Dallas pastor Richie Butler has blazed a trail through the worlds of real estate and ministry in Texas and nationwide, developing more than $500 million in urban properties, leading iconic Black churches and launching initiatives to combat racism and deliver…
Ethics at the end of life: How medicine and technology have changed the context of dying
As the school year ends and I try to process the many agonies of the annus horribilus COVID year of 2020-21, I will remember many deaths, but most especially the death of my father in late December 2020. These posts,…
Summer youth camps and internships are making a comeback this year
Church summer camps and in-person internship programs are making a comeback in 2021 with an array of new procedures designed to minimize exposure to COVID-19. But getting there after a year of virtual or zero gatherings has posed challenges to…
If you think we’re out of this pandemic, take a look at the rest of the world
That “love your neighbor” thing you keep hearing as a reason to take precautions against COVID-19 and get vaccinated? It has global implications, too, according to a Christian epidemiologist at the forefront of advocacy during the global pandemic. Because coronavirus…
Here I raise my ebenezer
Standing at the crossroad of two gravel roads, one can turn in any direction to see wheat fields and cotton rows fade into a crimson haze on the horizon. Each road is pre-ordained to the straight and narrow by land…
Through 14 months of pandemic, hospital chaplains have carried others’ burdens
The emotional trauma suffered by health care workers in the battle against COVID-19 also is being felt by the chaplains who ministered to the sick and dying during the pandemic. “I think chaplains may have a little PTSD when this…
Interpreting the data: Why are some Christians getting vaccinated and others aren’t?
It is well-documented by now that white evangelical Christians are among the largest groups resisting vaccination against COVID-19. But the reason for this might not actually be rooted in vaccine denial, according a new analysis in The Atlantic. “The pattern…
What happens when the body of Christ gets out of balance
Things already out of balance have gotten worse this past year. I’m talking about the balance between the realm of the personal, the realm of the public and the realm of the communal. The realm of the communal, of course,…
In Africa, COVID-19 disrupted climate change work but also led to new opportunities
COVID-19 took a toll on climate change. Activists in Africa say that toll has been both negative and positive. Oluwatosin Kolawole, a Nigerian climate change activist, normally is an active advocate who monitors events in the industry and is ready…
On the wings of prayers that are mute
In a time not that long ago, I would have been seated in a church pew or standing behind a pulpit delivering a sermon. This morning, I’m not at church and it does feel strange, although there are reasons. My wife,…
The pandemic slowed down Mercer on Mission but a $10 million gift is powering the future
“Coddiwomple,” Craig McMahan says, pretty much describes Mercer on Mission as it emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s a word that means to move purposely toward an unknown or vague destination, and we are certainly moving cautiously but confidently toward…
4 in 10 Americans don’t see getting vaccinated as a way to ‘love your neighbor’
Throughout the past year of global pandemic, many pastors and faith leaders have appealed to the words of Jesus to argue for social distancing, masking and other precautions against the spread of coronavirus. The appeal to “love your neighbor as…