Citizenship and Religious Liberty Sunday bulletin insert
Free, downloadable bulletin insert for use by your church on Citizenship and Religious Liberty Sunday. To see additional SBC event dates, visit sbc.net/calendar.
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Andrew T. Walker
Andrew T. Walker
Andrew T. Walker
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The mission of God and religious liberty
Before leaving on his missionary journey to India, William Carey, one of the architects of the modern mission movement, told his friend Andrew Fuller, “I will go down, if you will hold the ropes.” Fuller, of course, helped raise the funds to build the institutions that made mission possible. Holding the ropes is an apt …
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How religion functions in public argument
No topic is more fraught in American life than the relationship between religion and politics. Someone’s understanding of the American experiment often hinges upon their understanding of how the two relate: Is America a mostly secular nation that should eschew religious influence? Or, does religion play an important role in America’s legacy in terms of …
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How religious liberty made me a Baptist: Part 2
Read part 1 here. Like an outwardly working concentric circle, religious liberty hinges upon an understanding of (1) individual assent, (2) group association, and (3) institutional distinction. These are reflected in the practices of individual conversion and regenerate church membership, which entails a distinction between membership in the church and membership in society, and the …
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How religious liberty made me a Baptist: Part 1
I’m a little embarrassed to admit this considering I’m a professor at a Baptist seminary, but how I came to be a passionate Baptist was not because I thought baptism by immersion was the most compelling foundation. In a roundabout way, I became the convictional Baptist I am today because Baptist ecclesiology was the natural …
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What does a Christian owe their neighbor in a time of crisis?
Like many around me, I have thought about what is required of the Christian in a time of national crisis, much like the one presented to us with COVID-19. I recalled an essay in the collected works of Martin Luther titled, “Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague” that aims at just this question. …
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What’s the relationship between ethics and evangelism?
Recently in an ethics class I teach, a student raised their hand and asked me, “What’s the relationship between ethics and evangelism?” That’s a good question. I had never formally explored their direct relationship. It turns out that ethics is inseparable from how we understand the task of evangelism. How so? Because wrongdoing, or sinning, …
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What Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s comments reveal about the state of religious liberty
Mayor Pete Buttigieg, a Democratic nominee for president of the United States, has an impressive resume. He’s a polyglot, military veteran, ex-corporate consultant, Harvard graduate, and the mayor of a recognized city at a very young age. More than that, he has positioned himself as one of the seemingly moderate candidates in the Democratic field. …
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Why Kanye West is America’s “pervasive Christian traditionalist”
One of the most noticeable effects of Kanye West’s highly publicized conversion to Christianity has been his newfound dedication to his family. This has been observable in a number of ways: In his new Jesus Is King album, songs are liberally accented with a pro-family message. He told late-night interviewer James Corden that at night, …
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How we can think about celebrities, conversion, and sanctification
While we await the official release, anticipation surrounds Kanye West’s first Christian album, “Jesus is King." A lot of news has circulated around Kanye West’s very public conversion to Christianity. Though we should be overjoyed at the news that Kanye West has become a born-again Christian, history should tell us that we should be cautious …
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