Recent Articles
Project 2025 Spins the Greatest Hits: “They’re Coming For Your Children!”
For those of us who spent seasons of our lives being discipled by a mix of Focus on the Family, Rush Limbaugh and pastors who preached behind plexiglass pulpits, nothing in Project 2025 is a surprise. Most of its content is simply the “greatest hits” of those who sense their historic positions of power and control slipping from underneath their feet.
Buen Camino: On the Journey with Miguel A De La Torre
Since June 24th, I have been walking el camino France, a 791-kilometer trek (a little under 500 miles) that starts at St. Jean Pied de Port in France and ends at Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Legend has it that the body of Santiago the apostle— beheaded by Herod— is housed there.
On the Road to Samaria
As a nation, we have handed over the task of dying to professionals. We don’t plan and execute our own memorial or funeral services or prepare bodies for burial. We hand on all this to total strangers as we sit back silently and passively.
Project 2025 Takes Aim at a Favorite Conservative Punching Bag: School Meals
Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s agenda for the first few months of a potential second Trump Presidency, calls for the complete elimination of the Community Eligibility Provision. In addition, it calls for an end to the Summer Food Service Program for students not enrolled in summer school.
A Come-to-Jesus Meeting: The Raceless Gospel for Children
Race justifies a color-coded hierarchy, a kind of social ranking, that supports “relationships of ruling.” It is the “epidermalization of inferiority,” meaning we tuck interpretations like “less than” under some people’s skin–skin that is 0.2 inches thick, proving how we lose our sense of human being and belonging by the thinnest of margins.
College Persistence and Retention Rates See Slight Uptick
A new report reveals a slight rise in the rates of students who continue to pursue degrees after their first year of college.
Project 2025’s Danger Lies More in its Assumptions than its Proposals
Hidden in an obscure corner of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s 900-page agenda for a potential second Trump administration is a concerning proposal for the Department of Labor.
Five Years Later: Remembering the Mississippi Workplace Raids
On Wednesday, August 7, 2019, over the course of just a few hours, approximately 600 federal agents detained 680 people working in food processing plants in the small Mississippi towns of Canton, Carthage, Forest, Morton, Sebastopol, Bay Springs and Pelahatchie.
You are not Broken: The Value of Failure
Perfection is a myth from fairytales. Real life is complex, challenging and bound for failure.
The Way of Harriet Tubman
Abolitionist Harriet Tubman is in Texas. Since 2020, she’s been traveling and spreading her message of bodily autonomy, innate freedom and self- emancipation through Wesley Wofford’s “Journey to Freedom” sculpture. That people still gather around her is the sweetest repetition of history.
Wisdom Wherever You Find It | How Will I Be Remembered?
ames Manson “Manse” Patton, who was from the neighboring town of Paint Rock, ran a bank on the principle that “A man’s character is his best collateral.”
Why is ‘Re-tire-ment’ Such a Difficult Decision?
Since the recent presidential debate, I have wondered, “Why is the decision to retire so difficult for men and women over 70?”
Hurricane Warnings: From SCOTUS to the Bible
As storms intensify and become more destructive, the truth remains that the poor and marginalized will be affected the most.
Florida Church Brings Unique Approach to Vacation Bible School
The new format for First Baptist Church of Vero Beach’s VBS is inspired by its mission statement, which includes sharing the good news and making it applicable and understandable to all ages.
Biden’s Team Attempts Their Version of ‘The Apprentice.’ Will It Work?
Since last week’s debate between President Joe Biden and former President Trump, it has felt like some Biden supporters have tried to engage in “Apprentice” level framing and deception, challenging our maps of reality.
To Withdraw or not to Withdraw: Should President Biden Follow the Example of Pope Benedict XVI?
The calls in America and around the world for Mr. Biden to withdraw as the Democratic nominee for president began on June 27, 2024, following his monstrously poor debate performance. They will not cease.
What Is an Algorithm and Why Should I Care?
Algorithms in and of themselves are not a bad thing. They act as librarians, helping to streamline the content of the internet.
Barber Urges Voters to Set Aside “Foolishness” at Moral March
The “Moral March on Washington and to the Polls” event gave voice to the needs of over 135 million people in poverty and low-wage jobs, leading to this fall’s presidential elections.
A Bad DeBait & The Politics of Fear: Strategies for Progressive Truth-Telling
As progressives, our compulsion to tell the truth is noble, but it must be exercised with wisdom. Not every truth is the necessary truth to rally for at the moment; it needs to be the right moment.
One Murder, Six Million Times
This is the problem with everyone claiming to be a “chosen people.” Inflicted horror upon others who are not chosen becomes acceptable as the Other is dehumanized and placed outside God’s salvation history.
Words to Hold On to When Life Sends You Adrift
When my grandmother, Eva Mae, would call me, she would first ask a question. “You yet holdin’ on?” She was making sure I was keeping the faith, that I had not let go of my convictions.
Building Bridges in a Divided World: 7 Ways to Cultivate Unity
In a world that is increasingly divided, followers of Jesus can be proactive and intentional about building bridges over the chasm of our differences. Our faith calls us to be peacemakers, to love our neighbors, and to cultivate unity in our churches and communities.
Why I Am Still a Baptist
Dating back to the 17th century, Baptists forged a unique way of being Christian in the world. Existing as a despised and persecuted minority, Baptists developed a unique set of distinctives that gave them identity and helped them to withstand periodic persecutions from other, more established Christian groups.
Democracy is on a Razor’s Edge
After last night’s debate, though, there is a burning question: Is the current course effective or does it need to be corrected? As political pundits continue to debate the need for change, everyone needs to keep in mind the high stakes we are facing.
Celebrating Religious Liberty: Protecting Church-State Separation in Oklahoma
Baptists and the founders knew the only way to maintain religious liberty for every citizen and protect the government from religious intrusion was to separate them.
Mandatory Chapel Hurting Student Faith
While the strong Christian community these chapel services strive to create is a worthy endeavor, mandatory attendance is often more disruptive to a cohesive community and individual student growth. Many students struggle with the expectation of mandatory chapel attendance, often considering it just another responsibility to add to their already heavy plates.
Seeing God’s Kin-dom in the Dog Days of Summer
I hear the author of John’s Gospel say, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” A place filled with plenty of seating, a place that never runs out of chairs, a place that never takes away but always adds to.
Lifeway Research Asks Churches What They’ve Done Since the Overturning of Roe v. Wade
A new Lifeway Research survey asks, “What have churches done since the overturning of Roe v. Wade?”
The Childcare Crisis Affecting Millennial Parents
There are so many barriers to having children. The government is gatekeeping how and when to get pregnant and creating a world where only the wealthiest among us have access to resources to get pregnant.
In a Completely Predictable Turn of Events, a Conservative Megachurch Pastor was Found to be Abusive and Corrupt
In a series of events that most people outside his congregation saw coming, a prominent conservative, evangelical megachurch pastor with a national following was recently found to have engaged in abuse and corruption.