A small radio rested in my grandmother’s kitchen — one of those gadgets stained by time and the touch of hands that saw a day’s labor before sunrise. On it played nothing but Country Gold. As pintos simmered on the…
What if even a profane message carries truth at its core?
Editor’s note: This article is about profanity and therefore necessarily includes some profanity and substitutes for profanity. A graduate assistant at Louisiana State University, Marcus Venable, has become a casualty in the unending “culture wars.” He has been fired…
4 places to put your tithe money if you no longer attend church
You’ve tithed all your life to a church, dutifully giving that 10% “back to God” as you were taught. But then something happened. A loved one came out. Or you came out. Or Trump got elected. Or the pandemic happened….
Restoration without restitution is complicity
The largest evangelical megachurch in Alabama just spent $4.5 million to open a center for pastoral restoration. The center provides counseling and support for pastors working through issues that cost them their jobs — issues like marital infidelity and sexual…
As you watch the new movie Oppenheimer, remember Glen Stassen
It was 1989 and I had taken a class called Just Peacemaking taught by Glenn H. Stassen. For those of you not familiar with Stassen, he was a nuclear physicist turned theologian turned ethics professor at the Southern Baptist Theological…
How many Americans actually support a ban on abortion?
Last Friday, the leading Republican candidates for president (sans Trump) showed up in Des Moines, Iowa, to campaign among approximately 2,000 overwhelmingly white evangelicals. The forum was sponsored by an evangelical organization called the Family Leader, an organization with a mission…
This one mean tweet says it all
If you want to understand the absurdity of evangelical complementarian young earth reality denial, look at this one tweet from James White July 17 and the dozens of comments it elicited. White, a Calvinist apologist and pastor from Arizona, is…
Learning to pray … again
On Sunday, July 16, at First Baptist Church, Highland Avenue, in Winston-Salem, N.C., Deacon Dr. Judge Kornegay, following the standard liturgy, led the morning prayer. He began by asking God’s blessing on the sick and the bereaved. His gentle yet…
Resisting grace: Why is something so amazing so hard to accept?
If you’ve ever been the recipient of a grace — an undeserved second chance, an unexpected kind word, an unanticipated new beginning — you know the joy and sense of release these experiences bring. Experiencing a true grace restores, empowers…
I opposed John Roberts because I recalled Roger Taney
On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down affirmative action admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. The majority opinion for both decisions was written by Chief Justice John Roberts Jr….
Our common call: How historic Baptist theology affirms my call to pastoral ministry
I am more confident in my call to pastoral ministry because I know historic Baptist theology. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and the common anointing for ministry are basic to Baptist thought…
Passport Camps: Cultivating an atmosphere of call
Recently I attended the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly in Atlanta. It was the first assembly I’ve attended in years. There were a lot of things to celebrate, but something I noticed may have gone unnoticed by most. My doctoral…