The stories of Graham Platner and Roy Moore, although unfolding in different parties and different eras, trace the same institutional pattern: Modern political parties elevate outsiders when they are useful and abandon them when they become inconvenient. Platner and Moore...
BNG opinion columnist Doyle Sager died Jan. 22 after a battle with lung cancer. He was 69 years old. A native of Albany, Mo., Sager had served as lead pastor of First Baptist Church of Jefferson City, Mo., since 1997….
What would happen if U.S. immigration policy were crafted based on the majority views of Americans? The two major political parties express often polar opposite views on immigration, and even presidents who are perceived as open to immigration (Barack Obama…
I’ve got nothing. Zero. Zilch. Nada. It never has happened before, but I’ve been trying to write this piece since Jan. 6. And I’ve got nothing. For about five years, I’ve enjoyed this platform. Many would give their writing hand…
On Inauguration Day evening, I went to bed exhausted with the mix of the day’s emotions. Joy over the beginning of a new administration; relief there had been no violence; and sorrow — sorrow over all the human lives lost…
Organizers of a faith-based campaign to abolish the death penalty in Virginia say current signs of favorable legislative momentum are due, at least in part, to pressure being applied by churches and other religious communities. And their hope is that…
I watched the bizarre assault live on television as I rocked an infant in my arms. I have spent every waking minute reading eyewitness accounts, listening to podcasts and watching cable news. I’m trying to understand. I’m asking myself if…
Amid a flurry of executive orders issued by President Joe Biden on his first day in office was a repeal of the so-called “Muslim ban,” which prohibited entry to the United States by citizens of select countries mainly with majority…
As the COVID-19 pandemic approaches the one-year mark, churches continue to grapple with when — and how — to reopen for in-person worship and other activities. Some already have reopened, albeit with restrictions such as masks and social distancing in…
The suddenness of the coronavirus outbreak last year caught a lot of churches unprepared for a sudden transition to virtual worship and other gatherings. The Faith Community, a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship church plant in Atlanta, wasn’t one of them. The…
With the presidential inauguration, a new session of Congress and state legislatures gearing up, Americans receive fresh reminders to look toward the future with hope. Of course, we place ultimate trust in God and not government. But we propel our…
How is it that Nigeria, a country of about 200 million people, has experienced only 1,449 deaths from COVID-19, while the United States, a country of 331 million, has experienced 400,000 deaths? Ask some Nigerians and, because the country is…
Donald Trump’s presidency ended with the United States leading the world in the number of deaths caused by the coronavirus pandemic. He left Washington, D.C., as more federal troops were in Washington than at any other time since the Civil War,…
