I have struggled for the past several years with understanding how so many Christians can support politicians and preachers with glaring, public moral failings. I’ve been discipled in Christian values my entire life, and what I observe with many Christians…
Francesco will restore your faith in a broken church
Pope Francis made a historic trip to Iraq over the weekend and created waves by sitting down with Iraq’s leading Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, in Najaf, Iraq. Popes in my lifetime have done some remarkable things in attempts…
Right now, we need angry Jesus
I need angry Jesus because, Jesus, I’m angry, too. I need angry Jesus turning over the tables. I need angry Jesus, whip in hand, driving out injustice. I need angry Jesus to inspire me to flip the tables of oppression…
In the spirit of Dr. Seuss …
Theodore Geisel has just made the news For words that he rhymed in inappropriate cues. The Left said “It’s cute, but too racist and rude — We can’t expose our kids to the slightly-so-crude.” Archaic his pictures, picturing gender and…
Our needs are holy to God: The Gospel of Dr. Seuss
There seems to be a furor among some today over Dr. Seuss Enterprise’s decision to withdraw six Dr. Seuss children’s books from publication and about the mortal danger of “cancel culture” to American civilization. So here is a salute to…
Why am I so afraid of my son’s tutu?
Sitting across from us was our now adult son with so much pain on his face. “How could you not have known? And if you did, why did you leave me to figure it all out on my own?” Six…
Racism is never an innocent joke
I don’t think Baptists today are particularly gifted in the spiritual discipline of confession of sin. We’re glad to echo Romans 3:23 and declare that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, but we tend to avoid candid…
Pandemic plans: Keep on coping
We have been battling COVID-19 for a year. 2020 already stands unique in the annals of our memories. And 2021 seems to continue the trend. Hospitals, schools, universities, churches, stores, restaurants … no destination or gathering place has been immune…
Learning to breathe in the Spirit by confessing, ‘I can’t breathe’
At various times in the biblical narrative, the Hebrew people gathered memorial stones in sacred spaces. These rock formations served as places of remembrance for all to see and be reminded of the power and transformative nature of God. May…
How to follow a leader
We see many American citizens proclaiming an inseparable love of God and country right now. Although it has a new tenor, we have depended on this idea to justify our national actions in domestic and world wars, environmental disasters and…
Black Baptist women in ministry and the principality of patriarchy
As we march into Women’s History Month, I’ve been thinking about women in ministry, particularly Black Baptist women in ministry. This area is especially near and dear to me as my wife, Betty Wright-Riggins, is a woman in ministry. Betty…
Evangelicals are in trouble: Reclaiming ‘Oberlinism” could bring some redemption
Evangelicals are in trouble in the land of the free and the home of the Trump golden statue, that 6-foot sculpture that debuted at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando. Watching the iconic ministrations surrounding it, I wondered…