Within the last two weeks, Franklin Graham has publicly celebrated what he describes as hundreds of people responding to the invitation to repent during evangelistic events in Argentina. Images of crowds and language of spiritual breakthrough have echoed a revivalist…
Black History Month is not about you, but it is for you
I want to speak directly to my white friends, white Christians and especially white clergy colleagues during Black History Month. I’m writing to you not as an adversary or a critic, but as someone who has prayed with you, eaten…
What should we learn from Hillsong and Sam Collier’s story?
When Sam Collier resigned from Hillsong Church in 2022 amid the unraveling of the church’s U.S. leadership and growing scrutiny of its internal culture, many assumed his public ministry had reached an inflection point, if not an end. However, three…
Are we OK with children going missing?
A child was taken. Taken from routine. Taken from familiarity. Taken from the quiet assumptions that adults would keep him safe. Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, moved across state lines, shipped to Texas…
Spiritual questions remain after Abyssinian’s gender-bias lawsuit dismissed
The recent dismissal of a gender-bias lawsuit involving Abyssinian Baptist Church, while constitutionally predictable is spiritually and theologically unfinished. A federal judge ruled the claims brought by Eboni Marshall Turman, a former assistant minister and nationally respected theologian and professor,…
At Baptist schools, debates about DEI are theological
Among Baptist-related universities, decisions about diversity, equity and inclusion are no longer simply administrative adjustments. They have become theological decisions in broader debates about identity, governance, theology and political risk. Recent developments, from Samford University’s closure of its DEI office…
Braxton Wade named BNG Clemons Fellow
Braxton Wade has been named a Clemons Fellow with Baptist News Global. Beginning Jan. 5, he will join the group of regular BNG writers producing news, analysis and opinion pieces. A Richmond, Va., native, Wade currently is a business leader seeking…
‘Progressive imagination often is wider than progressive practice’
Not long ago, a search committee called to share their final discernment after months of conversations, sermons, prayers and emails. Their words were familiar, almost rehearsed by the collective memory of Black clergy everywhere. They told me it had become…
How I found hope for today in a coffee shop
I had just left my corporate job — no backup plan, no security blanket, no savings plan that made sense on paper. Just a tug in my spirit I couldn’t ignore any longer. I was tired of running from God’s…
For Black History Month, listening is more important than speaking
As we approach Black History Month, I’ve been struggling as a Black pastor to find the right words to share with my predominantly white faith community. What could I say differently this year from the pulpit that I hadn’t already…