For more than seven decades, my dad has helped people. It has always been his nature to lend a helping hand, and it was always right on time. He had this uncanny way of knowing how to fix anything mechanical. When someone would ask, “Henry, I can’t get this to work,” he was super-motivated to help. Over the years, I observed there was nothing mechanically broken that he wasn’t willing to tackle. Read the instructions? Never! Most of the time, with some thought, some planning, some … [Read more...]
Stop monkeying around, Missouri needs school choice
It would be enough to drive Charles Scopes bananas. Nearly a century after the famed Scopes Monkey Trial led to the teaching of evolution in public schools and decades of in-fighting over increasingly liberal curriculums in public schools, a King Kong competitor may be emerging in increasingly conservative Missouri. After gaining passage by the Senate Education Committee, Jan. 21, a major education reform measure (Senate Bill 55) that includes school choice is headed to the full Senate for … [Read more...]
Driven to gladness
It looked like the sideview outline of a little robot ducky head. Sort of cute, really. I was shocked when somebody told me it’s the check engine light. That light doesn’t literally mean to check the engine, though, right? Because I feel like my engine is still there whether I check or not. Not that I would know exactly where to find it. If I found it, what then? I’m not equipped for car repairs, people. I once untangled my seatbelt. That exhausted the full scope of my car repair … [Read more...]
Value of immunizations, healthcare careers
When Milford and Mary Riggs opened the doors of The Baptist Home in 1913, those early residents were referred to as “inmates.” Fortunately, the term did not stick! However, coronavirus restrictions in place since March have obligated residents of care facilities to live a near prison-like existence. Envision for a moment what it would be like to be physically estranged from family, friends and church for Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, July 4th, Birthdays, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and … [Read more...]
Obscure, but Jan. 16 is Religious Freedom Day
One of the greatest impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the attacks on religious liberty. In too many instances political leaders have used public safety as an excuse – and ultimately a weapon – against churches services and faith-based gatherings. They have often done so while allowing certain types of businesses to remain open. One of the most egregious violations of religious liberty has been perpetrated against nursing homes. Too often pastors have not been allowed to visit … [Read more...]
Pray for all, not some
Two-thousand years ago, the apostle Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to lead a group of churches. Paul followed up later with a letter that included this statement: “First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the … [Read more...]
Year-in-review: God’s gracious gift of 2020
I’m aware many readers might feel friction reading this article’s title. For many of us, 2020 has felt anything but a gracious gift. Perhaps you attribute disappointments on another proof of this year’s wretchedness or are excitedly anticipating 2020 ending. I personally can resonate with this sentiment. For my family 2020 has held every possible emotion. We moved from our home city to a new town and ministry in the midst of a pandemic, have grieved two miscarriages, and are praising the … [Read more...]
Why I would have voted ‘No’ on the MBC’s Resolution 4
EDITOR’S NOTE: Alan Branch serves as professor of Christian Ethics at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City. To learn more about Resolution 4, “On Use of Products of Fetal Tissue Research,” see https://mbcpathway.mobaptist.org/2020/11/05/messengers-sweat-the-details-in-pro-life-resolutions-wording/. KANSAS CITY – Though I am a member of a Missouri Baptist Church, I was not at the recent annual meeting of the Missouri Baptist Convention. Had I been there, I would have spoken … [Read more...]
Uncertainty: ‘It sounds a whole lot like 2020’
Uncertainty – “Epistemic situations involving imperfect or unknown information. It applies to predictions of future events, to physical measurements that are already made, or to the unknown.” In other words, uncertainty is not knowing what will happen or not being sure what you think you do is really so. It sounds a whole lot like 2020, doesn’t it? I always thought there was going to be toilet paper at Wal-Mart, for instance. (One meme I saw had a grandpa telling his grandchildren that … [Read more...]
Christ’s deity in the New Testament
This is the 20th in a series of articles, excerpted from “What Every Christian Should Know About the Trinity,” available through Amazon and other booksellers. While the Old Testament offers glimpses of a second Yahweh figure – a visible manifestation of the one true God – the New Testament presents a more complete picture of the second person of the Godhead. Let’s begin with Jesus Himself. Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and atheists often argue, “Jesus never claimed to be God.” They assert … [Read more...]
Christmas grace
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV) A good definition of grace is “unmerited favor”. In other words, it is favor that we don’t deserve. It seems that many are more than willing to accept God’s grace, but unwilling to show grace to others. We’ve probably all, at some time or another, received a gift at Christmas that deep down inside we really didn’t like. At … [Read more...]
Impacting lives: A Christmastime update from The Baptist Home
Christmas at The Baptist Home is a special time for residents and caregivers alike. Festive decorations enlighten each hall and resident room, while nativity scenes serve as a reminder of the true reason for the season. In years past, church members would fill their cars and trucks with food and supplies and bring them to The Home each Christmas. Appreciative staff and residents accepted those gifts as from the Lord, as they often sustained the ministry in those early days. Although state … [Read more...]
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