I was grateful to attend the second annual lecture of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas Sept. 11. The lecturer, Susan Shaw, is professor of women, gender and sexuality studies and director of…
At AWAB lecture, Susan Shaw lays out 10 lies Christians tell about queer people
“The church has no problem telling lies if it works to advance their political ambitions, and we see now the extent of Christian nationalist desire for a theocracy rooted in white supremacist, patriarchal values which have nothing to do with…
Restoration without restitution is complicity
The largest evangelical megachurch in Alabama just spent $4.5 million to open a center for pastoral restoration. The center provides counseling and support for pastors working through issues that cost them their jobs — issues like marital infidelity and sexual…
My ordination is precious to me
When the Southern Baptist Convention voted last week to reaffirm its expulsion of churches with women pastors on staff and to begin the process of amending its constitution to make sure any member congregation “does not affirm, appoint or employ…
Why ‘affirming’ churches need to speak up
Many years ago, when my church went through the United Church of Christ’s Open and Affirming process to declare ourselves welcoming and affirming of LGBTQ people, someone in the congregation asked why we needed to make a public declaration. Of…
Struggling to believe
I’m struggling to believe. Not in God. Not in Jesus. But in the church. I’m wondering if we’ve gotten it all wrong, the songs and sermons, altar calls and Bible studies, missionaries and seminaries. You see, I’m finding little evidence…
What the SBC can learn from NCAA women’s basketball
In case you’ve missed it, we’re in the midst of March Madness. For only the second year, the women’s NCAA basketball tournament can use that moniker too. It had been the exclusive property of the men’s tournament for all the…
Lessons from a Hindu wedding: What if the point of evangelism is friendship?
I just got back from my third trip to Tamil Nadu, India. My academic program has a decade-long collaboration with two schools there, and their faculty have traveled to Oregon three times for shared projects. Over the years, I’ve built…
My love-hate relationship with football
This photo from 1964 tells you a lot about me. I had just turned 4 years old. You see how my mother has me dressed. We’re visiting my dad’s sister. My boy cousins had gotten football helmets for Christmas, and…