The Houston Chronicle published an investigative report last week detailing reports of sex abuse in Southern Baptist Churches. It was an honest article detailing the awful trauma that comes with sex abuse, especially when it occurs in the church. It was a horrible reminder that sex abuse is not just...
The recent decision by the State of New York to pass an “abortion-until-birth” law has refueled our public abortion debate. But rather than focus on the specifics of that abhorrent new law, perhaps this is a good time to back up and look at the bigger fight against abortion. There’s...
I originally published this last year. I republish it this week in honor of Sanctity of Life Sunday, which is celebrated on January 20 of this year. I am a pro-lifer, but I want you to understand that being pro-life is much more than being against abortion. I agree with...
On Wednesday and Thursday of this week (December 26-27), we accepted into our care 94 refugees from Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras. Over half of them were children. We fed them. We gave them places to sleep for a night or two. We gave them backpacks, clothes, towels, jackets, hygiene items,...
Many celebrities, politicians, athletes, and social media users seem to be having trouble determining what is right or wrong. (Or they just don’t care.) As a result, we are seeing an abundance of racist tweets, name-calling on Facebook, and putdowns in speeches and interviews. These remarks are widely condemned and...
The words of a prominent Southern Baptist leader (made several years ago but brought to public attention in the last few weeks) has caused a firestorm of anger, accusations, debate, and defense. The leader essentially said that in the case of physical abuse, a woman should rely upon prayer and...
I believe in respect. Unfortunately, I don’t see much of it anymore. American culture seems to run on disrespect. Politicians show complete disrespect to other politicians. Crowds at ballgames disrespect the players, the referees, the coaches, and fans of the other team. And disrespect aimed at teachers, police officers, retail...
Several weeks ago, I shared on a Sunday morning that we are considering a name change. Nothing has yet been decided, but we want to answer some of the many questions we have received. Why are we considering changing our name? What else would change? How does a church change...
Earth Day (April 22) isn’t normally considered a Christian holiday. I think it should be. The Bible starts off with “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Unfortunately, the Christian world has spent way too much time and energy arguing the specifics of that creation, and too...
We began a homeless ministry in January, and we have housed from 2-10 people each night since then, using the existing facilities of 8 different churches. This IHELP model (Interfaith Homeless Emergency Lodging Program) offers our homeless guests up to 90 days in a shelter, with showers, dinners, brown-bag-lunches-to-go, and...
