Note: This is not a simulation. This is exactly the state of my prayer life right now. “It feels like a bill has come due and God is collecting.” —White House source to Joe Scarborough, Twitter, 8:38 a.m. October 7,…
Rediscovering the songs of lament would wake us up
On a recent day in Washington, D.C., thousands of evangelicals, almost all of them white, gathered to a rally and to sing praise and worship music. One image that sticks in my head is a group surrounding Michael W. Smith,…
What presidential candidates should learn from Quakers and preschool teachers
As I watched the first round of presidential debates alone in my living room, I was tempted to take shelter behind my couch and occasionally peek over the top. I was distressed by the hostile tones, the snarky comments, the…
Letter to the Editor: Remember that Jesus spoke against hypocrites
Read our latest letter to the editor written by Neil I. Spielholz of Wellington, Fla. And learn how to submit your own letter here.
Pilate, Kellyanne and us
Therefore Pilate said to him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth….
Racial justice may need to go around evangelicals since it gets stopped going through them
This summer, in the midst of the ongoing protests over yet another rash of police and white vigilante lynchings of Black people, some unexpected voices seemed to be joining the cries for justice. In June we witnessed evangelical Christians marching…
People of color need allies, not independent investigators
Humor me and try to imagine something: Many days, as you go through your life, someone, somewhere gives you a quick jab in the gut. Sometimes it’s a jab to the face. It happens over and over. It happens to…
A lesson from Sister Meg on celibacy helped me understand white supremacy
No one, not even church folk, like talking about celibacy let alone white supremacy. Celibacy and white supremacy — like sexuality and skin color — are two preferably avoidable conversations. Perhaps these conversations are sidestepped because they invoke images that…
On incompetent response to coronavirus: God is watching
On Jan. 24, 2017 — less than a week after President Donald Trump took office —– I wrote a blog post that described him in one word: psychopath. I expanded on that assessment after Trump announced in April of this year…
On teaching history, the president has a point, but he goes too far
A few weeks ago, the President made headlines at the National Archives Museum when he denounced the teaching of American history classes as a “left-wing cultural revolution … designed to overthrow the American Revolution” and responsible for everything from tearing…
Some thoughts on praying for the president by seeking flourishing for all
To say I was anxious during our time of corporate prayer last Sunday is an understatement. How would my congregants handle the news of Donald Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis, and how would they pray for him and the First Lady? It…
Someone I know was killed by the police
Someone I know was killed by the police. When a friend from college texted asking if I saw that a former football player at our alma mater had been killed, my stomach dropped. Could it be someone I knew? I…