Commentary


 

The Mother of All Gifts

Flowers, candy, and cards are nice, but for moms, the best Mother’s Day gifts of all are the people who make us mothers.

Developing a God-Shaped Mind to Work With Purpose

Have you considered work plans that involve being fully engaged in some form of work beyond retirement? In other words, are you developing a Christo-centric mindset that allows you to develop the right spiritual attitude to make satisfying and essential career transitions?

The After Life

COMMENTARY: I’m convinced we need the power of nature, of art and color and story, to move beyond existing and enter that place where we live fully, or at least, well. We do need words that spring forth from flowerbeds, that speak of newness and beauty and hope all wrapped up in one.

Words of Encouragement from Urban Faith

We’ve seen the local and national news and, like you, our timelines and newsfeeds are filled with sad videos. Click away from the drama and enjoy a few brief words of encouragement in difficult times. Stay strong!

COMMENTARY: When I Was Homeless…

I haven’t shaken a cup for donations in over two decades, as I have managed to string together 16 and a half years of sobriety. It took me a while to find the right angel.

When God Closes a Door …

Like many journalists, Emeri O’Brien fell victim to the economic turmoil in the newspaper business. Here’s how she coped with being laid off from her dream job.

A Call to Black Leaders to Condemn Anti-Semitism

COMMENTARY: If he were alive, Martin Luther King, Jr. would call upon the moral leaders of the Black community to lift their voices in support of our Jewish brothers and sisters, a community from out of the trauma of the Holocaust understood persecution and hate and stood with the Black community during the Civil Rights Movement. I know because I was there.

Who’s an evangelical and who gets to decide?

COMMENTARY: Virtually every week we get another story of how evangelicals love President Trump, no matter what he does. Pundits likewise offer much analysis of the reasons for evangelicals’ undying fidelity. But the idea that Fox News-watching religious Republican voters are a stand-in for all evangelicals is ludicrous.

Fatherlessness Is Not Fatal

Despite what experts tell us about the devastating effects of absentee dads, growing up without an earthly father does not have to be a death sentence or a ticket to delinquency. The real danger lies in forgetting our heavenly Father.

How a courtroom ritual of forgiveness absolves white America

The show of grace and forgiveness toward Guyger, like those before it, requires that we ask some hard questions. What if “grace” and “forgiveness” and their compulsory racialized performance are part of what makes this anti-black world keep on ticking?

The Marathon

COMMENTARY: It can be an eerie feeling to see everyone around you accomplish the same goals that you have for yourself. But I’ve come to accept that everyone’s race is different, and people don’t achieve things at the same time.

Seeing Jesus in the Migrants at the Border

COMMENTARY: Jesus sees all of the crowds of migrants, harassed and helpless and fleeing from a home where they are no longer safe to journey to a place they have never been. He wants us to see them, too.

Why Christians must support religious freedom for everyone

The fundamental human right of religious freedom is under attack around the globe today like never before. While this disturbing trend should concern everyone, it should be particularly alarming for Christians, because a Christian worldview requires us to care about religious freedom — including the religious freedom of others.

At The Cross

A deeply personal commentary on working through life’s challenges, deciding what to leave at the foot of the cross, and focusing on God’s plan for your life.

REFLECTION: Liturgy in the public square

Moving outside the confines of a church building allows us to remember profoundly the experience of Jesus and his followers on the streets of Jerusalem, in the upper room, before the councils of church and state, and on the road to Calvary. And we come to understand more fully Christ’s gift of vulnerability to us all.

Trump signed Bibles. Heresy? Many religious leaders say no

President Donald Trump was just doing what he could to raise spirits when he signed Bibles at an Alabama church for survivors of a tornado outbreak, many religious leaders say, though some are offended and others say he could have handled it differently.

We need more biblical literacy in America

President Trump has embraced proposals in six states to offer classes in biblical literacy. Let me state, at the outset, that this is a bad idea — in practical terms, and for political reasons. Having said that, let me also say that America needs more biblical literacy.

How to have productive disagreements about politics and religion

In the current polarized climate, it’s easy to find yourself in the midst of a political disagreement that morphs into a religious argument. People’s religious affiliation predicts their stances on abortion, immigration and other controversial topics, and disagreements about these issues can seem intractable.

Evangelical Christians need an exit ramp from Trumpism

I have opposed evangelical Trumpism from the beginning. Some of those supporters are members of my own family. As long as there is a chance for decency and honor to prevail, I will make the case to them. I will not give up on my family, just as I will not give up on my country.

Laquan McDonald: Forgive, Don’t Forget, and Then Fight

I'm in Chicago and we're reeling over a judge who acquitted three Chicago police officers of trying to cover up the 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald. It's hard not to feel some kind of way (insert eye roll here), even though officer Jason Van Dyke was convicted last...

Trump and R. Kelly: Are Christian Values for Sale?

Maya Angelou famously said, “People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.” That’s why some Christians stand by Trump and others love R. Kelly.

Let the Word Speak

Spoken word is a compelling alternative to hip-hop in the articulation of a Christian point of view.

How Maya Angelou made me feel

“I want to acknowledge how Maya Angelou made me feel as a young black American woman, and how those feelings have defined how I experience myself as a complete human being.”

Is this Kwanzaa’s Moment?

Could it be that the principles of Kwanzaa are more relevant now than ever as we struggle against renewed assaults on our very value, freedom, and right to exist?

The Brats of Christmas

What “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” teaches us about being true Christians — even when the Herdmans come to our church.

BLM, Social Movements, and the changing role of chaplains

Chaplains are increasingly present in social movements including Occupy, Black Lives Matter, and Standing Rock. They provide a steady presence to protesters grappling with existential questions amid deep tensions that characterize such situations.