It may now seem surprising to many United Methodists, and even more Baptists, that for most of our histories in the United States, all Methodists and Baptists were regularly designated as evangelical denominations. The most important reason is that both...
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a differential impact on women. In particular, working mothers have faced a greater burden of child care and home schooling than men and have ended up leaving the work force in significantly greater numbers than…
For the second year, denominational annual meetings are being derailed and reworked due to the coronavirus pandemic. This will have an urgent effect on the United Methodist Church, which already had delayed from last year a critical vote on the…
Last fall, my hometown of Austin, Texas, put a monumental public transportation bond question on the ballot: light rail, tunnels underneath downtown, electric buses. Austin’s Capitol Metro called the plan “bold.” Another way to say that: “Billions.” Austin voters have…
It was a beautiful September day on the campus of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The sun was shining brightly through the Beech trees along Lexington Road as they turned from green to orange. I ran down the stairwell from my…
If there’s an aspect of church life that United Methodists love more than a potluck supper, it’s structure. After all, John Wesley — who imbibed structure as a means of discipleship from his mother, Susanna — founded the Methodist movement…
Black History Month has ended for 2021. This year during Black History Month the Public Broadcasting System aired a four-hour documentary, produced by Henry Louis Gates, about the Black church. Across the nation, people paid tribute to the contributions by…
Religious groups are joining forces to breathe life into the Equal Rights Amendment and to push back against conservative white evangelicals opposed to granting women full legal protections under the U.S. Constitution. About 50 Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and…
This week, Canada’s Parliament voted to label China’s treatment of its Uyghur Muslim minority as “genocide.” This makes Canada the second country in the world after the United States to describe Beijing’s egregious repression as it is. A bit of…
Tia Howell didn’t invent the idea that mind, body and spirit are intimately connected, but the 24-year-old personal fitness coach in Mount Holly, N.C., lives it as she would a calling. She’s also among one of the fastest-growing groups in…
Two churches were disfellowshipped this week by the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee for “affirming homosexuality within their memberships.” I have ties to at least one of the churches — friends, colleagues and former students and seminary and Sunday school…
According to an investigative report released earlier this month, deceased celebrity evangelist Ravi Zacharias abused multiple women with “sexting, unwanted touching, spiritual abuse and rape.” The evidence is overwhelming. The details are stark and nauseating. Many have described the report…
Four churches were expelled from the Southern Baptist Convention Feb. 23 in a joint action that gave the appearance of equating LGBTQ inclusion with predatory sexual behavior. Among the four churches expelled, two were removed due to welcoming LGBTQ Christians…
