I look forward to marching in the Pride parade with my church each year. We have had a float in the parade almost from the parade’s beginning. Each year there are protesters. Almost always, there is someone holding a Bible;…
On faith and gardening
One of the most flourishing post-pandemic interests is gardening. And the season is upon us. “Show me your garden and I’ll tell you who you are.” — Alfred Austin, English poet laureate, wrote in the 1800s. My own garden would…
Building bridges in a divided world: 7 ways to cultivate unity
In a world that is increasingly divided, followers of Jesus can be proactive and intentional about building bridges over the chasm of our differences. Our faith calls us to be peacemakers, to love our neighbors and to cultivate unity in…
‘Bad Guys’ vs. ‘Good Guys’ narrows the framing on SBC and sexual abuse
The Southern Baptist Convention’s Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force disbanded without having implemented much of anything. The database they purported to “launch” last year — even hyping it as “historic” — remains empty. It holds not a single name of…
The Ten Commandments meet the Golden Rule
Last week, Christian nationalists won another skirmish in their ongoing assault on democracy and their misguided struggle for the “soul” of America when the governor of Louisiana signed legislation mandating posting the Ten Commandments on the walls of every classroom…
Female pastors: Princesses of the Most High?
I have been called a lot of things in my life. Some nice and some that would make my mother gasp. One I liked the least was when my senior pastor, who denied my call to ministry, attempted to relate…
Faith without justice: Baptist blind spots in Palestine
As a concerned believer, I am deeply troubled by the recent resolutions of the Southern Baptist Convention against my family, my people and my homeland, Palestine. Despite professing to uphold Christian values of compassion and justice, the SBC’s approach in…
You only leave home when home won’t let you stay
no one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark you only run for the border when you see the whole city running as well your neighbors running faster than you breath bloody in their throats the boy…
Gov. Landry and the new Ten Commandments
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry seemed quite smug with himself, surrounded by similarly adoring fans as he proudly — yes, even regally — signed into law his dangerous bill to place the Ten Commandments in every classroom in every public educational…
Finding refuge: The diverse faces of resilience in America
On the day of its independence, America chose a motto to show how proud it was of its diversity and welcome. Over the centuries “E Pluribus Unum” — “out of many, one” — has meant welcoming tens of millions of the…
Lying does count!
There’s an old story that goes something like this: At the end of the age, billions of souls from across eternity are gathered at the Great-White-Throne-Judgment awaiting divine adjudication. At some point, the multitudes at the rear hear tumultuous hoorahs…
What, to the white American, is the 19th of June?
On July 5, 1852, the Ladies Anti-Slavery Society of Rochester invited Frederick Douglass to give a speech on the 76th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which became known by its central piercing question, “What, to the American slave, is your…