The hubris of Al Mohler, Paige Patterson, and the leaders of the conservative takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention has led to their own humiliation. The unfortunate fact is that their humiliation is a fraction of the humiliation that women, wives, sisters, daughters, aunts, and grandmothers have experienced at the hands of complementarian men.
Paige Patterson, women’s voices and the gaping hole in education
That a Southern Baptist pastor made such disparaging remarks about women in not surprising given the Southern Baptist Convention’s theological treatment of women. What is surprising is how many Southern Baptists pushed back. Logic would suggest that if women don’t have to accept husbands who beat them, they do not have to accept a theology that beats them down, either.
The Spirit and the gifts, for the moment and for the long haul
It’s the Spirit that turns skills into gifts. Spiritual gifts can be perpetual or fluid, required at the moment or for the long haul. Gifts come and go. It’s the Spirit that remains.
Discovering God in a skeptic
What do you do with a skeptic who’s not so sure of the concept of God but believes the Way of Jesus should change the world? You make a deacon of him, of course! And when he dies, what do you say? How honest can you be?
From #MeToo to #ChurchToo to #NeverAtChurch
Dealing with sexual harassment and abuse in the church is hard, and I remember almost every day that I don’t have all the answers. But I do know that we have to do better than we have done. And that starts by being willing to talk openly and honestly, and to act with courage to make sure the church is a place of safety and flourishing for everyone.
The kids aren’t alright (but they could be)
When you want to study the overall health of a society, you don’t estimate the quality of life of people 50 and over; you ask if the kids are alright. And, historically speaking, America has never had more kids in poverty, more kids without access to healthcare, more kids chronically medicated, more kids with diagnosed mental health issues, more kids on semi-pro traveling soccer teams, more kids with student debt, more kids unemployed, more kids working unpaid internships, and more kids homeless, childless, and savings-less.
Pieces of graduation wisdom
While it is true that graduations are visible marks of new beginnings, the reality is that new beginnings may start whenever we are brave enough to decide to make positive changes in our lives. Is today the day?
Dosis de sabiduría para graduaciones
Si bien es cierto que las graduaciones son símbolos visibles de nuevos principios, la realidad es que los nuevos comienzos pueden ocurrir en cualquier momento, siempre y cuando tengamos el valor suficiente para decidir hacer cambios positivos en nuestras vidas. ¿Será hoy el día?
Remembering Ed McAteer and the Jerusalem Embassy
Donald Trump would not be president today, the Moral Majority would not have existed, and the U.S. Embassy would not be in Jerusalem today without the seeds planted by McAteer from the 1970s through the 1990s.
Where Michelle Wolf crossed the line
Sarah and I don’t agree on much, but we both grew up Baptist, so I know what her childhood looked like and why she became the woman she is. Michelle Wolf and I share the same politics, but I’d rather spend an evening with Sarah Sanders. Jesus might be the only thing we had in common, but he’d be enough.
Paige Patterson, Mother’s Day and #MeToo
Sexual assault and harassment are unconscionable in all environments, but there is something especially vile about the culture in religion that often leads to the abuse and silencing of women.
Hear our prayer, O Congress: A neo-establishmentarianism?
Events surrounding the dismissal and rehiring of “Father Pat” are more than a mere legislative kerfuffle. They provide important contemporary lessons in the enduring dynamics of church-state relations — old tensions, new twists.