Opinion
Children Easy Targets for Latin American Gangs
COVID-19 has devastated many families, particularly those living on the edge of poverty. That’s especially true in much of Latin America, with few opportunities for education or employment. Many children will be recruited by gangs.
After COVID, We All Have Stories That Needs Telling
In COVID-19’s desert experience of isolation, houses of faith should consider how to heal the parched social distancing when their communities come back together through the power of telling their stories of grief, loss and hope.
How to Respond (If At All) to Misinformation
How best should you respond to social media posts that pass along clearly inaccurate and potentially harmful information? We need to be mindful of our quick keyboard retorts. Being right isn’t always the right response.
Baptists Raised Alarm About Genocide 100 Years Ago
While it took over a century for a US president to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, at least one Baptist body responded as it was taking place, providing a roadmap for how Baptists today can stand up for oppressed people.
Let’s Face the Truth: Not Every Cop is Good
Police. Brutality. Two words that should be an oxymoron but sadly aren’t. While policing is a good job, we should not assume every person who holds the position is a good person or is doing the job for all the right reasons.
6 Ways You Can Work Toward Racial Justice
How can white people work toward racial justice right now? I both love and hate being asked this question. Whether you are new to this conversation or are curious about how to turn your anger into action, here are 6 ideas.
Breathing Room: 4 Takeaways from Chauvin Verdict
More than 1,000 people are killed by police in the US each year, but few law enforcement officers are convicted. Since Derek Chauvin’s trial began, 64 more people have been killed by police. Here are 4 takeaways from the verdict.
Blood Quantum Dispelled by Raceless Gospel
When humans are defined by race, it immediately sets the tone for dehumanization and devaluation of diversity. That’s why practices like blood quantum, which demanded proof of existence from darker-skinned people, were wrong.
How Hoarding COVID-19 Vaccines Hurts Poor Nations
By hoarding vaccines and medical supplies and ignoring the needs of poor countries, wealthier nations like the US hinder the global efforts to get COVID-19 under control. Distribution has to focus on hot spots, not wealth and power.
Why You Need to Dispose of Unused Meds Now
Danger may lurk within your medicine cabinet. Opioid-involved deaths dramatically increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s why it’s vital to get rid of your unused or expired prescriptions during Rx Drug Take Back Day.
Chauvin Guilty Verdict Lets Us Breathe Again
It’s been almost a year since George Perry Floyd breathed for the last time face down on a Minneapolis street on May 25, 2020. With April 20’s guilty verdicts, our hope for accountability concerning his death was not in vain.
After Chauvin Verdict, Will US Seriously Address Racism?
With the guilty verdict against Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd, it remains to be seen if the United States begins to seriously address the systemic problem of racism that has haunted it since its founding.
Jitsuo Morikawa: Father of Baptist Environmentalism
As we celebrate Earth Day 2021 amid a global pandemic and with a climate crisis upon us, we should look to the example of Jitsuo Morikawa, an often-neglected Japanese-American Baptist hero for wisdom and inspiration.
Chauvin Verdict Reveals Justice Isn’t Callous, Indifferent – This Time
I was preparing for the worst – for a not guilty verdict, for my hopes to be dashed yet again. Then, I heard the word, “guilty,” and it was repeated twice more. Justice wasn’t callous and indifferent – this time.
The Lord God Made Them All
This is Fred, who took time from his busy day of foraging to pose. Or maybe it was Fred 2. Or Fred 3. It’s hard to tell one Fred from another when they’re all the same size, wear identical clothes, and live in the same trees.
How Integration Unveils God’s Relational Character
Only by limiting our own space and offering space for others, can we more fully participate in the redeeming and integrating work of the triune God, who embraces, renews and brings all creation to wholeness.
Confessing a Ministry Failure
Jesus didn’t soft-sell discipleship, so why do we? Preserving cultural dominance has overtaken the teachings of Jesus about how to live out the values of the kingdom of God. While charity is good, biblical justice demands more.
How Earth Day Aligns with Jewish Values
Earth Day is closely aligned with Jewish values, emphasizing each individual’s role and responsibility to maintain the earth for all its living creatures. Modern-day Jews must consider the community’s needs, now and in the future.
This Earth Day, a Sermon for the Birds
The trees, the flowers, the oceans, the mountains, every sand dune and towering pine – all of these things are precious to God. It is our job to be good stewards of the resources on this amazing globe on which we spin.
Who Killed George Floyd? | Don’t Blame Good Samaritans
The story of George Floyd’s death is tragic from every angle. A police officer’s knee on his neck, he died in police custody while pleading for his life in front of a crowd of Good Samaritans who were prevented from intervening.
Silence on Climate Change Spurs Millennials’ Migration
Millennials aren’t interested in a church that ignores the great crises of our age, such as climate change. The church’s silence has accelerated the departure of the younger generations from the institutional church.
1 Solution to Help Organ Donations Immediately
More than 107,000 Americans are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant, with a new name added to the list every nine minutes. Sadly, we still do not have enough lifesaving organs in order to prevent over 7,000 deaths a year.
How Advanced Directives Ease Family Burdens
End of life decisions are often not discussed, leaving family to make hard decisions while distressed and grieving. Here is a primer on why advanced directives matter and what they should include.
Look Back | Faithfully Paying Taxes to Support the Common Good
People of faith should work to make sure that our state and federal taxes go to the common good, specifically for economic justice, public education and social services for our most vulnerable neighbors.
Trials, Tasers and Tags: What’s Going On?
From the Derek Chauvin trial to new instances of police-involved shootings and questionable traffic stops, we’re left wondering, “What’s going on?” It’s time to bring some love and justice to the nation.
Aaron’s Sons and Careers Outside the ‘Family Business’
Career choice is a relatively new concept, as prior generations often worked for, and with, their parents. Did Aaron’s sons desire another path? Or were they content with entering the family business?
Pollination Nation
Spring pollen season brings misery to some and inconvenience to all, but let’s count our blessings. Without it, we’d miss most of the trees that bring us shade and soak up carbon dioxide – and most of our land-based foods.
COVID-19: Will We Learn from Missteps of 1918’s Pandemic?
As successes against COVID-19 begin to pick up steam, we need to reflect upon the lessons of the past in order to avoid the errors following the 1918 pandemic when the nation functionally swept the horrors of five years under the rug.
Brandi’s Baptism Debacle Met with Grace in Reverse
When singer and songwriter Brandi Carlile became a Christian at 15, a Baptist minister wouldn’t baptize her because she is gay. Sadly, much of Americanized Christianity cannot be trusted to faithfully dispense love and grace.
Why You Can’t Go Back to Normal After Pandemic
Many people across the US are enjoying the feeling that we’re coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, expressing hope that they’ll be able to finally ‘get back to normal.’ That may be understandable, but it’s not a good idea.