A few years back, as I wandered across a broad hill overlooking Washington, D.C., I discovered a monument, the statue of a woman atop a 32-foot decorated pedestal rising above the untold thousands of gravestones in Arlington National Cemetery. I…
Ungodly? That all depends on what God you serve
Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, has long been an ardent public supporter of Donald Trump. He recently preached that the Biden administration was “the ungodliest administration in the history of our country,” a continuation of ongoing…
Remember, once there were multitudes of people who were willing to give themselves for something larger than themselves
“Never forget that the purpose for which we live is our improvement, so that we may go out of this world having, in a great sphere or a small one, done some little good for our fellow creatures and labored…
There is no them
Warning: Politics, religion and beagles ahead. Author’s note: Three years ago this week, on a Sunday morning, I set down these words in a downtown Austin hotel after a white supremacist attacked the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. This…
A tale of two cities: Telling the truth about race
In the past few weeks, I traveled to New York City and Washington, D.C., in support of research, collaboration and programming supported by Baylor University and the Baugh Foundation. I met with a number of principals at Washington National Cathedral…
Let’s demonize racism, not Critical Race Theory
Since the former president unwillingly departed the office, his Republican minions have leaned into the ardent racist dog whistles and racial mythologies he employed in trying unsuccessfully to remain in power. Big among these Republican racial tropes is the idea…
‘They’re like children’: Confronting the myth of white paternal control
Some of the most pernicious and racist political myths circulating in our culture were used as a justification for chattel slavery and later as compelling arguments supporting Jim Crow segregation. I’ve recently been reading and reflecting on a myth I…
An open letter to the SBC: God’s amazing grace always builds a bigger, better tent
The Southern Baptist Convention averted a catastrophic split at its most recent annual meeting as messengers narrowly voted to elect Ed Litton, an Alabama pastor, as SBC president. While Litton has been sympathetic to the call for racial tolerance and…
Baylor, ‘biblical sexuality’ and the good news
On May 14, the Baylor University board of regents released a statement on human sexuality and identity. In it, the regents affirmed the dignity of all students “regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity,” committed to providing a supportive educational…