Last Sunday, Aug. 28, I was privileged to be in attendance at Northminster Baptist Church in Jackson, Miss., as Pastor Chuck Poole gave his last sermon after 25 years of ministry and his final splash in the baptismal pool. The…
New book explores pain of preaching after a suicide in the congregation
In January 2009, I sat down at my desk to think about the upcoming season of Lent. I was the pastor at Wilton Baptist Church in Wilton, Conn. I had been there for just over two years but was the…
Finding strength in immigration — year after year
For the past 10 years, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Mississippi has had four coordinators and a couple of interims, but only one administrative assistant — and everybody knows her. Deenie Grubbs has been the face, and more specifically the…
Becoming human despite our fear
In the past month we have seen one set of fears replaced by another, which has made the deep division within American society even more visceral. President-elect Donald Trump recognized the fear in many Americans and leveraged that fear for…
High (tech) priest
Baptists are well known for our belief in the priesthood of all believers. This is a deep seated conviction that individuals do not need another person to intervene between the human and divine. Every human has the capacity and responsibility…
Post-apocalyptic Downton Abbey
“Downton Abbey” is a six-season drama based on one aristocratic family in England who navigates the treacherous period before and after World War I. As the 1920s come rushing in, the English aristocracy faces a cultural shift that will bring…
In a divided society, maybe we should shut up and listen
Years ago my oldest child, who was in kindergarten or first grade at the time, came home from school and told me that he heard one of his classmates use the “S” word. I was like, “Ah, ‘S’ word! Not…
Life — and church — in a box
My life is in boxes right now. As I prepared to move from Connecticut to Mississippi, I packed over 40 boxes of books in my office. We have gone through each room, and while there is still a lot to…
Whiteness and racial identity
White privilege is mostly a non-experience for white people. White people are not criminalized because of their race, which is why a white man can carry an AR-15 in public and only receive a qualified response from police officers, while unarmed African-American men and boys are killed.