In the face of opposition to leadership, successful leaders never give up or walk away. At least, that is what leadership experts tell us. Instead, these experts suggest persistence and dogged determination as appropriate responses to opposition. This viewpoint is…
Alliance of Baptists shifts again to online gathering
The Alliance of Baptists announced Jan. 31 that it has scuttled plans for an in-person annual meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, in April due to continued concerns about the pandemic. “The Alliance is committed to making every space as equitable…
A response to Tish Harrison Warren about livestreaming worship
“I think it’s time to drop the virtual option,” says Tish Harrison Warren in an op-ed for the New York Times, arguing that churches should stop livestreaming their services. She explains: “Bodies, with all the risk, danger, limits, mortality and vulnerability…
In Oklahoma, a mother watches a miracle unfold as her son finally wins the battle against COVID
Amid the millions of stories of devasting loss from COVID-19, occasionally there’s an unexplained miracle. This is one such story. Chase Martin is a 34-year-old former college linebacker who lives in Moore, Okla., a southern suburb of Oklahoma City. In…
American kids’ mental health is in crisis; the solution isn’t just therapy, it’s revolution
In early December, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a nationwide Advisory on Protecting Youth Mental Health in light of what he termed “the pandemic’s unprecedented impacts on the mental health of America’s youth and families, as well as the mental…
Has your church attendance declined again? It’s likely because Americans are worried once again about COVID
If in-person attendance at your church has declined in recent weeks, it’s probably a sign of Americans’ increasing concern about getting COVID-19. Gallup reports that its survey of American adults from Jan. 3 to Jan. 14 found increasing concern about…
Traditionalist United Methodists’ offer to pay for vaccination of African delegates is not the shot in the arm they thought it would be
United Methodist politics erupted in a public confrontation this week as three international bishops and a dozen other church leaders denounced a traditionalist group’s offer to provide coronavirus immunizations for General Conference delegates from countries with limited vaccine access. The…
Baptist groups returning to in-person meetings with hybrid options
The Baptist World Alliance has announced its 2022 annual gathering will be convened both online and in-person after two years of virtual-only meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And BWA isn’t alone. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Alliance of Baptists…
Leaving church, part 2: The Great Baptist Resignations and COVID
The recent surge of COVID cases led one of my (Carol) pastoral colleagues to lament, “It feels like we are living a terrible version of the film Ground Hog Day.” In Columbia, Mo., where I live, we have more COVID…