Christmas – it is one of the most anticipated seasons of the year! It is a time of joy, of endless celebration, and peace. People bustle around in efforts to display kindness and love to one another. It is a season of extravagant lights and décor, of delicious treats and simmering meals. It is a time of familiar music, warm coffee, and corny movies that we watch over and over again. Christmas is one of the truly best times of the year, for a multitude of reasons. Why is that so? What is it … [Read more...]
Hawley brings faith into public arena
I have had more than one friend in recent days suggest that Americans will ultimately repeal the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, freedom to peaceably assemble, freedom of the press and freedom to exercise our religion of choice. His suggestion follows an informal poll by Fox News of students at an Ivy League school who were asked: “Should the First Amendment be repealed?” The overwhelming response was “yes.” What was thought … [Read more...]
Now is the time
Merry Christmas! Sharon and I pray you and yours have a glorious celebration of Jesus’ first coming. He who knew no sin became sin for us so that we by faith can be inheritors of His righteousness. What joy!! With a humble heart, Sharon and I are blessed to be fellow heirs and fellow servants of the Most High with Missouri Baptists. You are a great people through whom the Lord is working His wonders. In 2015, while we dealt with Sharon’s cancer and the home going of both of our moms … [Read more...]
Four examples of where the New World Translation gets it wrong
This is the last in a three-part series on Jehovah’s Witnesses Jehovah’s Witnesses regard The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures as “an accurate, easy-to-read translation of the Bible” (jw.org). What many don’t realize is that four of the five men on the translation committee producing the complete 1961 edition had no Hebrew or Greek training whatsoever. The fifth, who claimed to know both languages, failed a simple Hebrew test while under oath in a Scottish court. What all … [Read more...]
What to do with year-end solicitations?
My mailbox is stuffed with junk mail. It is Christmas time, and ministries and organizations are in an all-out blitz to acquire those final gifts before year-end. The leaders at your local church, your state convention and our SBC International Mission Board are hoping that the Lord will stir many hearts toward generosity. How do you weed through all the requests? To offer an answer to that question, I’ve chosen to ask Dr. Jason Allen, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary … [Read more...]
Mendacious ‘journalism’ targets Tebow, prayer
As someone who has worked in the newsrooms of three significant daily newspapers, I can testify to the lostness that exists. The lostness often surfaces as hostility and ridicule – especially toward Christianity. In recent days Christians have witnessed a pair of incidents that were contemptuous, even cruel. The first involved former football star and television sports analyst Tim Tebow, the son of Southern Baptist missionaries who attends First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Fla. Tebow is … [Read more...]
Are men, women equal?
By complementarianism, I mean the view that men and women are equal as God’s fellow image bearers, but nonetheless have some differences of role in the church and in the home. The way I like to put it is equal, but not interchangeable. In other words, you cannot simply swap male and female in and out of different roles without any consequence; nor are the differences between male and female mere matters of anatomy. There are some fundamental, structural, psychological differences as well … [Read more...]
10 key biblical doctrines denied by Jehovah’s Witnesses
This is the second in a three-part series on Jehovah’s Witnesses. Read part one: Who are Jehovah's Witnesses. The Baptist Faith and Message, available as a free download from sbc.net, features a more complete treatment of Christian doctrines and includes multiple Scripture references. Our Jehovah’s Witness friends deny at least 10 key biblical doctrines. This is due in part to their reliance on The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, which we discuss in the next column. 1. The … [Read more...]
Forgive your relatives
I was chatting with a friend who was fretting over all the stress at Thanksgiving. I said something like, “At least you’ll have that big family get-together.” Then she told me that was the reason she was stressing. She popped a couple of Tums as she told me about her Uncle Bob. She said she had to fight rather felonious thoughts related to the man. In the course of our conversation, I told her several times, “Yes, it would be that bad to set fire to your uncle’s barn.” And “No, it doesn’t … [Read more...]
Mizzou student calls for Christian empathy
Daniel Woodman, a journalism student at the University of Missouri and 2015 Baptist Press intern, shares his perspective on recent student protests at his school. Racism will not end until God returns. I hear it all the time. It is not an incorrect statement, but it is an incomplete one. Racism will not end until God returns, but we have an obligation to fight racism around every corner until the trumpets sound. That is why the protests at my university have been so monumental; they show … [Read more...]
Political neutrality, sex and quizzy pollsters
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Public Religion Research Institute’s American Values Atlas estimates that about 64 percent of the total delegates in states with presidential primaries on or before March 8 will come from states with electorates that may be at least 50 percent evangelical. In Missouri it is believed to be around 60 percent evangelical in advance of the March 15 primary, with Southern Baptists representing the bulk of that vote. Yet we still have untold thousands who … [Read more...]
Quick tears
Right after I make the coffee each morning, I journey to my study to pray and read the Word of God. I noticed this week how quickly tears were running down my face. I thought, “What’s with this?” It doesn’t take much these days for tears to flood my eyes. Maybe, I realize more now than ever how much a sinner I am and how deep is the grace of God. Maybe it’s the realization that every day of life is more precious than the day before. Maybe it’s the hole in my heart left by the loss of … [Read more...]
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