Recent Articles
Four Women From Texas and the Enduring Racism of Musical Genre
This “divide-and-conquer” story isn’t just the story of country music. It is the story of America.
Tolerance Didn’t Save Nex Benedict– It Won’t Save You Either
Jesus called us to a much more radical love than simply putting up with someone we don’t understand.
Pull Yourself Up By Your Book-straps: Finding a Writing Community
Writing a book, navigating the publishing world, and growing in your skills do not have to be lonely or isolating experiences. Finding the right community can help you accomplish your goals.
February 28, 2024
The Supreme Court’s NetChoice Cases Could Change Online Speech Forever; ‘Anger and Fear’: School Nurse Reacts to West Virginia Bill Allowing Religious Exemptions for School Mandated Vaccines; Megachurch Pastor Admits He Broke the Law Telling Church to Vote Republican (and more)
Comrade Abbott and the Russian Christian Nationalists at Our Border
Football stadiums packed with packing Texans and no referees on the field? That would make for a war zone to end all end zones.
The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference Meets in Chicago to Reimagine, Rethink and Reinvent
The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference was held in Chicago, Illinois, on February 19-22. The theme for the Clergy and Leadership Conference was “Where Legacy Meets Future: Reimagine! Rethink! Reinvent!”
Supreme Court Hears Case That Could Do Irreparable Harm to the Working-Class
This case has been falsely presented as the story of a small business crushed and choked out by over-regulation. In reality, the case tells a different story.
February 27, 2026
Trump Tells Christian Nationalists They Will Have Power at ‘Level You’ve Never Before Used’; Three West Texas Billionaires are Pushing Texas to Far Right Christian Nationalism; Alabama IVF Ruling Divides Far Right Christians: ‘Fewer Children Will Be Born’ (and more)
Give Up Denial for Lent
So, we’re just going to keep on pretending? Our only option cannot be to stick to the worship program, given the state of the world, the economy and American democracy. In addition to giving up denial for Lent, I would like it addressed in a sermon series.
Black Pastors, Socio-Economic Disparity, and Sabbath
The nagging question for me as a Black pastor leading a predominantly Black congregation in a marginalized neighborhood with limited resources, is how can I model what neither I nor my people can often afford?
Alabama Supreme Court Recruits the Bible for a Job it Refuses to Accept
On February 16, 2024, the Alabama Supreme Court issued a decision in the LePage v. Mobile Infirmary Clinic case. The ruling has placed a threatening cloud of legal uncertainty over in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments in Alabama by equating a frozen embryo to a living child.
Hit the Break!
To practice the spiritual discipline of solitude, we must challenge social norms that teach us to constantly feel urgency.
Reimagining Monopoly
The thread running through all these causes and effects of globalization is isolation. When our top priority is me and mine, we distance ourselves from others and God. But that is not how we are designed.
Baptist Women in Ministry: Nurturing Faith Interview with Meredith Stone
I think it is important to recognize how equating “calling” with “ministry occupations” has been informed by the assumptions embedded within the patriarchal privilege of clergy structures.
The Deadly Consequences of Hate
When will thoughtful and responsible citizens hold elected officials accountable for their inflammatory and hateful rhetoric? When will people of faith finally have enough of this hateful speech that leads to death?
The Enduring Legacy of Women in Campus Ministry
These women were not interlopers. They worked for state conventions across the South or were hired at higher education institutions. They applied, were voted on, and served with all of the support and financial equity of their male colleagues.
Parliament of the World’s Religions Kicks Off “The Year of Democracy”
The Parliament of the World’s Religions (PWR) will host “The Year of Democracy,” an election-year kickoff event today from 12:00-1:30 pm (CST).
February 22, 2024
US Supreme Court Declines to Decide Legality of Excluding Jurors Based on Religion; Southern Baptists to Launch New Org to Oversee Abuse Database; Christian Nationalist Second Trump Term Plans: Bring Back the Seventeenth Century! (and more)
Stoking the College Revival Fires
Christian revivalism isn’t unique to the United States, but like barbecue and blue jeans, we have placed our unique spin on it and claimed it as our own.
Preaching Politics During an Election Year
Navigating the polarization of these Divided States of America at any time is a challenge to ministers and faith leaders. However, during an election year, the air in a sanctuary gets as thin as a Colorado mountain range.
Americans Believe Diversity Strengthens Nation, But Split on Workplace DEI Initiatives
A Marist poll conducted last month found that over a quarter of registered Republican voters in the United States believe the country’s diversity makes it weaker.
February 21, 2024
Alabama Supreme Court Rules Embryos are ‘Children’ by Citing Bible Passages; Alabama’s ‘Frozen Embryos are Children’ Ruling to Go After Abortion; Historic 16th Street Baptist Church Starts $7.5 Million Fundraising Campaign (and more)
Poster Child
I never set out to be the poster child for non-sex sex scandals of women pastors, just like I didn’t want to be the one whose story became so publicly tied to so many controversial issues in the church.
New Good Faith Media Podcast Highlights ‘Doctrine of Christian Discovery’
A new podcast from Good Faith Media highlights a little-known—but significant—Christian doctrine.
A New Report Says That Measuring Identity Is an Art and a Science
A new report from the Pew Research Center says that measuring identity is an art and a science.
February 20, 2024
What Does it Mean to Claim the US is a Christian Nation, and What Does the Constitution Say?; 3 Days With God’s Army: Inside the Trucker Convoy that Failed to Save the Border; Iowa’s Decline is Accelerating. So is the Erosion of its Divide Between Church and State. (and more)
Give Up Keeping Up Appearances for Lent
It will cost us to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. So, we might want to take a step back to reconsider because self-mortification is not pretty.
By the Way | What Happened to My Father’s Evangelicalism?
There’s no way to know these many years after his death, but my father, I suspect, would be uneasy about the direction of contemporary evangelicalism.
Invested Faith Receives Gift From Ferguson, Missouri Church
St. Peter’s United Church of Christ, an open and affirming faith community in Fergusson, Missouri, has recently gifted Invested Faith $200,000 to bolster their work with faith-rooted social entrepreneurs.
February 19, 2024
A Year After Jimmy Carter Entered Hospice Care, Advocates Hope His Endurance Drives Awareness; GOP Candidates Elevate Anti-Transgender Messaging as a Rallying Call to Christian Conservatives; Ross Douthat: What the News and Pews Have in Common (and more)