“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...
Religious leaders in Decatur, Ga., who recently staged an interfaith memorial for the victims of COVID-19 say the experience was emotionally and spiritually healing and demonstrates the need for mourning collectively. “There is something powerful about sharing grief in a…
While national attention has been focused on the West Coast battle between pastor John MacArthur and Los Angeles County over public health restrictions, a new challenge has emerged on the East Coast by another prominent Calvinist pastor, Mark Dever. Only…
A few weeks ago, the President made headlines at the National Archives Museum when he denounced the teaching of American history classes as a “left-wing cultural revolution … designed to overthrow the American Revolution” and responsible for everything from tearing…
To say I was anxious during our time of corporate prayer last Sunday is an understatement. How would my congregants handle the news of Donald Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis, and how would they pray for him and the First Lady? It…
Someone I know was killed by the police. When a friend from college texted asking if I saw that a former football player at our alma mater had been killed, my stomach dropped. Could it be someone I knew? I…
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Tyson Banks, to Broadus Memorial Baptist Church, Mechanicsville, Va., as youth minister. Taylor Elizabeth Bigelow, to Gwathmey Baptist…
Church-based English-as-a-Second-Language ministries don’t have to end because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they must adapt and remain flexible, a statewide literacy ministry leader insists. “We’re building an airplane while we’re flying and having to revise along the way,” said…
Like a stool with uneven legs, distorted interpretations of Americans’ “unalienable rights” provide a precarious perch in perilous times. The Declaration of Independence proclaims: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are…
If United Methodists were transformed into an animal, they no doubt would be Dr. Doolittle’s famous “pushmi-pullyu.” In other words, they’d like to have their future go two ways at once. Today’s United Methodists come by this tendency honestly, because…
Millions of boxes of USDA surplus food are being shipped with mandated letters from President Donald Trump asserting his concern to protect the well-being of Americans struggling through the coronavirus pandemic — including recommendations for wearing masks and practicing social…
If you listen to the most conservative and most liberal activists, you would think the 2020 presidential election is all about abortion rights. It turns out that is not exactly true, although abortion remains a highly motivating factor for certain…
Transitioning from the beliefs I was raised with to the beliefs I now hold has taken me more than a decade. You don’t go from being a conservative evangelical to a progressive person of faith overnight. I used to be…
