Lately, I’ve been thinking about gerontocracy. It’s hard to miss in our current news. Many debates are raging about President Biden’s age. Sen. Mitch McConnell has had a couple of super public uncomfortable health scares. Both leaders are part of…
Where are the trustees?
I still remember sitting in the wooden chairs in Sunday school as faithful men and women taught me the word of God, from curriculum that came from the Baptist Sunday School Board, now known as Lifeway Christian Resources. I would…
I am a child of the wilderness
As Baptist Women in Ministry kicked off its 40th anniversary celebration, we were reminded by Executive Director Meredith Stone that “40 is a significant number in the biblical text.” The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, Jesus was…
I’m a pastoral resident, and my senior pastor is leaving
I assumed I misheard her due to the loud A/C unit in my office. “What?” “I’m being called to another church, Caleb.” As the fall air finally cools down a scorching Midwest summer, I still wonder if this memory is…
Why is Lifeway silent on sexual abuse amicus brief?
Here’s a sure way to know Southern Baptist institutions and some Baptist universities don’t think they’re accountable to anyone outside their inner circle: The perpetual refusal to comment on, or even acknowledge, questions from media. A year ago this fall,…
Are we all guilty of mass shootings?
Here we are again. Another mass shooting. Another set of grieving families and friends. More calls for sensible gun control. More fist-shaking about Second Amendment rights. More inaction. In the 2016 movie The Limehouse Golem, the catchphrase of entertainer Dan Leno…
The youngest victims of war
The news stories of what has been happening in Israel and Gaza since Oct. 7 have been difficult to absorb. The horrific loss of life, utter destruction of neighborhoods and the terrifying abduction of civilians of all ages have seemed…
The duplicity of an SBC amicus brief
In keeping with nationwide trends, the Kentucky legislature extended the time period in which child sex abuse survivors can bring civil lawsuits and allowed that their lawsuits can be asserted not only against perpetrators, but also against institutions that fail to…
WWJP? A checklist for testing the Christlikeness of your pastor’s ‘sermon’ about Israel
It’s been said many Christians have two things for Sunday lunch: fried chicken and fried pastor. I once got a Sunday afternoon phone call lambasting me for a Memorial Day homily during which veterans lit a candle not only for…