Opinion
John Prine, Wendell Berry, and Hope That Rises From the Making
I am not lost; their map no longer tells the truth about where I am.
‘By Any Means’: Does God Need a Hitman?
‘By Any Means’ re-litigates an enduring argument: What creates lasting change? Peace or force? Protests or pain?
The Raceless Gospel is Fighting the Power of White-Body Supremacy
From Holy Ghost power to power concentrated in the hands of a wealthy few, from the power of Pentecost to political power, the current movement of the church in North America remains up in the air.
A Call for Water Justice During the Season of Creation
Water is woven deeply into our Christian story, and the creation story includes water as its foundational background.
A Wild Goose Blessing on Your Ministry
If the word ministry is still a sticking point for you, what might happen if you replaced every use of the word ministry with the word service?
Rhinestones and Topsoil: Port William Meets Dollywood
Rhinestones and topsoil seem like an easy way to sort them; at least until we get to Port William.
9/11, Lindsay Clancy, and Who Gets Grace
We would all do well to notice and sit with the discomfort before we respond to it.
Sunday’s Worship After 9/11
We now would see with certainty that worship is theology on the half-shell, raw for the chewing and swallowing.
Hidden Eyes: Why ‘Flock’ Surveillance Cameras Must Come With Oversight
The automated tracking is widely viewed as a direct violation of Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches.
‘For Those With Ears to Hear’
True listening is more than auditory reception.
How Should Americans Respond to Trump’s Aggression Against Canada?
Canada has a bully, and he just happens to be the leader of the United States of America.
Following Jesus: Robert Parham on September 11, 2001.
Those in the Christian community have little clear perspective save that of Jesus.
Profundity and the National Crisis: John Pierce on 9/11
The words of God have always been profound.
Race, Religion, and Reparations: The Story of Second Baptist and Lake Street Church in Evanston, Illinois
One can only wonder what might have been. What if both First Baptist Church and First United Methodist Church had worked hard to fully accept their Black members?
A Modest Proposal for an Immodest Ballroom
If a gilded ballroom is inevitable, then the argument can continue whether it is a symbol of greatness or an embarrassment.
Labor Day, Dorothy Day, and the Spiritual Roots of Unions
We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.
We All Know Who Dealt It
When flagrant habitual liars govern, the people cease to believe.
No World Without Dolly
I do not know a world without Dolly Parton in it.
Resistance at 500: Women Who Led the Way
Throughout our sacred stories, whether in the Bible or the ones of those who went before us, women have led the way.
Bullies With Bullets and Badges
The net always catches both the intended target and innocent bystanders.
Dolly’s Greatest Gift Was Reading the Room
You can’t grow up in a one-room log cabin with 13 other people without learning to read a room
Wendell Berry: The Mad Farmer Who Practiced Resurrection
Berry died this week at the age of 92, leaving behind one of the most remarkable bodies of American writing of the past century.
Off to Lunch: What Caused the ‘Death of a Pastor’s Wife?’
An increasing number of churches are willing to allow their senior pastor to do whatever the senior pastor wants to do.
Finding Belonging at Beer Camp
I have come to understand that this kind of belonging does not simply happen because everyone means well.
Everything is a Scam
Everything is a scam, a test of discernment and of will. You need a genie in a bottle, a wing and a prayer, an eight ball, and a lot of luck to get what you paid for.
Dolly Showed Us the Only Possible ‘Third Way’
What has taken me aback is how well-behaved we have all been toward each other.
‘Flood’ Offers an Alternative to Estrangement
Parents who have taken religious and political exclusion to their natural conclusions are looking around and wondering why their kids have gone “no contact” with them.
Peter, ‘Fleabag,’ and the Gospel of Incompleteness
It feels right to say that on this side of heaven, everything remains incomplete.
Don’t Get Above Your Raisin’: Remembering Dolly Parton
Southerners are known for our ability to turn a phrase. We have certain sayings and expressions.
We Need to Talk About ‘Woke 1’
Progressives shouldn’t ignore the possibility that we bear some of the blame for this recalibration.