It is midnight. Not the kind of midnight measured by clocks. The kind that settles into your bones. The kind that lingers long after the sun has risen. We all know this midnight. It is the midnight of the marriage...
Why is it so hard for dissident church units to leave the 12-million-member worldwide United Methodist Church? The ties that bind United Methodists together are contained in one arcane word: “connectionalism.” The concept of connectionalism was confirmed May 9 when…
By now the whole country has heard of the imminent possibility of overturning the legal precedent of Roe v. Wade, which provides the foundational grounds upon which access to abortion care and reproductive justice in this country has been laid….
Oklahoma legislators appear to know the exact answer to a question that has vexed doctors and theologians for centuries: When does life begin? According to a controversial bill adopted by the Oklahoma Legislature May 19, life begins at fertilization. “If…
Twitter was abuzz last week when Scott Aniol took to the platform to dump cold water on a woman who was celebrating her pastoral ministry degrees. Aniol wrote, “Theological seminaries should not be giving women degrees in pastoral ministry. Full…
Baptist church planters and their congregations in Ukraine have been at the forefront of providing physical and spiritual ministry to Ukrainians displaced, surrounded or occupied by invading Russian forces. “A great number of Christian churches and humanitarian organizations from around…
In 2003, the Coen brothers released their romantic comedy Intolerable Cruelty. The movie wasn’t great. In fact, it’s entirely forgettable, which is why I was surprised I remembered it at all. After reading the news lately, though, I’m now convinced…
The police department that wrongly shot Breonna Taylor dead in her own apartment in 2020 had trained its officers just three years earlier that they are avengers who carry out “God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” New reporting by the Louisville,…
In worship on May 1, Village Baptist Church read together the words of Jesus when he asks his disciple, “Peter, do you love me?” When Peter responds to Jesus, “Of course, Lord, you know that I love you,” Jesus gives…
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Jennifer Campbell, to First Baptist Church, Washington, D.C., as minister to youth and families. Casey Carlton, to Blackwood…
Henry Ford’s influence on the automobile industry and, through it, much of modern history is well known. Most people probably could tell you that Ford and his employees perfected the assembly-line method of producing automobiles. It is demonstrably true that…
Think what you will about the raging culture wars, but that’s not the major driver of public opinion today any more than it was when Bill Clinton first ran for president in 1992. That’s when Clinton campaign analyst James Carville…
Listen! Can you still hear the echo of our Easter Sunday “alleluias” and “Christ is risen. He is risen indeed”? As we journey through Eastertide, these ecstatic outbursts and responses may be growing fainter. “Christ is Alive! Let Christians Sing”…
