Recently, Eli Manning did a segment on his ESPN show, “Eli’s Places,” where he wanted to see what it’s like to be a walk-on for a college football powerhouse. He chose Penn State, the home of the Nittany Lions. However,…
The church in America needs to recover its balance
Have you ever been walking along and lost your balance, one part of the body out of sync with the other parts, and you weren’t sure where you might land? The church in America is there. The lack of balance…
What absurdism and a parody conspiracy theory tell us about why Gen Z is sleeping in on Sundays
Gen Z has the lowest church attendance of any generation and is frequently dubbed as the least religious generation. In a time when churches are struggling to fill their pews, Gen Z is sleeping in on Sunday mornings. Many are…
What I learned at Wake Forest Baptist Church
I was saddened, but not surprised, at the announcement that the Wake Forest Baptist church, whose members met in Wait Chapel on the campus of Wake Forest University for 66 years, is dissolving. I am sad because I’m a graduate…
40 Congressmen urge IRS to reconsider classification of Family Research Council as a ‘church’
Congressional Democrats are challenging the Internal Revenue Service’s recent ruling that the Family Research Council — a far-right advocacy group labeled a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center — may be classified as a “church” and therefore not…
Do the arts in church still matter?
Recently our daughter, Meredith, texted us a picture of two watercolors painted by our 7-year old grandson, Elijah. He has been watching his mother learn to use watercolors, and he wanted to try his hand. He traced the outline and…
When is a ‘church’ not really a church? Only when defined by the IRS
Not only are conservative evangelicals seeking to redefine religious liberty to their favor through court rulings, they’re also quietly using a provision of the IRS code to shield their flourishing nonprofit ministries from financial reporting obligations and to aid in…
Choosing the underdog
Growing up, I was short and stocky, which made me a less-than-prime candidate for athletics. In seventh grade, I wanted to play football like my friends. I was too small to be a lineman and too slow to be in…
The Supreme Court’s politicized decision on abortion will do nothing to help churches thrive
As if the American church isn’t divided enough, it appears we’re about to roll back the clock 50 years on abortion rights and throw more jet fuel on the culture war bonfires consuming our congregations. For some churches and pastors,…
On this Mother’s Day, will churches act more like Rome or Christ?
I’ve never been as welcomed at a church as when I was pregnant. At the time I was pregnant with my first child, we were looking for a church home in Dayton, Ohio. When my husband and I would approach…
Eastertide: The outing of the church
We have entered Eastertide, the liturgical season beginning with Easter and ending 50 days later on Pentecost (also known as Whitsunday). The formulation of this season parallels the period in Judaism between the first day of Pesach (Passover, marking their…
Changing Our Mind, 25,000 sales later
I learned this week that sales of my 2014 book Changing Our Mind are just about to cross 25,000, apparently very rare in the book business. This becomes the occasion for my column this week. Long-time readers of Baptist News…