Sword & trowel: Lions, Tiger Kings & screens, oh my!
As stay-at-home and “social distancing” advisories continue during the COVID-19 pandemic, many have turned to technology to do business and conduct schooling and, of course, to enjoy entertainment media. “Screen time,” as it has been called, is on the sharp rise. In recent years, reports showed that daily use of screens—whether smartphones, personal computers or other devices—accounted for some nine hours per day per individual, on...
Sword & trowel: An E-A-S-T-E-R prayer
Thus far, 2020 has proven to be unexpected in every way. From the Coronavirus pandemic to other issues, none of us really expected the year to go as it has gone. The forced slower pace that quarantines and “social distancing” has created, though, has afforded Christians a better opportunity to reflect and pray than we might otherwise take. To that end, as we near Easter Sunday, I offer this acrostic E-A-S-T-E-R to help you pray for a...
BLOG: Happy Easter? Yes!
For many people, it’s Christmas. For others, it’s Halloween or the Fourth of July. My personal favorite holiday, from my earliest memories as a child to today, has always been Easter. Quite simply, I like everything about it. I like seeing people get dressed in their Sunday best. I like that more people attend church services, including those who may not at other times. I like the hymns (“Christ the Lord is Risen Today” is just...
BLOG: Coronavirus & A ‘P-O-W-E-R’ Play for Christians
George Orwell once said, “We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.” His words, hardly inspired by Scripture, do nevertheless offer some insight for Christians amid the Coronavirus pandemic. Many people—believers and non-believers alike—are wondering what we ought to be doing. By surveying the best—and worst—of what people of faith are saying, I would like to suggest these...
Oklahoma Baptists find creative ways for Sunday worship amid Coronavirus
With the Coronavirus pandemic limiting the ability to hold worship services, Oklahoma Baptist churches across the state got creative in offering ways to participate in worship and gathering on Sunday, March 22. From a drive-up worship service at Elmore City to online livestreaming services at churches throughout Oklahoma, the Gospel was advanced today. Elmore City, First called its service “Drive up and worship.” The church had a...
