“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...
There are moments in American history when the question is not which party will win, but whether self-government itself is working as intended. This feels like one of those moments. On Feb. 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln was born into a…
As I write this, I am a preacher on sabbatical after two years of weekly preaching. I am a “young” preacher in that this is my first preaching job, although not young in age. I have done exhausting jobs before,…
When Rick Warren testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2015, he said something that remains true: Medicines cost less than tanks. As a Christian, I believe every person bears the image of God and is worthy of dignity. I…
The Jewish festival of Purim starts on the evening of March 2. As a scholar of Esther, the book that holds its supposed “origin” story, I always think of it more vividly on the days it is traditionally celebrated by…
Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu announced their joint missile strike on Iran with a laundry list of the sins of the ayatollah’s regime while ignoring the violence they themselves have inflicted upon their own citizens and the people of Gaza….
President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a platform of peace, announced in the middle of the night March 1 that he had initiated “major combat operations” against Iran called Operation Epic Fury. By morning, Trump claimed that these strikes had…
On Feb. 5, the 74th annual National Prayer Breakfast was held in a ballroom at the Washington Hilton Hotel, with President Donald Trump as the keynote speaker. On Feb. 4, 2016, the 64th National Prayer Breakfast was held at the…
Adam Hamilton, founder and senior pastor of the largest congregation in The United Methodist Church, announced in an email and video Feb. 27 he is exploring a possible candidacy for the U.S. Senate as an independent. He said he is…
Proclaiming the dangers of Sharia law has become all the rage among Republicans over the past few months, while opponents denounce the movement as an effort to stoke fear of Muslims among conservative voters heading into the 2026 election. Republican…
You may or may not know Billy Preston’s 1974 hit, “Nothin’ from Nothin’ Leaves Nothin’.” But never mind, the refrain is as much mathematical truth as it is moral wisdom. As I considered the world this past weekend, the moral…
When the United States and Israel bombed Iran Feb. 28, the motivations and repercussions were religious as well as political. We cannot think of Iran as a modern state unhinged from its religious moorings. And we cannot think of President…
The Black Church is not a single story but is a tapestry of stories that must be heard in context, speakers said at the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference Feb. 23-26 in Chicago. In session after session, speakers returned to the…
