To everything there is a season, Ecclesiastes says, including a time to be silent and a time to speak. That’s sage advice in our present moment, as recent conversations with two friends illustrate. I’m one of the lucky ones who…
Why I missed the luncheon
Today, I was supposed to attend a luncheon celebrating passage of “Trey’s Law” in Texas and Missouri this year. Instead, I was trapped in a Dallas County courtroom on a panel of potential jurors for a child sexual abuse case….
The hypocrisy of Christian nationalists not feeding the hungry
So let me see if I’ve got this right: According to Christian nationalists, the evangelical church ought to have control over America and run the government strictly by Christian principles. Why, then, are these same people unwilling to follow the…
Trump’s latest bundle of lies endangers trans folk the most
“No transgender for everyone,” Donald Trump declared of his second term as president in a controversial social media post Oct. 27. In an 83-word Truth Social post that boasted at least eight flagrant lies, Trump included as part of his…
Two new podcast episodes tell the stories of changing pastoral ministry
Fifty years ago, O.S. Hawkins and George Mason were not estranged in their affiliation with the Southern Baptist Convention. Both men attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, and went on to become well-known pastors in large Baptist churches. But a fork placed…
Veterans urge DeSantis to stop execution
Five veterans have been executed since Ron DeSantis became governor of Florida in 2019 with a sixth scheduled to die this month. But a group of former service members wants the killing to stop and are pleading with the governor…
So you say you want a biblical worldview?
Conservative evangelicals were right: Worldview matters — a lot. Only problem is, we now see their preferred worldview is rotten to the core. And there’s about as much Bible in their “biblical” worldview as there is grapes in Grape Nuts….
Take more photos, make more memories
At a funeral for a 92-year-old man this week, I was struck by the family photos scrolling by in the pre-service slide show. I’ve seen hundreds of these slide shows before, but this one jumped out at me. The deceased…
Evangelical Trump Hypocrisy Syndrome strikes again
Imagine former President Joe Biden, a devout Catholic, posting a social media meme riffing off The Blues Brothers movie and declaring he’s “on a mission from God.” Conservatives would have lost their ever-loving minds. This would have been further evidence…
Are you offering a ‘kids’ table’ for single adults at your church?
My best friend here in Dallas got dressed up and went to a church dinner this weekend in someone’s home. He paid $300 for his seat at the 10-course meal as part of a church fundraiser. You need to know…
‘Privilege, not a right’ is language of abusive control
If you know anything at all about how abusers talk, you’ll recognize the danger in one of the Trump administration’s favorite explanations for its tyranny: “It’s a privilege, not a right.” Here’s what the White House Press Office said about…
This is a three-alarm fire for freedom of speech
Of all the shocking things the Trump administration has done in less than three months, please pay attention to this: Today, the administration said it has the power to deport a student simply because of that student’s beliefs. Not because…