Saturday Lagniappe: The Art of Friendship and More

Help for Those Who’ve Lost the Art of Friendship

Friendship exists because God befriended us, and created us to befriend one another. Read More

Become a More Positive Person Overnight with These Three Practices

The older I get, the more I realize just how important my attitude is to the direction my life takes. Read More

Negative people repel other people; positive people attract them.

How to Be Thankful Amidst Times of Division

How do we give thanks when it seems that so many people are angry? How do we give thanks when we are the ones who are angry? I actually think Thanksgiving can be a necessary respite in the midst of an angry moment. Consider a few thoughts about having a thankful Thanksgiving, even when the world around you seems so angry. Read More

Jesus calls us to put anger and fear behind us and to follow him.

5 Ways to Respond When People Don't Like You

How can we grow personally and spiritually through these tense connections with people who call us pastor? After all, our mandate is to shepherd all of our people, not merely the ones who think we hung the moon. Read More

Southern Baptists: Losing Their Zeal for Temperance?

Although many Southern Baptists still follow church teachings by abstaining from alcohol, indications reveal that more are okay with some drinking. Read More

When I was a teenager, total abstinence from alcohol was an important mark of being a Baptist. Catholics, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodists, and Presbyterians might take an occasional drink. But Baptists? No! Now I have a number of Baptist friends who drink an occasional beer or glass of wine. Is it a good thing? College students whose parents drink heavily or do not drink at all, I have found, are more likely to engage in binge drinking and other forms of alcohol abuse upon entering university than those whose parents drink in moderation and even permit them to drink a glass of wine on occasion. I know a number of college students who have one or more members of their immediate or extended family who are alcoholics and who fear that if they drink, they may become alcoholics. One way churches might minister to college students is to host or sponsor recreational activities that a college student would enjoy but which do not involve the consumption of alcohol.

The Episcopal parish that I attended when I was a teenager replaced wine with sparkling apple cider and sparkling grape juice at newcomers receptions and other church functions after it became more deeply involved in Alcoholics Anonymous. On the other hand, the members of the choir of the Episcopal church where I served as senior lay reader for 15 odd years kept a wine keg in the parish hall kitchen refrigerator, regularly tippled after choir practice, and sometimes drove home under the influence. It is NOT a practice that I would commend to other churches: choir members can fellowship together after a rehearsal without consuming alcohol; I do, however, commend the practice of serving sparkling fruit juice and other non-alcoholic beverages instead of beer or wine at church functions. One way of loving our neighbours is not to put temptation in their way.

Four-Star General: Military More Cautious About Faith

General Roger Brady (USAF, Ret.) thinks soldiers are becoming more religious but the armed forces are more uncertain about religious expression. Read More

Four Things That Remain Solidly True No Matter the Mid-Term Election Results

America may or may not unravel in coming decades, but God’s kingdom certainly won’t! Neither the judicial, legislative, nor executive branch of our government is the ultimate solution to America’s problems. Read More

Photo by Andrew Neal on Unsplash