The Ad Council, a non-profit that has, for the most part, stayed out of super-charged political debates, has joined the crusade to convince lawmakers to force well-meaning Americans to give up their freedom of conscience when disagreeing with LGBTQ demands. Known for public service advertising like “Don’t drink and drive,” the Ad Council recently produced free advertisements implying widespread discrimination against LGBTQ people. The radio ad is running nationwide. It represents the … [Read more...]

Gov. Mike Parson declared the week of Jan. 20-26 School Choice Week in Missouri. Southern Baptists have traditionally favored school choice provided there are no federal strings attached. Southern Baptists hold to the true meaning of “separation of church and state:” the government is not to meddle in the affairs of the church and the church will not “drink from the government trough.” Two critical issues face the church as it thinks through the idea of school choice. First, we must ask: … [Read more...]

A Missouri city is an interested spectator in a legal battle over the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. However, the outcome for the city of Ozark will be decided 1,047 miles away in Bladensburg, Md., in a case involving a 93-year-old World War I monument featuring a cross. More importantly, the U.S. Supreme Court – set to hear the case Feb. 27 – may see it as an opportunity to demolish the so-called “endorsement test” used by “activist” judges in their … [Read more...]

Thanksgiving at the Hinkle home has always been much like yours. Family, food and football are enjoyed. When I was a boy, dad and I would arise early, don layers of clothing and head out across the colorful fields and dales on Uncle Paul’s farm where we had built a new home. The only thing we carried was granddaddy’s 16-gauge Stevens shotgun made in 1927 (That was the same year Babe Ruth smacked 60 home runs for the New York Yankees). It was on those crispy, cold Thanksgiving mornings dad … [Read more...]

Why am I involved in public policy? I’d really prefer not to be. I’m a newspaper editor, first and foremost. I know for certain that is the work God called me to do. But I have learned over the years in serving Him, God will often present us with unexpected opportunities to make Him known. That is where my public policy work comes in. I have told many of our state leaders that I am not a lobbyist. I have no money. I really don’t feel like I have any influence. I stand on principle guided … [Read more...]

With most major newspapers in Missouri criticizing the long-standing, common-sense idea of churches having federal tax-exemptions, I wonder if their reasoning is based on a lust for more taxes or do they just hate faith-based institutions? Are they consumed with socialist ideology, blinding them to the truth? The media clamors for their First Amendment rights, yet argue against pastors having theirs, lest their church lose its tax-exempt status. Now comes Georgetown University Professors … [Read more...]

They came as no surprise. Several of the state’s largest newspapers recently unleashed a torrent of criticism against Missouri Attorney General Joshua Hawley after he said the unconstitutional Johnson Amendment should be repealed. The Kansas City Star blurted that Hawley was “shilling” for votes, while the St. Louis Post-Dispatch whined that the misappropriated so-called “wall” of separation of church and state was being “breached.” I’ll spare you further examples of their faux … [Read more...]

Newspapers strive to be the first to report a big story. One of the biggest The Pathway has ever reported is the revival at Fort Leonard Wood. If you did not read this story, please do. It is garnering national attention. Revival in our military is nothing new. The American Revolution was sandwiched between both Great Awakenings in the 18th century. Artist Arnold Friberg captured the importance of faith to the Colonial Army in his famous painting of General George Washington praying in the … [Read more...]

Mom and step-dad, Joe, live in a retirement community outside of Nashville, Tenn. Most everyone is 70 or older. Every time I visit, I am struck by the close-knit fellowship the residents enjoy. They monitor each other’s condos when one is traveling. They fix food and sweet treats for each other – just because. They periodically check on one another as a defense against a lurking enemy: loneliness. They pray for each other when they are sick or troubled. It is an amazing thing to … [Read more...]