Americans must add compassion to their debates about the world’s 26 million refugees, a Jewish leader said during a Feb. 2 webinar hosted by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. “The need is urgent for us here in the…
Me and my multicultural medical procedure
I am not accustomed to discussing publicly my personal health on the internet (or most anywhere else), but in this case, I am going to make an exception and do just that. When Janice and I returned to the United…
This Christmastide, don’t stop with Baby Jesus
The birth story of Jesus has plenty to offer Christians during Christmastide — stunned shepherds, angelic visitations, mysterious visitors from the East, an inn with no room, and a manger. Even though there’s plenty to love, Christians ought to continue…
These Afghan immigrants know firsthand what it’s like to arrive in America, and they want to make life better for the new arrivals
One of the unforgettable images of 2021 is Afghan citizens clinging to a moving plane at the Kabul airport in a desperate bid to escape from the country after the fall of Afghanistan’s government to Taliban fighters. Some of the…
This agency already has resettled 600 Afghan refugees in Houston
In the last several months, the United States has welcomed more than 74,000 Afghans who fled their country after the Taliban seized power in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal of troops from the country. One of the organizations that…
Once again, immigration reform gets kicked to the curb by Senate
News that the U.S. Senate parliamentarian once again rejected Democratic efforts to include immigration reform in President Biden’s $2 trillion Build Back Better budget proposal elicited deep disappointment from the White House and Capitol Hill. And that was before Sen….
Homeland Security asks for ideas on how to prevent future family separations at border
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is asking Americans for ideas on how to prevent the future separation of migrant families at the southern border. This controversial practice of the Trump administration ripped thousands of immigrant children from their parents…
How our refugee resettlement program came to be so broken and what to do about it
At the close of the fiscal year in September, the U.S. had resettled only 11,411 refugees. That’s the lowest number in the history of our refugee resettlement program. Here’s how we got here. When a refugee enters the resettlement system, they’re starting a lengthy process with five distinct steps. First, they must be…
The true gospel is social
Several years ago, a mission team of laypersons preached the morning sermon at First Baptist Church of Abilene, Texas. They had just returned from completing medical and construction projects at a small Christian hospital in the mountains near Chihuahua, Mexico….