The kerfuffle over Baylor University’s rejection of a $634,000 grant for academic research now has produced a third public letter of concern, this time focused on a perceived threat to academic freedom. The two earlier letters, as reported by BNG,…
Baptists in Australia, New Zealand and Canada wrestle with LGBTQ inclusion
Like it long has in the U.S., disagreement over same-sex marriage and congregational autonomy are also driving a wedge between Baptists in Australia. Divisions began to simmer in 2022 when the New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory Baptist Association…
Mark Driscoll, Chip Gaines and toxic Christian masculinity
“You’re the one who farted in your own elevator, so you’ve gotta smell it,” said Mark Driscoll in a video reacting to a 40-second clip of Joanna and Chip Gaines’ new show, Back to the Frontier. The show aims to…
Evangelicals turning on Chip and Joanna is about disgust, not love
Chip and Joanna Gaines, a beloved Christian couple and reality television celebrities, stand accused by fellow evangelicals of being traitors to the MAGA evangelical understanding of Christian faith. Their act of betrayal: Casting a gay couple with twin boys on…
Queer & Christian: Reclaiming our faith for today and tomorrow
What does it mean to be a Christian in the 21st century? What do our lives of faith look like? Our evangelism? What do we, as followers of Jesus, have to offer the world around us? How do we best…
In conversation with Christopher B. Hays
Christopher B. Hays is the D. Wilson Moore Professor of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Fuller Seminary, where his teaching focuses on biblical languages and the Hebrew Bible. In 1996, his father, Richard, a leading figure in…
Unless Congress intervenes, Trump will cut funding for LGBTQ crisis hotline
In August 2019, the Federal Communications Commission proposed to Congress the need for a crisis hotline that would connect people to suicide prevention and mental health crisis counselors. On Oct. 17, 2020, the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020…
Evangelical certainty and the God gap
“There are a lot of angry homosexuals out here today,” the man holding the megaphone barked. He had come to Fort Worth’s Trinity Pride Day to speak for God. Much to my wife’s chagrin, I couldn’t let his crude comment…
Was Baylor’s decision ‘moral courage’ or ‘lack of courage’?
Sixty Texas Baptist pastors signed a “letter of support to Baylor University” saying President Linda Livingston demonstrated “moral courage” by rescinding acceptance of a $634,000 grant to study the exclusion of women and LGBTQ Christians in churches. “We commend Baylor’s…
With ‘allies’ like these, who needs adversaries?
Hosting drag shows in a church. Board members posting incendiary statements about political violence. Dismissing or scolding dissenting LGBTQ voices. Sometimes it’s “inclusive” churches that can do lasting damage to the cause of LGBTQ inclusion. I was reminded of this…
Group behind state trans laws celebrates court wins
The Family Policy Alliance is celebrating recent Supreme Court victories for state laws it promoted that halt transgender medical treatments for minors and restrict online porn to viewers who can prove they’re 18 years old. The court also has agreed…
Crossing that Good Ol’ Baylor Line
Monday, I shared the news with my classmates at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology, where I am pursuing a master of divinity degree, that Baylor University had received a grant from the Baugh Foundation to “foster LGBTQ inclusion in churches,”…