Opinion

On occasion, I write short devotionals for other publications. What could be a better, more blessed way to start your day than in prayer and with a few brilliant words from me? (Don’t answer that.) The practice of writing such devotions is a spiritual exercise as I prayerfully consider the assigned texts in hopes of helping people experience God as they pause for a few minutes of meditation.

The forced resignation of Patrick Conroy as chaplain for the U.S. House of Representatives quickly sparked questions and concerns about the intermingling of religion and politics. Some lawmakers believe Speaker Paul Ryan pushed out Conroy because of a prayer Ryan saw as too political. But that raises an important question: Can prayer actually be apolitical?

Earlier this winter, 48 years and one week after my younger brother Dennis died from injuries sustained in a car accident, my two siblings and I, along with our families, made a memorable trek to north Missouri. It began as a journey. It turned into a pilgrimage. Something holy took place. It was life-giving, emerging out of tragedy and loss.

Watching the news Saturday night as missiles from the United States, United Kingdom and France struck Syria, I found myself pondering questions about the attack — and about how Christians should react

On Christmas Eve of 2016, the military of Myanmar detained two Baptist pastors. We’ve reported updates about their story in various issues of Word&Way. I’ll briefly review the story, but please stay with this column because I have a special request on how we can encourage our brothers who remain in prison.

Last year, I was in a meeting with Rev. Paul Msiza, the South African pastor who is president of the Baptist World Alliance. In a Q&A session with some church leaders, he mentioned that pastors in the U.S. might want to consult the Kairos Document (KD) issued in 1985 by a group of mainly black South African theologians in response to the vicious and demeaning policies of apartheid.

One of my favorite movies of 2016 was a science fiction film called “Arrival.” The movie follows a linguist and a physicist who are brought in by the U.S. military after alien ships appear on multiple continents around the globe.

Each weekday as I drop my son off for school, my last words to him as he grabs his backpack and hurries out of the car are “I love you!” I hope those words can carry him through his day. There are some days I want to also grab him, hug him and say those words over and over.

Have you ever met a Veruca Salt in real life? A person who thinks that the world revolves around them and everyone in the world exists to make them happy or to fulfill their needs?

The release of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s “Illumination Project” quickly sparked criticism from Fundamentalists on the right — and the left.