Remembering ‘Bootleg Preacher’ Will D. Campbell

Remembering ‘Bootleg Preacher’ Will D. Campbell

Author’s note: This reflection on Will D. Campbell (1924-2013) is offered in remembrance of his life and ministry on the anniversary of his birth on July 18. I was a stranger in a strange land, having left behind a Baylor University football scholarship for the...
We Need a Return of Pentecostal Power

We Need a Return of Pentecostal Power

Easter is God’s resurrection moment; Pentecost is God’s resurrection movement. On Easter, God declares divine intention; on Pentecost, God deploys divine insurgents. On Easter, God announces the invasion; Pentecost is when God establishes a beachhead. At...
Do We Admire the Dream, or Are We Captured by It?

Do We Admire the Dream, or Are We Captured by It?

I have a vivid memory of the exact moment. I was in seminary, having fled my native South to New York City to finish college and seminary, embarrassed at being a Baptist, at being a white Southerner, and not entirely sure if I was a believer. But the God question...
Considering Advent’s Insurrectionary Promise

Considering Advent’s Insurrectionary Promise

Advent is a season of great longing, specifically for those longing “from below” of history’s malignant dominion. The longing is a revolutionary one, however, and frightening to those in charge, who have much to lose if existing hierarchies are breached. Such anxiety...