On July 4, 2025, my 8-year-old daughter, Sarah, died in a catastrophic flood while attending Camp Mystic in Texas. Twenty-six other girls died alongside her. Like many parents, we trusted that when we sent our child to a summer camp…
How Nakba Day can help us understand Palestine
On May 15, thousands will gather at churches and mosques, on campuses and on streets throughout Chicago to observe a day most Americans never heard of. It’s called Nakba Day. The day commemorates the Zionist expulsion of more than 700,000 Palestinians from their…
The guardrails preserving our democracy
I want to consider some good news today. The good news is that certain cultural, political and legal guardrails are holding against Donald Trump and his government right now. I am not suggesting our democracy is in the clear. I…
A trans man and his Baptist pastor reflect on a decade of friendship
Ten years ago today, BNG published an article by Mark that opened the door to a friendship between us that spans a decade of tremendous change in American culture and politics. On May 13, 2016, BNG published Mark’s opinion piece…
How to survive a ‘skinny’ farm bill
Farmers eligible for USDA programs would reap the benefits of a “skinny” farm bill that recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives, extending government food security programs until 2031, increasing funding support for local food programs and loan borrower limits for producers,…
A sermon we’ll never forget
A few weeks ago, on the occasion of our church’s Children’s and Youth Sunday, I co-preached with a 10-year-old girl. She and I have known one another for a good long while now. I came to First Baptist on St….
Why Tanner Horner should not be executed
On Nov. 30, 2022, 7-year-old Athena Strand was kidnapped and murdered by FedEx driver Tanner Horner. Horner was at Strand’s house delivering a package when he instead abducted and then later murdered the young girl. When arrested by police, he…
Young Daniel and his three friends would like a word
We’ve seen it, the gold-plated 22-foot statue erected at the Trump Doral Golf Club, blessed by one of his court priests, evangelical pastor Mark Burns, paid for by the Presidents Crypto Bros. The pose is his defiant hand raised at…
The Republican Party’s Blackout
History has a strange way of repeating itself, especially when America refuses to learn from it. In 2026, the Republican Party is facing a political mirror it can no longer avoid. Every Black Republican currently serving in the U.S. House…
Letting go of our ‘wish dream’ for the church
From the very beginning, Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s writings centered around the life of the church. The church, its calling and welfare, was his passion. As a young doctoral student, he wrote two dissertations. One was titled, “Christ Existing as Community.” As…
A life-giving alternative to Religious Right religion
A reader recently emailed me, “If I had to choose between religious-right Christianity or atheism, I would have to choose atheism.” This reader hasn’t lost faith in Jesus. But he’s deeply troubled that American religion (at least a large segment of…
Proof that I was worth the trouble: A story of my mother
Sitting in the car with my mother, I kept quiet. I’d already said enough. It was Thursday. My project on the state of North Carolina was due Monday. My fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Ballard, had made that clear months ago….