In his Nov. 9 analysis, “The Church Is Losing Its Way,” Rob Sellers outlines the numerous ways in which the church is failing. In addition to Sellers’ list (irrelevance, unchallenging, unaccepting, and, most interestingly, unChristlike), I would like to add…
The Atlanta Braves and the window of hope
The voice of James Earl Jones — as Terrance Mann in The Field of Dreams — touches a nerve of spirit for millions of baseball fans. Since 1989 the words nearly have become sacred: “The one constant through all the…
The air that surrounds the Ahmaud Arbery trial and so many trials
The trial surrounding the murder of Ahmaud Aubrey represents everything I hate about America. It represents the seated hostility Georgia, this country, and the world has for Black people. Ahmaud was 25 years old with so much life to live….
The connection between the wealth gap, monopolies, affordable housing and biblical truths
The first 346 words that follow the headline “The U.S. wealth gap presents both a political challenge and a spiritual problem” on Baptist News Global by Todd Thomason are packed with data that Christians of all stripes should carefully consider….
If you’re paying attention to Christian nationalism, you won’t be shocked by Michael Flynn’s call for ‘one religion under God’
At a rally in San Antonio as part of the “ReAwaken America” tour, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn said the quiet part out loud: “If we are going to have one nation under God, which we must, we have…
‘Please, think of the kittens’ and other scary things I learned from purity culture
“Every time you masturbate, God kills a kitten.” Ah yes, the threat of divine felicide, God’s one weapon in the fight against sexual deviancy. Unfamiliar with God’s displeasure at self-pleasure? You must not have grown up evangelical in the ’90s…
I didn’t have to be here and other existential truths
The cool cat, bird dog, James Dean wanna-be posing behind my mother thinks he has it made in the shade. The photo is dated “Mar 1954.” My mom first wrote “My boyfriend and I” on the back, but then, a…
In Brunswick, Ga., a storm is brewing
I was born and raised in Orlando, Fla., and one of the things I remember from my childhood experience was knowing when a storm was coming our way. You just knew from the look and smell that you should prepare…
To imply that our public schools are centers of pornography and our educators purveyors of smut is a devil’s lie
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued not one but two letters this month calling for Texas public schools to “ensure no child is exposed to pornography or other inappropriate content.” The first letter on Nov. 1 to the Texas Association of…
A conservative resurgence in U.S. Catholicism?
Many readers of this column will know that in my religious practice I am by now something of a hybrid, attending both Catholic and Baptist churches every week when possible. This is time-consuming, for sure, but it does offer me…
What do our actions since Jan. 6 say to the people who pledged their lives to support and defend the Constitution of the United States?
Last week for Veterans Day, I was asked to address the Pulaski County Bar Association in Little Rock, Ark., as it recognized the sacrifice and service given by people who have served in the armed forces of the United States. I…
7 dos and don’ts when considering the redevelopment of church property
More and more houses of worship are shuttering their doors. Declining membership, increased internet streaming and COVID-19 pandemic pressures all have conspired against traditional, steepled structures. Faith communities are trying to hang on and even prosper by analyzing how to…