Few topics enflame conservative evangelicalism’s self-righteous ire like the topic of abortion. We’ve all seen social media posts from friends that depict or describe abortion procedures in the most graphically violent ways in order to shock us. Who could possibly…
Women in ministry: Strategically silent?
Growing up in the South, I learned that “children should be seen and not heard.” In too many cases, the same maxim is true about women. Many churches seek to silence women who demonstrate gifts for ministry, believing the Bible…
As someone with family in McMinn County, here’s how I’m straddling the fence on the debate over Maus
Several folks have asked my opinion about the recent controversy over the book Maus and its removal from the middle school curriculum in McMinn County, Tenn. Two disclosures: First, I have deep and abiding family roots in McMinn County. Second,…
Remembering the struggle to integrate even ‘progressive’ Baptist churches in the 1960s
Writing from a Birmingham jail cell in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. expressed his profound disappointment with “white moderates” who “constantly advise the Negro to wait for a ‘more convenient season.’” We easily assume that, had we belonged to a…
What will Twitter’s $44 billion purchase do to theological discourse?
Imagine if the online theological discourse that led to the rise of Donald Trump and the conservative determination to use political power and misinformation to push their agenda on others was owned by a man rich and powerful enough to buy and control it for $44…
Is a new archaeological find from Mount Ebal a game-changer or not?
Have you heard about the Mount Ebal inscription? It has excited a diverse group of individuals. From the nerdiest of the nerds who get lit about new ancient inscriptions to evangelical apologists who are enthusiastic when archaeology seems to corroborate…
Have evangelicals become libertarians or have libertarians become evangelicals?
Libertarians and evangelicals are hard to tell apart these days. Is that because libertarians are becoming more religious or because evangelicals are becoming more political? I’m reminded of the corporate executive who once explained to me, “Remember that mergers are…
The tragic tale of a sexual abuse case, a deacon ordination and the quest for control of the Southern Baptist Convention
We have written three drafts of a news story you’re not going to see published. Instead, I’m going to use this analysis column to explain how exceedingly complicated it is to address the challenges of sexual abuse and politics in…
The beginnings of modern Christian Zionism
Jews have been part and parcel of the fabric of the Middle East and North Africa. Within the multireligious and multiethnic 19th-century Ottoman Empire, Jews made up more than 1% of the population. Mainly an urban community, they had a…