It’s been said that COVID-19 was the great divider in our country. However, the pandemic brought together actor Courtney B. Vance and author Robin B. Smith to write about another health crisis. In their new book, The Invisible Ache, the…
Church gyms keep Zimbabwe female worshippers fit in a country with ailing health care
Ruth Chemubako, 45, likes to jog and do pushups inside the courtyard of a Baptist church at 4:30 a.m. three times a week with a dozen other women. “Our pastor deaconess or pastor leads the body fitness exercises. It’s safe…
Clearer picture emerging of UMC’s future
Even before its official year of splintering is completed, United Methodists are carving out a clearer identity for the denomination’s future and a clearer picture is emerging of who has stayed and who has left, about clergy health and the…
To increase congregational health, decrease domestic violence
The physical health of congregants is, of course, a concern for pastors, just as their spiritual health is. If congregants suffer a broken limb, a stroke, a heart attack or cancer, the pastoral staff will be there to walk alongside…
One year of sobriety
One year ago last Monday, I stopped drinking. For the past year, we’ve draw an “X” each day on a special, prominently displayed calendar. I preferred for Nancy, my wife, to draw the mark. Every time she did, she would…
If you’re engaged in justice ministry, here are some tips on how to avoid burnout
Those engaged in justice ministry must practice emotional and spiritual self-care or face overwhelming exhaustion and despair, a global justice ministry expert said in a recent webinar titled “Still Trusting the God of Justice.” “Helplessness and hopelessness can set in…
48-year-old pastor ‘retires’ from Texas megachurch, citing failing health, but will become a vice president at NAMB
The 48-year-old pastor of one of the largest churches in the Southern Baptist Convention told his congregation Sept. 11 he will “retire” as their pastor due to serious health problems but will continue his ministry as vice president for church…
12 cures for the hollow church
It’s been several years since the huge oak on the property of First Church came crashing down into the empty parking lot one Saturday night. A blast of straight-line winds proved more than the 250-year-old icon could withstand. The tree…
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…