The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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Everyone is betting their life on something! What are you betting your life on? I am betting my life on the fact that Jesus is who he said he is! “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” -Jesus, John 14:6 I am the way. Jesus said this in a conversation with the disciples at the last supper. He had just told the disciples that he must go away. And that they knew the way to where he was going. He was speaking about his arrest later that night and his...
aerogondo2 // Shutterstock Bunny baskets and Seder staples: Alabama's Easter and Passover trends When Easter and Passover arrive, shopping carts transform — filling up with chocolate bunnies, fresh florals, and time-honored holiday staples. This past year, Easter and Passover overlapped, creating one of the busiest and most festive shopping periods of the spring season. Instacart took a look at what customers in Alabama and across the country added to their carts during Easter week (April 14-20,...
As Easter approaches, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has issued a forceful new video message denouncing antisemitism and calling on Catholics across the country to reject conspiracy theories, scapegoating, and all forms of hatred directed toward Jewish communities. The message, released March 18, is delivered by Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, who chairs the USCCB Committee for Religious Liberty. A Call Rooted in Church Teaching In the video, Archbishop Sample...
The wind in my face was bitterly cold in downtown Dallas a few years ago since the winter weather was yet lingering. My continuing education classes had ended at the seminary in nearby Ft. Worth, so the afternoon was free for some sightseeing. A chill came over me independent of the temperature when I walked onto Dealey Plaza and saw firsthand those sights emblazoned in my memory from childhood: Elm Street, the triple overpass and the sixth-floor window. I thought back to that terrible Friday...
Jim came to see me with a message from the finance committee he chaired. The group met when I was with another group, so I missed their meeting. I’d begun to use cards for Sunday guests that were actually envelopes. The simple message on the envelopes was “Please use my gift as an expression of my love for Christ.” My predecessor schooled the church on a doctrine of the “contemporary” church; namely, no visitors should be asked for money. The argument is that many people thought the church wa...
April 5, 2026 - VATICAN CITY - In his 2026 Easter message, delivered across the Easter Vigil, Easter Sunday Mass, and the traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing, Pope Leo XIV offered a sweeping call for peace, unity, and renewed hope in a world he described as "weary from conflict, division, and the slow erosion of human dignity." Speaking to tens of thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square and millions watching around the world, the Pope framed the Resurrection of Christ not only as the central...
Across the Christian world today, believers gather with palm branches in hand, stepping into the most solemn and sacred stretch of the liturgical year. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, the seven‑day journey that leads the Church from the jubilant shouts of "Hosanna!" to the quiet awe of the empty tomb. It is a day of contrast-joy and sorrow, triumph and humility, celebration and foreboding. And it is precisely in that tension that the meaning of Holy Week comes alive. The King W...
A newly-called music minister asked for long-range sermon plans. I told him I had none, though once I did. A seminary professor required us to submit a year’s pulpit work. We students did the same kind of thing, beginning with special days like Mother’s Day and Easter and Christmas—we knew what we’d talk about on those days. And then we generally looked for short-term series to fill four or five or six weeks and the like. I continued this practice for a number of years, gathering notes and out...
An old fable tells of a frog who envied his pond friends, the geese, when they prepared to fly south in the winter and escape arctic temperatures. The more he pondered, an idea formed in his head. The frog asked two geese to hold a stick between their beaks. He would clamp onto it with his mouth and thus be transported with them when they departed for sunshine and warmth. This plan worked fine until some geese from another tribe flew near. “Wow! What an idea,” one goose exclaimed. “Who thoug...
In recent years, social media debates and online commentary have raised questions about whether the Salvation Army - one of the world's largest charitable organizations - funds or supports abortion services. The claim has circulated widely, often without context. A review of the organization's official positions and public financial practices shows a clear answer: the Salvation Army does not fund abortion services. Official Position: Opposed to Abortion With Narrow Exceptions The Salvation...
Ash Wednesday. Lent. Palm Sunday. Maundy Thursday. Good Friday. Easter. Understanding better the meaning and significance of these “Holy Days” will bring a greater appreciation and experience of the Lent and Easter season for each of us! The Season of Lent and Easter are full of strange names and words that many people do not understand. I have found that a great many people do not know the meaning and significance of these “Churchy” words and Holidays in the Season of Lent and Easter. In fact...
She was a devout Christian, a devoted church-goer and normally possessed a gentle spirit. But I remember the day she came to the church office in anger. The Sunday previous we had some international guests from a local university in worship. Their skin color wasn’t the same as ours, and this lady was upset. She suggested I’d invited them to force the church into confrontation. She said I’d given an unusually fervent invitation at the conclusion of the service in order to bring them forwa...
A recent trip to the Draughon Library Special Collections at Auburn University filled me with nostalgia. I was an AU student and returned some years later to nearby Chambers County as pastor. One of my Saturday afternoon tasks was taking our children for outings to give their mom some alone time. We often grabbed hamburgers and made the trek to the university campus to visit the eagle cage adjacent to Jordan-Hare Stadium. I frequently found myself visiting church members at the East Alabama Medi...
Menzingen, Switzerland - February 19, 2026.- The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) has released a public communiqué detailing its official response to a proposal from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), following a high‑level meeting in Rome earlier this month. The exchange marks the latest development in the long and often delicate dialogue between the traditionalist priestly society and the Holy See. A Vatican Proposal Tied to Episcopal Consecrations On February 12, Father Da...
Today marks Ash Wednesday, the solemn doorway into the Christian season of Lent, a 40‑day period of prayer, fasting, repentance, and preparation for Easter. For millions of Christians across denominations, this day carries a weight that is both deeply personal and historically rich. The ashes placed on the forehead-often in the shape of a cross-serve as a stark reminder of human mortality and the call to spiritual renewal. The words spoken by clergy, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust y...
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...
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...
“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...
