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…
Truth Decay: Christians are supposed to tell the truth
“Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look around and take note! Search its squares and see if you can find one person who acts justly and seeks truth — so that I may pardon Jerusalem.” – Jeremiah 5:1 America’s…
A letter to the white church in America
On April 12, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in Birmingham, Ala., for leading a nonviolent demonstration for human rights. While he was being detained, he was given a newspaper that contained a statement written by eight white preachers….
Christian America’s betrayal of the kingdom of God
The storming of the American Capitol on Jan. 6 — with its profusion of Bibles, crosses and other Christian symbols — placed a gigantic exclamation point on the unease American Christians always have felt with the First Amendment to the…
The importance of natural capital for the rural church
Back in May 2020 as the boredom of the pandemic was settling in, Brian called his friend Jeff who owns a bicycle shop. Brian asked Jeff what he had for him, an infrequent cyclist to date, but looking to take…
A real-life story of the power of kindness to overcome differences
One of the most unfortunate consequences of the political disagreements that plague our country is the broken relationships — the suspicion, judgment and even hatred — that now fester between many former friends and acquaintances who believe differently. Some have…
A reflection on Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem
The inauguration of Joe Biden as 46th president of the United States was a splendid event, despite the confinement of the pandemic. And for many of us it was a finely orchestrated ceremony that lifted our spirits only days after…
No ifs, ands or butts: Binary thinking makes the Christian life hard to wear
Binary thinking is the butt crack of the body of Christ. Yes, I’m being cheeky, but the reality is that our Christian faith gets sucked into the bottom half of a sagging belief system sort of like when a person…
Why Christians should support the Equal Rights Amendment
Editor’s note: On Jan. 21, U.S. Representative Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) introduced a resolution in Congress to certify the Equal Rights Amendment. As of last January, the required 38 states have ratified the ERA, but the Trump administration blocked certification of…