When I was 18, I got caught in a lie. I had attended a party as an underage person where there was alcohol. Eventually, the tenor of the party crescendoed to a pitch that caught the ears of the police….
How diet culture distorts the gospel
Every January, churches begin promoting fitness and wellness programs with the best of intentions. The flyers promise renewal, discipline and a fresh start, all spiritual-sounding words. The messaging suggests we can honor God with our bodies through diet and exercise….
Trump’s lies are killing us
During the opening days of his first term, President Donald Trump achieved something remarkable. According to The New York Times, “He said something untrue, in public, every day for the first 40 days of his presidency.” His spokesperson, Kellyanne Conway, coined…
Mackenzie Scott rewrites philanthropy
A woman, not a man, has done more for HBCUs than any person in history in just five faithful years. MacKenzie Scott has rewritten the moral and financial law of modern philanthropy. She has done what few policies, pledges or…
Spiritual questions remain after Abyssinian’s gender-bias lawsuit dismissed
The recent dismissal of a gender-bias lawsuit involving Abyssinian Baptist Church, while constitutionally predictable is spiritually and theologically unfinished. A federal judge ruled the claims brought by Eboni Marshall Turman, a former assistant minister and nationally respected theologian and professor,…
Trump preparing to warehouse immigrants like cargo
On Christmas Eve, the Washington Post broke the news that the Trump administration plans to convert seven large warehouses across the country into holding pens to collectively hold 80,000 humans. One of the selected sites is Hutchins, Texas, 30 miles…
Choose love, not ICE
On Wednesday in Minneapolis, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good during an otherwise nonviolent encounter. Video and eyewitness accounts, which show the woman attempting to flee from ICE as they aggressively attempted to enter…
The deadly result of excusing Trump’s lies
Renee Nicole Good is dead because evangelical Christians have excused Donald Trump’s lies. Is that a harsh assessment? Absolutely. Is it accurate? Absolutely. Here’s why: Trump’s first and second elections as president of the United States were built on a…
In Minneapolis, Good versus evil
Renee Nicole Good was murdered in her SUV by masked ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis Jan. 7. One day after we observed the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, another avoidable tragedy with law enforcement…
America’s dangerous double standard in war and law
More than 20 years ago, Queen Padmé Amidala, portrayed by Natalie Portman in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, delivered a line that has aged like prophecy: “So this is how liberty dies — with thunderous applause.”…
For this new year: Ring the bells that still can ring
In a recent New York Times article, “The Nazi Plunder of Church Bells Changed the Sound of Europe,” Nina Siegel chronicled a Nazi wartime strategy of confiscating church bells — more than 150,000 of them — to turn the metal…
Observations from a clergy sister of a darker hue
It is with gratitude, excitement and concern that I share my observations and response to the Baptist Women in Ministry State of Women in Baptist Life report. I commend Heather Deal and all contributors for the clear, in-depth, insightful and…