“Kind of disturbing” is how journalist Katie Couric described an Axios piece about how Donald Trump built an insurmountable lead in Monday’s Iowa caucus by catering to evangelical MAGA pastors. “They say obviously they embrace Trump because of the Supreme Court justices who helped…
On the SBC, Alliance and CBF and lost causes
The histories we tell ourselves about our churches and denominations are important. They shape organizational identities and give greater meaning to the work churches and denominations conduct in the wider world. When those histories become deeply engrained, they can morph…
On women, aliens and when power usurps love
Then turning toward the woman, (Jesus) said to Simon, “Do you see this woman?” — Luke 7:44 My mother-in-law and her brother often use a repeating trope: “When the aliens come” we’ll be ready or not ready because we…
The SBC and its sacrament of power
The Southern Baptist Convention continues on its crusade to rid Baptist churches of women in ordained leadership of any kind. I have looked with dismay at its inexorable path of patriarchal power and the denigration of women. So churches with…
The kingdom of God does not come through the scepter but through the Cross
Public Religion Research Institute is a nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization dedicated to conducting independent research in the fields of religion, culture and public policy. They focus on important issues that shape American culture, religious dynamics, political viewpoints and sociological…
Old wounds and power hierarchies are in fashion at Bob Jones University
After consolidating his power over the Bob Jones University board of trustees last week, Chairman John Lewis won his face-off against university president Steve Pettit. Pettit, who has served as president of the ultra-conservative school since 2014, had given the…
The shift from positional power to relational power
You and I see it almost daily: A person doesn’t know when to let go of their position of power. A father or mother, high executive or low manager, a lay or professional leader, a bus driver or bus mechanic….
How Michael W. Smith, George W. Bush and one popular worship song expose the problem of Calvinist theology and politics
There is a reason why one of the most influential worship songs of the past quarter century expresses a truth that could turn evangelicalism upside down and yet has been repeatedly rejected and banned by conservative evangelical complementarian Calvinists. Growing…
Justice sated in The Handmaid’s Tale
The much-anticipated return of The Handmaid’s Tale, a TV series based on the post-apocalyptic novel by Margaret Atwood, was just released. Last season ended with the murder of Commander Fred Waterford, who played a large part in the creation of…