Lee Strobel believes there’s no better time than the present to talk about heaven because COVID-19 has forced so many people to think seriously about death. The New York Times bestselling author has just released a new book on the…
Faced with a health scare and a pandemic, Max Lucado is thinking about how to maximize the moment
It has been 36 years since Max Lucado debuted his first book, and even he is amazed how far he’s come since 1985. Just a few years prior to that, he was an associate pastor tasked with writing the church’s…
Judge says New York must offer option of religious exemptions to vaccine mandate even if exemptions aren’t granted
New York employers do not have to grant religious exemptions to the state’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate, but the option to seek a religious exemption must be offered, a federal judge indicated Oct. 12. U.S. District Judge David N. Hurd issued…
Not your typical Pastor Appreciation Month
I confess, I haven’t given too much thought to Pastor Appreciation Month in years past. Most of my career was spent as part of vocational ministerial teams in local congregations. Asking for “appreciation” for oneself is certainly not apropos. Truth…
10 ways to appreciate clergy this month
For me, ministry is the family business. I am an ordained Baptist minister. Married to an ordained Baptist minister. My grandfather was a pastor, my dad is a pastor, my sister is a pastor. The rhythms and the risks of…
Gov. Abbott’s COVID-19 vaccination ban tramples on my religious practice
Like me, many Christians in Texas live in a state of perpetual agitation over the actions of our governor, Greg Abbott, regarding sensible public health practices around the coronavirus pandemic. His latest action — an executive order “banning any entity in…
Amid the pandemic and racial reckoning, most Americans give clergy high marks
A majority of Americans, churchgoing or otherwise, believe pastors are trustworthy and aware of the challenges faced by their local communities, new research by Barna shows. Among U.S. adults, 59% either “disagreed strongly” or “somewhat disagreed” that local clergy are…
The pandemic of the unclaimed dead
“Show me the manner in which a nation cares for its dead and I will measure with mathematical exactness the tender mercies of its people, their respect for the laws of the land, and their loyalty to high ideals.” —…
Enslaved by freedom
He stood up to address the House of Burgesses, the legislative body in Virginia, meeting to determine how to respond to British military intervention in the colony. Relationships between the colonists and the British had deteriorated over the past two…