On your wedding night, “stand where he tells you to stand, wear what he tells you to wear, and do what he tells you to do.” This is the advice Southern Baptist megachurch pastor Josh Howerton gave the women of his…
The joy of (preaching about) sex
Liberal ministers in New York do not preach on adultery — unless they start a series on the Ten Commandments without thinking ahead. I did not think ahead. Preachers find it awkward to preach about infidelity, because the church often…
Who is Alistair Begg, and why are American fundamentalists so upset with him?
“I’m not ready to repent over this. I don’t have to,” Alistair Begg boldly declared in a sermon titled “Compassion vs. Condemnation” at the non-denominational Parkside Church in Cleveland last Sunday. The accusations being leveled against Begg are that he has caved…
New study finds Americans agree on issues facing their families but differ greatly on marriage and family in general
Democrats have grown increasingly disenchanted with marriage while Republicans, who support the institution, generally oppose public policies designed to help struggling families, according to the ninth annual American Family Survey. “Support for marriage as a path to stable, committed relationships…
Study finds Americans’ understanding of ‘family’ is changing
What does the idea of “family” mean anymore? According to a new national research, Americans’ ideas of marriage and family are changing and people have mixed feelings about how that will affect the future. Pew Research Center released a new…
Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom allegedly ‘manufactured’ wedding cases to battle gay rights
The powerful Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom has defended more than half a dozen businesses in lawsuits protecting them from having to serve partners in same-sex weddings. But a recent exploration of ADF’s work suggests some of its cases…
Do complementarian men do better? A response to Nancy Pearcey
There’s no need to debate complementarianism or egalitarianism when it comes to marriage, says Nancy Pearcey, as she promotes her new book The Toxic War on Masculinity. Conservative, churchgoing men do best, she claims — and complementarians do as well…
Is worshipping online a valid substitute for in-person worship?
According to data gathered in 2021, a couple is divorced in America every 46 seconds. This means two to three divorces happen during an average wedding vow recital (2 minutes), more than 156 divorces occur during an average romantic comedy…
South Africa’s matchmaking churches wildly popular, hope to stem gender violence
More than 6,000-worshippers from all over South Africa and nearby countries have gathered at Apostle Joshua Mohlala’s Shekinah Healing Ministries church premises in Cape Town, not for a spiritual service but to find partners. The best-known matchmaking church in South…
Complementarianism may promote the death of the family
“Lois! Get me my 10-cubed Pepsi!” my former Bible professor would yell across the house in their biblical home. His wife would immediately drop whatever she was doing, fill a glass with exactly 10 ice cubes, pour his Pepsi, and…
On Steven Crowder, abuse and the evangelical definition of ‘respect’
Last week, a video went viral of popular conservative commentator Steven Crowder, a professing Christian, verbally abusing his ex-wife, Hilary Crowder. Hilary’s family released the three-minute clip to clarify Steven Crowder’s claims that Hilary divorced him for no reason. In…
Why are weddings so expensive today and why are so few held in churches?
Thirty-eight years ago this summer, Alison and I said “I do” in a wedding ceremony at our home church in Albuquerque. We splurged and hired trumpeters for the simple ceremony. The crowd of 150 friends and family celebrated with us…