As I look at the clock I notice it is a little passed three in the morning on the day after the election and I am hopeless. In the midst of deep desperation, I metaphorically turn to paper and ink…
Elections and earthquakes: Discovering the unshakable
I have the interesting assignment of writing this column the day before the presidential election that won’t be published until the day after we head to the polls. I don’t mind. Writing offers a welcome break from the hourly task…
A sermon for the day of the U.S. presidential election
Voting is often said to be the institution that makes democracies democratic. But it is often overlooked that there is a coercive aspect to all elections. After an election 50.1% get to tell 49.9% what to do.
Religious liberty amidst religious pluralism
I spent Sunday with the good folk of University Heights Baptist Church in Springfield, Mo. It is a strong American Baptist Churches-Cooperative Baptist Fellowship church, and annually the congregation hosts a Baptist Heritage Sunday. Last year Dr. Neville Callam of…
Who will we be tomorrow?
There’s been a lot of conversation about exactly how folks — especially church folks — are feeling about this dreadful election season. Anger, resentment, disappointment, offense, shock — the list goes on. I’ve certainly felt each of those at some…
Ministers offer a spiritual word to the stressed on Election Day
Remember 2012, when Obama versus Romney seemed like a contentious presidential election? It was enough for a group of Mennonite ministers, who responded back then by launching the Election Day Communion movement. The idea was to inspire Christians to use…
The Black Male, the White House and the White Knight
Donald Trump’s unsophisticated rise in this presidential election cycle has been referred to in some corners as a redefining of electoral politics. It is not. It is simply a third, national galvanizing of the historical white backlash to substantive African-American advancement and the browning of America.
Hyperbolic campaign or Kingdom hope?
Whether you listen to Fox News or NPR, read the New York Times or Wall Street Journal, check FiveThirtyEight or Investor’s Business Daily, you’ve probably gotten the same general story. “This is the most divisive election in our history!” “Corruption…
When telling the truth is painful — and affirming
So here’s how last week went down for me. It actually all began almost two weeks ago when I was sitting in an airport about a 12-hour plane ride away from home. The final presidential debate wasn’t on TV anywhere,…