Two weeks before I got married, I lost my job delivering pizzas because I had gotten three tickets for minor traffic violations over the previous two years. So when we got back from our honeymoon, I landed a job working…
I saw two Americas this Thanksgiving
On this Thanksgiving weekend just past, I was aware of two Americas. Interspersed among the segments of Macy’s parade and the Disney Holiday celebration was a reminder that in our country not all the pleasures of life are simple or…
Moving beyond opposition to payday lending
One of the things I love about working in a downtown church is the way it brings me into relationships with poor people. I love this not because I believe I am of much value to them beyond what I…
Finding utopia: Does God promote economic equality?
How would God structure an economy? This may be an odd question for a Baptist who believes in the separation of church and state, but it’s a question that I can’t help but ask. State religion does not have a…
Embracing the hopelessness of Holy Saturday
Why are we in such a rush to get to Easter Sunday? In our efforts to make Easter celebrations the most extravagant Sunday of the year, when church attendance is expected to be beyond the norm, we forget — if not…
‘The Big Short’ will make you mad — and it should
By Michael Parnell “The little guy always gets screwed.” That was the comment the gentleman who sat next to me said after watching The Big Short. After seeing this movie I was mad. It was not because I was ill informed…
Reimagining churches as full-time partners with those in poverty
By Laura Rector I was temporarily homeless this summer after I lost my below market-rate housing in California to a planned development. This transition meant spending about 40 days without a true residence and sleeping in hotels or friends and…
A fair Christmas
By LeDayne McLeese Polaski “It’s not fair!” If you are a parent, you likely hear this several times a day — everything from dessert sizes to bedtimes are occasions for children to spot real or imagined unfairness. The truth is,…
In light of the Paris attacks, is it time to eradicate religion?
Paris is where a long trail of blood and tears, meandering through the centuries and from continent to continent, has now stopped – for a brief while. The Islamic State has taken the responsibility for the 129 dead and more…