In two separate but eerily similar events, America was again reminded of its two greatest modern failures: Untreated mental illness and racialized responses to violence. One suspect entered a Walmart in Michigan and stabbed 11 people in broad daylight. The…
Another stroke of cruelty
The current administration is preparing to destroy $9.7 million in U.S.-purchased contraceptives destined for women overseas following the dismantling of foreign assistance programs under USAID. There is a callous meanness in this action from a “Christian In Name Only” (CINO)…
Prayer in schools
In 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down government-mandated prayer in public schools. This ruling led many to believe it was forbidden to pray in school. Not so. As one bumper sticker stated, “As long as there are students and…
Bravo to Baton Rouge Library for standing up to evangelical grievance
Seriously. How hard can it be to call someone by the name they want to be called? Is this such a huge imposition? To hear a lot of conservative evangelicals tell it, yeah, such a simple thing goes against their…
Creating welcoming church spaces for families
This is the second in a series on making churches family friendly. Through our research and experience with churches and families, we have come to learn how busy families are. When families attend church, they make an intentional choice…
As one born among us
“When an immigrant resides with you, you shall not oppress the immigrant. The immigrant shall be to you as one who was born among you; you shall love the immigrant as yourself.” Those words from Leviticus 19:33-34 belong to…
Why American Christians are divided
“Is Christ divided?” Paul asks the rhetorical question to the church in Corinth. The answer of course is, “no.” However, the undercurrent of the church in Corinth was that even though Christ is not divided, the Christians were. We must…
A less than Christian nation?
And Mary said: God’s name is Holy, his mercy sure from generation to generation toward those who fear him; the deeds his own right arm has done disclose his might: the arrogant of heart and mind God has routed, He…
Praying with our eyes open
I recently gave a tour of Plymouth Church in Brooklyn to a high school youth choir from Georgia. I ask, “What do Southerners think the South is better at than New York?” They give the answers we would expect. “The…
If you act right … Actually, it takes more than acting
Then the Lord said to Cain: Why are you angry? Why are you dejected? If you act rightly, you will be accepted; but if not, sin lies in wait at the door: its urge is for you, yet (but) you…
ICE, Gaza and the threat of stupid Jesus
“They killed the boy.” That was the explanation a Bible professor once gave me for why Jesus wasn’t a good model of leadership. The Christian scholar had been describing how, many years before, a subordinate had proposed holding a pastor’s…
Dear men who support women in ministry (part 2) …
In 2024, the Survey Center on American Life revealed a significant shift: More Gen Z women are disengaging from the formative religion of their youth than are Gen Z men. This marks a notable reversal from the three previous generations,…