How do Christians responsibly and faithfully inhabit the places where decisions are made for the common good, especially at a time when the principle of religious liberty is being effectively hijacked?
When a church or minister is in need of an intervention
What are the signs that an intervention may be called for? And what should that look like?
Conservative evangelicals’ political success: Acting out of the pain of unhealed shame
When Christians act out of the pain of unhealed shame, they may lash out in equally shameful ways. The world is seeing a church that names people and groups as enemies to be defeated, rather than seeing it bear witness to God’s love and grace for all.
What Chronic Back Pain Teaches Me About Pastoring
As a healthy, 37-year-old pastor, I confess that sometimes I struggle to relate to congregants with chronic illness and pain. That has changed.
Divisions over abortion and other life and death issues: the problem is not purple churches
When faith leaders lament the difficulty of keeping Republicans and Democrats together in the same church, they miss the bigger issue.
A ‘monument’ to black people massacred 100 years ago in Arkansas reeks of the hypocrisy Jesus condemned
Jesus called out the hypocrites of his day with angry words. When white leaders misuse power to profit from past wrongs of racism and heap additional injuries on oppressed people, what words need to be heard?
After creating the universe, God took a nap: Why we need Sabbath rest
Western Christians today have a hard time celebrating Sabbath. That needs to change – for our sakes and for the sake of creation.
Is our gospel no longer the gospel of the early church?
My fear today is that the gospel being preached from Baptist pulpits is all too often an appeal to self-interest rather than to conscience. When the gospel of God’s grace comes home to the human heart, it does not appeal to our self-interests but rather to our sense of sin.
The president is correct: there IS an insanity gripping our nation
Trump is correct that we are experiencing a frightening dis-ease in America. Insanity – moral disorder – imperils our people, our nation, our earth. What he doesn’t seem to recognize is that he is the source of much of the chaos, the claims of many evangelical leaders notwithstanding.
Called to ‘go hard in the paint’ for Jesus: Trump isn’t our biggest problem; we are
Christianity is not a game of chess. Following Jesus is risky business. What we need are knees worn out from prayer, hearts captivated by biblical authority and a will surrendered to God’s will, committed to go, do and say whatsoever God desires, no matter the outcome.
Toni Morrison and the story of Rizpah: creating language that heals in a time of trauma
How the late Toni Morrison “did language” invited a greater intentionality in telling the stories that might make for a different future. What could be more important in these troubling and traumatic days than crafting language that heals a broken nation, a people concerned about the current dystopic narrative?
How churches that don’t think they are anti-Semitic promote anti-Semitism
The church has not just been on the wrong side of history, but on the wrong side of Christianity. Anti-Semitism is by definition a repudiation of Christianity as well as of Judaism, and an enemy of pluralism and democracy.