“Build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there…
If you would have marched with Dr. King, where are you now?
Editor’s note: In October 2017, Freddy Haynes of Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas wrote an open letter to Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas, asking his cooperation in fighting racism in America. Haynes is a nationally known figure…
‘OK, we live in a racist society. What do we do next?’
The videos don’t lie, and we can’t turn away from the images of George Floyd gasping for breath, from the truth of his story and so many like it. So over the past few months as demonstrators have taken to…
Six lessons living with chronic illness has taught me about surviving a pandemic
For the last seven years, I’ve battled chronic pain and illness. A traumatic back injury in 2013 was only the beginning of what these years have held for me. Intense treatments and therapies with very slow results kept me hopeful…
If government causes poverty, shouldn’t government address poverty?
There are those whose Christian conviction somehow excludes the government from any involvement in addressing poverty. That responsibility, they say, rests only with the church. There is great error in this position. If only because governmental policies often cause poverty,…
Are we finding God in ourselves or ourselves in God?
Is God behind the COVID-19 pandemic? Is God intervening to bring judgment on America? Does God bless gay marriage? Does God recognize a woman’s right to choose? Is God accepting of everyone? Does God welcome everyone into the body of…
Learning late about my hometown: Selma, Alabama
I was born in Selma, Ala., in November 1962. I lived in a little ranch house on Dixie Drive, three miles from the Pettus Bridge. The only memories I have of Selma were the stories told by my parents, who shared…
We’re asking the wrong questions about churches ‘reopening’
Every Christian I know longs for a return to pre-COVID congregational life. For four months, our beloved rhythms have been on hold, leaving us frustrated, exhausted and ready for the widespread acceptance of practices to help curb the spread of…
How to win the war between keeping the peace and telling the truth
Sometimes the conflict between keeping the peace and truthfully stating what we believe is agonizing. In February 2006, I became semi-famous for writing an article in Christianity Today arguing that torture is morally wrong and that no American Christian should…