Robert Jeffress and Pope Francis agree on at least one thing: There is no moral reason for Christians to resist getting a COVID-19 vaccine. And further, neither the Baptist pastor nor the Catholic pontiff will give you a religious exemption…
From 2016 to 2020, Trump grew in support from white evangelicals
Anyone who assumed that a growing number of Americans would abandon a politicized evangelicalism over its support for Donald Trump appears to have been wrong, new research shows. On the contrary, a new analysis reveals no significant abandonment of evangelicalism…
‘Marker events’ leave scars whether visible or not, psychologist explains
Marker events — especially the scary ones like the assassination of John F. Kennedy, 9-11 and Hurricane Ida — always leave some form of an emotional scar, even in those who weren’t physically present for the trauma, according to clinical…
World health leaders protest U.S. vaccine boosters while other countries await promised vaccines that haven’t been delivered
How possible is it that the continent with the lowest COVID-19 infection rate could potentially become the biggest spreader of new mutations of the deadly virus across the world? The answer to that question lies in a new report published…
Hayes named BNG Clemons Fellow
Amy Hayes of Atlanta has been named Baptist New Global’s third Clemons Fellow, continuing the launch of a graduate-level fellowship begun in June. Hayes is a master of divinity student at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology, where she also…
‘What we must do, as young people, is to ensure we don’t carry forward the endemic fallacies’
The leadership of young people is crucial in helping the world recover from the economic, health and political devastation exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to panelists with the Next Generation Task Force of the Parliament of the World’s Religions….
United Methodists chafe at their wilderness wandering
Some have likened the current time in the United Methodist Church to the biblical exodus of Hebrew slaves from Egypt. Others have found a parallel in the Israelites’ exile in Babylon. Still others see the UMC living through the same…
Looking for a religious exemption to a COVID vaccine mandate? Most denominations won’t help you
Unless you’re a member of a Dutch Reformed church or a Christian Science church, making a claim for a religious exemption to the COVID-19 vaccine as a Christian is going to be hard to prove. According to research by Vanderbilt…
Transitions for the week of 9-17-21
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Josh Anderson, to Summit Church, Boise, Idaho, as youth pastor. Gwyn Bacon, to First Baptist Church, Athens, Ga.,…
Trump’s faith advisory team is coming back … maybe
‘Israel has never had a better friend, and yet I got 25% of the vote.” The former president joined an online meeting of supporters from the faith community Sept. 2 to launch his National Faith Advisory Board, but two weeks…
Carey Nieuwhof: Reflections on the wilderness, COVID, burnout and how to move forward
As American churches wander in “the wilderness,” pastor and thought leader Carey Nieuwhof is reckoning with his own burnout. He processes these challenges out loud in his new book, At Your Best. Nieuwhof is founding pastor of Connexus Church in…
Lost amid other news: Number of migrants being held in U.S. detention centers has decreased
The number of migrants being held in U.S. civil immigration detention centers has stabilized after many weeks of growth and remains well below pre-pandemic and Trump administration levels, according to researchers at Syracuse University. “The most recent numbers show that…