The church should not remain silent when January 6 rolls around. It was an insurrection. It was incited. It was planned. It was intended. It was a response to a dastardly lie. Trump did lose. Biden did win. People did…
How to find your way home: Confessions of a workaholic
My wife clocked out of her state job for the last time recently. She is now officially retired. It’s good timing, as she’s needed to help her mother care for her father, who is in hospice care. Recently, my wife…
Can Christianity be deinstitutionalized?
My all-time favorite movie is The Shawshank Redemption starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. This classic prison film tells the story of Andy Dufresne, a banker falsely convicted of the double murder of his wife and her lover. A profound…
We face a cultural crisis, not just a political one
As Jeanie and I danced the night away in Atlanta on New Year’s Eve — yes, we actually did that, although I admit I ended up with a twisted knee, a sadly predictable outcome for a man of my rapidly…
Things I would tell my younger self
Sometimes when I’m watching the news, there’ll be a story about an older woman being mugged or a grandma being held hostage. “A 63-old grandmother was severely injured today,” the newscaster will intone with all the gravity due the harming…
The roots of white evangelical desperation
The base of the Republican Party is controlled by white evangelical voters, people who punch above their weight because they have been reduced to utter despair. Animals are particularly dangerous when cornered or wounded, and American white evangelicals are both….
Unholy vows, endangered women and Texas abortion politics
Old Testament scholar Phyllis Trible names it one of the “texts of terror” in the Hebrew Scriptures: Jephthah, a Gileadite general, is facing a decisive battle with the Ammonites. He makes a vow to God: If you give me the…
Hope and the pope: Defending LGBTQ people more than our positions
With the pope all over the headlines recently, I decided to do my homework and see what all the buzz was about. I came away fascinated and with renewed hope. Since being elected in 2013, Pope Francis has advanced respect…
These were a few of my favorite things from 2023
So 2023 was an interesting year, wasn’t it? Baptist News Global wrote and edited 1,800 news, opinion and analysis pieces that addressed some of the most pressing concerns for life in America, and even in our world, today. Not everyone…