By Michael J. Brooks Church leaders permit me to teach a course each semester at the local community college. This section has been online due to Covid for the past year. As part of a get-ac... Read more
By Michael J. Brooks, commentary I suppose it’s the modern equivalent of “You kids get off my lawn.” I’ve heard of “mask-shaming” in recent months but didn’t experience it until last week. T... Read more
By Michael J. Brooks I remember an interesting confrontation one Sunday morning. We Baptists have always been creative with our fifth Sundays. Sometimes we do communion, sometimes we have hy... Read more
By Michael J. Brooks The prison warden circulated a note to inmates asking for suggestions on the kind of party they’d recommend for his 25th anniversary. The prisoners all had the sam... Read more
By Michael J. Brooks She was in the youth group in a church I served while in college. I see her often now since she works at a business nearby. She told me she found her old diary and read... Read more
By Michael J. Brooks ALABASTER — I was in utter terror. I couldn’t find it, and she was insistent. I vaguely remembered putting it in a box, but I couldn’t remember where I put the box. It w... Read more
By Michael J. Brooks Youth culture calls it an “epic fail.” Some believe that’s what happened in first-century Athens. The early church missionary-leader, Paul, failed miserably. In obedienc... Read more
By Michael J. Brooks The apostle Paul exhorted Christians in Romans 13 to obey the government as God’s “deacon,” or servant, who punishes evil and upholds the good. In othe... Read more
By Michael J. Brooks Bob Harrington, the late “Chaplain of Bourbon Street,” preached one night in Mississippi and advertised his sermon title in the local newspaper: “Three... Read more
By Michael J. Brooks I asked a nurse if she ever grew accustomed to the gorgeous view of Birmingham from St. Vincent’s Hospital South Tower. She said no. I stood there for several minutes ta... Read more