by Chris Smith | Mar 17, 2021 | Opinion
Lee Daniel’s “The Butler” was the featured film on a recent family movie night. The main character, Cecil Gaines (played by Forest Whitaker), is the son of a sharecropper in the 1920s. Although technically “free,” the film depicts the tenuous situation Black people...
by Chris Smith | Oct 14, 2020 | Faith Freedom 2020, Opinion
Challenging, strange and painful. These are accurate descriptors of 2020. To date, over 210,000 people in the United States have succumbed to COVID-19. The economic avalanche prompted by the pandemic has devastated many small businesses and individuals. Families have...
by Chris Smith | Jun 16, 2020 | Opinion
Matthew 23:23 offers a glimpse of Jesus’ righteous indignation regarding injustice. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law –...
by Chris Smith | Feb 25, 2020 | Opinion
Every generation has the bittersweet task of “planting shade trees under which we know full well we shall never sit,” Elton Trueblood said. To plant them with joy or resentment is a choice. Pride, pain, regret and bitterness at times prevent persons with a wealth of...
by Chris Smith | Sep 14, 2018 | Opinion
Words matter. Recently, a well-known minister at a highly publicized service used his words, in his own way, to challenge people to rise to a higher level of responsibility, unity, power and respect. Unfortunately, the apparent “intent” of his message was lost because...
