Social media was abuzz this week with reaction to Southern Baptist Convention leader Al Mohler appearing on a podcast with Christian nationalist Doug Wilson. The mere fact of them being in conversation is the most notable thing, because what they...
Gandhi helped free me from prison. Now there’s some fun with syntax and the ambiguity of a preposition. That sentence has two potential meanings: Either Gandhi helped me get out of prison, or, while he was in prison, Gandhi helped…
It’s that time of year once again when everyone makes lists of their favorite things from the past year. But the year 2022 has been long. With the world gradually attempting to return to a somewhat-normal, somewhat-forever-changed state after the…
American adults who have been served by chaplains hail the ministers for providing compassionate and effective care during some of the most difficult moments of life, a new study shows. “Most people say the interaction they had with a chaplain…
Throughout 2022, I spent the year learning about various holiday traditions and seeking to gain a greater understanding of what they teach us about God. My theme verse for the year was Psalm 145:7: “They celebrate your abundant goodness and…
The governor of the state where I live proved himself to be a Grinch of the first order Christmas Eve — and apparently a coward too. Three busloads of migrants were delivered outside the door of Vice President Kamala Harris’…
Don’t let my name fool you. One of my most redeeming qualities is being a realist, often named by others as pessimist. In the spirit of that title, or misplaced naming, I am unsure how I will stomach Christmas this…
Winter in Scotland is cold and dark. The sun struggles to scrape together seven hours of daylight, and each day travels a little lower across the gray sky. For the emerging agrarian societies of pre-history, making spiritual sense of the…
My worst course in college was German; thank God I needed only four semesters to graduate. But I am too well acquainted with the German word that describes a malady of the spirit, schadenfreude, our joy at another’s misfortune. It…
Some pastors may dread having to move their congregation from a prominent church building into former retail space with a liquor store on the property. But not Jakob Topper, senior pastor of NorthHaven Church in Norman, Okla. “I’m actually excited…
We often perceive the holidays as a time of togetherness and joy, where we reunite with families and enjoy the presence of each other. However, what we do not talk about is the grief that often coincides with the Christmas…
Olena Levchenko and her Christian family barely escaped Russian forces in Ukraine and bounced from nation to nation in Europe before learning a Baptist congregation in Atlanta, was willing to sponsor them as temporary refugees in the United States. Levchenko…
The real estate value of a church’s land is usually irrelevant. There’s no property tax, and unless a church is ready to sell its land, the fluctuations in value over the years don’t matter much. Until the property becomes too…
