Conquering food insecurity is not only one of the key social issues of our time but should be a top priority for people of faith, said Craig Gundersen, a leading expert on the subject who recently joined the Baylor Collaborative…
Social work leader Diana Garland’s legacy steers her children toward justice and mercy
Note: This story includes content about sexual abuse. Siblings Sarah and John Garland share an intangible inheritance from their late mother that transcends kinship. Sarah, a journalist, and John, a pastor, say their mother, Diana Garland, a Baptist social work…
A tale of two cities: Telling the truth about race
In the past few weeks, I traveled to New York City and Washington, D.C., in support of research, collaboration and programming supported by Baylor University and the Baugh Foundation. I met with a number of principals at Washington National Cathedral…
New endowed academic chair will lead Baylor in research to end hunger
A $1.5 million gift will place a Baptist university among a select set of U.S. schools conducting scholarly research and engaging students on the topic of food security. Baylor University in Waco, Texas, announced the gift from Jim and Tammy…
Baptist Scholars International Roundtable finds serendipity in participants’ experiences
When a group of Baptist scholars came together virtually Aug. 9-11 for a roundtable on “Baptists and the Kingdom of God,” they did not know that several in the group had personal experience to speak to one of the presentation…
On the collapse of Christianity into politics
A friend sent me this piece in Salon, posted under the provocative title, “How Evangelicals Abandoned Christianity and Became ‘Conservatives’ Instead.” I was not familiar with the author, Nathaniel Manderson, who identifies himself as an evangelical pastor trained at a…
Desire to validate the Bible makes Christians easy prey for archaeological forgeries
The early morning air breathes hot on her face as archaeologist Cynthia Shafer-Elliott picks up her trowel to begin her work she describes as “not for the fainthearted.” Before her stands a mound of dirt, otherwise known as a “tel,”…
For universities, when it comes to LGBTQ issues, focus on student well-being
Let’s say you are on the trustee board of a Christian-affiliated university and you are trying to figure out what your school should do about its policies related to LGBTQ students. You have two conservative voices in your ears, one…
Biden administration signals intent to defend religious exemption for schools
It appears the Biden administration intends to defend the religious exemptions granted to faith-based schools that allow them to bypass federal laws against discrimination toward LGBTQ students while still receiving federal grants. The Washington Post broke the story June 9…
Baylor, ‘biblical sexuality’ and the good news
On May 14, the Baylor University board of regents released a statement on human sexuality and identity. In it, the regents affirmed the dignity of all students “regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity,” committed to providing a supportive educational…
Jeffress warns parents not to send their kids to Baylor’s ‘infidels’
As news of Baylor University’s “possible” sanction of a campus group for LGBTQ students spread across the nation, the Texas Baptist school continued to be criticized from both sides of the debate. The high-profile critique of the Waco, Texas, school…
Baylor walks the line on LGBTQ student group as critics pounce from the right
Buried 14 paragraphs into a lengthy news release about the spring Baylor board of regents meeting was a notice of approval for “guiding principles” of “caring for all students, including LGBTQ students.” The news didn’t stay buried for long, however,…