The suddenness of the coronavirus outbreak last year caught a lot of churches unprepared for a sudden transition to virtual worship and other gatherings. The Faith Community, a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship church plant in Atlanta, wasn’t one of them. The…
How the Ebola experience helped the African continent’s fight against COVID-19
How is it that Nigeria, a country of about 200 million people, has experienced only 1,449 deaths from COVID-19, while the United States, a country of 331 million, has experienced 400,000 deaths? Ask some Nigerians and, because the country is…
In New York City, serving the homeless offered a clue for how to serve trauma victims during the pandemic
Serving homeless people, as well as victims of domestic violence and other forms of trauma, is challenging anywhere. But the difficulty multiplies in New York City, Lesley-Ann Hix Tommey has learned. “In New York, everything is happening on such a…
Give yourself some grace during the pandemic
We already were sick and tired when we had to watch a riot that made us wonder what country we are living in. Then we remembered how many horrible moments we have experienced in the last year and were not…
Barna advice to pastors: Talk honestly about emotions and relationships
The pastoral skills and mental health of clergy were pushed to the limits in 2020, and the first few weeks of 2021 may be doing much of the same. Recent research shows that leading congregations through the traumatic events like…
Q&A with Michael McMahon of the Hymn Society of North America
The Hymn Society has had its work cut out for it in the COVID-19 pandemic, trying to help music ministers, choirs, composers and others adjust to virtual worship. But 2021 is likely to be challenging, too, said J. Michael McMahon,…
On LA’s Skid Row, dueling visions of what it means to be faithful to God amid COVID
Dueling visions of what it means to be faithful Christians in a world rocked by coronavirus hit the national media over New Year’s weekend, with one music evangelist planing an event on Skid Row in Los Angeles and other prominent…
Pandemic complicates the grief at Middle Church after fire, but leaders see hope
There’s no good time to lose a church building to fire, but the middle of a global pandemic seems like an especially awful time to members of Middle Collegiate Church in New York. “When you get to the block and…
Carpe Diem: Seize the day before it’s too late
As is my custom, I poured my first cup of coffee and sat down in my favorite chair to check my emails and my friends’ activities on Facebook and Instagram before settling in with the morning news. To my shock,…
Rick Warren: Churches aren’t being persecuted by COVID restrictions
Christmas week brought more twists and turns to the legal battles in California over coronavirus-forced closures of in-person worship, while the spike in COVID infections, hospitalizations and deaths skyrocketed. In contrast to a few pastors and churches that have made…
The best way to finish this dreadful year is with lavish generosity
Thirty-six years ago this month, I learned a lesson in generosity that inspires me to this day. I was 23 years old, had just completed a bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of New Mexico and was heading to…
On coronavirus beliefs, ‘It’s evangelical Protestants against everyone else’
When asked in October to list their top concerns, white evangelicals listed abortion, fair presidential elections and terrorism. The coronavirus didn’t make the cut, noted Robert P. Jones, CEO and founder of the Public Religion Research Institute. “Looking at their…