Pastor Joseph Phelps in the Media and Recent Writings:
Mp3's of sermons can be found on our Highland Baptist Church's 2007 Media page.
| Joe Phelps of Louisville's Highland Baptist Church and Aidsand Wright-Riggins, executive director of National Ministries of American Baptist Churches USA, discuss the launch of TheGreenBible.org and how Christians can connect their faith with care of creation. |
Who Commands the Commandments?
So it was affirmed again last week, this time by U.S. District Judge Joseph McKinley Jr. in an ongoing attempt by the religious right to place them at the courthouse in Grayson County, Ky.
How long will we have to fight this battle? I'm baffled by religious people, especially fundamentalists who call themselves Baptists, who want our Jewish and Christian teaching tools posted in public places. Do they distrust churches and synagogues to promote these instructions on our own?
New Baptist Covenant Celebration was Political, but not Partisan
Fifteen thousand pastors and laypersons representing churches across the land met last week in Atlanta under the banner of the New Baptist Covenant to offer a progressive voice for Baptists. All Baptists in North America were invited, and every major group signed on except Southern Baptists.
Guest Commentary: Would Jesus shop at Christmas?
’Tis the season to go crazy.
’Tis also the season for people like me to rant about how crass and commercialized the Christmas (as we call it in my circles) season is, how overwrought and high-strung we’ve become, and how we all need to resolve, in the words of The Dude, to “Just take it easy, man.”
| This 30-second spot from WakeUpWalMart featuring Pastor Joe Phelps.(30 sec) |
| Pastor Joe Phelps is interviewed on Headline News about the Wake Up Wal-Mart campaign. (4:26 min) |
| Pastor Joe Phelps is interviewed on Fox News about the Wake Up Wal-Mart campaign. (7:24 min) |
Pastor Joe Phelps on Wal-Mart
I accepted a unique invitation to appear in a 30-second “Wake Up Wal-Mart” commercial.
It will appear across the nation on major television networks this Thursday and Friday. “Wake Up Wal-Mart” is a national campaign that challenges the
country’s largest retailer to clean up its act on multiple fronts, particularly in matters that
adversely affect its 1.4 million employees. Why would a minister appear in such an ad campaign?
Baptist Pastoral Letter Calls Wal-Mart to be a Golden Rule Company
Dear Mr. Scott, We write you as moral theologians with grave concerns about Wal-Mart's corporate practices -- practices that conflict with our commitment to pro-family values.
God Intersects with First and Broadway
Thomas Merton, the famous author and monk, had a revelation of God at Fourth and Walnut in Louisville,
so I shouldn't be surprised to have a similar experience a few blocks away.
Who would Jesus Torture?
I was a guest panelist five years ago at a Southern Baptist Seminary symposium on Christianity
and the new war in Iraq. In an otherwise somber discussion I got the single laugh of the evening when I quipped:
"You see, I'm much more conservative than my fellow panelist, (seminary) President Al Mohler. I take seriously Jesus'
words on violence."
Reading from a Green Bible
Recent Courier-Journal special reports on global warming are yet another excellent reminder of the
importance of reading from a Green Bible.
Baptists Organize to Fight Human Trafficking
The World Cup not only created a flurry of new interest in soccer in the United States, it also
inadvertently brought focus to the global problem of human trafficking and prostitution.
Japanese Baptists Present Declaration Against War
The committee meeting was running into siesta time in Mexico City, so I was hardly prepared to have
the last presenter drop a bomb that blew me away.
Profile of a Real Christian
What does a real Christian look like?
Christians come in all shapes and sizes. Like dieters, some are dedicated and others are derelict. Some are near
their goal and others have many miles, or pounds, to go. All of them are "real" Christians, I suppose, but a few
of them begin to resemble the real Christ that all Christians purport to follow.
Making Healthy Choices
"Religion no longer works for me," he said. "I've gotten cynical and weary of the formulas
and clichés that make up most of the Christian message."
He's not alone. A great many people, including many church-goers and most thinking clergy I know, have the
haunting suspicion that formulaic religion no longer rings true in this scientific, pluralistic, skeptical culture.
New Center Offers New Beginnings
I'll say it. Muhammad Ali scared me as a kid growing up in Ohio. He was unorthodox and ominous, as he
bragged about his greatness and banged his opponents into submission. He was brash and, yes, black, and seemed dangerous
to the comfort of the white status quo in which I'd been raised.
Learning From Our Adversaries
Long ago Jesus asked Simon Peter, "Who do you say that I am?" Nothing clarifies a person's thinking on this question like going head to head with an antagonist. And if a single antagonist clarifies, a tag-team encounter crystallizes.
A Tale of Two Churches: A Microcosm
“Justice Sunday--Stopping the Filibuster Against People of Faith,” is being staged at Louisville’s Highview Baptist, a church. The name is so similar to my church, Highland Baptist, that they are often mistaken for each other.
‘The Passion’ Invites Question: Why Did Jesus Die?
The world is abuzz about “The Passion of the Christ.” I admit, I didn’t want to see it. I couldn’t make it through “The Pianist” or “Gladiator.”
How could I endure two hours of torture--on the screen and in my gut? But when popular culture is talking about your story, you better know what is being said.
Church Remembers Homicide Victims With Crosses
Members of Highland Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., gathered at noon Sunday for a somber Advent tradition remembering people who died violently during the last year.