The Mississippi House of Representatives and Senate passed on Tuesday religious freedom legislation that has prompted outrage from progressive news media and advocacy groups. A column on the website Slate included perhaps the most provocative headline: “Mississippi passed its anti-gay…
Our silence on faith does not serve those leaving the church
By Alan Bean David Gushee, a theologian and ethicist who teaches at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology, struck a nerve when he suggested that moderate Baptists with roots in the Southern Baptist Convention could benefit from a statement of…
Why it doesn’t matter if Noah film is inaccurate
Noah starring Russell Crowe has seen success at the box office with the general public but not everyone is happy about the film. Some claim that the Noah story was hijacked and is inaccurate. True, there are parts of Noah…
Let’s clear the air a bit
With RFRA being in the news again as the Supreme Court recently heard arguments on the Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties case, my mind drifted back to the last time it was in the news: when Jan Brewer vetoed…
Sexual complementarity: A dangerous debate
By David Burroughs I read with interest the story in ABPnews/Herald about Dr. David Platt’s sermon given recently at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In reality, I no longer pay much attention to things said by Southern Baptist leaders these days….
Pastors grieve too
In the last three years, I have conducted funerals for almost 40% of the active participants in my congregation. I have also officiated more than a dozen funerals for non- and inactive members. These numbers might seem staggering, but for…
Preaching Easter
By Molly T. Marshall It is the perennial problem of the preacher in this season: how do I proclaim the raising of Jesus of Nazareth in a fresh and compelling way? What might I add to the storied articulation of…
Life on the way
By Garin Hill I have it all planned out. My wife, 36 weeks pregnant, is due with our third child — on Easter Sunday, just four weeks away. How exciting! For a pastor who seemingly always looks for symbolism and…
wonder
Now that I’ve been at this for well over a year, I’m beginning to realize a few things about publishing my thoughts for people to skim on the internet: 1) It is most definitely as glamorous as you think it is. There…