“Our sins have “found us out.” Wrongs swept under the ecclesiastical carpet or committed inside the church’s dark corners have gone public, requiring us to move beyond casual piety to encounter the pain, depth and gift of repentance.
Turn around and walk against the system of sexism in the Church
We live and worship in religious systems that function like a moving walkway of institutional sexism. Most of us nonsexist people are still benefitting from a sexist culture moving us through sexist systems.
Clergy sex scandal proves Dale Moody was right about ‘once-saved-always-saved’ as a dangerous heresy
In the Southern Baptist Convention no one has the power to tell local Baptist congregations who they can and cannot ordain to ministry. When abuse comes to light, the church sends the offending pastor on his way with a glowing letter of recommendation because congregational morale would suffer if the truth came out.
Ordained. Baptist. Female. And, now, entering retirement
“Out to pasture” is a label that doesn’t fit us well as retired female ministers. So where might we go from here? When the joyous strains of the retirement celebration in fellowship hall fade into a faint echo, what do we do next?
The national conversation about sexual abuse by Baptist clergy is important. But it doesn’t go far enough
Churches must address three foundational issues if they are truly going to become safe spaces for children.
Can Christians come together to reduce the need for abortion?
Christians should put aside ideologies and heated rhetoric to focus on the effective ways we can work across theological differences toward a shared goal of reducing the need for abortion. There is clear, research-based evidence to point the way.
3 faulty assumptions that keep Baptist churches from hiring female pastors
Churches which have opened their pulpits to both genders have made a discovery: Women, just like men, are fully capable of offering strong and visionary church leadership as well as thoughtful, healthy pastoral care. Likewise, females are just as able to provide Christ-honoring preaching and worship leadership.
Paul didn’t pen 1 Corinthians 13 for weddings and Valentine’s Day celebrations
Love gets a lot of hype in February. But what kind of love are we celebrating? Too often we concede the concept of love to a cultural definition that adversely affects our relationships, especially at church.
Pablo no escribió 1 Corintios 13 para bodas y celebraciones del Día de San Valentín
El amor se pone muy de moda este mes. ¿Pero qué tipo de amor estamos celebrando? Con demasiada frecuencia, nuestro concepto del amor se reduce a una definición cultural que afecta negativamente nuestras relaciones, especialmente en la iglesia.
Black lives matter to me. Tragically, they mattered little in my segregated upbringing
Members of my (white) generation continue to recognize the pernicious stain of racism in our politics, economics and community relations. It seems we cannot ever fully repent as we learn how systemic racism is and how it has shaped the Christian imagination.
Our culture needs Jesus followers with the wisdom to navigate between righteous anger and gospel tenderness
How can Christians navigate between righteous anger and gospel tenderness in a Church that often seems too divided, too weak and too panicked to respond to contemporary challenges?
My seminary has closed. But churches are closing too, and it’s time to face some hard questions
A Baptist seminary has closed. But every day churches are closing too. How might we respond to this reality now, rather than delaying decision-making until we are forced to permanently lock the church doors, shutter the windows and turn out the lights?