One year after Samford University made headlines for its exclusion of LGBTQ-affirming campus ministries, a group of about 100 students, alumni and community supporters held another silent protest outside a campuswide assembly. The Sept. 19 protest outside Wright Center during…
Fighting hate with humor? Moms for Liberty and Toby Morton’s dark humor
An antigovernment organization is currently going viral, but not on their official website. Toby Morton, former writer for the show South Park, has added Moms for Liberty to his growing list of spoof websites, jokingly profiling the organization’s hateful attitudes…
What do we mean by ‘affirming’?
I was grateful to attend the second annual lecture of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas Sept. 11. The lecturer, Susan Shaw, is professor of women, gender and sexuality studies and director of…
Al Mohler vs. Andy Stanley: What’s really going on?
The ultra-conservative Calvinist complementarian crowd has been seeking evidence to convict Andy Stanley of “liberalism” for years, and now they think they’ve found the smoking gun. Except their “evidence” would only hold up if the jury were made up of…
In biblical truth-telling, we need to mind the gap between clergy and laity
It doesn’t surprise me that new research shows white mainline Protestant clergy are more supportive of LGBTQ rights, abortion rights and racial justice than their congregations. I’ve been there, done that and have the scars to prove it. From my…
At AWAB lecture, Susan Shaw lays out 10 lies Christians tell about queer people
“The church has no problem telling lies if it works to advance their political ambitions, and we see now the extent of Christian nationalist desire for a theocracy rooted in white supremacist, patriarchal values which have nothing to do with…
American belief in fixed binary gender is growing
The percentage of Americans who believe only two fixed genders exist is steadily increasing, and more than a quarter claim young people are being coerced into being transgender, according to new polling data from Public Religion Research Institute. Faced with…
Five U.S. Congressmen ask DOE to clarify Baylor’s ‘religious’ exemption
U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and four other members of Congress wrote to the U.S. Department of Education Sept. 5 seeking clarification on the recent waiver granted Baylor University allowing discrimination against LGBTQ students on campus. The renewed exemption granted…
BGCT nominates first Hispanic to lead convention as executive director
The current president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas has been nominated to serve as its executive director, ending a 14-month search process. Julio Guarneri, lead pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in McAllen, Texas, is the first Hispanic ever…