As one soul that is worn down and weary, I stand in need of some ritual cleansing from all this mess. I need a religious rite through which I confess my implicit participation in division, name the hopelessness in which I have dwelled, and receive the good news of something better. I need a path forward where I can love my neighbor whose vote was cast for the other candidate. Read more
I think we have all lost something during this election. Politics have always evoked passion. Elections have always included some accusations. But, this year was different. It was angry. We didn’t just disagree on policies, we actually hated the opposing political candidate. Fears of potential bad overwhelmed our faith in the good. We allowed our national sense of decency to be destroyed by partisan politics. Read more
I do want to urge caution against the statement “I don’t see how you can be a Christian and vote for candidate X.” It’s bad enough when people in the pew say this, but when pastors weigh in like this, it’s theological malpractice. As important as this election is, let’s take a breath and remember that we’ve been through this before. And, we Christians should be focused not only on November 8 but what happens the day after. There is a more important and lasting Kingdom which we must embrace. Read more
Americans work a lot. We spend nearly half our waking hours—an average of more than 48 hours each week—at our jobs. We fit everything else we do—going to the doctor, playing with our children, watching TV, eating, bathing, worshiping—into the other half of our awake time. What is all of this work doing to us? Are we any happier or more fulfilled? Read this interview with Notre Dame’s Matt Bloom, an expert on work and wellbeing. Read more
Recently, the term “religious liberty” has been used loosely by the media, presidential candidates and others, causing a great deal of confusion. There have been highly charged fights over laws purporting to protect religious liberty. There has been fear about how someone’s religious liberty could harm another person. News articles often put “scare quotes” around the term. Read more
Ever thought about what China would look like if they had the number of cars per capita that we have? Ever thought what it would take for folks living in Calcutta, Kinshasa or Mexico City to enjoy the same standard of living as folks in London or New York? It would take several earths to generate the resources necessary to sustain a global population at anywhere near a western level of appetite for ‘more.’ So where does that leave us? It leaves us in a perilously precarious predicament! Read more
When I am more shocked and hurt by a white girl who ends up in a trafficking situation than I am by an undocumented immigrant who is scared, in grave need and facing a terribly uncertain future and so has no choice but to sell herself, I am a racist. When I am willing for authorities and cities to cry out and scream when a white girl is trafficked but I shake my head or shrug when it is a Hispanic, African American, Eastern European, Asian girl or woman, I am a racist. Read more
So is tribalism really what God has in mind for the church? Could it be that we have confused the mission of being “right” over the mission of being the presence of Jesus in a polarizing world? Could it be that the church needs a fuller spectrum of theological perspectives, shaping the way that we see and interact with each other and the world? Could it be that the church does not need to draw more lines in the sand, but to expand its landscape to hear and share more diverse stories? Read more
Loan sharks are not a thing of the past, memorialized only in classic movies. Today’s loan sharks—payday and auto-title lenders—have found ways to evade traditional usury laws in recent decades, trapping the poor and vulnerable in a vicious cycle of debt with loans as high as 400% APR. This multi-billion dollar industry epitomizes the worst of our political system, but the fight by people of faith to reform this predatory debt-trap business represents the best of our political potential. Read more
A Baptist missionary in Europe shares about his missions journey pushing back against paternalism in search of a "third way" to do missions in the 21st century. Read more
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
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