Author: billjones20

Fifty years ago today, an American astronaut orbited the earth for the first time. On February 20, 1962, Col. John Glenn of Ohio became the third American in space. The previous year, Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom had completed sub-orbital flights, each lasting about 15 minutes. But John Glenn orbited the earth three times. Each Read more . . .

When my two kids left home for college – the first in 2000, the second in 2004 – I gave each of them the same final word of advice, which was some variation of the following: “Be sensitive to the presence of ‘giants’ in your life – those people who care enough to invest themselves Read more . . .

One sentence gave me pause. “LifeWay canceled the project last year amid reports that some Komen affiliates gave money to Planned Parenthood.” It appeared in an Associated Baptist Press article about criticism leveled by Thom Rainer, head of LifeWay Christian Resources – the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention – at Susan G. Komen Read more . . .

I’m taking a momentary (only momentary, as you’ll see) break from writing about things Baptist, because there was a monumental occurrence last night that has prompted me to come clean about a secret known heretofore only to my very closest friends and family members. Yes, the truth can finally be told, and I’m relieved to Read more . . .

A few minutes ago, I was writing a post for Weighty Matters, the TBMaston Foundation blog, about the Ethics Lecture that took place earlier this week at Truett Seminary on the Baylor campus. As I wrote about the role of the prophet in challenging Christians to reexamine our beliefs and principles, an old song popped Read more . . .

(I originally posted this on the TBMaston Foundation blog, Weighty Matters, on June 21, 2011. Last Friday, September 2, would have been Daddy’s 98th birthday.) That last visit was a precious gift from God. Although Daddy had struggled in his last years – as so many do at that age – with a fuzzy memory Read more . . .

(I originally posted this on the TBMaston Foundation blog, Weighty Matters, on June 21, 2011. Last Friday, September 2, would have been Daddy’s 98th birthday.) Mother & Daddy with our kids, Alison & Travis (1991) Daddy began study at Southwestern Seminary, but his study was interrupted when, in early 1943, he enlisted in the U. Read more . . .

  Thanksgiving 1998: We’re all wearing caps commemorating the recent reunion of Daddy’s WWII regiment, the 398th Engineers. (missing – Michael, Patsy & Palmer’s son) L to R: Daddy; Alison; Travis; Patsy; Palmer McCown, Patsy’s husband; Joanna; Stephanie; and yours truly Palmer is holding the cap belonging to Jim Markgraf, Stephanie’s husband, who is taking the picture. Read more . . .

On September 8, Associated Baptist Press (ABP) will honor Bob Stephenson with its Founders Award at a dinner at NorthHaven Baptist Church, Norman, Oklahoma, where Bob and his wife, Norma, are members. When I received the announcement, I immediately emailed David Wilkinson, ABP executive director, and congratulated ABP on making such an outstanding selection. Bob Stephenson is a valued Read more . . .

Otto von Bismarck called politics “the art of the possible.” There was a time when politics brought people together to discuss their competing ideas, priorities, and agendas and find a middle ground that would serve all of their constituencies. Oh, there was name-calling back then, too. But campaigns were largely confined to election years; with election night Read more . . .