Two Baptist ministers have waded into the hyper-combative arena of public education by seeking school board seats in an era of unprecedented hostility, in some places bordering on violence, aimed at district leaders and educators. Both men — Jonathan Grant…
White churches must repent for racism, minister says, and worship services are a good place to start
White churches must use worship services to repent for the sin of racism in part by acknowledging complicity – active or passive, said Natasha Nedrick, associate minister at Greenforest Community Baptist Church in Atlanta.
Even limited to screens, COVID-19-era virtual church is fostering fellowship believers need
More than a month into virtual services, ministers are finding ways to engage with their congregants, even if services are watched in living rooms amid real-life distractions.
With new CBF policy, there’s space for some but not for all
I do not expect a denominational body to reinforce all aspects of my conscience any more than I expect a congregation to match my convictions in every way. Most people don’t expect a perfect match — just space to grow together. So I’m not bothered by a conviction that differs from mine. I am bothered by the centrality given to a conviction that makes no space.
Helicopter preaching
In early July, I called the Rev. Dr. Darryl Aaron, pastor of Providence Baptist Church in Greensboro, N.C. It was the latest moment in our country’s crisis of racism and violence, as we mourned Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. My…
How are the children? Not well.
Amidst the injustice that surrounds and overwhelms, with all of the wrenching questions and heartbreaking prayers and pressing violence, is there anything any more important for a church to do than to ensure that the children are well and welcome?
A time for prayer, but what kind?
Sunday night several hundred people gathered in my city to pray. We went to our prayer vigil place — the steps of the governmental plaza in Greensboro, N.C., where we’d gathered before. Some of the candles still held the wax…
The shame is mine: ‘Roots’ 2016
This week I was one among the millions who watched A&E’s powerful and devastating “re-imagination” of the epic miniseries Roots, brought to the small screen for a new audience against the not-so-new backdrop of this, the latest iteration of the…
Repurposing church
Maybe it’s because I’m not on Pinterest, but I never knew there were so many uses for wooden pallets. Once a single-use, routinely discarded, strictly utilitarian object, the pallet is now sought-after material for furniture, signage, art and design. It’s…