How far would you go to let God direct your steps? Two young adults met in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in fall 2019. Both were American; both from conservative evangelical Christian stock. They had been introduced because they both worked in…
When book bans enter the classroom, students lose
On a recent trip to my public library, as I was scanning my books, a young boy next to me asked the librarian behind the desk how many books our library branch has. The answer was in the tens of…
The power of active learning
Resilience rarely announces itself. Sometimes it shows up quietly — in the form of an 18-year-old freshman named CoMarion, standing outside Arkansas Baptist College without a car, without certainty, but with a deep desire to learn beyond the classroom. His…
Caring for ourselves during change-making conversations
Here we are, more than a month after the release of my “Non-Disclosure” podcast. And now that we’ve had some time to digest the lengthy, heavy and grief-filled material, I’d like to process some of that with you. The No….
Upside Down Advent: Despair versus hope
Here we are at Christmastime again, and ‘tis the season to be jolly. Right? Except what if you’re not feeling that jolly? Is that even allowed? Will you be consigned to binge watch Hallmark Christmas movies? If ever there was…
Wonder as you wander the road to Bethlehem
Every December, the world starts rushing as seasonal lights go up, calendars fill up quickly and Christmas playlists spill from department store speakers before the Thanksgiving leftovers have cooled. There is a cultural trend to rush in and rush through…
What message statues send about Black historical representation
“Set in stone” is an expression that conveys permanence. Perhaps some versions are not worth keeping forever. The Trump administration has continued its attack on history and representation with the recent seizure of monuments honoring World War II Black soldiers…
Journalistic integrity should be timeless
An opinion column titled, “Fun-loving Commies spend big to sponsor ‘No Kings’” was recently brought to my attention. The author was not entirely unknown to me. He once was on my media list in his capacity as a newspaper editor….
Judgment at Nuremberg calls us to repentance
After the turkey had been carved and the pie had been sliced, my family concluded this year’s Thanksgiving celebrations in an unexpected way: We sat together and watched the 1961 Spencer Tracy drama Judgment at Nuremberg. The film follows Spencer…
The Charlotte Pentecostals inverting the slogans of Christian nationalism
I was in Charlotte and attended several protests against the presence of ICE in the city. One I went to was made up of largely left-leaning white protesters, which you would see at many Indivisible or No Kings rallies. These…
How the Black Church saved me from white evangelicalism
There was a time when I almost lost myself trying to fit into white evangelical spaces that never were designed for me. These were spaces where I was preemptively labeled a “liberal” and my passion for racial justice was dismissed…
Six insights I learned from women in ministry
“What is your story of serving as a woman in ministry?” We asked this question to nearly 100 women ordained by Baptist churches in Atlantic Canada over the past 50 years as part of the Called to Serve research project. Their responses surprised,…