the month of October, Christians all over the world will be commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and reflecting on the impact of Martin Luther’s life and legacy. Whether you realize
A Not-So-Small Kingdom
What comes to mind when you think of the kingdom of heaven? Based on the visions of Old Testament prophets and descriptions found in Revelation, most of us think of heaven
The Old Testament. I Love It!
For Christmas 1942, my parents gave me a book, “Hurlbut’s Story of the Bible.” For the first time, I could read the Bible for myself. You can
Bitterness: The Church’s Silent Killer
Bitterness seems to be the occupational hazard of church people, including clergy. Because we are socially conditioned to be nice, we often swallow our rage when something
Violence Isn’t the Answer
At church, we make it an unspoken “policy” to stay away from blatantly political discourse. That doesn’t mean, however, that we are unable or unwilling to take
Spiritual Tug of War
Have you ever played tug of war? The point of the challenge is to pit two teams against each other in a test of skill and strength. Teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to bring the rope a certain
Eclipsing the “SonLight”
A partial eclipse of the moon occurred in April 1948. That event prompted various discussions in the small town where I lived. The old-timers sitting in front of Tidwell’s store seized this occasion to tell the children about a solar eclipse during their childhood. One
Prepping Kids for Back to School
We say the same things this time every year because the older we get, the more time seems to get away from us: “I can’t believe the