“Immigrants are not numbers, not statistics,” Pablo Juarez told Baptist scholars, historians and ministry educators gathered at Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, Ga. “They are human beings that are running for their life, begging for some people to…
The Black Church cannot remain America’s emergency moral infrastructure
On Sunday mornings across America, many Black pastors stand behind pulpits carrying far more than sermon notes. Some are preaching only days after burying another teenager lost to gun violence. Some are trying to comfort congregations anxious about layoffs, housing…
It’s hard for most Americans to find a progressive church
I hear from progressive Christians all the time who tell me they cannot find a congregation where they fit in and feel comfortable. As one reader said, “I believe we are created to be in relationship, and my spirit desires…
Little platoons and voluntary associations: Burke, Tocqueville and the moral architecture of belonging
There are moments in the history of political thought when two thinkers, separated by time and temperament, nevertheless circle the same human truth. Edmund Burke and Alexis de Tocqueville lived in separate centuries — Burke, 18th; Tocqueville, 19th — but…
Will Zohran Mamdani institute Sharia law in New York?
Zohran Mamdani is the mayor-elect of New York City, the largest city in the United States, and will take office on New Year’s Day 2026. Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, and became a naturalized American citizen in 2018. He…
Prayer in schools
In 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down government-mandated prayer in public schools. This ruling led many to believe it was forbidden to pray in school. Not so. As one bumper sticker stated, “As long as there are students and…
‘Somebody get me my walking shoes’
“Speak up for the voiceless. …. Defend the rights of the poor.” Those words from Proverbs 31:8-9 are among the many in Scripture that call the people of God to a life of empathy and advocacy— a wide stream of…
From flattening the curve to widening the circle: Zoom church 5 years later
Five years ago, at Oakhurst Baptist Church we sounded the call that we would be joining many other churches in going virtual to help flatten the coronavirus curve and do our part to slow the spread of the disease. There…
I’m a gay student at a nonaffirming seminary: Why?
Editor’s note: In rare circumstances, BNG will publish an opinion piece without a byline to protect the identity of the author. In this case, all identifying information has been removed to protect the seminary as well. The point of the…
In North Carolina, a Methodist creation care community grows
Author and scholar Elaine Heath says the most challenging question ever put to her inquired, “What does care for the earth have to do with following Jesus?” Heath now uses the question as a reflection tool for her ministry as…
Why do we pre-slice the bread?
As a child I remember my mother, an elder in our Presbyterian church, preparing Communion. I remember going with her to buy bread a few days before so it would not be too soft to cut in little squares and…
One more day: Resetting the smile on our faces
A friend at the YMCA where I work has some struggles with his hip. Even so, he is regularly in the gym building muscle, the pain notwithstanding. He smiles on the way into the gym even though he is hurting….