Few would be surprised to learn that the latest American Values Survey shows Americans moving increasingly apart on issues such as race, sexuality, politics, immigration, democracy and the overall state and direction of the nation. Even so, Robert P. Jones,…
A Southern Baptist saint: Gratitude for the life of Leslie Jordan
When I saw the tweet that read “Comedian Leslie Jordan dead at 67,” I gasped. Then immediately, I felt a tear forming in my eyes — and I never cry. I began scrolling until I found an article that confirmed…
A plea to people of faith on behalf of our LGBTQ friends
In 1996, an LGBTQ activist in Hawai`i somehow convinced me that it would be a “great idea” to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee was deciding on whether or not to bring an amendment defining marriage before Hawai`i…
Samford denies professional group for LGBTQ law school students
Once again, Samford University has denied a request to allow a group for LGBTQ students — this time excluding students in its highly rated Cumberland School of Law. In 2017, the Birmingham school forfeited $3 million a year in institutional…
33 House Republicans introduce bill to ban talking about sex and gender with children under age 10
The conservative evangelical agenda to define any discussion with children of sexual orientation or gender identity as sexually perverse could become federal law if a group of Republican Congressmen get their way. Rep. Mike Johnson, a Southern Baptist from Louisiana,…
Seattle Pacific University in governance turmoil as trustees resign and a group of students, faculty and staff sue to unseat six other trustees
Accusations of denominational meddling and the continuation of anti-LGBTQ hiring and personnel policies have led students and staff to sue members of the Seattle Pacific University board of trustees. Concerns about racial disparities, declining enrollments and giving also motivated the…
By doing everything ‘wrong,’ this California church found the right way
First Baptist Church of Pasadena, Calif., is succeeding by doing everything wrong. Wrong, at least, by conventional standards of what leads to church growth and health today. The church has no social media presence, intentionally. Video of Sunday morning worship…
The inconsistencies of our ethical declarations: Samford’s dilemma
Editor’s note: Bill Leonard served as professor of church history and chair of the Religion Department at Samford University from January 1992 to June 1996. In his 1995 book, The Stem of Jesse: The Costs of Community at a 1960s…
SBC president appears on ’60 Minutes,’ tells Anderson Cooper he couldn’t be a good Christian and Southern Baptist as a gay man
The president of the Southern Baptist Convention sat for an interview with an openly gay journalist and told him on national TV Oct. 9 that he could not be a good Christian and Southern Baptist. On the CBS program “60…
Samford loves all people but won’t advance ‘other expressions of sexuality,’ president tells students in video
“Each person will be loved unconditionally” but Samford University “will continue to stand on God’s word” and will not “celebrate and advocate for other expressions of sexuality than those historically supported” by the Baptist school, President Beck Taylor told students…
Now add a wedding photographer to the list of those successfully objecting to same-sex weddings
First there was the wedding cake baker in Colorado who refused to serve a same-sex couple and took his case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Then there was the wedding website designer in Colorado who refused to…
The cause of a scene: Why gay Christians are afraid to come out to their pastors
In his song “Cause of a Scene,” Jake Wesley Rogers laments the struggle between wanting to come out to his community and fearing the social consequences of being publicly gay. He sings: “I wish I could be like a baby…