Elon Musk has become the world’s first trillionaire, attaining a net worth of $1,100,000,000,000, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list. The tipping point was the release of SpaceX’s initial public offering at $135 per share, giving the company a total…
Beauty, ashes and the Southern Baptist Convention
Attending the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention is, in a word, exhausting. Why any Baptist — pastor or layman — would take several days of vacation time, travel at significant expense, read all the printed reports, participate in…
Come on, ring those bells
It may be true that no man is an island, but the Southern Baptist Convention is working hard to isolate itself from the world. After a decade of holding back the most strident far-right forces in the convention, this year…
Behind SBC’s missions agenda: Eternal conscious torment
The headlines each year going into the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting seem to focus on Southern Baptists’ latest attempts to put women in their place and keep them there. Whether they were voting to remove Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church…
Conservative reformers win SBC presidency
For the first time in 35 years, a reform candidate has been elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention, defeating an institutional candidate. Florida pastor Willy Rice — who withdrew from the presidential race in 2022 — won the presidency…
Trump, the White House, the UFC and our history of violence
On June 14, a spectacle of violence will take place on the White House South Lawn — a spectacle bigger than anything we’ve seen since the January 6 insurrection. UFC Freedom 250, a mixed-martial arts event produced by Ultimate Fighting…
Evangelical Trump loyalists claim he enjoys ‘broad support’
President Donald Trump has earned historic negative ratings, with 61% of Americans disapproving of his performance as president, according to Fox News. But Family Research Council and other groups loyal to Trump claim his goals enjoy “broad support.” “Broad Support…
Historical drama Pressure clears the air on speaking truth to power
A new film that reframes the pivotal lead-up to D-Day as a character study amid a high-stakes strategic dispute speaks to current events, illuminating how inconvenient truths clash with modern political rhetoric. Premiering last weekend at No. 7 on the…
Understanding Al Mohler’s case against women
The so-called Mohler Amendment to prohibit women from functioning as pastors in Southern Baptist churches is being hailed by his minions as “critical for us at this juncture.” According to Brian Arnold, pastor of First Baptist Church Paducah, Ky.: “In…
When Nashville Baptists worshipped in a synagogue
In March 1886, members of Nashville’s First Baptist Church gathered for what would be their final prayer meeting inside a synagogue on South Vine Street. For nearly a year, the congregation had worshipped there while its new church building was…
SBC Resolutions Committee wades into hot topics
The Southern Baptist Convention’s Resolution Committee has offered a preemptive strike in the battle over women’s roles in the church. The committee released its report June 1, just more than a week ahead of the SBC annual meeting to be…
City of Dallas-owned Love Field being used for ICE Air deportations
Several months ago, a coalition of clergy I am part of (CLEAR DFW) was instrumental in preventing the sale of an industrial warehouse to the Department of Homeland Security for the purposes of warehousing humans. We’ve known for some time…