Countless times over the years, I’ve attended a meeting or seminar and upon entering the building and picking up my packet of pertinent documents, received an adhesive label that said, “Hello, my name is.” In the space below, I was…
America’s racial sins are sins against God
Too many American Christians act as if our nation has somehow earned God’s approval through our inherent virtue. Instead, I believe the largest way America has reflected Christianity is in how we have been completely dependent upon the grace (unmerited…
When will the church say of abuse, ‘It doesn’t have to be this way’?
“It does not have to be this way.” I am anxiously awaiting my faith community as a whole to say this for women. To say that being abused and harassed as a pastor or layperson can be addressed and not…
Impressions while worshiping in God’s cathedral
While I sat in an old oak grove early Sunday morning, a time in my life replayed, bringing memories of working with consultants to raise funds for building churches. My thoughts drifted back to the 1980s when seven area congregations…
Learning to sit with generational grief
I sat in bed staring at my laptop, the dozens of Google tabs detailing the journey I’d been on. Books were buried in my comforter, creating a type of literary war zone. My ojeras (the bags under my eyes) decorated…
Learn to serve and lead where God takes you, T.D. Jakes advises
Serve and lead at the table where God places you, no matter your position or title. That’s the message I heard from T.D. Jakes during a recent interview. This was my fourth time to interview the pastor of The Potter’s…
Pastors, speak your truth while you still have time
“Make your peace with being honest in ministry today. Don’t wait until you’re older or find the ‘perfect’ church. If you aren’t honest today, you may never make it that far.” I was a youth minister when my pastor and…
Understanding Cuba and the United States through July 11 and Jan. 6
In this land where we’re supposed to have a free press, ensuring a range of perspectives on any given topic, I’m finding it hard to see any difference at all between various media outlets in their news coverage on Cuba….
A cold and broken hallelujah: Learning from the Damaged David
In my seminary days, I was taught that a good sermon or Bible study begins with a provocative question. So, when Nancy and I became pastors 41 years ago, I introduced a Sunday school class with the story about David,…
BYKOTA people and COVID vaccines
Carolyn Weatherford Crumpler was a Baptist icon of her generation. For 15 years, she served as executive director of Woman’s Missionary Union, an auxiliary organization to the male-dominated Southern Baptist Convention. When she retired in 1989, she was tired of…
Does it need praying away?
Netflix recently debuted a documentary titled “Pray Away.” This film chronicles the rise and fall of Exodus International, an evangelical-based therapy group that claimed to be able to change the orientation of LGBTQ people. This type of therapy, commonly known…
Andrew Cuomo, #MeToo, and hypocrisy
The list of public figures demanding Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation is growing. The investigation into sexual harassment complaints yielded credible evidence he harassed 11 women. Now he faces the possibility of impeachment. Just last year, people celebrated Cuomo’s response to…