That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. — 2 Corinthians 12:10 I was ordained alongside my husband on a Sunday afternoon in…
Nobody dislikes Southern Baptists more than Al Mohler
I am disappointed in Al Mohler for a great many reasons. But the Doug Wilson podcast appearance last week is an unsurprising development in a pattern of disappointments. Mohler has a proven history of disregarding the very people he is…
Cage matches and Christianity don’t go together
“There’s only one person more incredible than the Incredible Hulk, and that’s my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” These are the words of Josh Hokit, the former NFL player and heavyweight mixed martial artist who was one of the fighters…
Democracy offers a way for Christian’s to express God’s will
This is the seventh in a BNG series of articles on Christianity and democracy that will lead toward the July 4 celebration of America’s 250th birthday. The series has been curated by Carol McEntyre, senior minister at First Baptist Church…
Marginalized leaders already are leading
As Pride Month unfolds, the Southern Baptist Convention has once again made headlines by reaffirming its opposition to women serving as pastors. At nearly the same moment, recent Department of Defense actions affecting the recognition of several religious traditions raised…
Presence is not a lesser ministry
Several years ago, after a difficult congregational meeting, I sat alone in an empty church parking lot long after everyone else had gone home. The meeting itself had not been dramatic. No one shouted. No one stormed out. Yet as…
The Black Church was not meant to save America
Whenever America experiences a moral crisis, someone eventually asks where the Black Church is. The question recurs with remarkable consistency. It surfaced during the Civil Rights Movement, resurfaced during periods of racial unrest and continues to arise whenever democratic tensions…
Congregational responsibility to LGBTQ members during pastoral transitions
I was baptized on the final Sunday before my pastor left my church in 2016. As a queer person, I had found a church community willing to wrestle honestly with questions about LGBTQ inclusion. The congregation was engaged in discernment….
In a broken world, there always will be more to do
On a recent Saturday, a classic car show was held just down the road. There are several routes to the event, and since one passes right by my house, I spent the afternoon watching the vintage fleet parade to and…
Purple churches and ‘moderate’ Baptists: A theological response
In recent weeks, BNG published two pieces that emerge from a similar progressive theological position. The first is Mark Wingfield’s “Here’s What I Hear When You Say You’re A ‘Purple’ Church.” The second is Braxton Wade’s “Why Are We Still…
Let’s tell a new story: Juneteenth and the Fourth of July
Note: This post is an excerpt from a chapter titled “Juneteenth” in the author’s forthcoming book, Backslide: Reclaiming a Faith and a Nation After the Christian Turn Against Democracy, which will be published September 8 and is now available for pre-order….
Love of neighbor is a democratic ideal
This is the sixth in a BNG series of articles on Christianity and democracy that will lead toward the July 4 celebration of America’s 250th birthday. The series has been curated by Carol McEntyre, senior minister at First Baptist Church…