A few weeks ago, I sat with a Baptist leader who described himself as a “moderate Baptist.” He meant it as a compliment, and most people in our circles would receive it that way. After all, “moderate” is one of...
When the United States and Israel bombed Iran Feb. 28, the motivations and repercussions were religious as well as political. We cannot think of Iran as a modern state unhinged from its religious moorings. And we cannot think of President…
The Black Church is not a single story but is a tapestry of stories that must be heard in context, speakers said at the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference Feb. 23-26 in Chicago. In session after session, speakers returned to the…
In a sermon at the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference preached from Luke 10:29–35, Reginald Sharpe Jr. circled a phrase that refuses to let the church remain comfortable: “You don’t know the half.” Sharpe did not give us a scholarly sermon…
Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. died Feb. 17. Like his mentor, Martin Luther King Jr., Jackson has left a lasting impact on our nation and world. So what is that legacy? Some people will remember Jese Jackson as a protester. After…
The feral utility of dog whistle statements rests in their deniability. A racist tweets the whistle, and friends and foes alike get the racist message. Then the whistler denies they whistled, insisting instead that foes are overly defensive or are…
“If you bear the name of Jesus Christ, there’s no armor greater than that,” Christian nationalist leader Doug Wilson declared at a recent worship service at the Pentagon, an event he called a sign of national revival. Defense Secretary Pete…
The Baptist General Convention of Texas has experienced a 17% drop in Cooperative Program income in the past decade, Treasurer and CFO Ward Hayes told the state convention’s Executive Board Feb. 23. Earlier in that meeting, BGCT Executive Director Julio…
“I’ll get real big hair, marry a man, let him lead, write a book called, ’Submissive Wife, Submissive Life,’ adopt a Southern accent out of nowhere,” comedian Taylor Tomlinson joked while imagining what it might look like for her to…
About 9% of American adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something other than heterosexual, according to Gallup. That percentage is unchanged from last year but remains more than double the 3.5% from 2012, the first year Gallup measured…
Six state organizations have merged with Baptist Women in Ministry to become official chapters of the nationwide organization. BWIM Executive Director Meredith Stone announced the change in an email to supporters, saying there are now two ways state groups relate…
Well. It happened again. There was yet another mass shooting committed by a transgender person. Roberta Esposito, a transgender woman, opened fire during a youth hockey game in Rhode Island. Esposito specifically targeted family members in the shooting, killing her…
The president of the Southern Baptist Convention appears to have endorsed proposed legislation in Tennessee that would impose the death penalty on women who have abortions. Clint Pressley, pastor of a church in Charlotte, N.C., weighed in on social media…
