On multiple occasions in the last few weeks, I’ve had conversations with pastor friends who have said in passing, “I’ve not had a salary increase since I got here.” These pastor friends are not bitter, and they weren’t complaining. They…
The unsolvable political problem facing those who lead purple churches
The United States is bitterly divided along what we now call red/blue, conservative/liberal, Republican/Democrat lines. Of course, not everyone fits into those boxes, but enough do for the statement to be accurate. The mutual suspicion and social separation between the…
Letter to the Editor: ‘60 Minutes’ and the questions not asked
Letter to the Editor October 10, 2022 Dear Editor: Anderson Cooper’s “60 Minutes” interview of Bart Barber began on a hopeful note. Asked if he believed the 2020 presidential election was stolen, the Southern Baptist Convention president answered: “No.” Asked…
Four reasons saying grace is important
As we enter October, the holiday season is coming up quickly. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. Most of these holidays entail some sort of celebration that involves food. Even if you are not celebrating a specific holiday, this is the time of…
‘These are not your people’
Meeting up with good friends recently, we all hugged and chatted about changes in our lives during the tumultuous pandemic. Everyone, of course, contributed with updates. At one point, I shared that a decision we made didn’t seem to be…
Letter to the Editor: ‘Ship of Fools’ has sailed
Letter to the Editor October 9, 2022 Dear Editor: My first recollection of the song “Ship of Fools” was in college while reading Book VI of Plato’s Republic in a political science class. An allegory using a ship with a…
In Central Texas, the Naomi House makes me proud to be a Baptist again
I never imagined I would utter, much less think, these words: “I am proud to be a Baptist.” But it happened. I don’t need to recount the long laundry list of problems with our denomination or with the church in…
The importance of making virginity a personal choice within Christianity
John Chrysostom in his Major Treatises on Virginity argued that the first human beings were “adorned by virginity,” as they lived in a perfect and non-sexual state before the fall of humankind. Once the first sin occurred, this adornment ended,…
Climate disasters reveal serious hypocrisy — both religious and political
When the AIDS epidemic descended upon cities on America’s West and East Coast (but not in the American South just yet), religious “authorities” such as Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and Billy Graham declared it to be God’s judgment for sin….
The two apocalyptic movements threatening America
Two apocalyptic movements bracket America’s democratic crisis. One predicts a future chaos; the other airs a past history of grievances. The future and the past impinge upon the present to paralyze the potential for positive action. One looks to the…
White resentment is like an abusive lover who would rather kill than lose control
Many years ago, I was having a conversation with a woman with whom I had gone to high school. She was a successful attorney, living in Pennsylvania, and had a good life — except for her long-term boyfriend. He was…
The white church isn’t dying; it’s in exile
In mid-September, I returned to the church of my childhood, McLaurin Memorial Baptist Church in Edmonton, Alberta. The last time I had been inside the church was for the 1998 funeral of my mother. There are still a handful of…