In a May 26 New York Times column, “The Southern Baptist Moral Meltdown,” conservative commentator David Brooks wrote: “They dedicated their lives to a gospel that says that every human being is made in the image of God. They dedicated…
What is a Baptist?
You must have a sense of humor to talk about being Baptist these days, with all the craziness associated with the word and with many Baptists today who are a contradiction to what “Baptist” has meant through the centuries. If…
Baylor, Baptists and slavery: A way forward
Last week Baylor University, the world’s largest historically Baptist university, released a study revealing the slaveholding and Confederacy elements of its history. The report, commissioned by the Baylor board of regents, considered the stories of Baylor’s founders and those memorialized…
Mourning the end of an era at Logsdon, rummaging through my father’s books
As we rummaged through rooms of old books, I couldn’t help but mourn a bit. My dad, giving away his library. It felt like the end of an era. My dad always seems at home when surrounded by books. I…
On Epiphany, tend the light of Christ with truth and love
On Epiphany, which the worldwide church celebrates today, we should ask ourselves how we, the church, will rise and shine in these dark days of discouragement so that we will be a light to the world. The answer has to…
Everything I know about separation of church and state I learned from my mother
I must have been in the third or fourth grade when Mama said to me, “When people want prayer in the schools, they are assuming the person who is praying has the same beliefs they do.” And then she added,…
Judge rules that historically black college and sponsoring denomination share power to name trustees
A two-year legal battle between American Baptist College and the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc., ended Nov. 15 when a judge in Tennessee established a two-step process giving both entities input into selection of the college’s board of trustees.
Baptists under Nazism and Baptists amid America’s current political crisis: a call to ‘disruption’
What does the story of Baptists under the Third Reich reveal about how we respond to political crisis? I believe the church is meant to be a disruptive church. That means first “disrupting” a theology that prioritizes relevance over resistance.
Are we finally ready to learn from Glenn Hinson, one of our Baptist prophets?
Forty years ago, Hinson’s open letter challenged Southern Baptist Convention President Bailey Smith’s pronouncement that “God Almighty does not hear the prayer of a Jew.” Today, moderate Baptists know they don’t want to follow Smith and his tribe, but have we embraced a clear alternative?