Last Wednesday, I went to see James Talarico host a political rally at Baylor University, where I am a student. Talarico was given this opportunity to show Baylor’s commitment to civil discourse after Ken Paxton filled in for Donald Trump…
How Ed Sheeran’s tour became a political circus
Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots, banned Macklemore from opening Ed Sheeran’s show at Gillette Stadium. The tour promoter banned Macklemore from other shows on the tour, and now all the opening acts have quit in…
Purity culture meets Mom’s divorce-court gift
I threw my paint brush down and demanded my mother explain why she didn’t like my fiancée. It was summer between my junior and senior year in college. Mom and I were painting a bathroom in my parents’ house. She…
What are the odds you should worry about AI?
A man resigned from his job last week, and the reason he gave should be read slowly. Jacob Coxon spent three years doing research at two of the companies building the most advanced artificial intelligence in the world. When he…
What I learned from a man who detransitioned
Not too long ago, I met a man on a dating app. We hit it off quickly, exchanging jokes about the 1990s elementary-school publishing juggernaut Animorphs. We also noted you can use jokes about the Animorphs as a very quick…
In memory of the search committee member who made a difference
On September 14, I did something I’ve never done in nearly two decades of ministry when I presided over the funeral of a member of the search committee that called me to my current pastorate. Roger Crittenden was a retired…
The year of the ecclesial abstention doctrine
We’ve written more about the ecclesial abstention doctrine this year than I have in my entire career in religious journalism. Increasingly, secular courts are appealing to this doctrine to dismiss — or avoid — cases that present thorny debates among…
Let me tell you about Annie Dillard
I keep mentioning the news to people as though it’s about someone they knew. “Did you hear? Annie Dillard died.” People seem to sense something in my voice and respond with sympathy. Then comes the slightly awkward admission: “I don’t…
Christian nationalism erodes Enlightenment ideals
Imagine going into your kitchen, taking out the largest mixing bowl from your cabinet, and pouring in the most toxic chemicals from your workshop or from under the sink. What you would end up with is an explosive, dangerous concoction…
Someday …
Someday, Donald Trump will be a mere memory. Just last week we were reminded, during the 9/11 memorials, that one-third of the nation’s population was not yet born when the planes hit the twin towers. That’s how soon firsthand memory…
The plight of Christian immigrants
Earlier this year, I went to New York City for a ministry trip where we prayed with people and gave out food through a food distribution center in Queens. While I was there, I was able to talk to quite…
Jeffress is selling evangelical fear
When Robert Jeffress spoke at the GOP Midterm Convention in Dallas Sept. 10, he was selling old evangelical fear. He attacked James Talarico, the Texas Democratic nominee for U.S. senator, as “blasphemous” and “evil.” He declared Talarico’s beliefs “not beliefs…