After this pandemic is over, after things return to “normal,” we will still have the scars from our experience. And how well these scars heal is directly related to how we treat our wounds and the wounds of our neighbors now.
The CARES Act may be a financial lifeline for churches; but at what cost to religious liberty?
I know the CARES Act represents a lifeline to churches that don’t know how they’ll keep their doors open without it. But I also know that my Baptist forbears endured imprisonment, public beatings and even exile to defend the principle of absolute religious liberty. Some principles are worth defending no matter what the cost.
Crucifixion and coronavirus: a Holy Week unlike any other
David declared that even though he walked through the valley of the shadow of death, goodness and mercy would follow him always and that God would be with him forever. This year, this Holy Week, we have to find a way to believe that.
How to survive in a time of coronavirus: Turn down the volume
The stress of living in an age of COVID-19 is revealing all of us to be more of who we have been. It is amplifying our personalities – for good or for ill. Normally hidden emotions now rise to the surface, and we are more easily laid bare.
CBF announces virtual 2020 General Assembly in response to pandemic
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s 2020 General Assembly will be an online experience instead of an in-person gathering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CBF Executive Coordinator Paul Baxley announced in an April 2 statement. Instead of traveling to downtown Atlanta this…
11 self-care reminders for clergy and other caregivers
Amid a global pandemic and its immediate and long-term repercussions, consider these reminders for pastors, other ministers and all caregivers.
Our lives are part of a great sacred story that goes on. Even in a global pandemic
Though life now feels like a wild, roller coaster ride of emotions, we are part of something much bigger than the unfolding devastation of the coronavirus pandemic. Our lives, even now, are woven into a great sacred story.
A global pestilence stalks in darkness. Will we tempt God or take up our cross? | #intimeslikethese
We can hang onto Jesus with the right hand, grasp our brothers and sisters with the left, and take one bold step into the gathering gloom of Holy Week. That’s what Lent has always been about. That’s what it’s about now, amid a global pestilence that stalks in the darkness.
‘You can’t get a Ph.D. in caring’: COVID-19 calls for believer-priests | #intimeslikethese
With all this grief, on a societal level perhaps not seen since 9/11 or the stock market crash of 1929, we pastors and other church staff sure could use more ministers. For Baptists, this shouldn’t be a novel idea.