It may now seem surprising to many United Methodists, and even more Baptists, that for most of our histories in the United States, all Methodists and Baptists were regularly designated as evangelical denominations. The most important reason is that both...
After a several-months break, Benjamin Cole and Mark Wingfield are back with a new episode of “Stuck in the Middle with You.” This week’s new episode is one of two recorded in anticipation of the June Southern Baptist Convention annual…
“Don’t give me a jar of piss and then tell me it’s Memaw’s sweet tea.” My East Texas-raised father uttered these words when I tried to explain away my failing grade in freshman high school biology. I told him I…
A Southern Baptist megachurch pastor and a controversial Baylor University professor are among 26 people named by President Donald Trump to serve on three advisory boards of his Religious Liberty Commission. Two weeks ago, Trump named members of the main…
The growth of the “nones” may have decelerated but has not stopped, according to a new study by Public Religion Research Institute. While the share of religiously unaffiliated in the U.S. has been widely reported to have plateaued, the PRRI…
In 1922, a Baptist minister serving a Presbyterian church in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village kicked a hornet’s nest with his Sunday message. Far from the first, or for that matter, last Baptist preacher to do so, he pleaded to those packed…
Early years at a new job will tax the training of even the most well-prepared. A key challenge involves navigating workplace boundaries. It’s difficult to imagine being more well-prepared for my first years as a Christian college professor. And yet….
Like many others, I enjoyed the fascinating Cold War TV drama, The Americans. The show depicted a Russian couple living as spies in America. After their daughter began attending a progressive church, the mother initiated several conversations with the pastor. In…
It’s been months since my sabbatical ended, and I am still processing. Because of holidays, inclement weather and other hiccups, I didn’t give my official sabbatical report to our church for quite a while. The extra time to process was…
Before there were megachurches, Wieuca Road Baptist Church stood on a prestigious corner of Atlanta as one of the most prominent tall-steeple Baptist churches in the American South. Its longtime and legendary pastor Bill Self urged everyone to show up…
I was going through a box of my things while I was home a few months ago, and it was a reminder of how my obsession with baseball goes back to my childhood. Through the years, I have collected countless…
In a scene reminiscent of a Serena Waterford speech from Margaret Atwood’s dystopian depiction of totalitarian patriarchy in The Handmaid’s Tale, Dallas megachurch pastor Josh Howerton and his fellow elders allowed a woman to preach on Mother’s Day. If you’re…
White evangelical support for Donald Trump — especially its intensity and near-unconditional nature — is rooted in a complex fusion of religious identity, political strategy, cultural anxiety and existential fear. This alliance has evolved into something disturbingly cult-like, forming a…
