Opinion
Whatever Is Lovely: Finding Joy in the Mundane Relationships of ‘Linda Linda Linda’
Everyone has methods for dealing with stress and anxiety in their lives. For me, one of the best ways to cope is to watch something I love. Right now, that is the 2005 Japanese film “Linda Linda Linda,” directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita. I watched it about a week ago, and every time I think back on it, it makes me smile.
LGB Folks, Don’t be a Peter: Resist Divesting Trans Community
The removal of trans people from the Stonewall National Monument is a symptom of a much larger, more ancient problem. When oppressors attack the most marginalized in our community, you have a choice: you can risk yourself to protect the current target, or you can assimilate to the expression of life the oppressor deems worthy.
Following the ‘Incredibly Human’ Jesus
Those of us trying to live a life faithfully modeled after Jesus, that wandering Jew from Palestine, often forget or willingly ignore his humanity and his humaneness. We aren’t alone in this struggle. The church has wrestled with understanding Jesus as both fully human and fully God since its earliest days.
The Limited, Beautiful and Necessary Tradition of Black History Month
I would love for the histories of Black individuals and communities to be infused all year long in all the settings where stories are being told and humans are being shaped. I would love to feel that people like me are as considered and as centered in education, media and religion as anyone with lighter skin and straighter hair. But I also know that two things can be true, especially when it comes to calendaring.
Five Years After Ahmaud Arbery’s Murder: What Has Changed, What Hasn’t, and Who’s Still Fighting?
It’s been five years since Ahmaud Arbery was lynched in broad daylight. We saw the video. On February 23, 2020, Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was out for a run in the community of Satilla Shores, near Brunswick, Georgia. Three local white men indicted, convicted,...
Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference Combats Erasure with Global Solidarity, Mounting a Movement of Ubuntu
The 21st Annual Clergy and Lay Leaders Conference hosted by the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference (SDPC) was held at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock, Arkansas on February 17-20. Combating erasure with global solidarity, SDPC is mounting a movement of ubuntu.
I Got Plastered and My Dad Tossed an Egg at Me
Take a deep breath. Feel your lungs grow. That requires muscle. The struggle to get out of the egg builds the chick’s strength. Without the struggle, it will lack the strength to breathe and will suffocate. Struggle serves to give the emerging being the strength to thrive.
Notes on Neurodivergence | Changing My Values
When I was eighteen, I went to college. It was terrifying to be in a new place with new people, attempting to function without adult help. At my university, there was no effective counseling support for what I needed. It was assumed I could medicate the problem away. But the real issue was my emotional wounds. Drugs only treated the symptoms.
Theology of Beauty: An Interview With Malkhaz Songulashvili, Georgia’s “Dissident” Baptist Bishop
“There was no single day since the establishment of the Baptist Church in Georgia on August 20, 1867, when we have not been persecuted in one way or another. For over 150 years, we had to learn how to survive, and the theology of beauty has been our means of survival.”
Uniform’s “American Standard” Embraces Pain With a Psalmist’s Touch
In 2024, the industrial metal band Uniform released my favorite album of the year. “American Standard is one of the most punishing, brutal and sad records I have ever listened to, but it is also one of the most beautiful. I cannot stop wrestling with it.
Celebrating Black History is An Act of Resistance
For those whose slavery-obscured ancestral lineage already makes us feel like orphans, exhuming Black history reopens unhealed wounds. When coupled with reliably disingenuous critiques like, “Why don’t we have a white history month?”, February starts to feel like the longest month of the year.
The Immigrant Life: Sojourners On Our Way Home
As the soil beneath my feet shifts with political uncertainty, I feel a moral responsibility to stand in solidarity with those whose existence is threatened.
A Minister Goes to the Theater | Our Towns, Our Churches
During the third act, I tried to figure out why I was crying. Was it my own ignorance and blindness? Was it nostalgia for a simpler time? Was it a longing for community? Was it the loss of people I love? Was it my sense of mortality?
The Radical Mundane: Staying Sane Amid the Inhumane
In an age when the inhumane becomes normalized, we need these reminders of what humanity is supposed to look like. Without these small, mundane things, I fear we will miss seeing the Imago Dei in one another.
What’s Going On At Wheaton?
The problem with evangelical higher education is not, as it so frequently tells itself, that it takes up a “courageous middle.” The problem is that predominantly white evangelical higher education exists to leverage a virulent form of cultural dominance into a (pseudo) academic business model.
African American History Month| Some Sufferings We Must Refuse to Bear
Racism is not “my cross to bear.” In fact, it’s not even a cross or a test of endurance. Systematic prejudice is social oppression and should not be met with strength and determination.
Managing Facebook Fights: A Strategy To Manage Political Anxiety
Jesus, the ultimate scapegoat, is innocent. Yet he is still crucified by a mob seeking to rid itself of fear and guilt. The resurrection reveals the truth: the scapegoat is not the source of our problems. The real issue lies within us—our rivalries, desires and unwillingness to take responsibility for the conditions we create.
Autumn Lockwood: Making History During Black History Month
The NFL’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) program created opportunities for marginalized individuals. Historically, white men have led NFL teams, with an occasional African American rising to the level of a coaching or front-office position. Since the league takes DEI seriously, more opportunities have emerged for people of color and women.
Pandora’s Box Also Contains Hope
In Greek mythology, Pandora’s Box is filled with evil. Zeus gave it to Pandora, the first woman on Earth, and told her not to open it. Pandora opened the box and released evil into the world. Side note: Why do you suppose women are always blamed for creating messes–Eve, Pandora, Hillary Clinton?
A Reflection on Peter Beinart’s ’Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza’
Beinart is clear…that the historical reality of antisemitism shouldn’t shield Israel and Zionism from critique. He writes, “It’s crucial to distinguish condemnations of Israel and Zionism that deploy antisemitic concepts from the condemnation of Israel and Zionism itself, which is no more bigoted than opposing any other state or political ideology.”
Jason Kirk’s “Hell Is A World Without You” Proclaims “Hope Is Our Only Hope”
One of the book’s primary themes is working through dissonance toward something beautiful. Although the book is dark and terribly sad at times, the overarching narrative is one of moving from darkness to light.
En El Nombre y El Espíritu de Jesús Christo/In The Name And Spirit of Jesus Christ
A nuestros vecinos inmigrantes, en el nombre y el espíritu de Jesús, “Lo siento.”/To our immigrant neighbors, in the name and spirit of Jesus Christ, “I am sorry.”
By the Way | But Is It ‘Biblical’?
Is it “biblical” for men to wear their hair long? (This was the 1960s, after all.) Or, is it “biblical” to listen to rock music or imbibe alcohol or enlist in the military? Is capital punishment “biblical”? We were consumed by questions like these, especially during late-night conversations in the dormitories of evangelical colleges.
African American History Month | Who Are You, Really?
Not bracketed by American chattel slavery and this present moment, who we are, as African Americans, is not just historical but spiritual. In fact, like our ancestors, spirituality—not religion, which is cordoned off and reserved for practice on Sundays—informs all of life. Thus, what most African Americans believe is not separate and apart from other aspects of their existence.
Resisting Trump’s Agenda by Tending to Your ”Soul Nerve”
Finding focus helps. In our individual calls to connect our voices, skillsets, and passions with the world’s greatest needs, clarity will move us forward in bending the arc of history toward justice. But individually, we cannot fight every battle. There are far too many to choose from. The key is choosing which battles are yours.
Notes on Neurodivergence | Moving Toward a Calm Gentleness
Growing is challenging and probably one of the most difficult things I have done. Sometimes it’s miserable, sometimes fantastic. Still, I believe anyone can grow. But growth isn’t a tree sprouting upwards. It’s getting deep in the mud, pulling up the roots one-by-one. I rarely appreciate it in the moment.
Colonialism is Back: The Reemergence of Manifest Destiny
The world no longer has to accept the whims of madmen. The world can reject the new colonialism. The true power for a better world lies within the people, a power more significant than any political bullies exerting their evil upon the rest of us.
The Call for a Radical Black Christian Church: Becoming a Fortress of Liberation
African theology teaches us that God is both transcendent and imminent, that the divine is in relationship with creation and is deeply woven into the fabric of our lives. African spirituality reminds us that God is not a distant, punitive ruler but an ever-present force that calls us into community and liberation.
Pharaohs Like Us
Pharaohs are always going to Pharaoh. They can’t help themselves. They’ll create “restructuring plans” or “departments of government efficiency” from their penthouses and private jets, and it will all be under the guise of “slackers” and “lazy workers.”
Dialup Ghost: “I’ll Go to Hell to Do the Right Thing”
Dialup Ghost’s new record, “May You Live Forever in Cowboy Heaven,” showcases their love of indie rock balladry, the slacker rock heroes of the 90s, and the many other artists they namecheck directly in their lyrics and on the inside cover of their CD.