But to preach the gospel is not just to tell the truth but to tell the truth in love and to tell the truth in love means to tell it with concern not only for the truth that is being…
Just what we needed: Another pompous declaration from the conservative Calvinist evangelicals
The Christians who keep abusing their privilege to demand everyone else conform to their narrow views of culture and politics have released a new “declaration” against the abuse of power. As if the world needed one more declaration from the…
Jesus would turn over tables in this Crisis Pregnancy Center
During my first stint in seminary, I visited a Crisis Pregnancy Center to write a paper for a class on health and spirituality. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. When I arrived, the director and I met for a…
In Jackson, Miss., the lack of water flows into conversation about God, politics and public trust
Last Sunday, Aug. 28, I was privileged to be in attendance at Northminster Baptist Church in Jackson, Miss., as Pastor Chuck Poole gave his last sermon after 25 years of ministry and his final splash in the baptismal pool. The…
How will you observe International Overdose Awareness Day?
On a summer afternoon, we gathered in the chapel of the addiction treatment center to grieve and remember lives lost to overdoses. Every client knew someone who had died from an overdose; most had lost several friends or family members….
Finding beauty in the superstore parking lot
On a sultry August morning, I backed out the convertible and headed to the grocery store to pick up some needed bakery items and a platter of watermelon slices. It seemed somehow appropriate, now that the “hottest month of the…
Roger Williams and the courage to speak clearly
Roger Williams agreed with the Puritan overlords of Massachusetts Bay on most points of doctrine, but when his thinking diverged from accepted orthodoxy, he said so. Plainly and without apology. In The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution, Peace and Truth are…
Desiring God is denying reality
Last week, it was the almost humorous riff on beards as signs of God’s favor on manly men. This week, it’s a not-at-all funny critique of Critical Race Theory and intersectionality — by a white man who is the father…
Concern for our nation at Bubba-Doo’s
“Pastor, I just don’t understand how we got here.” Now if you feel like you just dropped in on a conversation that had already started, that’s understandable. Let me catch you up on a fascinating chat I participated in the…
Travel as a theological practice
Three countries. Four trips. Twelve flights. And more hours in vehicles than I can count (seriously, I tried on my phone calculator and gave up). This summer has been filled with my favorite pastime: traveling. Exploring foreign places and embracing…
Karla’s story: The crossing of hurt and hope
Week after week, the Border Church sees migrants and would-be asylees on its southern side. As migrant waves wax and wane and U.S. budgets rise and fall, our weekly work with migrants awaiting entry into the U.S. near San Diego…
Reversal of fortunes: Bake sales to support our troops
One recent slow morning in August, the grocery store circulars in the newspaper caught my attention. And I began to wonder how things might be different if certain fortunes were reversed. Instead of “back-to-school” it’s “back-to-basic-training” discount offers. Imagine the…