There are few Americans in modern history who can say they fundamentally changed how the world watches television, experiences sports, consumes news and thinks about philanthropy. Ted Turner is one of those rare figures. Whether people agreed with his politics,…
Jesse Louis Jackson Sr.: An American icon
This week, the nation pauses to honor the life and legacy of Jesse Jackson, an American icon whose voice shaped movements, elections, diplomacy and generations of hope. For more than six decades, Jackson stood at the intersection of faith and…
Remembering Tommy Boland
Thinking of Tommy Boland reminds me of a poem by James Whitcomb Riley. Some workers are mourning the death of a colleague. One man, wiping tears from his eyes, says of his friend, “When God made him, I bet he…
Stephanie Erin Leonard: April 22, 1975 – November 26, 2025
After a critical decline in health, Stephanie Erin Leonard passed away peacefully at the Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home in the early hours of Nov. 26. Her parents, Candyce and Bill Leonard, were at her bedside. Stephanie was born in…
J. Alfred Smith remembered as giant among preachers and justice advocates
J. Alfred Smith will be remembered in services Oct. 9 and 10 as one of the most influential Black Baptist pastors of his generation. Smith died Sept. 19 at age 94. The congregation he served across four decades, Allen Temple…
Legendary Baptist missions leader Keith Parks dies
Keith Parks, who led global missions enterprises for both the Southern Baptist Convention and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, died Aug. 26 in Richardson, Texas, at age 97. Parks committed his long life to telling people all over the world about…
James Dobson, high priest of ‘family values,’ dead at 89
James Dobson, the Focus on the Family founder who turned “family values” into a household phrase and political rallying cry, died Thursday morning at age 89. The James Dobson Family Institute announced his death in an early morning email that…
Evangelical firebrand John MacArthur dead at 86
American fundamentalism has lost its prophet. John Fullerton MacArthur Jr., 86, died July 14 after a series of illnesses left him hospitalized. Having served the nondenominational Grace Community Church of Sun Valley, Calif., for 55 years, MacArthur acquired a truly…
Bill Moyers: Fearless speaker of truth
When I saw the news of Bill Moyers dying, I felt all the oxygen left my office. Never has one person spoken more truth to power than Moyers. The tributes to him are prodigious and well-deserving. I add here some…
Hearing the elephant and seeing the owl: Memories of John Killinger
When I learned of John Killinger’s passing on June 5 at age 91, I found myself reflecting with deep gratitude on a friendship that spanned 35 years and strongly influenced my life and ministry. Respected as one of America’s most…
Jennifer Lyell, key figure in SBC abuse crisis, dies after brief illness
One of the key figures in the Southern Baptist Convention’s sexual abuse crisis has died prematurely after reportedly suffering a massive stroke days earlier. Jennifer Lyell, a former executive at the SBC’s Lifeway Christian Resources, died Saturday, June 7, at…
Remembering Walter Brueggemann (1933–2025)
“You are afraid of the text.” He paused. “You are afraid of what the Bible says.” Again, a pause. “You are afraid of the what the Bible says because you are afraid of what the Bible will ask you to…