Viewing jail and prison inmates as more than souls to be saved requires the church to apply a social-justice lens to its theological understanding of incarceration and the incarcerated, insisted Jacqueline Thompson, second vice president of the Progressive National Baptist…
Oh, dear, what could the trouble be?
Plopping down in our library, I pour myself a glass of something the unlicensed Baptist preacher Elijah Craig had a hand in making. I sift through a plastic milk crate. A small collection of vinyl is housed in it. I…
How Southern Baptists got ‘distracted’ from the gospel
What do you think might count as a “distraction” from the gospel? To Southern Baptist Convention presidential candidate David Allen, all the sexual abuse cases piling up against the SBC and its churches are a “distraction.” To North American Mission…
When you’re so conservative you appear to be liberal
Full access to health care for all people, so that financial incomes no longer determine health care outcomes. A path to citizenship for immigrants seeking safety and welcome. Racial justice. Dignity and equality for all without regard for sexuality or…
Love Your Neighbor Coalition to bring hospitality, human rights focus to UMC’s General Conference
While many parts of The United Methodist Church see the coming General Conference focused on “3 Rs” — regionalization, Revised Social Principles and removal of LGBTQ bans — the Love Your Neighbor Coalition is bringing attention to two “Hs” —…
Effective social justice ministry needs relationships first, UMC pastors say
Pastors who want to inspire their congregations to social justice action will be more effective when they follow John Wesley’s model to establish relationships with church members and learn their needs, say experienced preachers. Stephanie Arnold and Kendall L. McBroom…
Fellowship Southwest plans first-ever conference on compassion and social justice
Come to Fellowship Southwest’s first-ever conference on compassion and social justice and you won’t be asked to wear a lanyard. That’s perhaps a selling point compared to most conferences plagued by the ever-present plastic nametag holder and fabric lanyard around…
Haynes to succeed Jackson as leader of Rainbow PUSH Coalition
Dallas pastor Frederick Douglass Haynes III has been named successor to Jesse Jackson as president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Haynes has served as pastor at Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas for 40 years, a role he will continue. The…
Fuller family establishes social justice chair at Garland School of Social Work
Charlie and Cindy Fuller of Woodway, Texas, along with their family, have committed $1.5 million to Baylor University to establish an endowed chair for social justice in the Garland School of Social Work. The gift will qualify for matching support…