“Teacher! Billy stuck his tongue out at me!” You’re the teacher. Take a moment to think about how you’d respond. Many folks would say, “Billy? Did you stick your tongue out at Jimmy? … Tell me the truth. … OK….
Evangelicals upset about the Olympics are pearl-clutching hypocrites
Enough with the pearl-clutching! As if many rightwing Christians have nothing better to do, on Friday they set X alight with outrage over a scene from the Paris Olympics opening celebration. Drag queens were part of a DaVinci’s Last Supper…
Here’s HELP for navigating a ‘purple’ church in an election year
In every election year, pastors face the reality of political conflict and tension in their congregations. This year is that and more. For 20 years, I served as pastor of what some call a “purple” church — a mixture of…
One more day: Resetting the smile on our faces
A friend at the YMCA where I work has some struggles with his hip. Even so, he is regularly in the gym building muscle, the pain notwithstanding. He smiles on the way into the gym even though he is hurting….
Training as spiritual athletes
As the Summer Olympics begin tomorrow, we will watch men and women who put in years of sacrifice and training, pushing their bodies to their very limits, culminating in those few moments to compete against the best of the best….
The SBC’s trustee system is broken
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again now: The Southern Baptist Convention’s system of electing trustees to oversee its agencies and institutions is broken and in need of dramatic reform. The latest evidence comes from the bizarre turn…
Leadership reminders from a country cemetery
Recently I returned to Mississippi to preach at the United Methodist church I served immediately out of seminary. I turned 23 shortly after moving in. It’s a country church in Southwest Mississippi not unlike the one where I grew up….
1964
Kamala Harris and I both were born in October 1964, which means we have no living memories of Martin Luther King Jr., the moon landing or the Vietnam War. According to most dividing lines, we were born in the last…
If only First Baptist Dallas could rebuild with more love and less hate
The past week has been a roller coaster of emotions. Every time I’ve refreshed a news app or checked my social media feed, something shocking and groundbreaking has occurred. In a world where the words “breaking news” have felt cliché,…