By Miguel De La Torre I oppose Senate Bill 744, legislation passed 68-22 on Thursday to significantly overhaul the nation’s immigration laws. I have worked, written and lectured on immigration reform throughout the country for the past several years, but I…
Why the DOMA decision is a win for religious liberty
No doubt you’ve heard by now that the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on Wednesday on the basis that it is “a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth…
How do we welcome people to the church?
During my ministry, I have visited a number of churches and not always as the supply preacher or in an “official” role. Often I have just dropped in on a worship service and have experienced how a church welcomes (or…
An enduring promise
By Holly Hollman and Hoda Elshishtawy Americans face many challenges that threaten to undermine their obligation to protect religious pluralism and the rights of fellow citizens. Earlier this month in Tennessee, for example, a program on public discourse designed to…
God of love?
It seems that most every time I write something about God not hating gays or about what early Christians believed about hell, I get a healthy amount of reaction from people who feel that it is their duty, their holy…
Eva and the evening
With anticipatory excitement, we sat huddled at the end of the driveway – Eva, my husband Mark, and me. It was summer, it was near dark and we were sitting in fold-up metal and plastic-webbed chairs, almost in the street. …
The struggle is real
By Amy Butler It has of late become the newest and most frequent lament of the oppressed in my household: “The struggle is real!” If I were to say to one of my teenage kids: “Please put your dirty dishes…
The struggle is real
By Amy Butler It has of late become the newest and most frequent lament of the oppressed in my household: “The struggle is real!” If I were to say to one of my teenage kids: “Please put your dirty dishes…
To discern God in the world
As social media exploded with the news of the SCOTUS’ decision, I wondered how this decision would impact the national Cooperative Baptist Fellowship conference. Would the agenda change? Would speakers change their prepared manuscripts or would those conversations be saved for…
Leaning in together
By Molly T. Marshall Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has created quite a stir with her national best seller Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. She rightly applauds the social change over the past 50 years since the…
Leaning in together
By Molly T. Marshall Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has created quite a stir with her national best seller Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. She rightly applauds the social change over the past 50 years since the…
Not budgets, programs, and projects
I am always amazed as I visit some of our smaller communities at the way God is at work through the congregations. Too often we tend to look at the numbers and the programs. We lose the story of the…