When the reality of not being able to meet in person hit almost a year ago, the small staff of our small Baptist church did what most small churches were doing —we started winging it. As a second-year seminary student…
Your words hold the power of life and death
In the age of social media, it’s easy to forget the power our words have on others. Sitting behind the safety of a computer screen makes it simple for us to say whatever we think with little consequence. With the…
Why doesn’t Twitter ban Europe’s diaspora medical scare-monger prophets?
On Christmas Day, a cousin forwarded me a screenshot of her church’s WhatsApp congregation: “Our pastor was electric today. He warned us, mRNA vaccines are Europe’s plot to change Africans’ DNA, make Black women infertile. Should I change churches?” I…
Do you wonder if you’re the only one who believes the way you do?
“Am I the only one?” Recently, it seems I can’t have a conversation about faith or politics without uncovering another story of someone who is wrestling with this question. Many have become increasingly isolated from their faith communities and families….
Private property or the public good? Thoughts on wealth, taxes and justice
Growing up in the 1970s, there were some things I was sure of. One such truth was that America is a Christian nation — founded by Christians, based on Christian principles, uniquely favored by God. I suspect many Christians who…
Think U.S. politics is crazy? Check out church history
It is hard to deny that the United States is experiencing a time of political upheaval unlike anything we have known in our lifetimes: two men laying claim to the presidency, an insurrection at the Capitol, a history-making second impeachment,…
Addiction and silent judgment: Cassie’s story
The thing about judgment is that it is often silent. But the person being judged knows exactly what is happening when it is happening. It’s that smirk, frown, snarky comment or (from my personal experience as a Baptist missionary kid)…
‘While there is still time’: American churches, violence and conspiracy theories
In his classic book Night, the late Boston University professor Elie Wiesel described how the first warnings of what became the Holocaust found their way into his family’s village of Sighet, Transylvania, in 1942. The messenger was an “outsider” called…
When you call the vice president ‘Jezebel,’ you are acknowledging her power
Elephantine is an island opposite the city of Aswan in Egypt. In the late 1800s, 175 Jewish manuscripts found there began illegally appearing for purchase into Western collections. They are the oldest Jewish papyri found to date, going back to…
Pastors Buck and Swofford, get the biblical story of Jezebel straight!
On Jan. 22, Tom Buck, pastor of First Baptist Church of Lindale, Texas, equated Vice President Kamala Harris with the biblical Jezebel. It was a strategic insult designed to terrorize and imbrute Harris. He joined Steve Swofford, pastor of First…
6 ways to support your ministers through this pandemic
I run an organization that partners with churches and ministers around the United States. In that capacity, I meet with groups of clergy, take calls and emails from clergy friends, and sit in ministry network Zoom meetings. I have noticed…
6 things you should know about the COVID vaccine
New things can create anxiety and, as a result, there is false information about the COVID-19 vaccine that is attempting to take root and prevent people from receiving protection from what we know is a deadly disease. Writing as a…