“Make your peace with being honest in ministry today. Don’t wait until you’re older or find the ‘perfect’ church. If you aren’t honest today, you may never make it that far.” I was a youth minister when my pastor and…
Politics, partisanship and the powerless
Can you think of a word more maligned than “politics”? Some people believe it’s a dirty term affixed to a despicable craft. That’s because, for the most part, it’s practiced so poorly. People watch politicians engage in politics, and they…
A modest proposal for imperiled pulpit plagiarists
Pulpit plagiarism has been making the news again. “Again” is the operative word. This is not new. A couple of friends, now in their 80s, recall making a wager about which swiped sermon a famous Baptist preacher/evangelist would deliver to…
Where’s the line between finding inspiration in another pastor’s sermon and plagiarizing it?
“Borrowing” someone else’s sermon is one of the top four ways pastors get fired from churches, according to Thom Rainer, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s publishing arm and a noted interpreter of modern Christianity. Rainer made that statement…
Greg Garrett, Baylor prof and BNG columnist, awarded Baugh grant for research on race and media
BNG columnist and Baylor University professor Greg Garrett has received a three-year, $488,000 grant from the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation to further his research on how film and other media shape attitudes about race and racism. “I’m so…
‘The Bible says’: Sermons then and now
Like many of you, I have a vivid memory of watching Billy Graham’s charismatic oratory, particularly his crusade in Australia in April 1979. His platform catch phrase, “The Bible says,” still rings true even now. Some 50 years ago, I…
‘For fear of the Jews’: Confronting Christian anti-Semitism
As we enter into the season of Lent and draw near to Holy Week, we dig deep into narratives of the coming suffering and death of Jesus, and into what has been — across the centuries — a time when…
American Protestants less open to sermons on race in 2020, survey finds
A growing number of American churchgoers weren’t in the mood for sermons on race in 2020, the year that police killings of unarmed African Americans energized the Black Lives Matter movement and sparked widespread social unrest, according to a newly…
What to preach the Sunday between Christmas and New Year
A few days ago, something amazing transpired at a fast-food drive-through window in Atlanta. A young woman named Feroza Syed was waiting in her car to reach the service window when she happened to notice something bizarre happen at the…
Pastors feeling political pushback from both sides — and then there’s the younger generation
Some pastors simply can’t win for losing when trying to navigate the politics consuming many American churches. Those who try to stay clear of contentious issues are criticized for avoiding important issues. Those who take up those topics are accused…
We need to talk about dying
We were riding in a limousine to the graveside. Most of the people in the car were family so — except for the masks — the conversation was comfortable and familiar. Then the funeral director said: “See those smokestacks. That’s…
Q&A with June Joplin on life as an itinerant (transgender) preacher
Earlier this summer, June Joplin made international headlines when she used a Sunday morning sermon at her Baptist church to come out as transgender. Nearly three months later, more has changed than her gender. The Canadian Baptist church she had…