The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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I had the privilege of serving the First Baptist Church in Selma for seven years. This is a inner-city church with three others nearby, and I commonly walked downtown for lunch or shopping. One day I made the first lap of the Selma-to-Montgomery march. The now-called “Bloody Sunday” event occurred on March 7, 1965. After Jimmie Lee Jackson was killed in nearby Marion in February, civil rights leaders talked about a protest--taking his casket from Marion to “George Wallace’s doorstep” (Alabama...
A colleague accosted me in the Monday morning pastors meeting after Bob and Kay joined our church the day before. He told me he’d invested many hours in marital counseling leading to their recommitment, and he was disturbed to hear they’d presented themselves for membership in our church. He believed I’d “courted” and persuaded them to leave his church. I’m still unsure how he knew this so quickly in days before social media. Actually, I was surprised when the couple presented themselves...
Many people feel powerless in so many areas of their lives. Many feel powerless to change their circumstances, their anxieties, their worries, their relationships, their marriages, their children, their financial conditions, their jobs, their bad habits, their addictions, their attitudes and so many other things in their lives they would like to change. Would you like to experience a fresh power in your life? You can! Did you know that Jesus came to offer us the power to change as well as the po...
David waited for me on Monday morning. He abandoned all formalities and quickly said he was upset over my sermon the day before. “You criticized Ronald Reagan, and I didn’t like it,” he said. “And other people didn’t like it, either.” Since no one else ever talked with me about the matter, I have no idea how to gauge the anger meter. But critics often bolster accusations by suggesting they’re leading an angry mob with torches and pitchforks. I preached about money and shared what one writer call...
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), has issued his clearest warning yet to the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), cautioning that the group's plan to consecrate bishops without papal approval would amount to a "decisive rupture" with the Catholic Church - effectively, a schism. The warning comes amid escalating tensions following the SSPX's announcement that it intends to ordain new bishops independently, a move that echoes the 1988 i...
“The Crickets” sang, “I Fought The Law, And The Law Won.” I fought two ladies in church, and the results are mixed. The first was a long-time volunteer with our children’s ministry who wanted choir robes for the boys and girls. The cost was about $5,000. This idea never took fire. The children normally sang at Christmas and Easter when their parents adorned them in colorful dresses and navy blazers. Some of the parents thought robes were unnecessary after they went to the trouble of finding ...
The Priestly Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) has reignited one of the most enduring rifts in modern Catholic history by announcing that it will consecrate new bishops on July 1 without Vatican approval, a move that threatens renewed excommunications and deepens its decades‑long conflict with Rome. The SSPX's Superior General, Fr. Davide Pagliarani, revealed that the society had formally requested an audience with Pope Leo XIV in August to discuss the urgent need for new bishops to sustain its g...
The Roman god Janus was the god of two faces. A mature face looked back with reflection. A youthful face looked forward with anticipation. How fitting the first month of the year is named for him in the sense that we do both things. I looked back at 2025 in my inaugural sermon this year suggesting we’ll remember January 2025 with the images of two U.S. presidents. Former president Jimmy Carter died shortly after Christmas in 2024 after celebrating his 100th birthday the previous Oct. 1. His f...
President Donald J. Trump is scheduled to meet tomorrow with Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, the recently elected president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The meeting marks the first formal conversation between the president and the nation's top Catholic leader since Coakley assumed the role in November 2025. The White House has not released a detailed agenda, but senior aides say the discussion is expected to focus on areas where the administration and the bishops share...
‘You shouldn’t come to the temple drunk’: The ever-changing rules and rituals of LDS temple worship For much of its history, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was a faith centered around meetinghouses, which were a buzz of activity throughout the week. That is far less the case today. Leaders have reoriented the 17.5 million-member church — outside of the home, at least — around a new focus: temples. Go as often as circumstances allow has been the mantra poured from the pulpit at...
Get Outside I recently read that the average person spends 93% of their life indoors! Wow! That is unbelievable. And sad. That means that if you live to be 100 years old, you will have spent 93 of those years indoors and only 7 years in God’s amazing and beautiful creation. God created us to be outside and to enjoy His creation. Our souls need it. Our bodies need it. Our minds need it. In the 23 Psalm we witness one of the most important ways God soothes our souls, “He makes me lie down in gre...
Our parents thought they were anarchists and subversives sent across the pond to corrupt our morals—something of a payback for the Boston Tea Party. The Beatles had long hair. They were trend-setters. We teens began to follow suit. The pictures look funny now. I remember one night watching the news with our family. Anti-Vietnam protestors were storming some town. My dad sneered and said, “Look! They all have long hair!” Though a clueless teenager, I knew hair follicles had little to do with...
The late radio teacher, J. Vernon McGee, had a famous line: “When Satan fell, he fell into the choir loft!” This comment may be a bit arcane since contemporary churches may not have a loft or choir, but a ‘praise team” on stage or platform. But maybe McGee was onto something—at least in a few cases I know. One Sunday our pianist (this was many moons ago) played a beautiful arrangement just before the sermon. When I stepped to the pulpit, I thanked her and mentioned how I was moved by the rendi...
She called and asked if I’d like to look through her father’s library since she needed to empty the house. I found some old classics, and a book by Millard Fuller that I thought was unavailable. Fuller established Habitat for Humanity after his time at Koinonia Farms in Americus, Georgia. Koinonia was founded by Clarence Jordan as a Christian interracial commune in 1942. The farm community faced threats, boycotts and drive-by shootings, but yet exists. Fuller told a story and added more det...
On December 25, 2025, Pope Leo XIV delivered his first Christmas "Urbi et Orbi" blessing to a rain-soaked crowd of more than 26,000 gathered in St. Peter's Square. Speaking from the central loggia of the basilica, the Chicago-born pontiff offered a message of peace and responsibility, urging the world to shed indifference and embrace the suffering of others with compassion and resolve. The address, Latin for "to the city and to the world," is traditionally used to reflect on global crises and...
Pope Leo XIV began the new year with a sweeping appeal for peace, mercy, and renewed hope, using his first Mass of 2026 to urge the world to reject violence and embrace a future shaped by compassion. Speaking to thousands gathered in St. Peter's Basilica on January 1 - a day that marks both the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and the Catholic Church's World Day of Peace - the Pope framed the year ahead as "an open journey to be discovered," a path made possible by God's mercy and humanity's...
Our Alabama Baptist campsite at Shocco Springs is a gorgeous place, and I’ve enjoyed every event I’ve attended there. Several years ago, I attended a two-day training course for pastors. A conference for senior adults was on site at the same time. I saw that the other group was having a concert that night when our group wasn’t meeting, so I went. The singer did a great job. He sang some “oldies” like “Silhouette” by Peter Noone and “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” by Elvis. He sang the...
Both my mother and my father-in-law were diagnosed with dread illnesses just after Thanksgiving and one year apart. It's been debated whether there's more sickness and death at the end-of-year holiday season than at other times. Some sages insist it's like sap in the trees. According to my friend, AI, "Sap flow in most trees decreases significantly during winter because the trees enter dormancy, photosynthesis stops and cold temperatures slow or even freeze the movement of sap." So, the argument...
When Pope Leo XIV traveled to Turkey in late November 2025, his first apostolic journey abroad, the world watched with anticipation. The visit was not only symbolic but also deeply consequential, as it marked a renewed effort to bridge the centuries-old divide between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. His meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, along with other Orthodox leaders, underscored a shared commitment to dialogue, reconciliation, and...
Hanukkah celebrations have changed dramatically — but the same is true of Christmas Hanukkah is not the Jewish Christmas. Articles and op-eds in newspapers remind readers of that fact every year, lamenting that the Jewish Festival of Lights has almost become an imitation of the Christian holiday. These pieces exist for a reason. Hanukkah is a minor festival in the Jewish liturgical year, which is marked by major holidays in the fall and spring — the High Holidays and Passover, respectively. Bec...
December 18, - Vatican City / New York - In a stunning move announced Thursday, Pope Leo has replaced Cardinal Timothy Dolan as leader of the Catholic Church in New York, sidelining one of the most prominent U.S. Church figures in a major reshaping of Catholic leadership across the country. The Vatican confirmed that Bishop Ronald Hicks of Illinois will succeed Dolan as Archbishop of New York, overseeing the nation's second-largest Catholic diocese, which is home to approximately 2.8 million...
While at Judson College I was summoned to an evening meeting at the National Guard Armory in nearby Demopolis. The organizer forgot to confirm the meeting with guard personnel. We couldn’t find an open door. We tried them all. Someone suggested we find an unlatched window, but we quickly decided it probably wasn’t a good idea to break into a National Guard facility. We live in a world of locked doors. “Motzki” was a German TV sitcom modeled after the American Archie Bunker of “All In The Famil...
My long-time mentor and friend, Pastor Jim Auchmuty, died this summer. He had a unique ministry in his later years conducting countless memorial services for families without local pastors. I’d talked with Jim earlier in the summer about superintending my funeral, so this matter is yet out for bid. I must admit I’d not read Jim’s book until recently. He published “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Funeral” in 2018, and in it he regales with stories about funerals he superinte...
We have all heard the Good News Bad News jokes. One of my favorites is this one: Doctor: I have good news and bad news. Patient: Tell me the good news first. Doctor: You have 24 hours to live. Patient: What!?! How can that be good news? So, What is the bad news? Doctor: I forgot to tell you yesterday! My wife, Janeese, and I went on an exploratory trip to Uganda and Kenya several Summers ago with Compassion International. We learned so much about the current plight of children in various parts...
It was some ten years ago that we upgraded our sanctuary lighting to an LED system. I was bold enough to suggest we add a screen and projection system at the same time. I didn’t have much experience with a system like this, but I thought it would be beneficial. I remember a lady who reacted with some trepidation. “You won’t put hymns up there, will you?” she asked. I told her we had no plans to, and this was true. However, it was a music leader who later encouraged us to do this. He reasoned tha...
