Four stories. One week. Femicide. In recent days, the news has carried story after story of women killed or missing at the hands of husbands, partners, former partners and other perpetrators of violence. These stories reveal a pattern that is…
Listening to a bell that no longer rings
Saturday night, what was meant to be an evening of tradition and lightheartedness at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was instead interrupted by violence, reportedly the act of a lone shooter. Such an event is, in every sense, traumatic and…
We are a nation of bullies
“Mommy, Jason is being mean to me, and I can’t get him to stop!” My 6-year-old daughter was calling from her hour-long school bus ride home (no, she doesn’t have a phone but uses a Fitbit watch for emergencies). In…
Women need less religious shame, more leadership
A recent study suggests Gen Z women are losing their religion. Honestly, we’re not surprised. While women make up 60% of U.S. congregations, we have historically been relegated to the pews. This discrimination pushed us out. But some churches are…
Protecting the gift: A call to parental vigilance
I am writing this article specifically for parents raising children in today’s world. As a new church plant, our congregation has been blessed with many children, and our recent parenting class has shown just how much this topic matters to…
TPUSA drives a bus over Baylor and then backs up to do it again
Baylor University’s administration has — perhaps accidentally — sullied itself by affiliation with Turning Point USA. The damage to the university’s reputation is significant. In any space except the far-right MAGA-sphere, TPUSA is known as a political outfit tied at…
Unearthing an unnecessary death
My wife is in declutter mode, a seasonal psychological disorder similar to photosynthesis. Warming weather and increased hours of sunshine renew her fear that we will die inconveniently for our children, who will be forced to sort mountains of detritus…
When Al Mohler takes up serpents, I’ll listen to his views on women
As a child in church, I didn’t know much. I sat quietly in the pew beside my sister. We’d watch as our Great Aunt Emmie would scoot out from a side door into the choir loft of the small Baptist…
Church names the FCC might fine you for saying on TV
Editor’s note: This piece is funny but in a way that might be offensive to some readers. Proceed with caution if you don’t care for the humor of fifth-grade boys. At a Friday lunch of Baptist college professors, a…
Post-evangelical churches are succeeding
There is much handwringing about the “state of the church” these days. I want to suggest that handwringing is a bit exaggerated. I know the statistics. There are certainly many U.S. churches that are struggling and some that are closing….
The Bible is not just a white man’s book
You’ve been told the Bible was a white man’s book. You’ve seen the images — pale-skinned angels, a European Jesus, blonde-haired apostles. Church walls lined with Renaissance art have shaped a quiet but powerful assumption over time, that holiness somehow…
Confessions of a cancer caregiver
After a lifetime of trying to follow Jesus, the enormity of his teachings becomes tangibly real when cancer comes into your life. It’s one o’clock in the afternoon, and my husband, John, is asleep. He’s no slacker; he’s recovering from…