I have some unanswered questions about the Dallas ICE facility shooting. In addition to writing for Baptist News Global, I also serve as justice and advocacy minister at Royal Lane Baptist Church in Dallas. In that role, I joined a…
Mormon church shooter believed to be a MAGA supporter
The man who killed at least four worshipers at a Mormon church in Michigan Sept. 28 displayed a Trump sign outside his home and was known to wear MAGA gear. Authorities have identified Thomas Jacob Sanford of Burton, Mich., as…
After Annunciation shooting, Catholic schools pray, prepare drills in sanctuaries
As news of the mass shooting at a welcome-back Mass for the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis spread across the country on Wednesday (Aug. 27), Catholic educators and church leaders sprang into action, reinforcing safety protocols and consoling students, even…
Florida man arrested after shooting 2 Israelis he thought were Palestinians
Police in Miami Beach have arrested a Jewish man who shot at two people in a car, thinking they were Palestinian.
An Ash Wednesday tragedy reminds us how easily our assumtions can burst
I got goaded into riding a drop tower while visiting an amusement park in Orlando. “Oh, come on. … It will be fun!” they said. The higher the gondola went up in the air, the more angst I experienced. One…
In the war of words over guns, ‘wisdom is better than weapons of war’
We fight the “gun battle” in many ways. Some hurl statistics like darts, trying to puncture the other side’s position. Their opponents are adept at this, too, reminding us: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics”…
What is the number of gun deaths before we say ‘enough’?
There was another shooting last week. There isn’t anything remarkable about that. I didn’t even know about it. Except this one occurred in a church, during a worship service, when one parishioner became “verbally abusive and agitated” when another member…
Naming the Mother Emmanuel massacre
The nine individuals murdered last night in Mother Emmanuel Church are martyrs. Their lives bear faithful witness not just to a particular faith, but also to a segment of citizenry within both our country and the peaceable kingdom of Jesus…
Another shooting? Not again.
Not again. That was my first thought upon seeing countless posts on Twitter about a shooting in Chapel Hill. By now, many of you have heard about the shooting of Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife, Yusor Mohammad, 21, and…
Mourning with those who mourn
Like the rest of the country, I watched the news in shock and disbelief just days ago as unspeakable headlines scrolled along the bottom of the screen: “School shooting in Newtown, CT;” “Gunman attacks elementary school;” “More than 20 feared…