In honor of the anniversary of Martin Luther’s 95 Thesis, I am writing 95 theses of my own with my own Baptist flavor. I last did this a few years ago. While there are some changes, the list remains quite similar.   I   The Bible is the final authority of faith and practice. All religious ideas and traditions are subject to correction by the Scriptures. With the Bible as the final authority, pastors and theologians should be conversant... Read more

Institutions and the Hamas Horror Leading religious and educational institutions is a difficult venture. Sometimes knowing when to speak and when to be silent is difficult. Issues like war and peace, the role of government, or how to resolve race disputes can be extremely complex. Because of this difficulty, institutions are often reticent to get involved in such disputes, and rightly so. On occasion, however, events occur that are so toxic that the distinction between right and wrong is clear.... Read more

A Time to Speak There are times when the best thing to say is nothing. When one is angered or outraged, silence is wisdom. After all, after expression words cannot be rescinded. They have a power of their own. One must be careful, especially when indignant. So, waiting for the whole story to emerge, waiting for fury to pass a good course of action. Stillness and silence have an expiration, though, and they have expired. Now, truths must be spoken.... Read more

Don’t Call It Burn Out Don’t call it burn-out   Andrew Lang’s recent article detailing his reasons for leaving the pastorate generated many responses, including mine. One published response caught my attention. Ordinarily, a response to an article like his does not merit a separate response because one gets to the point of diminishing returns. Todd Thomason’s article, Don’t Call It Burn-Out in Baptist News Global, however, is an exception. It demands a response. In it, Thomason takes exception to... Read more

While It Was Still Dark  In simple words, John gives us an important observation about the morning of the resurrection. “…It was still dark…” As always with John the words operate on two levels. Yes, it was before dawn so it was dark. John, however, was not referring to the limited number of lumens peering over the horizon. The time of day is only a servant to his greater point. The world was dark not because the sun had yet... Read more

Ethics and Human Behavior As someone who studies ethics, I have observed the behavior of some students and professors in the field with some confusion. If ethics is the study of the right way to live, the right thing to do, then why do some in the field do the wrong thing? More specifically, why do some behave in ways that contradict the field they are studying or teaching? Why do some ethics teachers breach ethics?   Ethics Professors and... Read more