In his 1955 best-seller, Protestant, Catholic, Jew, sociologist Will Herberg wrote that “it is the American Way of Life that supplies American society with an ‘overarching sense of unity’ amid conflict.” Sixty-one years later, amid divisive ideologies of presidential politics,…
What is the number of gun deaths before we say ‘enough’?
There was another shooting last week. There isn’t anything remarkable about that. I didn’t even know about it. Except this one occurred in a church, during a worship service, when one parishioner became “verbally abusive and agitated” when another member…
Four spiritual essentials for surviving this election season
I can’t fall asleep with the TV on if political commentators and campaign surrogates are debating the implications of the latest speech, poll, tweet or primary result. It gives me nightmares. I could point to a particular candidate getting under…
Daniel Berrigan and the seeds of peace
Six weeks ago I planted a whole bed of collard green seeds and not a single one came up. For a Southern boy, this is the sort of thing that raises existential questions. I’m not interested in the why, which…
Sermon making — a peek behind the curtain
In my free time I’ve recently begun watching the PBS series Grantchester, a television show about a village priest who solves murders in his free time. Since my free time doesn’t seem to be as generous as Mr. Chambers’, the…
What do we mean by church growth?
In the wake of increasingly ominous data about fledgling church attendance, most church members and ministers (myself included) want to see the church grow instead of decline. There are church growth handbooks, church growth conferences, and even church growth consultants….
What Prince did before he died — and 5 reasons it matters
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing from the radio. It was so shocking that I wanted to pull the car to the side of the road to take it all in. This was not the news that Prince, the…
In defense of the profane
A few years ago, I was down in Atlanta to preach. I flew in on a Friday afternoon and later that night I met up with my sister and cousin to celebrate another cousin’s birthday at a local bar. We…
Wealth inequality and the struggle of Baptist polity
Recently Baptist News Global ran an article about the utility of congregational polity in the 21st century. The article raised a number of interesting and informative points about the future of congregational polity with respect to Millennials. Certainly the future…
New frontiers for LGBTQ-affirming churches
More and more congregations are undertaking intentional, prayerful processes of discernment and action toward becoming inclusive, affirming, and justice-practicing congregations for LGBTQ people (there are about 100 churches now in the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists). While many churches…
Joyless about ‘Amoris Lætitia’
The Catholic Church, a multi-century institution, moves at glacier speed. Pope Francis’s recent post-synodal apostolic exhortation finally moved the Church into the 20th century. Like his earlier apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (EG), Francis attempts a joyful evangelical call for a…
A coarsened culture and the community of Jesus
Joshua DuBois, former head of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, identified in 2010 four points of focus at the intersection of the political, spiritual and social realms. Three of those — loss of fatherhood roles, attempts…