Susan Sparks is a preacher and a stand-up comedian, which means she doesn’t have a lot of places to be these days. Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York City, where she is senior pastor, isn’t meeting in person. And…
Sing along when there are no words
One night in the spring of 1971, soul-singer Bill Withers was in the music studio recording a new song, Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone. It would go on to be one of the greatest hits this singer would ever have…
Faith can come rather quickly, but conversion takes a lot longer
Simon Peter denied Jesus three times; the Apostle Paul testified to a mysterious “thorn in the flesh” that even heartfelt prayer could not remove. St. Augustine cohabitated with a female “partner” for 15 years. They had a child together, yet…
We’re melting: Empathy in the time of coronavirus
Jason Vicknair went on Twitter to complain about a Mexican restaurant in Allen, Texas. He posted a photo of his beleaguered spouse and wrote: “My wife, date night after three months locked up in quarantine. Waiting for shredded cheese…
Christian citizenship means somebody’s calling my name
What does it mean to be a Christian citizen? The question should challenge every breath in our bodies in the way George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and many other Black Christian citizens died daring to breathe. There is no dodging…
Coronavirus teaches us that ‘church’ is a verb
In this time of coronavirus, we need a new grammar of church. “Church” is not a noun with a cynosure of place. It is a verb. It is a verb not to be used in the singular but always in…
More Americans are hungry, but ‘it doesn’t have to be that way’
It’s a fact that food insecurity is getting steadily worse in the United States in part because of the coronavirus, a Baptist mission expert reports. But it’s a myth that hunger and poverty are conditions Americans simply have to accept,…
Three ways the church can support public schools in the era of COVID-19
As I write this, my colleagues and I have spent the last few days in complete bewilderment at the prospect of starting face-to-face instruction even as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are on the rise. None of us relish the prospect…
What has this pandemic revealed about your congregational aesthetic?
I wonder how many congregations have taken time during this pandemic to consider their aesthetic. As worship services and other educational or community programming have transitioned to online formats, how have our ideas of beauty changed or remained the same?…