Throughout 2022, I spent the year learning about various holiday traditions and seeking to gain a greater understanding of what they teach us about God. My theme verse for the year was Psalm 145:7: “They celebrate your abundant goodness and…
How to show Greg Abbott and other Grinches the true spirit of Christmas
The governor of the state where I live proved himself to be a Grinch of the first order Christmas Eve — and apparently a coward too. Three busloads of migrants were delivered outside the door of Vice President Kamala Harris’…
This Christmas, the Holy Spirit sounds like an oxygen machine to me
Don’t let my name fool you. One of my most redeeming qualities is being a realist, often named by others as pessimist. In the spirit of that title, or misplaced naming, I am unsure how I will stomach Christmas this…
All I want for Christmas is a little less schadenfreude and a little more freudenfreude
My worst course in college was German; thank God I needed only four semesters to graduate. But I am too well acquainted with the German word that describes a malady of the spirit, schadenfreude, our joy at another’s misfortune. It…
Perhaps your grief will not ‘ruin’ Christmas
We often perceive the holidays as a time of togetherness and joy, where we reunite with families and enjoy the presence of each other. However, what we do not talk about is the grief that often coincides with the Christmas…
I am part of the resistance
I am a part of the resistance. While I sense I am not all alone, I also sense my number is small, especially so in my own ecclesial family of moderate to progressive Baptists. Many of the current responses to…
Getting rid of Jesus: You don’t have to worry about room in the inn if you raze the inn
Charlotte’s westward expansion — beyond Uptown, Biddleville, Wesley Heights — was in full swing around 1924, when Julia Alexander and her family decided to subdivide and sell off her deceased father’s estate, called Enderly. The old farm would become the…
The faithful understand how those harmed commit harm
I am among a growing number of Christians whose prayers for the death penalty’s continued demise are being answered. The latest year-end report from the Death Penalty Information Center provides abundant evidence. Once again, 2022 statistics show the death penalty continuing…
Mary, Our Mother (For Baptists): Blessed is she
This is the final article in a four-part Advent series. One of my children asked me the other day, “What’s the big deal about access to birth control?” My answer was, “If your mother had not had access to birth…
Blessed are the mess makers
I am amazed at how the tiniest habits have followed me throughout my life. A cluster of repetitive acts stacked upon one another like gathering cornerstones. Building my character while leaving me to discover who I am and who I’m…
Do you see what I see? Lots of missing church members on Christmas Eve
Have I told you the story of the funeral I officiated for a 93-year-old woman who had been a faithful member of a Baptist church all her life but had no relation to a church or a minister to lead…
(How) do you baptize a bot?
This is the final column written by David Ramsey before his untimely death Dec. 11. This submission was sent to BNG on Dec. 9, less than 48 hours before his death. See the related obituary also published today. In…