By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee Here are three proposals for responding to the very important claim that God’s design in creation rules out any same-sex relationships, a claim derived from Genesis 1-2, Matthew 19, Romans 1 and perhaps also…
Say goodbye to post-racial America, if it ever existed
By Seth Vopat The night Ferguson, Mo., erupted in protest over the shooting of Michael Brown, I was roughly 240 miles away attending the largest TEDx event in the world in downtown Kansas City. Any thought of the United States…
As for me and my house, call me a thug
By Connie Stinson I pastor a racially mixed church in a densely populated Maryland suburb of Washington. We accurately call ourselves diverse. One month ago, one of our young adults, a particularly gifted 20-year-old, preached “Judge Not” from my pulpit…
Race, relevancy among challenges facing black Baptist leaders
By Jeff Brumley Four of the nation’s largest African-American Baptist denominations either elected new leaders this year or are in the process of voting on new presidents, and observers say each will have his hands full confronting daunting institutional challenges….
If they are black
By Bill Leonard Our pastor, the Reverend Dr. Darryl Aaron, is black. He and his family live about two blocks from our family, in a neighborhood that is predominately white. When an unarmed black teenager named Michael Brown was shot…
Let’s do something about race in America
By Marv Knox The most delusional moment of my life occurred Nov. 4, 2008. For an hour or so after Barack Obama won the U.S. presidential election, I believed the worst of America’s racism had subsided. America elected a black…
The speck is also the log
I’m a racist. I tried beginning this conversation differently; for instance, by talking about how incredibly difficult hearing about the events unfolding in Ferguson has been, but that route’s been mired in political and rhetorical polarization with each side mustering…
St. Louis pastor says racial violence not justified, but anger is
By Bob Allen A white Baptist pastor in St. Louis says he cannot condone rioting in nearby Ferguson, Mo., but he understands the anger about a black teenager killed by police Aug. 9. On Wednesday police used teargas to disperse…
Communities, borders, and “Persons of Peace”
“We pray and walk through our community, looking for persons of peace with whom we can connect.” “Persons of Peace.” That’s a term I’ve heard multiple times during my summer sabbatical study of how churches are engaging in Christian community…
The taller I become …
By Greg and Helms Jarrell We’re remembering the Freedom Summer of 1964 this year, 50 years later. During those momentous times in U.S. history, a broad group of organizations worked together to break the tyranny of the Jim Crow laws…
The taller I become….
We’re remembering the Freedom Summer of 1964 this year, fifty years later. During those momentous times in US history, a broad group of organizations worked together to break the tyranny of the Jim Crow laws in Mississippi. Their primary goal…
Professor says Michael Sam is no Jackie Robinson
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist pastor and seminary professor says Satan is pleased with comparisons being drawn between Michael Sam, the first openly gay football player drafted by the NFL, and Jackie Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball’s color…