Julie Pennington Russell called me last month. I had just finished a centering prayer group, a practice Pastor Julie helped nurture in me, and I began to weep when I saw her name on my phone. I was so grateful…
Honoring the invisible work of clergywomen in this season
Last Christmas Eve, a new post appeared in one of my clergywomen groups on social media. It began, “How many pastors are sitting at their desks crying this morning? Just me?” Spoiler alert: It wasn’t just her. The replies started…
Donald Trump’s debasement of the presidency hits new low
Donald Trump’s debasement of the presidency was on full display Nov. 18 in the hero’s welcome offered the murderous leader of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Although not labeled as such, the heir apparent to the Saudi throne’s visit to Washington had all the…
Fundamentalism takes another stab at the BGCT
Earlier this week, the Baptist General Convention of Texas met in Abilene, Texas. This once-robust convention used to fill convention centers in Dallas, Fort Worth or Waco. This time, they gathered at the Abilene Convention Center with 2,007 attendees, made…
The gift of a transgender child
Sarah has long been concerned with the scope of my reading, and she is right. For years I have focused my reading on history and current events. Sarah said fiction belonged in my reading diet, too. Fiction, she said, would…
Committing to a culture that empowers
In Baptist Women in Ministry’s latest “State of Women in Baptist Life” report, Executive Director Meredith Stone wrote, “Many reasons for celebration can be found in this report, as well as painful reminders of the disparity that women in ministry…
A rabbi’s call for balance, moral clarity and reconciliation
A foundational belief in Judaism teaches, “Seek peace and pursue it” (Psalm 34:15). We dream with Isaiah’s vision found in Isaiah 2:4: “Nation shall not take up sword against nation; they shall never again know war.” This rabbi’s favorite verse…
What if your father talked about women the way Trump does?
Aboard Air Force One, Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey asked President Donald Trump about being in the Epstein emails. Trump responded, “Quiet, quiet piggy.” The president also wagged his finger at her to give verbal backup to his insult. Why does…
Let’s get this one thing clear
When I talk with conservative friends about immigration in America, the line I most often hear justifying President Donald Trump’s deportation bonanza is that all these people are criminals by virtue of being here without authorization. This reminds me of…
If evangelicals had a pride parade
Over the last decade, advances in social justice have been rolled back by a renewed sense of evangelical pride. Donovan O. Schaefer in Whiteness and Civilization: Shame, Race, and the Rhetoric of Donald Trump, argues: “The success of Trump’s rhetoric…
Affirming women’s leadership as a pneumatological moment
“When churches do not recognize the leadership gifts of women, the whole body is impoverished.” — Elizabeth Conde-Frazier, A Many Colored Kingdom As a Latina and Baptist ordained minister, reading about the “Six Markers of Congregational Environments which are Empowering…
MAGA’s appetite for jelly donuts a la Trump
A little more than a year ago, a slim majority of voters elected Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States. Some of those voters now find themselves experiencing buyer’s remorse. As for the rest? They’re either lying,…