The Baptist youth group I grew up in was made up of three main categories of students — the Christian school students, the homeschool students, and the public school students. Every fall, as we gathered on Wednesday evenings just a few…
Why O.S. Hawkins is right for the job
It was interview number three for me, and although it was four years ago, I can remember it like it was yesterday. When I took the interview with O.S. Hawkins, then president of Guidestone, it was a defining moment. I…
The post-evangelical phenomenon is in Europe too
Just after Labor Day, I flew to Zurich to begin 10 days of meetings, podcasts and speeches in Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. The event introduced me to the growing post-evangelical scene in Europe, as well as the situation facing…
A native daughter returns to Bubba-Doo’s
The list sent with me to Bubba-Doo’s was quite specific. Good thing, too. My tipping point on chaos when it comes to a list is three items. To be clear, you can tell me any two things and I will…
The myth of the Good Shepherd
“The Good Shepherd” is a mosaic dating back to 425 AD that sits over the entrance to the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna, Italy. I have often wondered what Christianity would look like if the parables of Jesus found…
Let’s hear from the male allies
On registration day in the fall of 2005 at James Walker Hood Theological Seminary, I looked around and it appeared the females outnumbered male seminarians three to one. I felt extremely proud to be among so many females. Why? Because…
12 insights on navigating marriage and ministry
In her book Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith, Anne Lamott suggests, “A good marriage is where both people feel like they’re getting the better end of the deal.” However, I can readily identify with Winston Churchill’s assessment: “My most…
How Don Durham and I became neighbors
In the first chapter of The Glad River, author Will Campbell introduces two main characters, Claudy “Doops” Momber and Kingston Smylie. Flung into the cold military-industrial machine, the men first cross paths during basic training. Be it the impending war,…
It’s time to stop using the Bible as a sacred weapon to oppress LGBTQ people
For the last 76 years, evangelicals have been using the Bible as a sacred weapon to oppress LGBTQ people. While many people are under the impression that the word “homosexuality” has “always been in the Bible,” the reality is that…
A Gen-Xer reflects on the progressive-conservative divorce in the former Southern Baptist Convention
I grew up in a family that worshipped the trinity: God, the Southern Baptist Convention and the Dallas Cowboys. I was born in Fort Worth, Texas, while my father was a student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. By the time…
Keep your Bible where it belongs
When I took my first Bible class in college, I was required to memorize the books of the Bible. A lot of people in my class found that exercise of writing out the books of the Bible from memory in…
Remembering Professor Claypool
This past weekend, Crescent Hill Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., hosted “Glad Reunion: Celebrating the Ministry and Legacy of John R. Claypool.” Claypool had famously served the church as pastor throughout the turbulent 1960s and became a renowned pulpiteer in…