Last week, the incoming Trump administration announced it will rescind a 2011 ICE policy that keeps government officials from entering sensitive locations such as schools, churches and hospitals to carry out immigration raids and deportations. The mere thought of this…
A new Baptist’s reflections on BINOs
In September, I left the United Methodist Church for an Alliance of Baptists congregation. While I hold a master of divinity degree and knew the broad strokes of Baptist history and have worked alongside Baptists for several years, I didn’t…
Dismantling the master’s house
For the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change. — Audre Lorde Audre Lorde helps us…
Mary the thorny rose
“Life doesn’t come with a manual, it comes with a mother.” — Cleophus (Cleo) Franklin Jr. Not too long ago my family and I were sitting in a booth at a local restaurant waiting for our food to arrive. I…
Why we can’t trust ABC News
The nature of bullies is to strike fear in the hearts of their targets in order to demand compliance with their own self-aggrandizement. Donald Trump is a classic bully, and he just made ABC News bow down to him on…
Teaching, learning and listening: A 50-year legacy
Fifty years ago, on Dec. 17, 1974, I had my initial interview at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. With one semester to go toward completing the Ph.D. program at Boston University School of Theology, I mailed my resume…
Finding our way in the dark
Advent feels paradoxically heavy and elusive this year. Jan. 20 looms large on the horizon beyond Dec. 25. Many people I know, including myself, are hoping against hope things won’t be as bad as we fear. That Trump’s retributive, hate-filled…
The art of patriotic dealmaking
It is incomprehensible that opponents of President-elect Donald Trump criticize his efforts to commemorate historical events and memorable occasions from our recent national story by offering personal souvenirs to his fellow Americans. After all, he is simply following the footsteps…
The Christmas Eve that went so wrong it was right
To begin with, we didn’t make enough bulletins for the large crowd that attended. So, 3 minutes before the service began, I found myself in the church office running off additional bulletins while simultaneously putting my clergy robe on, hooking…
Looking for America
Here it is, five weeks since the election, and I’m still looking for America. The new administration isn’t shaping up like any America I recognize. Principles of governance thousands of American soldiers fought and died for have been set aside…
A tale of three churches
Editor’s note: On rare occasions, BNG will publish an opinion piece without revealing the name of the author. This is one of those cases for what will appear to the reader as obvious reasons. The editor knows the identity of…
How Richard Hays changed his mind
In 1996, New Testament scholar Richard Hays wrote his most influential book, The Moral Vision of the New Testament. Christianity Today placed The Moral Vision on its list of the 100 most important books of the 20th century. American evangelicals…