This is the ninth in a BNG series of articles on Christianity and democracy that will lead toward the July 4 celebration of America’s 250th birthday. The series has been curated by Carol McEntyre, senior minister at First Baptist Church of...
True confession: I have something in common with Adron Robinson. I, too, have chaired a failed search committee. But my experience was on a local-church level, not on a national denominational level. Nevertheless, I have more empathy for the chair…
In an unprecedented historical moment, trustees of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee have rejected — by a wide margin — the nominee to become president of the powerful SBC coordinating group. Jared Wellman, pastor of Tate Springs Baptist Church…
The good news is, it’s still against the law in Texas to kill an entire family in cold blood. The bad news is, it’s just fine in Texas for an unstable man to possess an AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle and…
Burmese refugee youth resettled in Texas exhibit amazing courage and resilience in negotiating American life and helping older relatives and community members overcome language and cultural barriers in the U.S., ethnographic researcher Diane Mitschke said during an April 28 lecture…
A couple of months ago, I attended a gathering with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and had the opportunity to be a part of a Q&A session with him afterward. One elderly woman asked him, “Where does God fit into all…
Days after Fox News fired Tucker Carlson, its most popular on-air personality, three nonprofit organizations founded by James Dobson praised the divisive host and mourned his exit. Focus on the Family claimed the firing was a result of “spiritual warfare.”…
One of them, an expert in the law, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with…
This story was updated Sunday afternoon, April 30, to include information published by Baptist Press. The nominee to become president of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee has drawn public opposition over the weekend even before his nomination was publicly…
First, in 1985, came attorneys who began filing lawsuits on behalf of those who were sexually assaulted as children by Catholic clerics. Much later came prosecutors who slowly started to pursue criminal prosecutions. Then, even later, came grand juries and attorneys…
Students at Oklahoma Baptist University will return to most campus buildings for two final weeks of in-person classes this semester, President Heath Thomas reported April 26. Every building on the Shawnee, Okla., campus was damaged by tornadoes and high winds…
The U.S. prison system intentionally promotes recidivism rates high enough to guarantee the continued existence and growth of a thriving, profit-driven incarceration system, according to Fox Richardson, the subject of an Academy Award-nominated documentary about the power of faith over…
Thirty-eight years ago this summer, Alison and I said “I do” in a wedding ceremony at our home church in Albuquerque. We splurged and hired trumpeters for the simple ceremony. The crowd of 150 friends and family celebrated with us…
