This is a photo of me with my father in the upper deck of the New Orleans Superdome at the Southern Baptist Convention in June 1990. We were two of the nearly 40,000 messengers who gathered that year for a…
GAs Gone Bad: Baptist women you should be reading
Nearly 60 years have passed since Watts Street Baptist Church in Durham, N.C., ordained Addie Davis to ministry. Yet somehow, Southern Baptists are still fighting about women in ministry. Saddleback Church in California recently set off a new round of…
On Roger Williams, freedom of conscience and its (sometimes well-intentioned) enemies
I don’t like being told what to do, think or say. You got a problem with that? I know that sounds excessively pugnacious and not very Christian, considering the ugly divisions and hatreds roiling Americans in recent years. But I…
Letter to the Editor: Praise for Chris Conley analysis on abortion debate
Dear Editor: Chris Conley’s opinion piece on finding middle ground in the bitter debate over abortion rights is the most cogent, persuasive perspective I’ve read anywhere. Whatever one’s position on Roe v. Wade, or one’s hopes or fears that it soon will be…
What I learned from spending three days with the ‘Duck Dynasty’ family
I was honored to be invited to spend three days with members of the influential “Duck Dynasty” family. If you know anything about the TV show, you will understand the meaning of the invite to “spend time” with what many…
Critical Race Theory, voter suppression and historical negation: The irony of it all
In his Key into the Language of America (1643), the earliest Native American/English grammar, Roger Williams, that colonial disquieter of the religio-political peace, described his experiences with the Narragansets and other Northeastern native tribes: They were hospitable to everybody, whomsoever…
To understand the Bible, we all need a spiritual awakening over and over again
I did not grow up a progressive Christian. I grew up a conservative Christian. I do not disparage that; it is part of my life that I fully embrace and is part of my journey. I suspect this is true…
Pride month and the unhindered gospel
One of the key words of Acts is “unhindered.” The last word of the book is in the adjective form, saying that Paul near the end of his life preached the gospel of the kingdom “unhinderedly.” The whole book is…
Experiencing God and engaging in social responsibility are keys to church relevance
For the first time since they began keeping track in 1937, Gallup found that a minority of Americans (47%) are now members of a house of worship. This wasn’t really news to anyone who has been involved in a church…
Now we know why the SBC hasn’t acted more on sexual abuse
For the last two years, observers have watched the Southern Baptist Convention deal with a crisis of abusive pastors. After a 2019 Houston Chronicle report, it seemed like the leadership of the denomination was becoming intent on protecting the vulnerable…
Get ready: There’s a second wave of church conflict coming
A pastor who works to encourage other pastors recently posted on Facebook that he personally knows 28 pastors who have left the ministry in the past year. That’s one graphic illustration of what the season of our discontent has wrought…
After talking with Bishop Curry, my goals for this summer are love, church, service and kindness
I love summer. In fact, I love everything about summer. Last summer didn’t seem like normal as we battled the effects of COVID. But this year, as we get ready for the long, hot days, some things come to mind….