(OPINION) I had long self-righteously labeled non-churchgoers as unbelievers or undisciplined Christians. However, after being thrust into the outskirts of the churchgoing tribe, I can more accurately see the people on the outside, especially those who wandered away hurting and filled with distrust.
Read More(OPINION) I can’t do justice to these responses in full here, but they all go back to that same fundamental point: Abortion snuffs out a real, human life, a life with unknown potential, however tiny and still-developing it may be.
Read More(OPINION) Every day when I read or listen to the national news, I want to drive over to the public square and shout, “You kids stop it! Stop it right now!” So, before things get any further out of hand, let me offer up some thoughts on the election for all of us who are civically involved but not fanatics.
Read More(OPINION) Pop quiz: What do you imagine God was doing before creation, back then in eternity past? Many answer how, in eternity past, God chose us before the foundation of the earth to be part of the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. True, except that in eternity, there is no such thing as time back then, before creation. Eternity is timeless.
Read More(OPINION) This past weekend, we celebrated our 25th annual missions conference, thanking God for the amazing testimonies from our faithful workers who have served on the mission field worldwide, often quite sacrificially.
Read More(OPINION) This moment in time is not solely about Harris becoming the first Black and Asian woman as a presidential nominee. This historic juncture, in particular for Black girls and women, bridges the hopes and dreams from our past, the tangible opportunities of the present and the limitless possibilities for the future.
Read More(OPINION) To the shock of the state of North Carolina, where my wife Nancy and I have lived in 2003, Hurricane Helene wreaked massive devastation, taking at least 118 lives with at least 92 still missing. No one saw this coming, and it has brought unimaginable suffering to whole communities living in the mountains of our state, where horrific, unprecedented flooding wiped out little towns and destroyed countless homes, businesses and roads.
Read More(OPINION) I am neither a political pundit nor a pollster. And I am simply raising questions rather than making assertions, let alone dogmatic assertions. What if Trump wins the national election and taking Pennsylvania was a key to that victory? (Again, this is not a prediction; these are questions). What if choosing Gov. Shapiro for Vice President would have secured Pennsylvania for Harris? And what if he was not chosen because of anti-Israel, anti-Jewish sentiments?
Read More(OPINION) I’m getting inquiries from folks about the broadening war among Israel, Hamas, Hezbollah and now Iran. Folks are asking, Is this it? The Big One? The End Times? My typical answer, year after year, crisis after crisis, is “Not to worry.” But this time I’m not saying that. This time might — I emphasize the “might” — be different.
Read More(OPINION) By his own admission, C.S. Lewis grew up a rationalist, shaped by a naturalistic viewpoint characteristic of the modern West. Naturalism holds that Nature (usually capitalized) is all that exists. Religion is nice, perhaps even inspiring, but it isn’t the stuff of real life.
Read More(OPINION) Pastor P. Yesupadam is one of my closest friends in the world and the truest Christian I know. But he was not always a follower of Jesus. To the contrary, although his father gave him the name Yesupadam, meaning “the foot of Jesus,” he grew up hating that name and hating the caste system of India. That’s because he was born into an untouchable family, suffering terrible deprivation and almost dying of starvation as a boy.
Read More(OPINION) A lot of people — hordes, in fact — feel some amorphous pull toward the spiritual. There’s the old saying that all people are born with a God-shaped hole in them and only God can fill it. At some point in their lives many folks become seekers. But just as we all have to start at the beginning, we all have to grow.
Read More(OPINION) When I moved to Israel, I couldn’t have foreseen the horror that would unfold less than two months later, when Hamas terrorists stormed the southern border, massacred 1,200 citizens, and took 251 others hostage on Oct. 7. In all the years I spent dreaming of my aliyah — the return to the homeland described in Jewish texts — I never accounted for the country being thrust into national disarray.
Read More(OPINION) Kathy and I are winging across the Atlantic, returning to the States after spending two weeks in Italy. For me, the trip been a kind of pilgrimage. Now there’s a word with which many of us are unfamiliar.
Read More(OPINION) There is a Talmudic dictum that states, “If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first.” This is part of a discussion of the laws of self-defense, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited it with reference to the targeted killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Read More(OPINION) More than anybody I’ve ever known, Dad loved God. I mean, he really loved God, as if God was as real and tangible as a puppy or my mom. Meanwhile, he fought a probable emotional disorder on his own, the best he could, with no counseling and no medication, just him and the Holy Ghost waging war with his demons.
Read More(OPINION) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a good speaker with a very good case: Israel is under attack by Iranian-backed terrorists whom the world community is rather guilty of appeasing. If he had stuck to that message in his Friday address to the United Nations General Assembly and gone on to project some humanity and vision, it might have been a more effective speech.
Read More(OPINION) If you haven’t read Ruth recently, or ever, you should. It’s a classic romance. I should say, it’s a romance among other things. That’s what intrigues me about the Bible, Old Testament and New. Nothing is ever just one thing. It works on a straightforward level, but it’s also full of allusions to other biblical passages and buried meanings and, well, there’s no end to it.
Read More(OPINION) I want to remind us of what is good about being a Southern Baptist. That’s why I’ve chosen Hebrews chapter 10, verses 23 and 24, to be the theme verses for this year. And the theme statement will be “Hold fast."
Read More(OPINION) Ethiopia — with its rich historical heritage and 84 ethnolinguistic groups — faces ongoing challenges despite its democratic aspirations. The nation has struggled with cycles of political violence and persistent poverty, shaped by the 1974 Marxist military revolution and the 1991 rise of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front. Peace remains elusive amid continuing conflicts and economic difficulties.
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