With increasing attention to the roots of American slavery in religious life, more churches and faith-based ministries that existed prior to the Civil War are unearthing truths they wish weren’t true. Then the hard questions arise: How should a church,…
More churches plan reopenings cautiously, joyfully and with flexibility
New CDC guidelines and a growing number of church members being vaccinated are suddenly opening new possibilities for churches that have been closed to in-person gatherings for 14 months. “The arrival and availability of the vaccine has been a welcomed…
Finding charity amidst the chaos one year into the coronavirus pandemic
One year ago in The Christian Citizen, we published the first in a series of articles on ministry responses to the coronavirus pandemic. “Charity amidst the chaos—When coronavirus comes to your neighborhood,” is Bryan Jackson’s firsthand account of the arrival…
One year later: Some musings on post-COVID culture and social ethics
When this column appears, it will be exactly one year since my last trip to the airport. One year since I lectured outside my own home or university. Just under one year since my Mercer classes went to Zoom for…
Religious communities can offer more to the coronavirus vaccination effort
As religious leaders of different traditions pose while receiving their initial injections of the coronavirus vaccine and even livestream their jab for congregants to see, I can’t help but think that we could do even more. Of course, talking positively…
What we’ve lost
The losses we’ve experienced due to coronavirus are both horribly easy to count — 465,000 dead in the United States alone — and yet invisibly painful. Especially for communities of faith, the relational losses often go unreported. Yet in conversation…
Public health officials find churches are ideal sites for COVID vaccine clinics
While much has been written during the COVID-19 pandemic about the “when and how” of churches opening their doors for worship, a new thread in the story is beginning to take shape: churches hosting vaccination clinics. Depending on the state…
A prescription for healing the American church
I’ve been to my share of doctors. Many of those visits happened when I was so young that they have no conscience in my adult brain. My earliest memories were of Dr. Matchett, an orthopedic surgeon who was assigned the…
Amid the hypocrisy of critiquing ‘unity,’ maybe we need a different goal: Cooperation
We need to debunk the argument that achieving “unity” means everyone will get their way. That’s not logically possible. This fallacious thinking is emerging as a primary conservative critique of the new administration in Washington, D.C. And once again, it…
10 reasons we are giving a little extra to the church this year
Every year, my wife and I give a few gifts at the end of the year to nonprofits, mission centers and ministry groups with whom we have a close connection. And although we give regularly to our church throughout the…
Religion Notes: Religious people happier; Baptist groups fund global projects
It’s long been assumed that religious belief and participation contributes to overall happiness. Now there are some statistics confirming that. The Pew Research Center has released a survey that found, globally, those active in congregations “tend to be happier and…
Does anybody really know what tithing is? Does anybody really care?
Has a more general, difficult to measure, New Testament-oriented concept called generosity snuffed out the clear, easy to measure, Old Testament concept of tithing? Let me try that again. Has a left-brained legalism about tithing interpreted as 10 percent of…