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….
When the shepherd grows weary
Pastoral ministry rarely pauses long enough for leaders to notice the weight they carry. The work does not begin on Sunday morning or end when the sanctuary grows quiet. In our counseling practice, we sit with pastors who describe a…
Voting rights and the ancestral voices of the African diaspora
Let me tell you what just happened: The U.S. Supreme Court effectively dismantled the Voting Rights Act. The very legislation for which John Lewis bled on that bridge, for which Fannie Lou Hamer was beaten in a Mississippi jail, for…
Ted Turner: The maverick who changed the world
There are few Americans in modern history who can say they fundamentally changed how the world watches television, experiences sports, consumes news and thinks about philanthropy. Ted Turner is one of those rare figures. Whether people agreed with his politics,…