John Pierce’s Blog

By John D. Pierce Yellowstone is waking up from its long winter nap. The snow is beginning to melt and the animals are starting to move about. The park’s summer splendor is early in the making. What if you (yes, YOU) woke up on a cool summer morning to the...

By John D. Pierce We must never think of ourselves as more important than others. There is no such thing as a menial person regardless of the task he or she may perform. That includes those who cook and serve our food, drive our buses or cabs, or clean our rooms. In...

By John D. Pierce We no longer have to speculate. And what many of us have suspected is true. We’ve wondered why Jesus — who offered expansive grace, a counter-cultural life and incisive teachings as part of revealing God and modeling how his followers are to live —...

By John D. Pierce Every funeral I attended as a child — and I attended way too many — included some warbling rendition of “Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me.” I hate that song. I associate it with the sight of waxy, dead, unknown distant relatives and the smell of flower...

By John D. Pierce Remember when the Religious Right (a.k.a., Moral Majority, Christian fundamentalists) jumped into politics a few decades ago to tout their commitment to “family values?” Well, that was a big, fat lie. It turns out, as many of us knew at the time,...

By John D. Pierce Nurturing Faith Experiences (NFEs) strike a unique balance between traveling with a large tour group where you’re herded like buffalo — or striking out on your own without insider knowledge and access. NFEs are small-group (limited to 18 persons)...

A review by John D. Pierce Anyone who grew up in church where “testimony times” were frequent will feel at home reading Jimmy Carter’s latest book, Faith: A Journey for All (2018, Simon & Schuster). Indeed the personal Christian testimony of the Baptist layman...

By John D. Pierce One would think the very designation of “Christ” in Christianity would make it hard to dismiss the life and teachings of Jesus and his call to be faithful followers. But then, Jesus said a lot of hard things about sacrifice, selflessness and...

By John D. Pierce Last week the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) staked out some new ground after years of growing resistance to its no-gays hiring policy — approved in 2000 in response to growing threats of funding withdrawal from churches desiring formal action...

By John D. Pierce Soon the next issue of Nurturing Faith Journal will roll of the presses — and there is time for you to subscribe right here. Some highlights of the March-April issue — along with the superb weekly Nurturing Faith Bible Studies by Tony Cartledge —...

By John D. Pierce For decades musician Ken Medema has moved audiences toward meaningful worship, thoughtful reflection and a lived-out faith with a wide embrace. His music comforts the weary while challenging the self-satisfaction of a too-comfortable faith. Year...

By John D. Pierce “Have you ever felt like the whole world is a tuxedo and you’re a pair of brown shoes?” That deadpan line comedian George Gobel once delivered on The Tonight Show to crack up host Johnny Carson came to mind last week. I knew that out-of-place feeling...

By John D. Pierce The shiny bell in my home study is beautiful in appearance and sound. But is more than that: It is gift that that reminds me to be bold in “ringing the bell for freedom” — as I was charged by the generous man who gave it to me. David M. Smith of...

By John D. Pierce, Executive Editor of Nurturing Faith Journal & Bible Studies and Publisher of Nurturing Faith Books No issue impacts congregational and denominational life today more than how to include or exclude LGBTQ persons. Some churches and Christian...

By John D. Pierce Unlike Jesus, many modern American evangelicals — who at times feign affection for this particular first-century messiah — fear getting soiled by contact with those considered to be social, racial and economic outcasts. So they work hard at keeping...

By John D. Pierce Generally, most of us want to be nice — and are deemed nice. We care about people, respect their differences, and we seek to around nice people ourselves. Persons who don’t behave nicely in our society create enough ugliness — with no need for us to...

By John D. Pierce It may seem like a bigger challenge for fundamentalist ‘Christians’ than many have found it to be: claiming to be a Christian while supporting daily political offensives to the basic human ideals of decency, justice, equality and mercy that Jesus...

By John D. Pierce The world is less gracious today after the death of Pearl DuVall in Cordele, Ga., yesterday. Everyone needs more mature, mentoring people in their lives who lead by words and deeds. Pearl was one of those for me in my early years as a campus...

By John D. Pierce Today, on the eve of Christmas Eve, family and friends will gather in Dublin, Ga., to celebrate the long and remarkable life of Sarah Austin Frost, who died at home on Thursday night at age 97. She was a special person — beloved by many. I was...

By John D. Pierce The coming of Christ was a holy interruption. It occurred in a very specific place and time — prompting the questions: Why here? Why now? Most of us grew up with idealized versions of the story from a sanitary stable to a cry-less baby to an...

By John D. Pierce It is an interesting time to be Christian in America when so much of white evangelicalism has gone nuts. Most baffling is what is considered acceptable and what is not. And the opportunistic preachers and politicians remaking Americanized...

By John D. Pierce Here’s a new game: Whenever someone posts a sensible political affirmation, guess how many responses it will take before an incredulous person drops the “baby killer” line into the comment stream. It has happened a lot recently following the special...

By John D. Pierce Sometimes hope comes wrapped in tragedy. Such was the case when Alabama peanut farmer Nathan Mathis stood outside a political rally in Alabama last night holding a photo of his daughter Patti Sue who took her own life in 1995. With obvious guilt and...

By John D. Pierce Resistance to alarmism often keeps thoughtful people from sounding needed alarms. More likely they will roll their eyes and hope “this too shall pass.” In doing so, however, such silence allows religiously-fueled alarmists — who fear nothing more...

By John D. Pierce Not everyone is curious and questioning. Some settle for easy, insufficient answers rather than digging a little bit deeper for truth. For the curious-minded, however, good answers are not always hidden. It’s just a matter of looking in the right...

By John D. Pierce My mother was not a neat freak — which with four sons would have been an effort in futility anyway. But one thing was always in its proper place in our house. Nothing was ever stacked on top of the Bible. Reverence for the only book with “Holy”...

By John D. Pierce The religious faith I affirm and practice is not the same as many who use the same brand name along with some common rituals and language. It is simply too different to be called the same religion. The deities we worship have vastly different...

By John D. Pierce This follows yesterday's blog about giving away most of my personal library recently. Sometimes when asked what I do for a living my first response is, “I make up stuff.” Most writers don’t use such a line that might imply not telling the truth. For...

By John D. Pierce Assembling an impressive personal library was a sign of taking knowledge (or at least the perception of knowledge) seriously for my generation of seminarians and up-start minister types. Filling shelves, especially with hefty theological volumes,...

By John D. Pierce My friend Steve Bean and I grew up in church-going families. As teenagers we found our first “real jobs” (defined by a paycheck with tax withholdings) at the restaurant in a newly opened Days Inn along I-75 at the Georgia-Tennessee border. Our...

By John D. Pierce This Sunday, Nov. 5, as part of its All Saints’ Day observance, the First Baptist Church of Athens, Ga., will remember its longtime former pastor Jon Appleton who died last November. During that service I will present the congregation and the...

By John D. Pierce ORLANDO, Fla. — Wise writers avoid superlatives like oldest or largest because some reader usually provides evidence to the contrary. But I feel safe deeming R.L. (Dick) Atkins as the most prepared Sunday school teacher in the world. If anyone has...

By John D. Pierce Jesus’ life and teachings didn’t matter very much. At least that’s the idea one gets from those American Christians who see his only earthly purpose in coming to die as a penalty for human sinfulness — and then rocketing off to heaven to fix up some...

By John D. Pierce Nurturing Faith Experiences are unique, small-group opportunities to be inspired by nature, enjoy good company, share delicious meals, stay in high-demand housing in and around national parks, and make some really great memories. Attentive,...

By John D. Pierce This time of deeply divisive, partisan politics is especially challenging to church leaders trying to keep their folks together and focused on the greater priorities of faithful living. At least that is true for those good pastors who have not...

By John D. Pierce One Sunday several years ago I was pulpit pinch-hitting at First Baptist Church of Ringgold, Ga., the small northwest Georgia town where I graduated from high school. The deacons, as is the custom in many Baptist churches, gathered for prayer before...

We have filled all spaces for the Nurturing Faith Experience: Big Island, Big Sky set for March 10-16 2018, on the Big Island of Hawaii — with one exception. We have room to add one guy willing to share a room with someone already registered. If you are interested in...

By John D. Pierce The Christian community at Koinonia Farm in southwest Georgia could use a bell at their chapel. The chapel has been renovated and a bell tower was donated — but no bell. The demonstration plot for peace, people and pecans was founded by Clarence...

By John D. Pierce ATLANTA— “It was the church that made us who we were,” said Albert Paul Brinson, standing in the historic sanctuary of Ebenezer Baptist Church, that he attended as a youth and later served as associate minister to co-pastors Martin Luther King Sr....

By John D. Pierce One Saturday afternoon a few years ago I dropped into Rembrandt’s Coffee House in the lovely Bluff View Arts District of Chattanooga. Few others were there at the time. But just moments later the soft music and slow pace were interrupted by the...

By John D. Pierce During my formative years, sin was pretty easy to identify if not avoid. Sin was playing poker, drinking beer, missing a church service (without going to another on vacation and bringing a bulletin for proof), holding baseball practice on Wednesday...

By John D. Pierce Sometimes we good church people like to avoid confronting our corporate failures. We gloss over the racism and sexism at the historical core of American Christianity, particularly in the South We don’t want to face the ways we err — hoping no one...

By John D. Pierce Had Jesus lived on earth at a much later time his poetic and revealing Beatitudes (in Matthew 5) might have been released under the title “Greatest Hits.” He opened what is called the Sermon on the Mount with these blessings that provide a better...

By John D. Pierce Flooding in Texas and beyond and Irma’s blast to the Southeast have upset the normal pace of life for millions of Americans, as well as others on some devastated islands. For some the pain is long lasting while for others the wrathful weather simply...

By John D. Pierce A very unique opportunity is available March 10-16, 2018 on the Big Island of Hawaii. It will be an adventurous week of exploring creation with a gifted astrophysicist. Paul Wallace, who writes the “Questions Christians ask scientists” column in...

By John D. Pierce, Executive Editor, Nurturing Faith Journal Much pushback has come from thoughtful Christians and others following the harsh, single-focused condemnation of same-sex relationships and “transgenderism” (as these mostly preacher-types call it) — and of...

By John D. Pierce Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot of personality traits and behaviors explained in terms of birth order — though such interpretations have been around for a long time. While some patterns are obvious, there tend to be quite a few exceptions as well....

By John D. Pierce It is odd and sad seeing so many American evangelicals giving up on Jesus and choosing a course that affirms their prejudices and justifies their fears and anger. What a strange time to be Christian in America. The loudest voices of selective moral...

By John D. Pierce Like cities around the nation in 1960, Atlanta had two daily newspapers. On Tuesday, March 15 of that year, the evening paper, The Atlanta Journal, gave front-page coverage to the arrest of 79 of the 200 African-American college students who dared to...

By John D. Pierce, Nurturing Faith Journal LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Students at Simmons College in West Louisville will have access to a full Master of Divinity degree program beginning in the spring of 2018, thanks to collaboration between the historically black college and...

By John D. Pierce Warnings are everywhere out West — from flashing roadside signs to Smokey the Bear working overtime. Fire danger is high according to every indicator — and smoke from existing wildfires in forested lands travels hundreds of miles according to the...

By John D. Pierce Yesterday’s drive across Glacier National Park from east to west on the Going-to-the-Sun Road offered breath-taking views. The abundant wildflowers and wildlife along Logan Pass soothed the soul. We shared Psalm 95:3-4, which affirms:  For the Lord...

By John D. Pierce Tomorrow begins back-to-back Nurturing Faith Experiences to the beautiful Rocky Mountains in northern Montana, led by Bruce Gourley, our local Montanan and guide extraordinaire. We look forward to exploring the handiwork of the Creator and enjoying...

By John D. Pierce The September/October issue of Nurturing Faith Journal is hot off the press. It features my conversation with the insightful and inspiring Guy Sayles of Asheville, N.C. Astrophysicist Paul Wallace considers Galileo’s role in the unnecessary war...

By John D. Pierce Grief is a deep valley that calls for more than shallow responses. Easy answers, bad theology and one-size-fits-all prescriptions for dealing with grief compound rather than relieve the pain. Rooted in long and effective pastoral experience and...

By John D. Pierce Nurturing Faith keeps rolling out books that are inspiring and informative — that make us better as we seek to grow, learn and live in purposeful ways. The latest two to roll off these presses are well worth reading. Tony Cartledge is a gifted Bible...

By John D. Pierce To what degree are some American evangelical leaders willing to sell their spiritual souls for political porridge? The answer arrived in a press release this week announcing the upcoming book, God and Donald Trump, by Charisma Media CEO and Charisma...

By John D. Pierce Though both Georgia boys who attended seminary at the same time and place, Tony Cartledge and I didn’t get acquainted until we both backed into second or third careers. (Tony taught school briefly before becoming a pastor.) Though latecomers to the...

By John D. Pierce Fundamentalism involves attitudes and resulting behaviors as well as beliefs. That most-helpful insight was clarified for me years ago when reading the thorough and thoughtful theological treatment of the subject by Fisher Humphreys and the late...

By John D. Pierce Thoughtful Baptist theologian Roger Olson of Baylor University, in his commentary at ethicsdaily.com today, addresses again the troublesome practice of Christian congregations conducting worship services that elevate nationalism above the worship of...

By John D. Pierce The trauma on Capitol Hill is fresh and real. One can appreciate how rattled lawmakers have rallied around the oft-foreign notion that those of the opposing party are patriotic Americans with just different, though passionate, political views....

By John D. Pierce Having long ago left most traces of my earlier Southern Baptist identity, I have little interest in the denominational workings that were once part of my life. Also, I resist commenting (usually) on their antics — including their annual summer...

By John D. Pierce For many Americans there is a constant need for  clarification of religious persecution and liberty. Here is such an opportunity. More than 20 persons attending a Baptist worship service May 28 in Taraz, Kazakhstan, were taken to a police station...

By John D. Pierce A common introductory question is, “What to you do?” The response is usually tied to one’s profession or educational pursuits. Follow-up questions and responses often lead to connections — or at least the sharing of more information. Those in sales...

By John D. Pierce What if you could spend a day with an active participant and Christian leader in the Civil Rights Movement who was mentored in life and ministry by Drs. Martin Luther King Sr. and Jr.? Such opportunities come along very rarely — and will not be...

By John D. Pierce William L. (Bill) Hendricks was a gifted theologian who died in 2002. Long before meeting him personally, I read his books and heard him speak to large gatherings of college students. Though less flamboyant, he reminded me in some ways of Charles...

By John D. Pierce Exploring the marvels of creation is time well spent. It expands the mind, warms the heart and puts our lives in right perspectives. That’s why I’m excited to announce a new Nurturing Faith Experience, March 10-16, 2018, on the Big Island of Hawaii —...

By John D. Pierce There is still a little time and space for you to participate in a grand adventure we're calling Nurturing Faith Experience: Glacier East-to-West. Here are five of many good reasons to join us August 5-11. ONE: Sharing great meals with great people....

Nurturing Faith's annual Judson-Rice Award Dinner on Thursday, April 27, in Alpharetta, Georgia, will be a wonderful event and we want you to join us! Executive Chef Chris Harwell and staff will serve a fabulous buffet meal — and a delicious reception before. Jazz...

By John D. Pierce Like many Baptists, the church and denomination that nurtured me practiced worship in ways that no one would confuse with Catholicism. Even lighting candles raised fear that the Protestant Reformation would unravel. Like many Baptists today, however,...

By John D. Pierce Phineas Taylor Barnum, “P.T.,” for short, may have underestimated the birthrate of suckers. And among them are many who have been born twice. False information accepted and advanced as truth has been around for as long as humanity. However, the...

By John D. Pierce What if you could go to one of the most stunningly beautiful places on earth... ...and have all the planning, transportation and other details handled for you... ...in a fun, personal and relaxed way... ...from the time you land until you leave? You...

By John D. Pierce While millions visit Atlanta each year to learn about the Civil Rights Movement, few get the personal perspective of a participant in the struggle that defined our nation. That unique opportunity will be available on Thursday, Sept. 14. Dr. Albert...

Welcome, Lydia Fields! — who is developing, expanding and driving social media for Nurturing Faith now.  And we want you engaged in these wonderful ways of staying informed and sharing ideas too! Lydia knows social media strategy and our audience very well. A gift...

By John D. Pierce In recent years I’ve spent a good bit of time visiting daughters (or dawghters, as I call them) at the University of Georgia. [I’ll split the proceeds with any lawyer friend who wants to trademark that term.] Their tenures at UGA were separated by...

Nurturing Faith Publishing warmly invites you to attend the 17th annual Judson-Rice Award Dinner on Thursday, April 27, honoring educator, author and visionary leader Dr. Kirby Godsey. It will be an evening filled with lively music, great food and excellent...

By John D. Pierce Among the numerous emails that land in my box each day are occasional ones from an older man in Virginia continually touting the evils of homosexuality and dispensing misinformation. He needs another hobby. Like many older persons, and a good number...

By John D. Pierce Congratulations to author Cynthia Wise Mitchell, and the history committee and congregation of Vestavia Hills Baptist Church in Birmingham, on the publishing of this beautiful volume that commemorates 60 years of faithful service. Nurturing Faith is...

A review by John D. Pierce The Good Book is a good book about the Good Book. For those not raised on Sword Drills and Sunday school, it is an especially helpful resource for how to approach the Bible, which author Deron Spoo notes can be intimidating and “notoriously...