In the global capitals of cinema — Hollywood in the United States, Bollywood in India, and Nollywood in Nigeria — one name crosses genres, crosses cultures and crosses continents. It’s not the name of a starlet, a mogul, or a…
A registered sex offender is on White House fitness council
On July 31, President Donald Trump signed an executive order reviving the Presidential Fitness Test and the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition. The executive order explains: “For far too long, the physical and mental health of the American…
The betrayal of a historic wisdom
For decades, there was a historic wisdom in the connectionalism and autonomy of local churches within Southern Baptist life. That wisdom is evident in the way local churches have related to one another — fostering friendships, camaraderie and mutual support….
There’s an anti-Baptist bias at TGC’s Themelios
The Gospel Coalition’s flagship journal, Themelios, has a problem with Baptists. Despite TGC’s claims of theological diversity and their promotion of Themelios as a legitimate “peer-reviewed” journal, the evidence reveals systematic anti-Baptist discrimination that undermines both academic integrity and Christian…
The scope of William Jennings Bryan
The centennial of the Scopes trial has come and gone. For at least this calendar year, the print media gave substantial attention to what happened in and outside the Rhea County Courthouse in July 1925. Commentators focused on whatever they believed…
Postcards from Occupied DC
“Lock the doors, kids.” When I was a kid, I remember my parents telling us to “lock the doors” when we drove into “the city.” This applied both to my hometown of Jackson and to bigger cities like Atlanta we…
In Washington, DC, the peace of Christ isn’t passive
Sometimes the Spirit’s timing feels downright intentional. Long before federal authorities would assume control of Washington, D.C., policing, our sermon calendar had us turning to Paul’s words about “the peace of God which is beyond all understanding.” This Sunday we’ll…
The rights of the born: An American dilemma
Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them. (Matthew 15:30) As a parent of a person with special…
Why is there a rooster on the steeple?
Most Christian churches in the Southeastern United States, especially in Alabama, where I was raised, have crosses on the steeples of their churches. During my sabbatical in 2012, prompted by the Celtic crosses on the campus of First Baptist Church…
The word of the Lord to Donald Trump
We read from Isaiah 1 on Sunday, and the prophet didn’t mince words about Judah’s need to repent, not just of personal sin and idolatry but of remaining silent in the face of rampant injustice and oppression: Wash and make…
Imagine a world …
One of the shared family experiences we had when our sons were growing up was Star Trek: The Next Generation and the Star Wars series. As I recall, Joseph and I attended a midnight showing with a friend of his…
No matter how pervasive, resist a ‘new normal’ of cruelty
Cruelty has become a defining characteristic of our politics. It’s a shift that was troubling to many in the psychology community and began long before Donald Trump was elected president. Trump’s public persona is marked by a distinctive meanness. As…