Texas policy towards trans people has changed a lot in the last decade. Read a timeline of major turning points here. @dallasnews.com www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2...

I also talked to D-FW lawmakers who have introduced bills recently related to gender transition. They said adhering to the Christian belief that there are only two genders is important for a healthy society. @dallasnews.com www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2...

Want to learn more about trans Texans? We surveyed 90 of them to learn how they're dealing with an increasingly-hostile political climate. Almost everyone said they're feeling more anxious and less safe in public. @dallasnews.com www.dallasnews.com/news/politic...

Raunaq Alam's hate crime trial began this week in a Tarrant County courtroom packed with pro-Palestine activists and community members. He is facing up to 10 years in prison for allegedly spray-painting "F— Israel" on the wall of a church in Euless. @dallasnews.com
www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2...

Since last June, a surprising number of D-FW churches have weathered a scandal related to sexual abuse or misconduct. Can churches learn from this year of reckoning? @dallasnews.com www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2...

Wednesday ended a little anticlimactically — the SBC narrowly voted against big proposals on women pastors and the group's public policy arm. We talked with Megan Basham and Beth Barr, who gave context on why they believed the close margins in those votes mattered. www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2...

Tuesday saw one of the biggest headlines (for secular media, in particular) this year. Our story features an in-depth convo I had with God and the Transgender Debate author Andrew T. Walker, who shared more insight into the SBC's beliefs about gender dysphoria. www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2...

On Monday, Juan and I covered a panel on abuse prevention that began with the question: "Why do we have to keep talking about this?" Panelists shared why they believe conversation about abuse should still matter to the church. www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2...

On the official first day of the annual meeting,
@mariaramos.bsky.social and Smiley went to a special gathering for Hispanic Baptists at downtown's First Baptist Dallas — which SBC President Clint Pressley last year called the SBC's "Notre Dame." www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2...

Next, Shafkat and I got to watch Southern Baptists doing what they'll tell you they do best — evangelism. We shadowed a free car wash event in Fort Worth and saw volunteers from around the country serve unhoused people at a Southern Dallas church. www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2...

For our preview ahead of the convention, we focused on what has and hasn't changed since the last time Southern Baptists met in Dallas. They last gathered here for their 2018 annual meeting, in the shadow of a burgeoning sex abuse crisis. www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2...

I'm so grateful to the people who poured their talent and passion into this coverage. Big thanks to reporters
Matt Kyle and @mariaramos.bsky.social, to our fantastic photographers Azul Sordo, Smiley Pool, Tom Fox, Shafkat Anowar and Juan Figueroa, and to the incomparable
@tomthuang.bsky.social.

Our team @dallasnews.com worked hard to publish a new (front-page!) story every day of the June 8-11 Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in Dallas this year. Here's a round-up — and if you have been, thanks for following our work.

Gateway Church founder Robert Morris, in a new court filing written by his attorneys, publicly responded to Cindy Clemishire’s sexual abuse allegations and said he had a “highly inappropriate relationship” with her.

My good friend Adrian is part of a project at the Dallas Morning News surveying transgender Texans' mental health after the onslaught of bills this legislative session. If that's you, go take this survey:

www.dallasnews.com/news/2025/05...

No dirt has moved on a planned Muslim-centric neighborhood northeast of Dallas. But Collin County officials held an hourslong public hearing yesterday on the development, called EPIC City. @dallasnews.com
www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2...

Since violence resumed in Gaza, Dr. Ikram has been checking each morning for news on the hospital where he spent two weeks performing emergency amputations in January. @dallasnews.com www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2...