How do Christians responsibly and faithfully inhabit the places where decisions are made for the common good, especially at a time when the principle of religious liberty is being effectively hijacked?
Baptist church calls transgender pastor
Members of an Ohio congregation are inviting members of their community to a Sept. 8 worship service officially welcoming one of the few openly transgender Baptist ministers as their new pastor.
When a transwoman served me communion
To be presented the Body of Christ by a transwoman created a role reversal I had not anticipated. As a pastor, I am accustomed to being the one serving the elements. Today, I was the one who received. And in that moment, I was changed yet again.
It’s past time for the Church to embrace the Rainbow Christ
When it comes to honoring the sacredness of our LGBTQ siblings’ sexualities, we have often been guilty of painting Christ using monochrome colors of exclusivity, narrowness and fear rather than the vibrant colors of inclusivity, expansion and love.
Pride month: suggestions for straight allies in queer spaces
Given the harsh judgment, discrimination and hateful rhetoric LGBTQ people face from many Christian people, seeing churches who love, affirm and support LGBTQ people is essential. Still, when straight people enter queer spaces, even as allies, their heterosexual privilege can be problematic.
LGBTQ-friendly student group, alumni vow to fight for inclusion at Baylor
Gamma Alpha Upsilon, suffered a setback May 17 when Baylor University’s board of regents declined to change Baylor policy banning “advocacy groups which promote understandings of sexuality that are contrary to biblical teaching.”
Everybody’s: sometimes the gospel finds us in the ‘world’ before we find it in the Church
My long interest in American religion doubtless began in the 1950s and ’60s at Everybody’s, Fort Worth’s first real discount store. All kinds of people shopped at Everybody’s, but not everyone was treated equally.
Baylor’s decision on LGBTQ inclusion: Will my alma mater become invested or irrelevant?
If Baylor University doesn’t begin to recognize and respond in Christian love to the diversity of its students we not only have failed to measure up to the model of Jesus; we are identifying with the rigid textual literalism he faced 2,000 years ago.
Supreme Court to hear three cases pitting conservative religious views against LGBTQ rights
The United States Supreme Court on Monday accepted three cases to decide whether a federal law prohibiting discrimination because of “sex” includes sexual orientation and gender identity, setting the stage for a new round of tension between fundamentalist Christianity and LGBTQ rights.
As a pastor, I tried engaging the issue of abortion with Facebook friends. Here’s what I learned
No matter if we are talking about abortion, LGBTQI issues or politics, we need to stop thinking we can change the world with an angry Facebook post or a partisan online article. We need face-to face conversations that humanize one another.
Why a biblical inerrancy-based bill in the Texas Senate matters
Texas Senate Bill 17 raises serious questions. This year’s Bible-impacted legislation is intended to protect people of faith from the LGBTQ “agenda.” Fifty years ago, the debate involved a similar “biblical” and “legal” response to civil rights for African Americans.
North Carolina Baptist church ordaining trans woman to gospel ministry
A Baptist church that meets on the campus of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, plans to ordain a transgender woman to the gospel ministry this Sunday.