If you ask people who grew up in church why they left, you’ll get a variety of answers. Maybe they were hurt by someone they trusted. Or they couldn’t reconcile an all-powerful and good God with the evil in the…
7 reasons to calm down about the termination of Title 42
On April 1, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the pending termination of Title 42, the order that authorizes the rapid expulsion of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border due to the threat of COVID-19. The decision caused…
Connect the dots from Methodists to Baptists to Episcopalians to Presbyterians and national politics
Maybe this is simply stating the obvious, but here goes: There is a pattern to what is happening in the United Methodist Church, the Southern Baptist Convention, the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church and other American churches. And that pattern…
What is the gospel, or what must I do to be saved?
The answer to the great question of how to be saved was supposed to be easy. When I was a kid, they said to “invite Jesus into your heart.” It sounded good, but I wasn’t sure what that meant. To…
The good news of the Resurrection transcends the social agendas of any Christian faction
Christ is risen! This the greatest story ever told, the most important event in human history, the central truth of the last 2,000 years. It’s also a breaking story and an ongoing revolution, because Jesus is still alive and still…
Let’s consider the moral courage it takes for some to reconnect with church after the pandemic
Moral: the right thing to do, although it doesn’t feel right. Courage: doing the right thing anyway. This week, especially this week, there are people of faith in your community who are trying to work up the courage to reconnect…
Don’t get used to war
Olena Zelenska, educated as an architect, is a screenwriter and the first lady of Ukraine. In a recent Vogue interview, she highlighted Ukrainian women’s tenacity and skill in caring for loved ones, going to work and resisting Russian military aggression in their…
Are Black people cursed?
She was a sweet white Christian woman in her sixties who was a seasoned saint. She even brought a Black friend with her to this particular author event on race. That is why her question baffled me. “Are Black people…
Memory and mandate: A meditation on Maundy Thursday
Under the sway of Easter bunnies, chocolate binges and spring fashion sales, Holy Week and Resurrection Morning observances have shed almost all connections to the volatile political events in Jerusalem leading up to Jesus’ “triumphal entry” into the city. The…
Ketanji Brown Jackson’s experience at the Senate felt a lot like being a Baptist woman in ministry
“She has a vast practical experience, something that I think is a real plus. … I will vote no.” “I can say definitively that I like her. I think she’s a good person, but I cannot support her.” “She seems…
Hello, I’m a recovering racist
Hi, my name is Idelette, and I am a recovering racist. I am in recovery from the racist ideas that shaped my consciousness from the very moment I was conceived, amid one of the most racist social and political stories…
COVID, Holy Week and God’s consolations
I lost a friend I highly respected to COVID. Our church family has prayed through the illnesses of members, friends and family, observed deaths and then, of course, there were the illnesses and losses due to complications of COVID never…