As we reflect back on 2021, one theme will be how three of the major conservative evangelical denominations have become compromised by sexual abuse and sexual abuse coverups. The Presbyterian Church in America became embroiled in a scandal over the past…
Seeking the Prince of Peace in a nation overwhelmed by threats
For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6) Peace I leave with you; my peace…
What do ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ have to do with American Christianity today?
Remember the opening of the first Hunger Games movie? At the annual reaping ceremony in District 12, Capitol representative Effie Trinket plays a short film for her captive audience. The montage, narrated by President Snow, depicts scenes from Panem’s history…
What The Little Prince taught me about Christmas
It’s nearly Christmas, but after the ongoing chaos of the last two years, haven’t you wished you lived on another planet and could visit earth if you wanted? That experience is the setting for The Little Prince, written and illustrated…
Dear Robert Jeffress: You’ve called the wrong U.S. president ‘ungodly’
Robert Jeffress used his Dec. 5 sermon to claim that President Joe Biden has the most “ungodly” administration in American history. “The Biden administration is ungodly! I don’t care how many rosary beads they rub, they’re ungodly,” he intoned. “This…
Listening to the Spirit through the catch in the throat
This has been a hard year. Let me count the ways. In 2020, the ravages of COVID-19 forced Nancy and I to flee our home and move in with one of our children. As 2021 began, we were able to return,…
Angel wings and devil tails: Meditation on the Feast of the Holy Innocents
“This is no time for a child to be born, With the Earth betrayed by war and hate And a comet slashing the sky to warn That time runs out and the sun burns late.” —Madeleine L’Engle, “The Risk of…
Raymond Bailey was my mentor
Two days after Raymond Bailey’s death on the First Sunday of Advent, I talked about him at my church staff meeting. I told the staff how Raymond taught me to preach, showed me how to be a minister and pushed…
Grace and peace to you — at the tip of a sword
For weeks now, I’ve been teaching verse by verse through the book of 1 Thessalonians on Sunday mornings. Last week and this week, we hit the hinge between the last verse of 1 Thessalonians and the opening lines of 2…
When walking with the grieving, carry the umbrella
“Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls….
This Christmas, they can try to control the Bible, but they can’t have Jesus
I wanted to be an R.A. They had so much more fun than the G.A.s. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, for many years in Southern Baptist churches, Wednesday night programing for children was…
Advent, race and the intimacy of Incarnation: Why we must see beyond a white Baby Jesus
Just ahead of the first Sunday of Advent this year, a painting depicting Mary cradling the body of the crucified Jesus was stolen from the wall outside the Mary Mirror of Justice Chapel at Catholic University of America law school,…