Veterans Day doesn’t lend itself to commercial attention like its twin, Memorial Day, probably because it’s squeezed between two other cash-registering holidays, Halloween and Thanksgiving, and it does not coincide with a car-cultural observance like the Indy 500 auto race….
The second coming of JFK Jr. and other unrealities: Signs of our times
All things considered, an event in Dallas on Nov. 2, 2021, had the makings of a post-Christian kingdom of God moment for the subgroup of QAnon believers gathered in Dealey Plaza, site of the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy…
10 observations about church health for the next chapter of ministry
I believe in the local church. Despite its foibles, the local church is where the action is in the demonstration of love and grace. It is the place and space where faith is formed, life is shared, and ministry is…
How 29 syllables changed my heart about God and gay people
“For the last 20 years, I thought if there was a God, he probably hated me for making me the way I am.” I can’t communicate the destructive power those words had on me. Back then, I was a conservative,…
Advice for parents wondering about COVID-19 and child vaccinations
The following Q-and-A with three health care professionals who have experience with pediatrics and parenting was created by Heather Mustain, associate pastor at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas. Heather is the parent of two young children, and her husband, Chad,…
It’s the culture, stupid
In the politico world, all eyes were on Virginia last week. Despite obsessing over every pattern in the tea leaves left from the expended campaign strategies and discernible in the exit polls, one striking finding was almost entirely missed by the…
Advice for churches after the pandemic: Stop believing capitalism will save you
Several years ago — at a stuffy denominational gathering with bad ballroom catering where the chicken breasts all tasted like PowerPoint presentations — a progressive pastor admitted to me the church where he works wouldn’t be “open and affirming” to…
Manufactured homes and just zoning laws can transform working poor
“It’s been a long, a long time coming. But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will.” The refrain from Kathy Manis Findlay’s Oct. 21 op-ed is significant. However, bringing about change will require the Christian community to…
Abiding in thin places: Día de los Muertos and lessons from loved ones passed
My longest-standing disagreement with my mother stems from an early childhood memory. I recall waving to my great-grandmother while an adult held me in loving arms. I vividly remember Big Granny smiling and waving back to me as strangers carried…
How the evangelical church messed up and lost its way
The evangelical church in the United States is a mess. I’m not talking about reports of declining membership and lower baptism numbers. Those statistics merely provided warning signs that something was amiss, that things were going in the wrong direction….
I want to experience Christianity much bigger than a shoebox
Every year about this time, old content from the Baptist News Global website starts lighting up, due to searches for “Operation Christmas Child.” As it turns out, people are not just searching these words because they love the program and…
‘Hateful faithful’ model paves the way for a fascist society
I was born, educated and live in Arkansas. Recently, white legislators in Arkansas responsible for redrawing voting districts in ways that fracture communities of Black and Latinx voters expressed dismay when Black and Latinx leaders denounced the re-drawn districts as…