My undergraduate Baptist college adviser was looking over his glasses at me as I prattled on and on about all I was doing. In my final semester, I was taking 18 hours in an attempt to pull a final-semester 4.0…
God didn’t give me this message for Christian musicians and preachers
I’m so over musicians saying, “God gave me this song.” No, I’m not saying God didn’t give you the song. You just don’t need to say it. When you say, “God gave me this song,” it’s like you’re saying, “You…
People I met at the No Kings rally in Nashville
Since more than 80% of evangelical Christians voted for Donald Trump in 2024, when seeking folks to interview at the June 14 No Kings protest in Nashville, Tenn., I sought those bearing religious-oriented posters to explore their perspectives. With several…
God’s hand, sex and 2020 vision
Let’s analyze a political celebrity’s claim about God. For comparison: In summer 1986, while I was on a Christian college mission trip to the Philippines, my parents and my younger sisters were taking a very out-of-the-way route to Myrtle Beach,…
Ironing a distorted funhouse mirror: Healing cognitively driven depression
At the campus counseling center, I had promised my therapist, Chrissy, that, unlike previous forays into counseling, I would be completely honest. In a previous article on dealing with depression, I described how being honest with a college student convinced…
Kindishness: Give it a rest area, Alabamerica
Lost in thought, I missed my exit. That’s not unusual for me. I once drove almost half an hour past the exit to my own house. This time it was a fortunate mistake. I was driving from Tennessee, where our…
Let’s consider Christian community, nudist colonies and ‘complete transparency’
Early years at a new job will tax the training of even the most well-prepared. A key challenge involves navigating workplace boundaries. It’s difficult to imagine being more well-prepared for my first years as a Christian college professor. And yet….
Red Dawn: Baptists’ contradictory contributions to the rise and demise of America
In the 1980s, in the throes of the Cold War, huddled in a Baptist college dorm room with friends, I watched the original version of the movie Red Dawn. The film portrays a hypothetical invasion of the United States by…
At Nashville’s Hands Off! rally, protesters explain diverse views
On Saturday April 5, at simultaneous events across the United States, tens of thousands gathered at more than 1,200 locations to oppose the policies of President Donald Trump, Project 2025 and the actions of Elon Musk and the Department of…
It’s time to consider once again when to disobey a presidential order
“Ya know, sometimes it takes a lot more courage to live than it does to die.” It’s one of those movie lines worth watching on repeat. In the 1961 Western Two Rode Together, the snobby townspeople want to know why…
Wake up, liberal Democrats; and I guess you’ll have to abduct me, too, President Trump
Since only 1.1% of the U.S. population is Muslim, let’s play “Six Degrees to a Muslim Friend.” Years ago, Karen Park — the child of missionaries to Chile — introduced me to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The seminary introduced me…
23andMmmUh
When I was 5 years old, my father angrily said, “When we get home, you’re getting a spanking.” My mother intervened, saying I had likely heard “that word” on the school bus and didn’t know it was wrong. She was…