During the Civil Rights Movement being not-racist in the midst of murder, lynching, theft and almost every other degradation known to humanity, wasn’t enough. It still isn’t.
Parallels between the racist rhetoric of Trump and Wallace are undeniable. But there is one important difference
Donald Trump rode to political power on words even more inflammatory and vitriolic than those of the early George Wallace in the 1960s. At least Wallace, late in life, demonstrated the moral capacity to re-evaluate himself. To this point, at least, Trump has not.
Curtis Flowers was tried 6 times for the same crime. His story reveals 3 kinds of Christians
My work on the case of Curtis Flowers over more than a decade exposed me to three kinds of Christians: Kingdom Christians, Culture Christians and Conflicted Christians. I have learned that Kingdom Christians are almost always driven to the margins by the clarity of their convictions.
Seasoned saints: Stand down and take direction from the youth on gun control
The Son of Man called on society then and, I believe, does so now, to “change and become like children.” Literally, we must humble ourselves enough to put aside what we deem as comforting and correct based on experience and age, power and privilege, and commit to living in a world where the first shall be last and the last shall be first.
Looking into the heart of racism and responding with … love
Martin Luther King Jr. knew that the fight for justice and equality must continue, but he also knew that no protest or law or court battle can change a heart. What can is love, but not just any kind of love.
Dear Church, don’t give up on justice yet
Justice is a tool for working out God’s care and showing that God is “with us” as a way of entering into the real, physical circumstances of those who hurt, not just a concept abused by the culture wars.
Making God smile through music
During the recent Advent season, I challenged my congregation to savor the music of the holidays, and to listen with fresh ears to both the lyrics and melodies which carry our deepest longings and joys. As usual, in attempting to…
Church celebrates 25 years welcoming Hooter’s, schizophrenics and Pharisees
Worshiping with drug addicts and sometimes-disruptive schizophrenics wasn’t the way Jimmy Dorrell envisioned his calling while growing up in Conroe, Texas, in the 1960s.
Protesting injustice is the modern Baptist’s evangelism, activists say
Like many who grew up Southern Baptist, Betsy Sowers fervently believes evangelism is the answer to the most pressing issues of the day. “I am very Baptist about that,” the Massachusetts resident said. But Sowers doesn’t define evangelism only as talking to…
Dear non-racist white people: stop saying we’re not racist
In so many ways, we are still experiencing the beginning birth pains of an integrated America. In some ways, we’ve made significant and hopefully irreversible progress. In other ways, it might as well be the first day of integration or the mad years of Jim Crow.
Baptist churches should emulate Black Lives Matter movement, says advocate
A Black Lives Matter advocate fired a shot across the bow of Baptist churches, challenging them and other Christians to embrace Christ’s calling to care for society’s most oppressed. “The story of the church in recent years is that that…
Ole Miss honors Will Campbell
By Bob Allen Sixty years after he was forced out of a job for challenging racial segregation on campus, the University of Mississippi is naming a plaza for the late Will Campbell, a renegade Baptist minister and author active in…