When I began my studies of people with criminal records as a potential workforce, I quickly learned that employment is a “necessary but not sufficient” condition. Even low-paying employment reduces recidivism by more than 20%, so a paycheck is critical…
Rethinking Mother’s Day
If you Google “Mother’s Day” looking for a gift your mother might actually like — this could be the year to move past the needlepoint pillow that says “Home is where the Mom is” to a promise to let her…
Four R’s for racial reckoning by the white church
“What does God need from white people now?” That’s the question our friend and brother, James Forbes, posed recently to a group of white ministers in the Alliance of Baptists. I was asked to give the first response. Stunned by…
Was Addie Davis’ ordination an anomaly or a precursor for the time?
Addie Davis made history in 1964 when she became the first woman to be ordained as a minister by a Southern Baptist church. Although she did receive her fair share of hate letters and calls for her to renounce her…
Remembering Bob Dale, who helped us learn to dream again
With the news of Bob Dale’s passing late last week, a torrent of stories, testimonials and heart-felt grief has been flowing on social media and in conversations across the nation. The number of people who have stories to tell about…
How the male-centered image of God marginalizes women and disabled persons
Many Christians believe all people are made in the image of God. However, this belief is not so simple when you dive into church life and begin to look at how different people are treated based upon their unique physical…
The State of the Union felt like an old-fashioned revival to me
Long ago, my fourth grade teacher warned me: “Jordan, if you want to be a preacher some day you have to give up on politics. Religion and politics just don’t mix.” I always was a good student, but maybe not…
Here I raise my ebenezer
Standing at the crossroad of two gravel roads, one can turn in any direction to see wheat fields and cotton rows fade into a crimson haze on the horizon. Each road is pre-ordained to the straight and narrow by land…
Five reasons churches should not embrace reaching a multiethnic culture
As a writer, there are some stories that I cannot believe I get to lend my voice to the narrative. However, over the years, I have learned to be honest with myself when it comes to the issue of race…