“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...
For many years, I have been a fierce proponent of churches using spiritual discernment as they navigate their futures. In hundreds of settings, across multiple denominations (and no denominations), in city/urban/suburban/rural locations, across all aspects of the theological spectrum, I…
Why would Hispanic voters embrace a president who has been called the most racist and anti-immigrant in modern history? The most likely answer: religion. But even that isn’t a complete answer. “There are not significant gender or age divides among Hispanic…
Hannah Turner is one of those young adults religion surveys and church consultants consistently describe as demanding social action and community engagement opportunities from the congregations they attend. At 23, the recent college graduate is bringing her experience as an…
In these days of “alternative facts,” pronouncements that “truth is relative,” where science is disregarded as just another opinion, and where we are taught to distrust any news except the news on “my” channel, let’s consider what a reality-based religion…
I watch the news on television every day, more than once a day. In the past several months of election rancor, I often watched or listened all day. In that period of all-day news, I sometimes neglected the more weighty…
When we became the co-pastors of Park Road Baptist Church in 2000, we were introduced to the Park Road Clergy, an informal fellowship of six churches within about a mile of our office. For 20 years, six pastors have met…
It takes about equal parts courage and faith to minister to immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico border. At least it does for Lorenzo Ortiz, a Texan from Laredo who operates feeding ministries and shelters for migrants across the Rio Grande River…
The white evangelical church remains “the most powerful force” in hindering work for racial justice and reconciliation in America, according to religion researcher Robert P. Jones. In a Nov. 16 opinion piece written for NBC News, Jones made an explicit…
For the first time, a woman has been elected vice president of the United States. It only took 231 years. Kamala Harris carries the hopes and ambitions of many generations of women of all colors who aspire to lead in…
Here’s the first thing you think when you get COVID-19: “I wish I could turn back time.” If only I hadn’t gone … or stayed … or passed by … or did whatever it was that caused me to catch…
As news of another megachurch pastor’s indiscretions makes headlines, not only in The New York Times, but in outlets such as Vanity Fair, People and even Page Six, it’s a reminder that when leaders abuse their power, they do so…
By heritage, Kyle Reese is as Baptist as they come. He earned degrees from a Baptist university and two Baptist seminaries. He served as pastor of Baptist churches in Texas and Florida and is past moderator of the Cooperative Baptist…
