The New York Times headline, “Christian Schools Boom in a Revolt Against Curriculum and Pandemic Rules,” begs the question “Why?” “Why are Christian schools growing? Before addressing this thematic question, there is a definitional concern that needs attention. The secular…
American young people report huge gaps between what matters to them and what appears to matter to the church
Young people in America do not believe churches care about the issues that are important to them — by double-digit disparities — according to a new national survey released today. Springtide Research specializes in data and resources related to the…
Shutting down the manufactured Critical Race Theory ‘debate’
On the home stretch of Virginia’s nail-biter of a governor’s race, Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin has been looking for a way to simultaneously present himself as part of the old corporate wing of the GOP who might have crossover appeal,…
‘A Change Is Gonna Come’: Ahmaud Arbery and the call to transform injustice
Sam Cooke said it best in soulful, somber song: “A Change Is Gonna Come.” Cooke wrote this song in the early 1960s as a protest to support the Civil Rights Movement. It was a volatile season for this country, as…
Who’s behind the nationwide attacks on local school boards over Critical Race Theory?
School boards across America are under attack by conservative parents whose fears of woke liberalism are being stoked by national organizations affiliated with Donald Trump and the Republican Party, as well as Fox News and other conservative media outlets. The…
Tony Evans misses the mark and misrepresents history with his Kingdom Race Theology
Tony Evans, founding pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, recently introduced a concept he calls Kingdom Race Theology to his congregation as his alternative to Critical Race Theory, by way of two Wednesday evening sermons. According to a…
An ode to the exile generation
A few weeks ago, I had an epiphany. It sprang from an odd source: Episode 178 of a podcast called The Bible for Normal People, “Pete Ruins Isaiah.” Pete Enns is an Old Testament scholar determined to bridge the great…
Ruffled feathers: Wild Goose Festival is a case study in how hard it is to disentangle from white supremacy — even when you want to
Nestled within the lush bosom of North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest lay the open fields of the Hot Springs Resort and Spa campground. Surrounded by mountains and bordered by the French Broad River, this inconspicuous little spot envelops all who…
Sexual harassment at 30,000 feet
I recently got on an airplane for a trip to preach at a Baptist Women in Ministry partner church despite some hesitations I had about flying. My hesitations were because of health concerns related to the current Delta variant spike,…
A tale of two cities: Telling the truth about race
In the past few weeks, I traveled to New York City and Washington, D.C., in support of research, collaboration and programming supported by Baylor University and the Baugh Foundation. I met with a number of principals at Washington National Cathedral…
New study shows pattern for school districts fending off Critical Race Theory fears, and Colleyville, Texas, fits the profile
Colleyville, Texas, is consistently ranked as one of the “safest cities” in Texas — that is, unless you are the first Black principal of the predominantly white suburban Fort Worth high school. Colleyville Heritage High School Principal James Whitfield is…
How the oldest American lie sustains our racial malaise
I have spent 50 years teaching college students from coast to coast and points in between, and while much has changed over the course of those 50 years, one thing has remained unchanged: the students’ abysmal ignorance of the negative…