“Jane Marple. Look at her well. I tell you, that woman knows more about the different kinds of human wickedness than anyone I’ve ever known,” says a character in an Agatha Christie story. In another story, Miss Marple explains, “Human…
Kansas school district gives $95,000 to teacher who violated its own policies on student names and gender
A Kansas middle school teacher who refused to call transgender or nonbinary students by their preferred names and pronouns has been financially rewarded for her defiance of school district policy — by the school district. Teacher Pamela Ricard will get…
When forced to choose between their ministry and their transgender child, this family chose love
Chris and Lindsay Kinman landed their dream job in Christian ministry and thought they had no greater heights to scale. And then they gave it all up for the love of their son. This is a story about the power…
Why can’t we accept sexual and gender diversity in humans as well as in all creation?
This is the sixth in a series of articles on sexual diversity. If God’s handiwork has a trademark, surely it is diversity. “I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree” wrote Joyce Kilmer. There is…
I’ve been unaware of my privilege, and if you are a man, you probably have, too
In this time of increased, and justified, attention to gender inequities, I have been thinking about my own life. It occurs to me that while I have supported women colleagues, female students and girls within my circle of family and…
Dear Denny Burk, your view of gender is not biblical, it is dangerous
In a 2019 talk given at Compass Bible Church in Aliso Viejo, Calif., Denny Burk spoke about how “unbiblical” it is to state that one’s brain is experiencing a disconnect with their bodily gender, but then cited Genesis 1:26-28 as…
As church staff roles evolve, the SBC is forced to define the word ‘pastor’
Sixty years ago, Baptists would have had little reason to debate the meaning of the word “pastor.” In those simpler days, “the pastor” was the primary staff leader of a congregation — the person who preached most Sundays and provided…
American attitudes on transgender persons remain conflicted and highly partisan
Widening acceptance of gay and lesbian people in American life is not as easily translating to understanding of transgender persons, a new national survey by Pew Research shows. Despite the rapid change in American attitudes on same-sex attraction, the fundamental…
The ABCs of LGBTQ
This is the second in a series of articles. Life seemed simpler when we didn’t know so much. The problem is, no matter how much we learn there is always so much more to know. Every solution seems to reveal…