“They stole $77,000. And that was all of my savings.” Her voice was so soft I (Doug) had to lean in to hear her. “I’ve talked with the local police, the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission. The money is...
In 1959, more innocent days, the Kingston Trio sang The Merry Minuet: “The whole world is festering with unhappy souls, the French hate the Germans, the Germans hate the Poles, Italians hate Yugoslavs, South Africans hate the Dutch, and I…
In a way, St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans has two congregations, the one that shows up most weeks for worship and the one that attends its annual jazz worship service held the Sunday before Mardi Gras. The…
The school district that is home to the state senator who got a bill passed last year to allow public schools to hire unlicensed “chaplains” to replace licensed school counselor is poised to reject his plan. Sen. Mayes Middleton lives…
Amid the world’s troubles, clergy face extreme risks in some regions, according to a new report by Aid to the Church in Need, a Catholic foundation. “In 2023, many Christians, and especially clergy and religious, paid a heavy price for…
Today, fewer Americans belong to a house of worship or attend services regularly. The decline in religious participation offers challenges — and opportunities — for congregations determined to pursue environmental sustainability. The teachings of most religions and denominations encourage, if…
A group of pro-Trump “prophets” who are 2020 election deniers are taking their show on the road with FlashPoint Live, which will visit seven cities before this year’s presidential election. As Religion News Service reported, FlashPoint Live is based on…
“Come on dude. That’s just dumber than crap. Seriously. Good God,” the conservative evangelical financial celebrity and New York Times bestselling author Dave Ramsey ranted at a parent who called into his radio program asking for advice. Ramsey’s co-host Jade Warshaw piled…
Anti-immigrant bigotry is reaching a frenzied pitch as Texas continues to defy a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that grants U.S. border agents permission to remove razor wire Gov. Greg Abbott has erected along portions of the Rio Grande. Abbott has…
The more time goes by, the more concerned I get about the Southern Baptist Convention’s sexual abuse hotline. For anyone who may be trying to make some kind of risk-benefit analysis in deciding whether to call the hotline, the balance…
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley’s recent First Things essay, “Our Christian Nation,” may warm the hearts of Christian nationalists and confound historians and theologians who worry about continuing threats to the separation of church and state. Every nation needs a common…
To understand the behind-the-scenes conflict happening between the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee and some of the SBC’s agencies and institutions, understand first that the devil is in the details. Or in the dollars. Or in lack of trust, once…
Maybe it’s only me, but I don’t often encounter bombshell statistics, providing some radically helpful new insight. Not often, but not never. When they align with lived experience or shine the light on an insight we need, then statistics become…
