On the day the Southern Baptist Convention voted on an amendment to prevent women from preaching and serving as pastors, I was trying to figure out the ending to my sermon. It was my ninth sermon at Second Baptist Church…
Gone fishin’: The SBC and me
Recently I came across an excellent article in Baptist News Global about cooperation (or lack thereof), among Southern Baptists in how we present Jesus Christ as the only hope for the spiritually lost and dying residents of our planet. Derek…
‘Baby, you’re a firework!’
Do you think arriving at 9 p.m. for fireworks that begin at 9:25 would be early enough? If you do, then the New York Police Department would like to have a word with you. We could have guaranteed ourselves seats…
Sentencing Donald Trump
A New York state court jury found Donald Trump guilty of committing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal checks signed by Trump to repay his former attorney, Michael Cohen, in 2017 for suppressing unfavorable information about Trump’s…
What will you do with your Daniel scar?
Today, I did something I’ve never done before at a funeral. Something so ill-advised that pastoral care professors reading this likely will flinch on hearing it. Something that’s the wrong thing except when it is suddenly very necessary. I told…
The importance of ‘Keeping It Juicy’
Johnsonville, one of the most popular sausage brands in America, announced a new ad campaign April 8 they have titled “Keep It Juicy.” The campaign, which features actor Vince Vaughn, will of course emphasize that Johnsonville sausages are known for…
Congressman John Lewis is my choice in this election
John Lewis has been called the moral conscience of the United States Congress. His death in July 2020 was a great loss to all of us. I mourn his death, but I call on his dream, his spirit, for our…
The day they tried to trap my father
It’s not even occurred to me to tell this story for maybe 30 years, but Father’s Day just happened and the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting just took place, and somebody just died a few days before that happened, and…
Jesus and the Ten Commandments
As a person who tries, however poorly, to live as a Jesus follower, I find myself fearing people who have only a casual acquaintance with Christianity might assume all Christians are applauding the recent Louisiana legislation that mandates posting the…
The dark shadows over July 4
The 248th birthday of our country will be celebrated this year under dark shadows. Personally, I will not be doing much celebrating. Let’s review our situation, shall we? Former President Donald Trump already was leading in the presidential election polls…
Living between Romans 13 and Revelation 13 as we celebrate our nation’s birthday
As July 4 approaches, we struggle with the political polarization in our nation and worry about our democracy threatened by the allure of autocracy. To use scriptural categories, we are living between Romans 13 and Revelation 13. Romans 13 has…
Monarchy redux: Follow the money
Who’d a thought that just prior to commemorating our overthrow of a king, the U.S. Supreme Court would reinstate monarchy? That might be an exaggeration, but only a teeny-weeny one. With today’s Supreme Court ruling, presidents of the U.S. have…