Five years ago, at Oakhurst Baptist Church we sounded the call that we would be joining many other churches in going virtual to help flatten the coronavirus curve and do our part to slow the spread of the disease. There…
Wake up, liberal Democrats; and I guess you’ll have to abduct me, too, President Trump
Since only 1.1% of the U.S. population is Muslim, let’s play “Six Degrees to a Muslim Friend.” Years ago, Karen Park — the child of missionaries to Chile — introduced me to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The seminary introduced me…
God is not … a Christian
Brent Laytham, a former professor of theology at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago and currently running the ecumenical division of America’s first Catholic seminary, has edited a fascinating book titled God Is Not … . The book — written…
Lent 2025: Not a moment too soon
The Ash Wednesday liturgy in The Book of Common Prayer includes this reading: Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church…
The kingdom of God is not about efficiency
We have heard a great deal about efficiency lately. The current administration has made “efficiency” a buzzword that raises lots of concerns by the way it is being applied. It has led to the gross dismissal of thousands of civil…
Why empathy is under assault today
If empathy were a person, she would be in therapy for abuse. After a life of virtue, empathy has been cast into the street by an array of detractors as varied as billionaires, psychologists and evangelicals. The wealthiest man in…
What I found hiding in my church library
Some of my former fellow seminarians reminded me on social media at the beginning of this week that 31 years ago on March 9, 1994, Russell Dilday was fired by trustees as president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary after ultraconservatives…
CINO: Christian In Name Only
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) We’ve all heard the term RINO. It means…
Politics, faith and mission: A conversation with Yolanda Pierce
Yolanda Pierce serves as dean of the Divinity School and Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair of Religion and Literature at Vanderbilt University. One of America’s vital theologians, Pierce was founding director of the Center for African American Religious Life at the Smithsonian…
Ronald Reagan and the Whole Trump
Just 10 days after Donald Trump’s inauguration for a second term, I wrote these words: The Pine Belt News: “On Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump commuted the sentences of the paramilitary members who had been convicted of…
Letter to the Editor: The moral urgency of abolishing the death penalty
Dear Editor: Imagine being given a choice on how you die, but the options are limited to electrocution, lethal injection or a firing squad. This isn’t a dystopian nightmare — it’s the grim decision forced upon Death Row inmates in…
The language of liberty
When President Donald Trump signed an executive order making English the official language of the nation his action was heralded by some as a unifying measure while raising concerns among others about the consequences it might have on the rights…