It may now seem surprising to many United Methodists, and even more Baptists, that for most of our histories in the United States, all Methodists and Baptists were regularly designated as evangelical denominations. The most important reason is that both...
Humor me and try to imagine something: Many days, as you go through your life, someone, somewhere gives you a quick jab in the gut. Sometimes it’s a jab to the face. It happens over and over. It happens to…
No one, not even church folk, like talking about celibacy let alone white supremacy. Celibacy and white supremacy — like sexuality and skin color — are two preferably avoidable conversations. Perhaps these conversations are sidestepped because they invoke images that…
On Jan. 24, 2017 — less than a week after President Donald Trump took office —– I wrote a blog post that described him in one word: psychopath. I expanded on that assessment after Trump announced in April of this year…
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is among 92 organizations receiving new grants from the Lilly Endowment to strengthen Christian congregations and “help people deepen their relationships with God, build strong relationships with each other and contribute to the flourishing of local…
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…
