• 

  Letters: Resettle Syrians in Middle East

  Updated: The statement that Syrians are scrutinized/vetted for 18 months to two years is totally useless when you realize there is no dependable database/source from Syria for checking them.

  11/24/2015 - By John Rutledge

• 

  2nd Opinion: This Thanksgiving, take nothing for granted

  Look around the room during your Thanksgiving feast. Whose hand do you need to hold tightly during the blessing? Whose chair could be empty next year?

  11/23/2015 - By John Rutledge

• 

  René Maciel: I am thankful!

  I am thankful for this wonderful opportunity to serve Texas Baptists as convention president. I am both honored and humbled to be the third Hispanic leader to serve in this capacity.

  11/20/2015 - By John Rutledge

• 

  Wales: A fish out of water

  Student Missions Blog: I’ve found myself in a culture made up of people I don’t know and who do no not know me. I’ve left the familiarity of my home in Texas, and I live in a city far-removed from my comfort zone.

  11/20/2015 - By John Rutledge

• 

  Right or Wrong? Optimism

  In Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science of Motivation, Gabriele Oettigen claims that while optimism is important for imagining goals, it can be crippling when people try to reach them.

  11/20/2015 - By John Rutledge

• 

  Down Home: Thank God for things I took for granted

  This Thanksgiving, I’m grateful for stuff I normally take for granted, like my laptop.

  11/20/2015 - By John Rutledge

• 

  Editorial: Seeking sense in a season of fear

  Nothing is scarier than the prospect that any of the current U.S. presidential candidates actually will become “leader of the free world.”

  11/20/2015 - By John Rutledge

• 

  Guest Editorial: 10 reasons to ignore all those governors

  Fear-mongering may lead to more votes, but fear itself leads to bad policy. These responses simply are an irrational reaction to the repulsion we all felt for the terrorist attacks in Paris. We are called to “be not afraid.”

  11/18/2015 - By John Rutledge

• 

  Wales: When “enough” isn’t enough

  Student Missions Blog: The word “enough” has been on my mind recently. It’s a burdening word here in Wales. People are plagued with an endless pursuit of this foreign, elusive goal.

  11/18/2015 - By John Rutledge

• 

  Rio Grande Valley: God’s word never returns void

  Student Missions Blog: The Baptist Student Ministry at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley held its fall retreat at South Padre Island. It provided students a weekend to get away from school and enjoy fellowship.

  11/17/2015 - By John Rutledge

• 

  Letters: Texas needs a healthy BGCT

  Updated: Regarding your editorial about the future of the BGCT:  Well said, my friend.

  11/17/2015 - By John Rutledge

• 

  Richard Ray: Bivocational pastors deserve to be called ‘fishermen’

  I can see why Jesus called fisherman to follow him. Jesus needed hard workers who could multitask and get the job done.

  11/16/2015 - By John Rutledge