Note: This post is an excerpt from a chapter titled “Juneteenth” in the author’s forthcoming book, Backslide: Reclaiming a Faith and a Nation After the Christian Turn Against Democracy, which will be published September 8 and is now available for pre-order....
Although I would not make a good Jeopardy! contestant and I seldom win at Trivial Pursuit, I tend to remember unusual things about movies. A few facts stick in my mind, like where the movie was made, whether the movie…
The plight of youth orphaned during the COVID-19 pandemic was forgotten in the scramble to understand, treat and prevent the disease from spreading, according to Albert Reyes, president of Buckner International. “COVID was such a new thing in the United…
Editor’s note: In 1984, the Southern Baptist Convention met in Kansas City for what was the sixth year of the so-called “conservative resurgence” that in time captured the leadership structure of the SBC and turned it rightward. The next year,…
You probably have heard the simplistic explanation, often delivered proudly as if it is the very first time someone has thought to say it: “Guns don’t kill people, people do!” This retort is most often given after another senseless murder…
Addressing racial justice issues from the pulpit in 2020 would have been challenging without the pandemic’s restrictions, but the task became daunting when it was coupled with the suspension of in-person worship. That was an observation of some of the…
We cringe to see the result of hate and anger in the world: bullying, mudslinging, demeaning, plotting, scheming, lying and worse. I’ve become aware of its increasing popularity and the draining, negative effect on my spirit. It’s easy to get…
In the wake of the leaked Supreme Court draft decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade, LGBTQ activists are concerned that same-sex marriage could be next. That’s why on Tuesday, June 7, LGBTQ Victory Institute held a press call to…
In Naomi Alderman’s 2016 novel, The Power, a force awakens in girls and women that lets them send electrical shocks out from their hands. They begin to use this power to fight back against men and to become dominant. Under…
Concerns about using church offering money to fund a response to the problem of sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention seemed to disappear June 8 when $4 million was pledged to the cause. Technically, some of that money still…
As a graduate of Hardin-Simmons University’s class of 2019, I recently became aware of the board of trustees newly released Statement of Faith, which was adopted on May 19, 2022. Of particular note is the trustee’s declaration on sexuality and…
Taboos around psychological illness linger in part due to the misunderstandings and suspicions faith leaders and mental health providers harbor toward each other’s roles in emotional healing, panelists said during a June 8 webinar. Some psychologists and other counselors have…
With the news of so many tragic events over the past few weeks, I have been struck by the thread that seems to run through so much of the carnage-filled images continuously in the media. The interviews from mass shootings…
