When you read this opinion piece, the presidential election of 2024 will be finished, if not finally decided. It seems to me the election will determine whether the Seven Deadly Sins or the Seven Classical Virtues will be ascendant in…
The 3 temptations of Christ are similar to Trump’s temptations to evangelicals
Many distractions in this life take a person off of their true path. Even as I put these words together, I think about everything unrelated to my writing. I am thinking about my career and need to find work that gets me…
Christians and the fight for justice after Trump’s return
As we reflect on the state of our nation after the results of the 2024 election, we are confronted with a renewed sense of division, uncertainty and urgency. Donald Trump’s rise to power once again has raised profound questions about…
Save this column and don’t say we didn’t warn you
To about half the country, it appears the other half has lost its ever-loving mind. And forgotten how bad things really were in 2020. But here we are again — just like in 2016 — with the most dangerous man…
Matthew Shepard’s story was almost my story
Editor’s note: Last weekend, the Dallas-based Turtle Creek Chorale performed Considering Matthew Shepard, a Grammy-nominated three-part oratorio composed by Craig Hella Johnson. The author serves as artistic director of the Turtle Creek Chorale. This piece first appeared in the Dallas…
Trump’s dangerous closing message to his white Christian followers
Down the home stretch of the campaign, Donald Trump has doubled down on his message of Christian nationalism and white grievance. While his speeches have indeed become more meandering and more extreme, they nonetheless contain a coherent appeal that taps…
‘Remember the ladies’
In 1776, Abigail Adams wrote to her husband, John, “Remember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember all men would be…
Sexually harassing a nation
I have been watching social media as people are responding to the recent uptick of violent sexual rhetoric targeting women (and everyone, really) from former President Donald Trump and those from his inner circle. This aspect of the Trump campaign…
Do we want to see?
Last week as I was preparing my sermon for Sunday, I was reading the passage in Mark where the blind man, Bartimaeus, asks Jesus to heal his blindness. Unlike other places in Scripture where someone asks Jesus to heal them…
Politics, faith and mission: A conversation with Bishop Michael Curry
Michael Curry was elected 27th presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in 2015, after previously serving as bishop of North Carolina. One of America’s most-renowned preachers, he is perhaps most widely known for his sermon at the “royal wedding” of…
Is this a Bonhoeffer Moment?
A week before the election I was in a group of clergy where we were sharing our anxiety about the election, expressing our apprehension that Donald Trump would be elected president, and casting about for the meaning of it all….
When ‘thy kingdom come’ is a threat more than a blessing
Every election season since I left the final church I was a part of in 2019 is a reminder of why I don’t think I could ever go back. And I know many ex-evangelicals agree with me. I’m writing this…