In 1987, I was a junior at Baylor University when a worship song was released that became very popular. The song, “God Still Moves,” by Steve and Annie Chapman, was sung at so many revivals and altar calls. The chorus…
Crossing that Good Ol’ Baylor Line
Monday, I shared the news with my classmates at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology, where I am pursuing a master of divinity degree, that Baylor University had received a grant from the Baugh Foundation to “foster LGBTQ inclusion in churches,”…
Will they know we are Christians by our love?
In church Sunday at First Baptist Asheville, the pastoral resident, Will Arledge, quoted a hymn from my childhood, closing a prayer with, “Let them ‘know we are Christians by our love.’” I was a child in the 1970s when this…
Disasters bring out the best and worst theology
In response to a social media post in which I updated friends and family on our condition immediately after Hurricane Helene, a well-meaning cousin wrote, “God was really truly with you all to keep you safe amidst all this chaos…
Building God’s economy — surprising developments in the Lone Star State
When I moved from Texas in 1992, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship was just getting started. At the time, the Baptist General Convention of Texas was still mostly able to walk a fine line and keep from moving too far to…
New leader of Neighborhood Economics connects his work to his Baptist upbringing
Leroy Barber, co-founder and president of the Voices Project and former director of Innovation for the Greater Northwest area of the United Methodist Church, has joined Neighborhood Economics as its new executive director. Neighborhood Economics is an organization dedicated “to…
Don’t overlook the depth of the disease in the SBC
As news is breaking from the investigation of the Southern Baptist Convention’s handling of sexual abuse, my heart breaks for women in the denomination I once called home. It is devastating to read about the treatment of victims and about…
Why I’m among the unchurched today
In his Nov. 9 analysis, “The Church Is Losing Its Way,” Rob Sellers outlines the numerous ways in which the church is failing. In addition to Sellers’ list (irrelevance, unchallenging, unaccepting, and, most interestingly, unChristlike), I would like to add…