For 2,000 years, Christians have worshiped God and followed Christ in an extraordinary variety of political circumstances. They have lived under Caesars and kings, republics and parliaments, democracies and dictators. The church has survived — and often thrived — without…
Our culture worships success; the Epstein Files reveal the cost
Like many of you, I have followed the disturbing reports surrounding the Epstein case. Behind every headline are women who were exploited and abused. Many have shown extraordinary courage in coming forward and seeking justice. Because powerful people across the…
This book tells the honest story of preachers and preaching
On Sunday afternoons, after preaching, I often feel wrung out — so spent that all I can manage is to sink into the couch with a novel or binge-watch mindless television. Early in my ministry career, I wondered if other…
300 faith leaders urge Baylor to ‘do better’ with LGBTQ community
Three hundred pastors and faith leaders have signed a second letter to Baylor University decrying revocation of a $634,000 grant to study loneliness and rejection of women and the LGBTQ community in churches. This letter comes one week after a…
Feeling overwhelmed? Think local, Tyler advises
It can be overwhelming to consider that there won’t be a presidential election for nearly four years, or even the possibility of winning either the House or Senate away from the control of Christian nationalists for another two years. One…
Panel of leaders explore patriarchy, gender inequality and white Christian nationalism
Patriarchy, gender inequality and white Christian nationalism present a threat to individuals, churches and culture that must be countered, a panel of female Baptist leaders said during the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly in Greensboro, N.C., June 21. Panelists Anyra…
Missouri church confesses and laments its past ties to slavery
The congregation at First Baptist Church in Columbia, Mo., recently held a worship service devoted to confessing and lamenting the church’s historical connection to slavery. The October service was part a year-long observance of the church’s bicentennial, which will be…
I’m a pastoral resident, and my senior pastor is leaving
I assumed I misheard her due to the loud A/C unit in my office. “What?” “I’m being called to another church, Caleb.” As the fall air finally cools down a scorching Midwest summer, I still wonder if this memory is…
Practicing advocacy from the pulpit can be a ‘fiery furnace’ experience, panelists tell CBF
Practicing advocacy in the pulpit can be like walking through a “fiery furnace,” five pastors noted during the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly in Atlanta June 29. Cheryl Moore Adamson of Palmetto Missionary Baptist Church in Conway, S.C.; Jesús Garcia…
Why I’m investing my inheritance in women in ministry
Eleven years ago, when I became senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Columbia, Mo., my cousin wrote on my Facebook page, “You have shamed our family.” I wasn’t really surprised by her reaction. After all, my extended family was…
Former staff at Knoxville church see a familiar pattern in Northern Seminary’s complaints about Shiell’s leadership
When former staff members at First Baptist Church of Knoxville, Tenn., read accounts of how faculty and staff at Northern Seminary said they had been mistreated by President Bill Shiell, they recognized a cautionary tale they wish all congregations and…
Leaving church, part 4: The coming clergy shortage
Baptist churches may soon face clergy shortages like other faith traditions. Emily Brown, in a February 2022 Relevant article, “The Great American Clergy Shortage is Coming,” noted: “Roughly 3,544 Catholic parishes in the U.S. lack a parish priest,” and “in…