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...
I grew up so terrified of God’s wrath that I drove through a stoplight while staring at my speedometer, afraid I’d lose my salvation for breaking God’s law in Romans 13 by going 36 mph in a 35-mph zone. When…
Today a friend posted a photo of a church that went to worship in an open Walmart since church buildings were closed in their town due to the pandemic. In the photo, worshipers were seen standing rather close together and…
California megachurch pastor John MacArthur has accelerated his fight with the County of Los Angeles and State of California over COVID-19 restrictions Aug. 13, filing suit against the state while claiming he’s not making people show up at his church,…
Jonathan Brooks moved his family into their new address in the dead of night. He didn’t want his neighbors in the tough Englewood section of Chicago to see the computers or televisions or nice furniture his family owned. He told…
Visit a Christian church in the United States today, and you might spot two flags on the chancel: an American flag and a Christian flag. Nothing could better symbolize the reality that as Christians and Americans, we are citizens of…
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Parker Bowen, to First Baptist Church, Amarillo, Texas, as associate minister of music. Jerry Carlisle, to Texas Baptist…
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson visited Charlotte, N.C., in January 2020 to announce changes to Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rules. AFFH was an Obama-era initiative that targeted ongoing racial segregation through exclusionary practices in the construction of affordable…
During the days between Sept. 11, 2001, and the beginning of the Gulf Wars, my 7-year-old son and I participated in peace demonstrations with friends. Our clever anti-war signs got honks and waves from most folks driving and walking by….
It was a job interview that no one involved knew was a job interview and yet resulted in decisions that continue to transform Touching Miami with Love, a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship ministry that serves impoverished youth and families in South…
In the land of the free and the home of the I-don’t-have-to-wear-a-mask-if-I-don’t-want-to-even-to-save-lives, we’re less than three months from the presidential election, and it’s getting nastier by the day. On the way to Nov. 3, apparently even God will not be…
I had been a New Yorker for two days. At 5:15 on Monday afternoon, I told my wife, Carol, “I’m going to buy bagels.” This was the first time in my life I said, “I’m going to buy bagels.” I…
Americans believe churches shouldn’t have special privileges to be open when other similar venues are closed, but they also believe their churches should be open already — even though few people are actually attending in-person worship. These seemingly contradictory views…
