For the approximately two-thirds of Americans who identify as Christian, this is Holy Week, a solemn time of participation in worship services that encourage reflection and repentance ahead of the resurrection celebrated on the holiest day on the Christian calendar, Easter…
At the Cross: What I see
The Lenten season has been especially intense for me this year on a spiritual level. I have sought to follow its rhythms, demands and opportunities from Ash Wednesday until now, Holy Week. Each day I have read the Mass readings…
I thought I didn’t have any more time in my Holy Week schedule, and then I learned about the Trump-endorsed Bible
Every pastor I know is busy. I haven’t come across one who tells me they have time to kill. The pastors in my circles aren’t on golf courses. They’re not at the gym or the spa. They haven’t signed up…
This is how unhinged Focus on the Family has become
Thirty years ago, when my wife and I were parents of newborn twins, James Dobson was considered the go-to expert for Christian parenting. What we didn’t know then is just how wrong some of his advice was. Dobson was required…
One year after the Club Q mass shooting, none of us are the same
It’s been more than a year since a man armed with an AR-15-style rifle walked into a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs and opened fire. It was Nov. 19, 2022, the day before Transgender Day of Remembrance. Club Q was…
Al Mohler takes his ‘Ask Anything’ tour to Cobb County
When Al Mohler’s “Ask Anything” tour came to Cobb County, Ga., March 24, I went over to see what it’s all about. The president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has been on the road and online for several years fielding…
We are all interims eventually
Last December my wife, Lori, and I officially joined Oakland Baptist Church in Rock Hill, S.C., after attending worship for several months. I particularly was grateful for the music and worship leadership of a new colleague (and now friend), Suzanne…
Wasted resources? I beg to differ
The interview with Robert Naylor was over. I was wrapping up cords and cables and stowing them in the tote bag, basking in the glow of the vision laid out by Naylor, then president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. By…
Embracing what’s sacred
As spring rain drizzles outside, I’m thinking about Easter worship and the increasing numbers of Christians (and pastors) who are leaving church. The statistics have become a modern fact of life and aren’t as shocking as they once were. For…