I started my career in 2011 working with trafficking victims. Most days were mundane, cutting rent checks, helping people apply for benefits, going with them to the consulate to get necessary paperwork. I built relationships with survivors in those long…
What’s the law got to do with it?
Immigrant survivors of domestic abuse are more vulnerable than I’ve ever seen in my 20 years of working as a lawyer, thanks to the flurry of confusing and conflicting executive orders issued by the Trump administration. However you feel about undocumented migrants, everyone…
The times are never so bad
Saint Thomas More wrote in his own tumultuous time, “The times are never so bad but that a good man can live in them.” We need to live in such confidence and hope: The times are never so bad but…
Who’s in and who’s out of the kingdom of God
Historically, many Baptists have taken issue with the notion of humans deciding who is in and who is out of the kingdom of God. I am one of those. I like to believe we always have felt a kinship with…
The early heretics
I vividly remember the first time someone accused me of being a heretic. It occurred in a dorm room during my sophomore year of college. A fellow ministerial student and I were engaged in a spirited debate about biblical inspiration….
In Dallas, more questions than answers after ICE facility shooting
I have some unanswered questions about the Dallas ICE facility shooting. In addition to writing for Baptist News Global, I also serve as justice and advocacy minister at Royal Lane Baptist Church in Dallas. In that role, I joined a…
Is it fair to compare MAGA to Nazis?
Vice President JD Vance demands Democrats “stop telling your supporters that everybody who disagrees with you is a Nazi” if they want to end political violence in the United States. I think President Donald Trump, Vice President Vance and MAGA world have their…
The Perfect Victim Myth undermines bodily autonomy
AI-enhanced perfection, whether by fashion magazines or Hollywood, is perpetuating unattainable standards for what it means to be a person, but this new model isn’t new. For generations, marginalized people have been subject to the myth of the perfect victim….
Empathy for enemies is the heart of the gospel
Recently, in some evangelical circles, a contingent of folks has begun talking about the so-called “sin” of empathy. Joe Rigney brought this discussion into the limelight in 2019 with a series of blog posts at Desiring God written in the…
Here’s why DEI is good medicine for training doctors
I’m a DEI educator at an academic medical center. Pull up a chair. “This is Dr. Black — she’s a physician and does a lot of DEI work,” my colleague said, introducing me to a friend. “Oops,” she said almost…
Letter to the Editor: How Baylor taught me to love my (LGBTQ) neighbor
Dear Editor: Baylor University has had quite the summer! A steady cavalcade of news has emanated from Waco regarding the awarding of, then rescission of, and now damage control of, an academic grant from the Baugh Foundation to the Baylor…
Who gets to be a Baptist?
You can’t tell a Baptist anything. This is one of the highest praises and damning criticisms of the group. They are a contrarian type of people. Willing at times to bite their noses off to spite their faces and bite…