On September 14, I did something I’ve never done in nearly two decades of ministry when I presided over the funeral of a member of the search committee that called me to my current pastorate. Roger Crittenden was a retired…
The year of the ecclesial abstention doctrine
We’ve written more about the ecclesial abstention doctrine this year than I have in my entire career in religious journalism. Increasingly, secular courts are appealing to this doctrine to dismiss — or avoid — cases that present thorny debates among…
Let me tell you about Annie Dillard
I keep mentioning the news to people as though it’s about someone they knew. “Did you hear? Annie Dillard died.” People seem to sense something in my voice and respond with sympathy. Then comes the slightly awkward admission: “I don’t…
Christian nationalism erodes Enlightenment ideals
Imagine going into your kitchen, taking out the largest mixing bowl from your cabinet, and pouring in the most toxic chemicals from your workshop or from under the sink. What you would end up with is an explosive, dangerous concoction…
Someday …
Someday, Donald Trump will be a mere memory. Just last week we were reminded, during the 9/11 memorials, that one-third of the nation’s population was not yet born when the planes hit the twin towers. That’s how soon firsthand memory…
The plight of Christian immigrants
Earlier this year, I went to New York City for a ministry trip where we prayed with people and gave out food through a food distribution center in Queens. While I was there, I was able to talk to quite…
Jeffress is selling evangelical fear
When Robert Jeffress spoke at the GOP Midterm Convention in Dallas Sept. 10, he was selling old evangelical fear. He attacked James Talarico, the Texas Democratic nominee for U.S. senator, as “blasphemous” and “evil.” He declared Talarico’s beliefs “not beliefs…
Why James Talarico is correct when he says God is nonbinary
At the 2026 Midterm Republican National Convention in Dallas last week, platform speakers attacked Democratic senatorial candidate James Talarico mercilessly. His Republican opponent and the impeached attorney general of Texas, Ken Paxton, claimed: “I will fight to preserve the American…
James Talarico and the Big Ten’s ‘secret clock’
If you missed the Sept. 5 college football game between the Western Michigan Broncos of the Mid America Conference and the Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten Conference, you missed the “second heard around the world.” Not merely willing to…
Pardon for sin and a sin that endureth
I just returned from leading a group to visit the Legacy Sites in Montgomery, Ala. Each morning and evening, I offered a meditation to ground us for what we were about to see and process. One of the hymns we…
Hate the sin, love the sinner?
“Hate the sin, love the sinner” is a phrase familiar to everyone in the arena of faith. It’s a phrase that on its surface seems holy — godly even. It seems like a way to be both lovingly accepting of…
Preparing for the beginning of the end
The year 2026 has been rather momentous for my family. My youngest daughter turned 21 years of age, my oldest daughter turned 25, my wife and I celebrated 35 years of marriage, my aunt (the last of the siblings on…