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…
Merry Christmas anyway
We are saving money — no plane tickets, no fancy restaurants, no Nutcracker this year. We are not seeing everyone we wish we were seeing, not doing everything we wish we were doing, and not having the Christmas we wish…
To the shepherds: Reframing Christmas in a pandemic
The Advent season for the Christian faith community is really important. It’s the season before Christmas that symbolizes a deep sense of longing — a longing for something that is not here yet but is hoped for. Hope that is…
As COVID cases soar, court’s retreat opens doors of churches
The American legal and political approach to pandemic-era religious gatherings seems to be anything but consistent as Christmas bears down on churches. Challenges to previously approved restrictions on worship attendance are being upheld even as U.S. deaths speed toward 320,000…
Humor: What an honest Christmas Eve order of service might look like this year
Columnist Brett Younger didn’t send us a traditional column this month. Instead, he sent us a humorous, yet not-so-humorous example of what an honest Christmas Eve worship order of service might look like. He reported that even the church administrator…
Why you should cancel your in-person indoor Christmas Eve service
I’ve heard all the arguments and understand most of the data. Yes, I know there are regional differences and special circumstances from community to community. And I understand that you think your bubble is safe, that you are the exception….