Within these four walls I have wrecked the lives of far too many Black mothers. The family room is a windowless, white-walled cell in the hospital, with hazy fluorescent lighting, hard-bottomed plastic chairs, and a worn end table with a…
The church could increase resilience in survivors
Resilience is the ability to bounce back or rebound from adversity. We see this in how trees bend in the wind, how shorelines adapt to change or how a forest recovers from a wildfire. We also see resilience in humans…
Dallas police shootings were a turning point for Black trauma surgeon
Brian Williams’ entire life changed in the summer of 2016 as a trauma surgeon working in Dallas. That was the night five Dallas police officers were gunned down amid a peaceful protest of police killings of Black men nationwide. The…
Keep preaching, even when it doesn’t make sense
One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, painter Pablo Picasso, once said, “The world today doesn’t make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?” It is quite the statement from someone who painted more than…
What happens when a UMC exit vote fails in a congregation?
“Disaffiliation” — the act of formally leaving The United Methodist Church — tops concerns for many clergy and laity these days as about 1,800 congregations out of 30,000 U.S. churches have left since 2019. However, not all the votes for…
Blessing is naming what is true
“You are so blessed.” I hear this statement sometimes, usually in places where my bandwidth for seeing the sacred is about gone. In the grocery store, when my four little goofballs are hanging off a cart or screaming, I don’t…
New Baylor study finds pastors not as well trained in trauma care as they need to be
Most pastors believe their education prepared them to address the trauma of grief caused by a death, but the majority say their training did not prepare them to address other forms of trauma, including public health crises and sexual assault….
Here’s what I’m learning in therapy
I’m not a person who lives with classic depression, but there have been several times in the last few years where I truly didn’t care whether I lived or died. The most recent episode lasted nearly two years. I chalked…
Four truths from ‘The Gospel According to Stranger Things’
My wife and I are huge fans of the Netflix series Stranger Things. We’ve watched all the episodes, usually more than once, and we always watch them as soon as they’re released. Honestly, the show is one of the main…