“I have no quarrel with you, good Sir Knight,” says King Arthur, “but I must cross this bridge.” “None shall pass!” declares the Black Knight. “I move for no man!” So one of the most farcical fight scenes in cinema…
The Catholic Court
Evangelicals have gotten all the attention, but it is the Catholics that are reshaping American life. By Catholics, I mean the six Roman Catholics that comprise the conservative super-majority on the United States Supreme Court: John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel…
10 practices to help us cultivate a Jesus worldview
Irish singer and songwriter Bono of the band U2 confesses, “I believe Jesus is the Son of God; if we could be more like him, the world would be transformed.” It’s one thing to confess, “I believe in Jesus.” It’s…
Why can’t we just ‘BE KIND NOW!!’?
Thanks to a kindness art campaign going on at our local elementary school this month, I have received multiple notes from my youngest child with a rainbow drawing and one simple command: “BE KIND NOW!!” These BE KIND notes came…
A word in praise of Baptist Press
File this under “Things I Never Thought I’d See.” Last Friday, the official news service of the Southern Baptist Convention published a 2,300-word news story about the tarnished legacy of Paul Pressler. For the first time, the BP story acknowledges…
Trump and the Top Ten
Almost three decades ago, a coworker of mine — now a close friend — used to amuse me when she referred to The Ten Commandments as the “Top Ten.” Even before that in college and seminary, where I was taught…
The joy of (preaching about) sex
Liberal ministers in New York do not preach on adultery — unless they start a series on the Ten Commandments without thinking ahead. I did not think ahead. Preachers find it awkward to preach about infidelity, because the church often…
The Oscars go to church
This year’s Academy Awards ceremonies made me think about some of the best attributes of church. I cried several times unexpectedly, but that’s just one of the parallels with church. What really got my attention was the personal tributes given…
On interdepencence
On this International Day of Women and Inclusivity, I am inspired by an image that first came to me on Facebook. A pastor/priest is presiding at Communion, standing at the table with her infant child on her back in a…