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I love math. I majored in math at Furman. I love that math problems are black and white — there is a right answer and a wrong answer. I never enjoyed writing school papers because of the subjective nature... Continue Reading »
Success and Scottie Scheffler have become practically synonymous lately. Yet, it’s the world’s top-ranked golfer’s comments on what constitutes true meaning — and more to the point, what doesn’t — that keeps grabbing attention. It comes within an interesting... Continue Reading »
Words mean things. This simple phrase didn’t originate with Rush Limbaugh, but he made it popular. Our current cultural moment is filled with what the Apostle Paul might call “a noisy gong or clanging symbol” (1 Cor. 13:1). Words... Continue Reading »
Individual talent without cooperation will not win championships. The 2004 Los Angeles Lakers may have been the greatest collection of individual All-Stars that failed to win because they did not cooperate with one another. The team was loaded with... Continue Reading »
Reading the Bible has better self-care outcomes than exercising, meditating or spending time with friends, the American Bible Society said in the latest release of its 15th annual State of the Bible. In drawing their conclusions, researchers considered how... Continue Reading »
When I first moved to Columbia from Texas in the spring of 2023, several South Carolinians told me to brace myself for the summer heat. “There’s nothing like it,” they said. “It sticks to you.” They weren’t wrong. I... Continue Reading »
I would imagine that I am not the only SCBaptist who has unfinished projects around my home. This past Memorial Day, I checked one of those projects off when I installed a flagpole at our house that I purchased... Continue Reading »
This isn’t one of those pieces that ties everything up in a neat spiritual bow. It’s not filled with pat answers or hollow clichés. It’s born out of pain, prayer and the unshakable truth that — even in the... Continue Reading »
In the Midst of the Years: A History of Reformation and Revival in America (Founders Press) by Thomas J. Nettles Christians yearn for rapid advances in the progress of conversion in the world, holiness in their lives, and fruitful... Continue Reading »
The following article is an adapted excerpt from Jeff Robinson’s 2021 book, Taming the Tongue: How the Gospel Transforms our Talk (TGC). _____ Joseph Stowell calls them “catastrophic cousins,” and it wouldn’t be difficult to make the case from... Continue Reading »
SBC Worship, a new collaboration between The Worship Initiative and a broad swath of the Southern Baptist family, has attracted thousands of churches in its first month of operation at sbcworship.com, Robbie Seay told Baptist Press. “It’s been great,”... Continue Reading »
For distributing the Bible and sharing the gospel in the Soviet Union, Aleksei Kharlamov’s great-grandfather was sent to Siberia and never heard from again. His grandfather and father both were persecuted for being Baptist pastors. Growing up in post-Soviet... Continue Reading »
In 2001, South Carolina Baptist layman and veterinarian Roger Troutman stepped out of his comfort zone and traveled to Alaska to serve as a volunteer trail veterinarian for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, commonly referred to as The... Continue Reading »
Understandably, when Christians are asked to complete the sentence “God is ____,” virtually all will respond with “love” (1 John 4:8) rather than “a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29). Yet, both are profoundly biblical — even essential to the Christian... Continue Reading »
Keeping in step with the competitive nature of my family, as kids my brother Samuel and I tried to outdo each other passing out gospel tracts. Mission teams visited my family overseas, and we’d prayer walk through neighborhoods, invite... Continue Reading »
Making the commitment to regularly attend and even become a member at a local church is one of the most positively influential decisions a college student can, and should, make. Many Christian college students spend their Sundays migrating from... Continue Reading »
Baptists must retain the historic Baptist distinctive of congregationalism, even as they recover the biblical office of pastor/elder. Conversations with two pastors in recent years alerted me to this dynamic. In each of their churches, only the pastor/elders voted... Continue Reading »
One of the more challenging aspects of the Christian apologetic task is defending Christianity against the objection that the gospel is exclusivist. Christian exclusivism means that the Christian faith is the only true faith, that Jesus Christ is the... Continue Reading »
If God wants us to believe in Him, why doesn’t He just reveal Himself already? You’ve probably heard someone ask that. Maybe you’ve asked it yourself. I have. This question is not new. In fact, Thomas voiced it when... Continue Reading »
In 1 Peter 3:15, the apostle instructs his readers to always be “ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (CSB). That is the... Continue Reading »
One of the running motifs in Scripture is that God supplies the necessary resources for that which He commands. The Lord commanded the ancient Israelites to follow Him through the desert, and, in Exodus 15 and 16, He supplied... Continue Reading »
Editor’s note: This piece is the third in a five-part series in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Baptist Faith and Message at the 2025 SBC Annual Meeting in Dallas. The Southern Baptist Convention messengers arriving in Memphis... Continue Reading »
In the creation account in Genesis 1 and 2, God deliberately distinguished human beings from all other beings as His crowning work. He created humans only after everything else, setting the stage for man’s grand entrance. He assigned humans... Continue Reading »
I have been writing and speaking about gender and sexuality for over decade and a half. Whenever I talk about transgenderism, one of the first practical questions I hear concerns the use of pronouns. Whenever I talk about homosexuality,... Continue Reading »
A few years ago, a civil war erupted within broad evangelicalism, and the idol of LGBTQ+ is dividing the house. This issue is personal, political, and spiritual for me. In 1998, I became one of the first crop of... Continue Reading »
Books: • Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism (Revised edition) (Crossway, 2021), edited by John Piper and Wayne Grudem. This book has long been the gold standard in unpacking complementarianism from all perspectives — biblical,... Continue Reading »
We live in an age where steadfast faithfulness to biblical conviction increasingly exacts a social cost. Churches and entire denominations, feeling the mounting pressure of an increasingly secular culture, capitulate on fundamental doctrines and core teachings of the Christian... Continue Reading »
A Unity of Purpose: 100 Years of the SBC Cooperative Program (B&H, 2025), edited by Tony Wolfe and W. Madison Grace II The nations were calling. A theology of cooperation was formalizing. Best business practices of the day were... Continue Reading »
A few years ago, I led the church I pastored in a community evangelism effort. Our outreach was a little old-fashioned: We knocked on doors and talked to people, hoping the Lord would draw some to Himself through the... Continue Reading »
The young paratrooper stood in the open door of the C-47 transport plane. Angry wind currents battered his army fatigues with the ferocity of a Category 5 hurricane. He paused momentarily, double-checked his static line, and leaped into the... Continue Reading »
In America, we love individual accomplishment. When discussing a team sport like basketball, the chat is more likely to be about the greatest player of all time (Kareem, Michael, or LeBron?) or the best individual statistics. We pride ourselves... Continue Reading »
We asked Hunter Baker, author of Postliberal Protestants: Baptists Between Obergefell and Christian Nationalism, a few questions about his recently published book. The Baptist Courier: Why did you write this book? Baker: I wrote my first book, The End... Continue Reading »
Church members fumble through the gospel trying to find the right words to explain what they know to be true, but they can’t express it clearly. Unbelievers have heard about Christians but don’t know how to define them. Sincere... Continue Reading »
I’ve often liked guys better than girls. I’ve thought guys were cooler, and I felt like I could relate better to them. Growing up, I almost viewed being a girl as a negative thing. I never wanted to be... Continue Reading »
Psalm 121:1–2: “I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (CSB). I watched my mom, lovingly called “Bola,” take her last breath... Continue Reading »
Editors’ note: The following article is an adapted excerpt from Andrew T. Walker’s 2022 book, God and the Transgender Debate: What Does the Bible Actually Say about Gender Identity? (Good Book Company). Imagine yourself on a tour of an... Continue Reading »
After years of limiting gambling to the elusive dream of instant wealth by finding that lucky lottery ticket, the South Carolina Legislature is considering three bills that would transform our state into a gambler’s paradise. The Equine Advancement Act... Continue Reading »
I came across a viral clip a few years back where a faithful Baptist pastor was rebuking his congregation for minimal investment. They arrived late, left early, sat in the back, attended half the time, and treated church like... Continue Reading »
So, what do you think about the new Pope? That might be a common question these days, especially since the new Pope is an American. Last Thursday, May 8, 2025, thousands of people gathered to celebrate the appointment of... Continue Reading »
At the end of their Annual General Conference in April, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) announced the construction of 15 new temples, one of which will be built in Greenville. That announcement “was shocking” to... Continue Reading »
Recently I stumbled onto the work of artist Katerina Kamprani. She has a series of pieces titled “The Uncomfortable,” where she makes inconvenient versions of everyday objects. My favorites are the different chairs. I got a chuckle picturing someone... Continue Reading »
(Editor’s note: This piece is the second in a five-part series leading up to the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Baptist Faith and Message at the 2025 SBC Annual Meeting in Dallas.) Baptists seldom go through the... Continue Reading »
Waiting Isn’t a Waste: The Surprising Comfort of Trusting God in the Uncertainties of Life (Crossway, 2024) by Mark Vroegop Throughout our lives, we experience countless periods of waiting. Some moments are mere nuisances — others are daunting seasons... Continue Reading »
The Bible specifically states in both Testaments that human beings are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26, 27; 5:1, and 9:6; 1 Cor. 11:7; Col. 3:10; and James 3:9). Even though explicit statements concerning God’s image in... Continue Reading »
I was born and raised a true Floridian. I grew up around mangroves and seafood. Outwardly, I was known as the football player and the “guy who could break dance” in high school. But inwardly I experienced intense, debilitating... Continue Reading »
During college, I served in several churches. I preached, taught, led discipleship groups, evangelized, and organized events — the kind of responsibilities one has when pastoring a church. After graduation, my wife and I headed to seminary so I... Continue Reading »
I was sitting in church on Easter morning, my second Easter since my beloved wife of 35 years, Kay, passed away from pancreatic cancer almost two years ago. I was thinking of the hope I continue to find in... Continue Reading »
We do not wait well. At least, I know I don’t. Far too often, my prayer, when it comes to patience, sounds like, “Lord, please make me patient … now!” Once when I was 13 years old, my curiosity... Continue Reading »
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