I want to speak directly to my white friends, white Christians and especially white clergy colleagues during Black History Month. I’m writing to you not as an adversary or a critic, but as someone who has prayed with you, eaten…
Let holy curiosity guide you this Black History Month
Last January, I had the opportunity to spend a week in Richmond, Va., exploring the complicated role of religious freedom in our country. Specifically, the group I was with pressed on the wounds of race, power and inequality. We explored…
Everyone has a part to play in the fight against ICE
I was in Minneapolis the week Alex Pretti was shot more than 10 times by Customs and Border Patrol Agents. I originally went to Minneapolis to write about the aftermath of Renee Good’s murder by an ICE agent. As I…
Working where grass is trampled
There is an African proverb that states, “Where elephants fight, the grass is trampled.” Nowhere is this a truer metaphor than the effect of global politics on international development and, ultimately, the marginalized at the bottom. Imagine our surprise and…
How do white Christians ignore Trump’s obvious racism?
The question is not if President Trump is a racist. That question was settled long ago. The receipts are in hand. I was 5 years old in 1989 when he spent $85,000 on full-page ads calling for the execution of…
By Trump’s definition, Jesus ‘engaged in domestic terrorism’
There’s a lie that’s been rattling around my mind since federal agents murdered Alex Pretti Jan. 24. It’s the lie that Pretti, an intensive-care nurse at a Veterans’ Administration hospital, was “engaged in domestic terrorism.” Realistically, dozens of videos have…
‘Am I the bad guy?’
During the climactic scene in 1993’s film Falling Down (spoilers ahead), Michael Douglas’ character, William Foster — known as “D-Fens,” after his license plate — asks a haunting question in a mix of disbelief and dawning recognition: “I’m the bad…
We can win with nonviolence
Since early December 2025, Minnesota has been under siege. Stories and videos have been pouring out of Minnesota — and elsewhere in the United States — of ICE’s violent, illegal and unethical actions. We have seen peaceful protesters assaulted; we…
John Adams and the discipline of seeing both sides
There are moments in history when the moral courage of a single individual becomes a kind of quiet lighthouse — unshowy, steady and stubbornly faithful to the truth even when the surrounding waters churn with fear, anger and tribal certainty….
Will anyone in the SBC really speak against racism?
In 1995, the Southern Baptist Convention adopted a resolution apologizing for its past ties to systemic racism and repenting of its founding history rooted in support for slavery. In 2015, the SBC adopted a resolution vowing to “rededicate ourselves to…
Three reasons from this week why BWIM’s work is needed
Evidence from this week provides three reasons why the work of Baptist Women in Ministry is still needed. Reason No. 1: When Christian patriarchal theology is popularized and easily accessible, it is used for harm. Reporting by Daniel Silliman at…
The necessity of anointing and hard work
I don’t listen to contemporary gospel or Contemporary Christian Music like I once did. Although talented and faithful remnants remain, and God continues using them, much of the genre today, at least what tops the charts, can feel mediocre or…