Hundreds of thousands of people have gone online to get ordained – not because they had a calling, not because a congregation had affirmed their gifts for ministry, not because they had completed a theological education and preparation for ministry – but so they could certify marriages.
I’m on a mission to rid the world of theological malarkey
I recently used the term “theological malarkey” in response to a question related to Trinitarian theology. That has inspired me to call out a few other forms of theological malarkey in American religion today.
Down by the Riverside: Fractured church picking up pieces after bombshell reports on pastor’s departure
Riverside Church in New York City held a members-only meeting Sunday, following a week of sensational headlines in competing newspapers covering the departure of Pastor Amy Butler.
From her mouth to God’s ear? Women’s voices, homiletical testosterone and radical redemption
Across the years, women in my family, in my classes and in the church have taught me this: Christ’s gospel isn’t measured by biology or hierarchy, but by radical redemption. God hears any voice that preaches Jesus.
Jesus said the ‘gates of hell may not prevail against the Church.’ But ignorance might
The depth of ignorance of science displayed by many religious people today is tragic, and the reach of an anti-intellectual, anti-education mindset threatens our future as a Church and a nation.
Marshall to retire from Central Seminary in 2020
“The paschal mystery is that through dying comes new life. Resurrection life always takes on new form, and Central knows that well.”
Female jet pilot or astronaut? Sure. Preacher? No. So where can I buy a dragon?
Southern Baptists seem to have no problem with women serving on the Supreme Court or flying fighter jets or traveling into space. Heck, they would have been happy to put Sarah Palin in the White House. But a woman in the pulpit? No way.
Women cannot serve as pastors. Really, Southern Baptists, you’re going to go there again?
The Spirit of God keeps blowing where it will. Baptist women are now serving as pastors and associate ministers in all kinds of different settings and situations.
Debate over women in Southern Baptist pulpits flares on social media
A Southern Baptist Convention seminary professor who teaches that males and females are created for distinct and complementary roles in the home and church criticized the denomination’s president and a popular Bible teacher for suggesting it can be OK for a woman to preach.
Pastor, judge, activist, agitator: As he strives for justice, Wendell Griffen stretches the lexicon of adjectives
Wendell Griffen, 66, is all of these things. But his persona is so large, his reputation so loud, his “rightness” so locked in and eagerly defended, that the man’s depth can be lost in the shallows in which he must wade.
Racially diverse church occupies campus where Baptist pastor once proclaimed racist views
In one of life’s delicious little ironies, New Millennium Church now meets on the campus associated with one of Little Rock’s most ardent racists of the 1950s.
Photo Gallery: Wendell Griffen
View the photo gallery of Wendell Griffen.