Many churches roll out the red carpet for CEOs they expect to see just twice a year — Christmas and Easter Only worshippers. But others wonder, “If we treat CEOs like VIPs, why are they AWOL most of the time?”…
New proposed rules by Obama administration would exempt non-profit religious employers
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Obama administration proposed a broader opt-out Feb. 1 for religious organizations that object to mandated coverage of contraceptives in employee health care plans, an effort to alleviate religious-liberty concerns behind a number of lawsuits challenging the…
Secession theology runs deep in American religious, political history
WASHINGTON (RNS )— Corruption has gone too far. The righteous must break away. Hope now rests with a holy remnant that will honor foundational texts. The message sounds familiar. A church schism? No, mounting calls for secession from the United…
Baptism ages are dropping in churches which practice believer’s baptism, say observers
(ABP) — Something just clicked for Charity Roberson when she knew it was time for her to be baptized. Roberson, now pastor at Sharon Baptist Church in Smithfield, N.C., was 9 at the time. Some of the memories are vivid….
Video recalls ‘forgotten’ Pearl Harbor
(ABP) — President Franklin Roosevelt’s description of the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack as “a date which will live in infamy” went down in history, but Yosh Nakagawa remembers another day – Feb. 19, 1942. That’s when FDR, in an…
Faith leaders want Americans to pray for collegiality in D.C.
WASHINGTON (RNS) — At a time when the ideals of compromise and collegiality seem like a distant dream in the nation’s capital, an unusually diverse coalition of religious leaders is asking Americans to pray for civility. “Through daily prayer, we…
OUT LOUD
“If our Christmas is going to be all about getting upset at people trying to take away Christmas, isn’t that silly too?” Jonathan Morris The Catholic priest was speaking on “Fox & Friends” about the “war on Christmas.” (RNS) “What…
PBS program explores religious motivation of American abolitionists
(RNS) — As the nation marks the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, PBS is airing “The Abolitionists,” a three-part series that began Jan. 8. Documentarian Rob Rapley, the writer and director of the series, talked with Religion News Service…
OPINION: A focus on ‘followship’?
People emphasize “leadership” so much, it has become a buzzword. Isn’t it past time we focus on “followship”? I recently read Colin Powell’s book, It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership. Most of Powell’s observations are better suited to…
Bus ads in American cities aim to reclaim meaning of ‘jihad’
(brNS) — An ad campaign on San Francisco buses is aimed at trying to change public perception of the word “jihad,” which the program’s founder says has been distorted by extremists — Muslim and anti-Muslim alike. Ahmed Rehab, a 36-year-old…
Who cares for the caregivers?
By Ken Camp The New Testament commands Christ’s followers to “bear one another’s burdens.” But applying that principle to caregivers—people who shoulder the around-the-clock responsibility for meeting the needs of someone who cannot live independently because of advanced age, illness…
Did I care enough?
By Ken Camp During the five years she served as his caregiver, Sue Strother and her husband, Joe, understood the roles each filled. “He bore the pain. I bore the strain,” she said. Her husband, pastor of North Riverside Baptist…