A Baptist minister removed earlier this week as a heckler during a speech on religious liberty by Attorney General Jeff Sessions is a graduate of the Wake Forest University School of Divinity and former intern for the Baptist Joint Committee…
Bi-vocational, black female pastor overcame doubters to thrive in pulpit
Like any pastor, LaTonya McIver Penny is busy. But this minister’s calendar goes above and beyond busy. In addition to leading New Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Roxboro, N.C., and all that entails, Penny is a mother of two and runs a non-profit advocating for the respectful and compassionate treatment of children with disabilities in churches. And like other women pastors, Penny confronted her share of opposition from those who say females should not be pastors.
Are public attitudes toward clergy changing? It’s complicated.
Few ministers need coaches or surveys to tell them what Americans think of clergy these days. They can rely on their own experiences for that. Amy Butler does. Based on interactions with strangers on flights, at parties and in other…
‘Exsurge Domine’: Pursuing Re-formation
“Arise, O Lord (Exsurge Domine), and judge thy cause. A wild boar is loose in thy vineyard.” That’s how Pope Leo X introduced his denunciation of Martin Luther in a papal encyclical released 15 June 1520. The document condemned a…
At an ordination, a reminder that Jesus remains agonizingly relevant and radical
On June 20, 1971, I was ordained to the gospel ministry — so the ordination certificate reads to this day. I reread it from time to time, still wondering what in the world it means to be a gospel minister….
The religion of the New Lost Cause
At Maundy Thursday worship in Wake Forest University’s Davis Chapel, the day after Gov. Pat McCrory signed NC House Bill 2, a transgender divinity school student washed the feet of an African Pentecostal student as the Gospel text from John…
Is Trump a moderate or a maniac? Divinity school professor isn’t sure
Last fall, Wake Forest School of Divinity scholar John Senior celebrated the release of his first book, which examines the moral complexities that shape how politicians govern. The book also proposes that those who govern should view their positions as…
CBF, a candle in search of darkness
Every good story needs an antagonist, a villain, and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship story doesn’t have one. I was a graduate student at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville when the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship was founded in 1991. I…