I have no doubt that the daily drama of American crises is causing a lot of art to be created — and viewed. “Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or sing or write, for…
Swamp bait: The forgotten horror of feeding Black babies to alligators
In the depths of the Florida Everglades, a place teeming with mosquitoes, swamps and predatory reptiles, the U.S. government has endorsed what many human rights activists now call Alligator Alcatraz — a sprawling 39-square-mile detention facility for immigrants surrounded not…
When is the right time to speak the truth about toxic people?
As many of our readers know, I officiate a lot of funerals. In addition to nearly 17 years as pastor with responsibilities for such things, I officiate pick-up funerals for families who do not have a church or a minister….
Suggestions for family friendly worship
Through Empowering Families for Spiritual Formation research and experience with churches and families, we have come to learn worship is an integral piece of engaging faithful families and encouraging spiritual formation. However, we also have learned churches can grow in…
In conversation with Kevin M. Young
Kevin M. Young is a writer, pastor, weightlifter and public theologian. I first ran across Kevin on Twitter, where he regularly comments and laments within a social media environment dominated by conservative Theo-Bros who exult in cruelty and call it…
Unless Congress intervenes, Trump will cut funding for LGBTQ crisis hotline
In August 2019, the Federal Communications Commission proposed to Congress the need for a crisis hotline that would connect people to suicide prevention and mental health crisis counselors. On Oct. 17, 2020, the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020…
America’s moral emergency
As our nation celebrates its 249th birthday, we find ourselves in a time of moral emergency. The seven deadly sins of Western Christianity are being paraded as virtues by our most powerful and wealthy, and the classical virtues of our…
Evangelical certainty and the God gap
“There are a lot of angry homosexuals out here today,” the man holding the megaphone barked. He had come to Fort Worth’s Trinity Pride Day to speak for God. Much to my wife’s chagrin, I couldn’t let his crude comment…
A certain kind of envy, both good and holy
The Ten Commandments are considered “the background and foundation of Israelite law,” according to Walter Harrelson, distinguished professor of Hebrew Bible at Vanderbilt Divinity School. The tenth injunction is against coveting that which is not your own, but your neighbor’s:…
Now I believe: The cruelty really is the point
I can be slow on the uptake. Back in 2018, the journalist Adam Serwer argued that “the cruelty is the point” for Donald Trump and his supporters. “The Trump era,” Serwer wrote in The Atlantic, “is such a whirlwind of…
How would Jesus judge America?
Judgment is not my favorite subject. I’d rather speak about grace. However, I cannot deny that Jesus, at least in the memory of the Gospel writers, mentioned judgment on numerous occasions. Which has me wondering, if Jesus were to visit…
Alligator Alcatraz tourism
My wife, Lauren, told me a story once. When she was 16, her mother put her on a plane to Europe. She gave her a peck on the cheek, a few words of encouragement and a credit card. “Have fun,”…