As Bob Dylan once sang, "The times they are a-changing."  I won’t begin to recite the massive cultural shifts that have taken place over the past few decades, but all churches are greatly affected by the tsunami of societal change. Newsflash: denominational churches are graying—even among Southern Baptists.

As the SBC meets this week to vote on meaningless resolutions, a recent study by the Southern Baptist research arm indicated that 34 percent of church representatives were younger than 40 at its 1980 annual SBC meeting, but only 13 percent in 2007. Over that period, the proportion of representatives older than 60 rose to 36 percent from 13 percent. (courier-journal.com) Add to this the fact that SBC membership and baptisms have been in decline year after year—even after the conservative resurgence got rid of all the moderates and liberals. Now they are talking of a new Great Commission “resurgence.”

 

Of course, these trends hit all the other mainline denominations long ago. So it’s finally...

They say, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Last week I went to War, WV for a planning trip. The youth and I will be traveling there at the end of July on a mission trip. I have been to the southern part of West Virginia many times on mission trips. I have brought back pictures and stories of the deep poverty that seems to have a death grip on the area. My mom has seen the pictures and heard the stories. She went with me on this trip.

We crept along the tiny mountain roads until we reached War, WV. I had been there before; the surroundings seemed natural to me. My mother had only seen the pictures and heard the stories. They had not prepared her. We saw houses with no doors or windows with families living in them. We saw power lines touching the ground. We saw homes with the sides falling off with people inside. The poverty was all around us.

I have tried to prepare my mother and the other people going on the trip in July. I don’t think I really can. “A picture is worth a thousand words."  ...

The national recession is unsettling for everyone—some more than others. We all know folks who have lost jobs, relocated to look for work, and seen incomes drop. We see how institutions are unstable and confidence is low.

For the church of Jesus Christ, we have an opportunity to revisit what Jesus means by life in the kingdom of God.

Some churches have created practical ministries like job networks and counseling programs for the unemployed. Some have increased their social ministries through food pantries, clothing assistance, medication assistance, help with rent and disbursement of benevolent funds. Some churches have collaborated with others to share resources, staff and ministries.

Ignoring the recession is not an option. A few sermons on the economy are not enough. Many people are praying for things to return to the affluence of the past. Others say this is the...

Forgiveness is something we talk a lot about in church. We always seem to talk about the forgiveness we have received from Christ. We talk less about our need to forgive others. I’ve been thinking about the power of forgiving others lately. In particular, I have been thinking about a dear friend I now have because she was loving enough to forgive me.

My friend and I meet in college. We became pretty close friends right away. I finished a year before her and we had a falling out. In fact, our whole group of friends had a falling out. It was originally about something stupid and meaningless. However, I know that I was to blame for some of the conflict. She and I went from talking everyday to not talking at all.

We didn’t talk for two years. I’m sure there were a lot of hurt feelings on both sides of the conflict. We let those feelings get in the way of forgiveness. My friend and the rest of our group made up before she and I did. The other girls in our group invited the friend; I never talked to,...

Each year on the heels of Trinity Sunday, I feel the need to offer a postscript to the sermon. But I never do. I just leave my words out there—which may be the best way to handle such a deep topic.

The idea of one God in three persons, three-in-one, is just too high above my puny brain to comprehend and explain adequately. In fact, the problem with trying to get a handle on the concept of Trinity is that we always wind up reducing God to some trite symbol or flimsy illustration—a bit like nailing Jell-O to the wall.



The brilliant St. Augustine concluded after ten years of study and writing: 1) The Father is God. 2) The Son is God. 3) The Holy Spirit is God. 4) The Son is not the Father. 5) The Father is not the Holy Spirit. 6) The Holy Spirit is not the Son. And then, after these six statements, Augustine adds one more. 7) There is...

We are blessed here at First Baptist. We have an amazing children’s choir. Last Sunday morning, the children helped lead us in worship. With two songs they touched the hearts of all who listened. They did a great job praising God with those two songs. You missed a blessing if you missed Sunday’s service.

The most worshipful moment in the service for me Sunday was not the children’s songs. Nonetheless, it did involve the children. During the Lord’s Prayer, I was lucky enough to be standing beside the children’s choir. As the congregation began to recite the prayer together, I heard the voices of the children. They too were reciting the prayer. I stopped reciting, I stood there, and listened to the children recite all of the words of the prayer. I could tell by their tone that the children were not simply repeating words. They were praying.

Our children’s prayer drove me to my own prayer this week. I am praying that God will bless each of us at church with faith as strong as our children's faith....

Twenty years ago today, I was having my seventh birthday party. I don’t remember what presents I got or what type of party I had. I do remember what I was watching on TV as I ate cake. It was the “Tank Man” of the Tiananmen Square protest.

A protest against the communist Chinese government had been raging for days in Tiananmen Square. The protesters wanted a democratic China. The government replied by sending troops and tanks. A huge number of protesters were killed. No one really knows the exact number of those who lost their lives during the protest in Tiananmen Square. Some estimate as many as 2,600 (Chinese Red Cross).

In an effort to stop tanks from reaching the square an unknown man stepped in front of a long line of tanks. He stood there for a long time. He even climbed on top of a tank. He stayed there until he was forcibly moved out of the way. Twenty years later, we still don’t know who the man was.

This blog is about Christianity, God, and the Church. You may be wondering why I decided to write about Tiananmen Square today. China is still not free. In fact, the government even restricts information about the Tiananmen Square protests. They have removed mention of it from literature and have restricted access to internet sites that mention it. This blog would be illegal in China.

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As recently reported by the Associated Baptist Press, “a battle over the Bible is brewing in the halls of Congress, and political blogs are buzzing about a Southern Baptist congressman's desire to designate 2010 as "The National Year of the Bible."



Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.), a medical doctor and member of Prince Avenue Baptist Church in Athens, Ga., introduced a resolution May 7 urging President Obama to issue a proclamation "calling upon citizens of all faiths to rediscover and apply the priceless, timeless message of the Holy Scripture."



Please. Do we really need Congress telling us to read our Bibles in 2010? If so, then it does raise some interesting questions. Why only one year? And what’s next? The Year of the Quran in 2011? The Year of the Book of Mormon in 2012? Will those future resolutions also “call upon citizens of all faiths to rediscover and apply the priceless, timeless message of               ?”

 With all due respect, Rep. Broun should focus his congressional energies on trying to revive the slumping economy and passing legislation that brings equity and justice for the poor, the oppressed and the unemployed—which also happen to be biblical concepts.

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