I’m disappointed with the world. I really did not expect to be here as a 58-year-old man. Call it optimism, theological progressivism, maybe naivete, but I didn’t expect to be so disappointed with human beings at this stage of the…
In our dystopian world, I’m leaning into the Korean concept of han
What are we to feel and to think in these dystopian times when our nation is moving backward on so many issues of human dignity, equity and justice? I feel defeated. Exhausted. Grieved. Aggrieved. Or, as one friend put it,…
Why I still consider myself an evangelical
Have you noticed that some Christians behave as if they are against Christianity? I wonder if the people around us see our brand of Christianity as something they don’t need or want in their lives. For example, in 2018 and…
Alliance of Baptists updates its covenant and hears calls to action against injustice
The economic, racial and social injustices exposed and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic have called progressive Christians to bolder-than-ever action on behalf of the oppressed, pastor and writer Aurelia Dávila Pratt said during her opening keynote address to the Alliance…
America, these are self-inflicted wounds
The United States has now lost 150,000 people — almost three times the number of people we lost during the Vietnam War – due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic is spreading unchecked across the nation. Meanwhile, national, state and…
Why we must not look away in the current crisis
It was a sermon illustration I will never forget. Our pastor told the story of Father Michael Renninger, pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Richmond, Va. While a college student on his way home one weekend, Renninger stopped to…
‘Victimization’ and injustice: Why the new film, ‘Harriet,’ evoked anger in me
I felt anger rise in me as I watched “Harriet,” the new film about the famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman. The anger came from an awareness that the distorted use of victimization by the oppressors and the enslavers is still prevalent 100 years after Tubman’s death.
In America’s midnight hours, faith will improvise a way forward
From the formlessness of these midnight hours in America, out of the void of oppression and injustice, something is being born that will create a new song for all God’s people to sing. But the revolution, when it comes, will be improvised.
How to help immigrants in detention
Some of the ways that individuals and congregations can help are to learn about the issues of immigration and advocate for humane, compassionate, and sensible public policies and laws which impact the immigrant community.