7,500 miles. That’s the approximate distance between Johannesburg, South Africa — the city where the new Omicron COVID variant first was detected — and the East Coast of the United States. It would be at least a 12-day drive or…
How 29 syllables changed my heart about God and gay people
“For the last 20 years, I thought if there was a God, he probably hated me for making me the way I am.” I can’t communicate the destructive power those words had on me. Back then, I was a conservative,…
‘No, Beth Moore, I will not take your phone away’
It has been four months since Beth Moore publicly cut ties with the Southern Baptist Convention. Since that time, Moore has oscillated between prophetic and apologetic as she hones her new post-SBC voice. One moment she’s publicly calling out “hyper-complementarianism”…
Experiencing God and engaging in social responsibility are keys to church relevance
For the first time since they began keeping track in 1937, Gallup found that a minority of Americans (47%) are now members of a house of worship. This wasn’t really news to anyone who has been involved in a church…
What does history teach us about Saddleback Church and the SBC?
The prominent Southern Baptist (or maybe soon-to-be-former Southern Baptist) congregation Saddleback Church touched off a firestorm last weekend by publicly ordaining three women as pastors. While it’s unclear exactly how the Southern Baptist Convention will react, it’s going to be…
The Deconstructionist Playbook offers devotionals for those wary of the church
A new devotional anthology seeks to shepherd readers through religious doubts and toxic church teachings by showing that inclusive, non-judgmental ways of being Christian do exist. “We want Christianity to be a practice that we enjoy and that doesn’t inflict…
Do you wonder if you’re the only one who believes the way you do?
“Am I the only one?” Recently, it seems I can’t have a conversation about faith or politics without uncovering another story of someone who is wrestling with this question. Many have become increasingly isolated from their faith communities and families….
SBC will come to regret the seminary presidents’ statement on race
Disappointment. This is the only word that stuck with me as I read and re-read the recent statement from the six Southern Baptist seminary presidents rejecting Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality. On the one hand, I guess I shouldn’t have…
Jesus and socialism? A conversation with Sondra Wheeler
As the rhetoric ramps up for the 2020 election, the term “socialist” has become a go-to polemic in the American political debate. While some portray Jesus as an Adam Smith-style capitalist, weaponizing the word “socialist” against their political opponents, others…