Like the crippled woman in Luke 13, female clergy know what it means to be paralyzed by sexism, patriarchy and other forms of emotional and psychological abuse, Gina Stewart preached during Baptist Women in Ministry’s June 28 worship celebration in…
Here’s what pastors said this Sunday in churches not celebrating the Supreme Court’s abortion decision
While conservative evangelical and Catholic churches across America celebrated Friday’s Supreme Court ruling rescinding a federal right to abortion care, sermons and prayers in other congregations ranged from lament to outrage to calls for simply getting along with each other….
Annual report on Baptist women in ministry finds some gains but serious losses due to COVID
Women in ministry continue to feel blocked in their callings and ignored in their ministry settings because they are female, according to an annual report released June 21 by Baptist Women in Ministry. “The State of Women in Baptist Life,”…
When it comes to leading corporate prayer, are we really all in this together?
Let’s talk about corporate prayer. Houston, we’ve got a problem. Yes, I know it is dangerous to hold oneself out as an expert on anything related to prayer. My true confession is that I’m a whole lot better at praying…
Preaching on racial justice was much more difficult without in-person worship, pastors say
Addressing racial justice issues from the pulpit in 2020 would have been challenging without the pandemic’s restrictions, but the task became daunting when it was coupled with the suspension of in-person worship. That was an observation of some of the…
Franklin Graham says he’s not a preacher of hate, so let’s roll the tape and see
I have a couple of questions for Franklin Graham. For years I have granted him a sort of “don’t criticize” card because of my respect for his father, Billy Graham. But as Franklin has become more and more political and…
This nation needs a church
I have an argument that sounds idealistic, naïve, even triumphalist, but that only serves to increase my determination: The nation needs a church. I still believe the church matters and that we have a role to play that is the…
The moral dimension of the ministerial vocation
Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. … Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls…
Raymond Bailey was my mentor
Two days after Raymond Bailey’s death on the First Sunday of Advent, I talked about him at my church staff meeting. I told the staff how Raymond taught me to preach, showed me how to be a minister and pushed…