If there’s intelligent life out there, it probably already has destroyed itself or is well on its way to doing so, as is our species on our own little planet. At least, that’s what a number of scientists who do…
The folly of naming a place you don’t understand
I started getting calls and emails a few months ago from a couple of development companies that were introducing new plans down the street. Their reps were looking for some combination of buy-in, or solidarity, or absolution, all of which…
How to pray for Vladimir Putin
I struggle to reconcile Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:44 with my desire to see Vladimir Putin and his minions annihilated. The Gospel text states: “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Two questions…
What a first grader learned about book-banning from an old-timey Baptist preacher
The recent ruckus about banning books from school libraries dredged up a vivid-yet-obscure memory from my early childhood. When I was in first grade, my father — a prototypical conservative Baptist pastor of his generation — surprised me by saying…
Church Conflict 101
It’s becoming a weekly conversation. I call it Church Conflict 101. A minister calls and immediately I hear the despair in his voice. “I can’t say anything from the pulpit without someone accusing me of being ‘too political’. What am…
Addressing war with those who don’t remember 9-11
I work with a variety of young people in a variety of settings. Today in a class in one of those settings, and on impulse, I told the class I wanted to take the temperature of the group. I said,…
Meditation on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
I can almost smell the acrid, thick smoke of diesel engines powering Russian tanks, personnel carriers and trucks hauling heavy artillery into two eastern provinces of Ukraine’s border with Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the two provinces as “independent…
The dangers of being too resistant to change or too eager to change
We typically think of proverbs as sources of guidance about how to live. However, the kind of guidance you can get from a proverb is tricky, since different proverbs appear to give conflicting advice. There’s the admonition to “Look before…
Learning to expand the table by becoming an ally
Recently, I was sitting at the local ice cream parlor with my wife and some friends when in walked another family we all knew. My friend Joe immediately got up, went over to an unused table and began to move…
A pastoral letter to transgender children
Dearest trans child of God, You are loved through and through. You are loved just as you are in this moment, and in every step of your becoming. I will always believe you when you tell me who you are….
Five takeaways from the Report on Christian Nationalism and January 6
On Feb. 9, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, in tandem with their movement “Christians Against Christian Nationalism” and in partnership with the Freedom From Religion Foundation, held a livestreamed event that introduced their new comprehensive report on the influence…
Faithful discomfort: Why white Americans need to be offended
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott recently announced his support for a Parent’s Bill of Rights, a new but oh-so-familiar offering from conservatives that seeks to bar librarians and teachers in public schools from offering access to facts and stories that stand…