Worshiping with drug addicts and sometimes-disruptive schizophrenics wasn’t the way Jimmy Dorrell envisioned his calling while growing up in Conroe, Texas, in the 1960s.
Harvey, Irma cleanup poses challenges for faith-based recovery
Faith-based disaster response groups are admittedly feeling the major challenge faced in the aftermath of hurricanes Harvey and Irma. “There’s a lot of chaos out there,” said David Harding, international disaster response coordinator for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Devastation in…
Many Trump evangelicals worship ‘Old Testament God,’ researchers find
Eight years with a black president capped by state-by-state victories for same-sex marriage didn’t sit well with white evangelicals already feeling like victims in American society. The result was a victory for Donald Trump last November. While that may have…
First Harvey, then Irma: Is there enough help to go around?
Hurricane Harvey drowns parts of Texas and Irma follows by drenching all of Florida. Are there enough rescuers, volunteers, trucks and helicopters to respond? Experience shows that there will be. But when it comes to financial contributions — that may be a different story.
Young immigrants nervous about Trump’s DACA decision/indecision
Yerendi Roblero was 6 months old when her parents took the family across the U.S. border from their native Mexico. “I pretty much grew up here, ” said Roblero, 21, of Fredericksburg, Va. It’s why the threat to end special protections for undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. since childhood concerns her and many others.
‘Are we going to die?’: As immigrants faced rising waters in Houston, many found help from Baptist workers
For a couple days last week, Hurricane Harvey and its flooding pushed a Baptist who works closely with Muslim immigrants in Houston nearly to despair. “Most of these folks have never seen this. They are from desert areas. Flooding is beyond them.”
Harvey leaves communities, churches with physical, emotional and financial challenges
A recent ABC News headline may have been a shocker to Americans who haven’t lived through a hurricane: “Hurricane Harvey recovery will be ‘multi-year project,’ Texas governor says.” That’s a fact many religious organizations know all too well. In fact, it’s their specialty.
Ministry unfolds ‘on the cellular level’ for those in Harvey’s path
Don’t ask a Houston resident how the city is doing. Trapped on top of rooftops or in shelters, or in homes with no power, it’s likely they know little more than their own situations. Clergy there are trying to make contact with their congregegants by phone and social media.
Here’s how you can help people impacted by Harvey
Faith-based and secular groups are appealing across the web for donations to help victims of Hurricane Harvey and its drenching aftermath. Here’s how you can help.
Religious groups, with more to come, already assisting Harvey victims
Faith-based groups are lining up to provide short- and long-term aid to Hurricane Harvey’s victims. But other groups, like the Salvation Army and Texas Baptist Men, are already operating in flooded areas, providing food, showers and other emergency services.
Doubt is a part of faith — especially in uncertain times like these
Take a few hundred Nazis and Klansmen marching openly in Charlottesville, add three fatalities and a wink from the White House, and many people are apt to wonder if God is really out there.
Return-your-diploma campaign gives voice to disgruntled Liberty grads
Liberty University graduates angered by Jerry Falwell Jr.’s continued loyalty to Donald Trump say they will return their diplomas to the evangelical Christian school he oversees as president.
Some pastors face big challenges preaching on Charlottesville, white supremacy
The pressures to remain silent on difficult topics originate from more than current events like Charlottesville. They also tap into existing concerns about church decline and growth and a desire for ministers be pastoral, not prophetic, in their ministry.
Did Robert Jeffress contribute to SBC decline with pro-war, pro-Trump statement?
As Christian denominations continue their downward spiral, some experts say the rapid descent is caused by the increasing politicization of the church and the erosion of church-state separation. A Gallup poll released last month found that the percentage of American…