Last week, the long-awaited new book Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates finally hit shelves. Its release was moved up from October to July in light of recent events yet again raising the ongoing concerns of race in…
Black church fires evoke both fear and faith in Baptist communities
By Jeff Brumley Baptist and other Christians are reaching out to the victims of the many African-American church fires reported during the past couple of weeks, ministers say. And it doesn’t matter whether or not arson has been identified as…
BJC speaker explains why many blacks cool to First Amendment
By Bob Allen Religious liberty doesn’t mean much to people who are physically enslaved, an African-American preacher reminded a predominantly white audience at an annual Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty banquet that this year coincided with the holiday celebrated…
Historians say Southern Baptist women paved way in improving race relations
By Bob Allen Baptist women were decades ahead of the male leaders of their denomination in improving race relations among Baptists in the 20th century, a group of historians said April 21 at a meeting in Nashville, Tenn. While much of…
Pastors must help lead way to racial reconciliation, stop police violence, Baptist leaders say
By Jeff Brumley Death after death in town after town, from Ferguson, Mo., to North Charleston, S.C., has some folks wondering what it will take to end racially motivated police brutality and other forms of injustice in the U.S. A…
More than body cameras needed to stop police violence, Baptist clergy say
By Jeff Brumley Body cameras for police, it seems, are what the nation needs to ensure justice in the wake of last Saturday’s officer-involved shooting death of Walter Scott in North Charleston, S.C. Christianity Today published a story Wednesday citing numerous…
Grief, death and the motherless child
Photo: Gerry Lauzon] Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months. When…
The ‘next America’ demands change from churches
The headline for this column is misleading. The “next America” actually is the “now America.” To paraphrase the late cartoon character Pogo, “We have seen the future, and it is here.” And it means most Baptist congregations and their denomination…
Church shares racism with police forces, says minister and former cop in book
By Jeff Brumley Baptist minister Terrell Carter felt he could identify when a police officer fatally shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., last August. “I know what it’s like to be racially profiled,” said Carter, who is African-American. “But on…
Making grace, not punishment, the default setting
By Amy Butler I think Michelle Alexander is a theologian. I mean, she’s a reluctant theologian for sure, but a theologian nonetheless. This is a designation to which, if you think about it, we should all aspire — both the…
Confusing race with faith sent Christians down painful path
By George Henson Christianity in the West has been infiltrated by values and attitudes of race, challenging efforts to heal racial and social divisions and for Christians to experience authentic connections with Christ, an expert on faith and religion said…
Pastor/blogger says Southern Baptists should be honest about their racial history
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist pastor and author of a book investigating what went wrong with race and religion in the American South says the Southern Baptist Convention should stop claiming the convention’s founding purpose was missions. Alan Cross,…