Violence, conflict and oppression seem to be everywhere these days. The horrors in the Middle East, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, Haiti and many more places are devastating to contemplate. And the dangerous flight for safety they spur: Life-threatening travels on overcrowded…
The vice and the cure
Livy, the great poet of Rome, once said: “We have reached the point where we cannot bear either our vices or their cure.” As was true for the Romans, so it is for us. The political and social fabric of…
Humans in the hands of a silent God
Any more, as I hear about the bad and violent actions people take against other people, I shudder. I held onto a naivete about how “good” people — those who believe in God — were somehow better, that their relationship…
Making sense of the senseless death of an Alabama pastor
I did not know F.L. “Bubba” Copeland, but I probably have more insights into his tragic story than most Baptist pastors. Copeland, mayor of Smiths Station, Ala., and pastor of First Baptist Church in nearby Phenix City, took his own…
Theology Beer Camp?
Tell somebody you’re going to Theology Beer Camp and you will be met with either a delighted giggle or a wrinkled brow. In the churches of my youth, the words “theology” and “beer” never occupied the same sentence — “for…
‘A good name is more desirable than great riches’
When I got in the taxi in Gaza, I asked the driver (in Arabic) to take me to the Ahli Arab (Arab Family) Hospital. “Where?” he asked. After we had that exchange a couple of times, I just said, “Go…
The day the camel slipped through the eye of a needle … and the church did not
You may have read the remarkable story about the life of Charles Feeney, who recently died at 92 after having given away almost all of his $8 billion to the causes he believed in. At some point in his life,…
White Christian nationalism in a tailored suit
“I don’t believe there are any coincidences in a manner like this. I believe that Scripture, the Bible, is very clear that God is the one that raises up those in authority. He raised up each of you, all of…
The 1 percent church
Last week, I shared my story about serving as a megachurch pastor. This week, I’d like to tell you about my experience leading a small-membership rural church. The two pastorates could not be more different. Most of my 40-year ministerial…