I began my work as senior editor of Good Faith Media almost three weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks against Israel. I never have been an expert on the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Still, I have followed…
What the labor market has to do with churches: ‘People need to know’
If you want to know what is going on with the U.S. labor market, take an Uber somewhere in a large city and spend the time getting to know your driver. Last week, Ana, my driver from downtown Nashville to…
Blame me for the situation in Afghanistan
If you’re looking for someone to blame for the gut-wrenching situation and images coming out of Afghanistan right now, look no further than me. I’m one of the vast majority of Americans who, on Sept. 12, 2001, believed the only…
Why Critical Race Theory could be good news for ‘nice white people’
A bedrock theological concept of my formation as a white American evangelical was the idea, best articulated by Paul in Romans 14-20, that there is a war going on within all of us between those things that are good and…
Let’s move beyond the easy answers and MLK quotes today
I was in third grade in 1983 when Ronald Reagan, after much hesitancy, signed an act designating the third Monday of each year as a federal holiday honoring the life and contributions of Martin Luther King Jr. I was in…
Kyle Lake and Rachel Held Evans: alike in many ways and testimonies to hope
A high school graduation party for the daughter of a beloved friend who died 14 years ago evoked memories, sorrow, laughter and hope. But deep in the throes of sadness for those we lose, like Kyle Lake and Rachel Held Evans, is the reality of God’s stubborn insistence that life always follows death.
Anxious worshippers are present every Sunday. But concern for safety must never displace welcoming ‘the other’
Our churches are filled with people like me who tend to be fearful and anxious. Keeping our sacred spaces safe is essential, but it must not be at the expense of welcoming “the other” in our midst.
Our disaster-relief success hasn’t moved the needle in addressing poverty. We need to ask why
Because churches and faith-based organizations do disaster relief so well, we assume what works for communities recovering from a fire will be what works for a family experiencing food insecurity or poverty. Most victims of poverty suffer because of systems designed to help some people thrive at the expense of others’ languishing.
That time of year…
I’ve never felt “called” to ministering to university students, but for the better part of 15 years they have been the one age demographic that I have found myself around the most. As a Student Minister at a church, working…