Christians often have been reminded that some of their forebears supported slavery, but many do not know Christians ended slavery in the United States. Southern Baptists, in particular, frequently are reminded their convention began amid the defense of slavery. Yet...
The Southern Baptist Convention is so big and its empire so far-reaching that it’s hard to get true perspective on its scope and trends. One of the few snapshots to give insight is the Book of Reports, published just prior…
On Sunday, we voted to leave the Southern Baptist Convention. It happened at a special, called business meeting that took place in our Fellowship Hall during the Sunday school hour. When I got there, after preaching at the early worship…
Baylor University has updated the school motto that has not been changed since 1851. Regents of the Waco, Texas, university with Baptist roots voted last week to add two words to the Latin motto that is inscribed on the official…
Churches across Texas are participating in a campaign to raise awareness about gun violence and build coalitions focused on its prevention. Texas Impact designed its Vidas Robadas — Spanish for “Taken Lives” — project to connect university and church-based advocates…
I have listened to the entire commencement speech on YouTube that Harrison Butker gave at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan. Butker has the right to say whatever he wants and I will always defend that right. However, I have a…
Of all the epicenters of wars in the world today, none has triggered as much displacement of citizens as in Sudan, the Northeastern African country of about 46 million people, according to the International Rescue Committee. The IRC says Sudan’s lingering…
As former President Donald Trump sits in criminal court racking up criminal contempt of court orders, the world gets a sordid view into the behind-the-scenes behavior of the former president. We shouldn’t be shocked; we have seen the pattern of…
As Israel wages war against Hamas in Gaza, many Americans have declared themselves armchair generals who think they understand everything about one of the most complex geo-religio-political conflicts in world history. Dear readers, Facebook is a poor resource for a…
The sexual abuse schism that has rocked one of the largest Southern Baptist churches in Arkansas is now bringing new life to a Baptist church building with a different kind of history. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported May 19 that about…
The noted Cambridge historian Herbert Butterfield in his book Christianity and History, closes with the words: “Hold to Christ, and for the rest be totally uncommitted.” Those may be words most needed these days when we are tempted to place…
You know the parable: After the work, after the harvest, after the painful hours of crushed dignity and thankless labor, the day grows cool. As the work becomes easier and the task less thankless, some new friends come to join…
Against the backdrop of rising anti-LGBTQ violence, Interfaith Alliance and its partners will provide training for faith leaders and congregations to serve as buffers between hate groups and those attending Pride month events in June. “While this year it is…
