Inspired by Mark Wingfield’s recent description of a poignant movie scene, I recently watched the 2011 award-winning film The Help. The movie highlighted a top-tier cast including Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Cisely Tyson, Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburg, Jessica Chastain…
My long farewell to the evangelical church
Many years ago, I served as an adjunct professor of worship and preaching at a Baptist seminary. One day, as I prepared for an upcoming class, I went to a photocopy shop and begin copying large numbers of worship bulletins and…
Why aren’t evangelicals offended by Donald Trump?
Like a billion other people, I recently watched the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics. The next day I saw numerous articles about evangelicals being “offended” by the event. Upon further reading, I discovered they were offended by the…
Did God protect Donald Trump?
Immediately after the horrific assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, some people of faith began claiming God protected him. For example, Franklin Graham unequivocally pronounced, “God spared his life.” But that popular affirmation raises difficult questions, which even Graham…
The GOAT in religion
Americans love greatness. We love great wealth, great success, great possessions, great entertainers, great CEOs, great athletes. I’m old enough to remember when Muhammad Ali declared, “I am the greatest.” And in the world of boxing, he likely was. We…
It’s (past) time to raze hell
A few weeks ago, a friend texted me a satirical religious “advertisement.” The ad featured an image of a kind and loving Jesus with a big red heart on his chest. The title of the ad read: “TRADE OFFER.” The…
The antidote to mean Christianity
A Doubter’s Parish reader recently wrote, “How did Christianity become so mean? How did we get from Jesus’ message of love to relentless condemnations against gays, transgender persons, women preachers, immigrants, scientists, educators, journalists and public-school librarians?” She said, “When…
Searching for Grace: Bend or break?
This is the final in a five-part fictional story set in the early 1990s about Rev. Paul Graham and his congregation, Grace United Church of Christ. In previous episodes Tommy Branson, a gay man and a lifelong member of Paul’s…
The last word is hope
One of the most important things I learned over four decades of ministry is that hope saves people’s lives. Hope saves them spiritually, emotionally, relationally and sometimes even physically. People hope for many things. They hope for forgiveness, reconciliation, healing….