A child was taken. Taken from routine. Taken from familiarity. Taken from the quiet assumptions that adults would keep him safe. Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, moved across state lines, shipped to Texas…
We do not know all the names
I need to say this plainly: We do not know all the names. That is part of what has been sitting so heavily with, or maybe even on, me. Over the last 12 months, approximately 32 people have died in…
Spiritual questions remain after Abyssinian’s gender-bias lawsuit dismissed
The recent dismissal of a gender-bias lawsuit involving Abyssinian Baptist Church, while constitutionally predictable is spiritually and theologically unfinished. A federal judge ruled the claims brought by Eboni Marshall Turman, a former assistant minister and nationally respected theologian and professor,…
At Baptist schools, debates about DEI are theological
Among Baptist-related universities, decisions about diversity, equity and inclusion are no longer simply administrative adjustments. They have become theological decisions in broader debates about identity, governance, theology and political risk. Recent developments, from Samford University’s closure of its DEI office…
‘Progressive imagination often is wider than progressive practice’
Not long ago, a search committee called to share their final discernment after months of conversations, sermons, prayers and emails. Their words were familiar, almost rehearsed by the collective memory of Black clergy everywhere. They told me it had become…
How I found hope for today in a coffee shop
I had just left my corporate job — no backup plan, no security blanket, no savings plan that made sense on paper. Just a tug in my spirit I couldn’t ignore any longer. I was tired of running from God’s…
For Black History Month, listening is more important than speaking
As we approach Black History Month, I’ve been struggling as a Black pastor to find the right words to share with my predominantly white faith community. What could I say differently this year from the pulpit that I hadn’t already…