One of the encouraging responses I have witnessed in the wake of the mass shooting at the gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando is the admission of guilt on behalf of some churches and religious leaders, recognizing that the perpetuation of…
Does not Baal still live?
I had the difficult task of trying to teach the story in 1 Kings 18:20-38 to some elementary school age children. I wasn’t sure how to explain it both in a way that they would get it and in a…
When will there be enough women ministers?
Early this year in the wake of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death, his colleague, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, was asked when there will be enough women on the Supreme Court. Her answer caused quite a stir as she quickly…
It’s time for CBF to have the conversation
Many of you will recall that I served for eight years as president of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Foundation in Atlanta from 2002 to 2010. Some smaller number of you will know that I left that perfectly well-paid position to…
Community, collaboration and cooperation
Charleston. Donald Trump. HB2. Target. Hillary Clinton. Brock Turner. NRA. ISIS. Orlando. Are you still reading? I wouldn’t blame you if you’re not. Every time I see one of these words pop up on my Facebook feed, one of two…
Jesus, the man of violence
When we think of Jesus, images of a peace-loving, gentle pacifist comes to mind, at least it did to the mind of Howard Yoder. We read our particular ideology into the biblical text when we claim Jesus was a pacifist….
Tapping into vitality with congregational residencies
It’s a sociological axiom of congregational life that what we see indicated in North American megachurches functions as a “canary in the coal mine,” signaling what’s coming for the rest of U.S. congregations. With that in mind, here’s some of…
Who are we after the Baptist wars?
Our church’s recent quarterly business meeting seemed routine enough (if there is such a thing as a routine business meeting). But very quietly, something historic occurred that evening. In our congregational vote to grant membership letters to those who had…
Speaking to the power of the queer experience to communicate the gospel
Perhaps the most gut-wrenching stage in the sadly predictable grief cycle following atrocities such as the one in Orlando just over a week ago, where a gunman opened fire inside a gay nightclub killing 49 and wounding 50+ more, is…
Why churches and Christian nonprofits need entrepreneurs
Read any current text on leadership and you will encounter the urgency of entrepreneurial thinking. As we move into a progressively unpredictable atmosphere, traditional incremental approaches are not cutting it. Ian C. MacMillan, director of Wharton’s Sol. C. Snider Entrepreneurial…
An anomaly in the pulpit
“What’s in a name?” the guest preacher asked as the sermon began. The message was taken from the Lukan account of the Gerasene man suffering from demon possession, the man who was called Legion. The reverend addressed the biblical significance…
Yes, I have an agenda. There, I said it.
Nearly every time I hear the word “agenda,” it is used as an accusation, as if good and honest people would never have such a thing as an agenda, as if it is OK to do what is compassionate and…