I was a junior in college, studying religion and serving as a youth minister when I first encountered the Southern Baptist Convention’s vitriol against women. Although a Southern Baptist church employed me, a not-yet-out queer woman, as a youth minister…
Your money and your mouth
By Angela Yarber I recently penned an open letter to Dan Cathy regarding his public stance against gay marriage. I assumed Christian consumers and LGBT activists — two groups that are not always mutually exclusive — would also respond to…
An Open Letter to Dan Cathy at Chick-Fil-A
An Open Letter to Dan Cathy From a Concerned Baptist Pastor July 19, 2012 Dear Mr. Cathy, I don’t expect you to remember me. You and your father spoke at chapel during my freshman year of college in 2000. You…
An open letter to Dan Cathy
By Angela Yarber Dear Mr. Cathy, I don’t expect you to remember me. You and your father spoke at chapel during my freshman year of college in 2000. You both spoke of how being a Christian business person involves loving…
Joining Baptists in defeating NC Amendment One
By Susan Parker and Angela Yarber A few weeks ago we were invited to teach a class of clergy about North Carolina Amendment One, a measure on the ballot May 8 that would define marriage as only between one man…
Moving magi — when scholars dance
By Angela Yarber What happens when scholars follow their hearts? What does it mean for Christian worship when these same scholars move their bodies? What are most of us missing during Epiphany? The answers are found in the mystical magi….
Seeking the sun, similarities
By Angela Yarber When the media proclaims a supposed “war on Christmas” and chain stores debate the legitimacy of wishing shoppers “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas,” it is important to remember that all of us — liberals and conservatives,…
Pentecost, celebrating God’s rainbow of diversity
By Angela Yarber Countless Baptist churches gather for worship on Pentecost, singing in a variety of different languages, swathing sanctuaries in red, and celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit. At Wake Forest Baptist Church we also baptize one of…
Embodied hallelujahs — an invitation to dance
By Angela Yarber Liker many ordained Baptist pastors, I recently guided my congregation during the seasons of Lent and Easter with spiritual disciplines, preaching, worship and baptism. This week I shout hallelujah with my body. I dance. Angela Yarber April…