Evangelicalism in America is nearing extinction due to the movement’s devotion to politics at the expense of its original calling to share the gospel, according to Mark Galli, former editor-in-chief of Christianity Today. “The evangelicalism that transformed the world is,…
It took nearly an hour to ring bells for everyone who’s died of COVID in the U.S.
Religious leaders in Decatur, Ga., who recently staged an interfaith memorial for the victims of COVID-19 say the experience was emotionally and spiritually healing and demonstrates the need for mourning collectively. “There is something powerful about sharing grief in a…
Despite forced letter from Trump, agencies distributing USDA food boxes
Millions of boxes of USDA surplus food are being shipped with mandated letters from President Donald Trump asserting his concern to protect the well-being of Americans struggling through the coronavirus pandemic — including recommendations for wearing masks and practicing social…
Baptist layman offers lessons from South Africa on overcoming civil war
Talk of civil war is bandied about by Americans reeling from a pandemic, racial injustice, police brutality and a hate-filled election season. But politically motivated violence is no idle talk to Harold Tessendorf, a conflict management consultant and licensed mediator…
Barna compares pre-pandemic anxiety to today, and you can imagine the results
No doubt Americans faced a bevy of mental health and relationship challenges before the COVID-19 pandemic. But the coronavirus, mounting political drama and escalating racial tensions have dragged the quality of well-being and relationships even lower for lay people and…
Faith-based groups unite to denounce Trump’s further gutting of legal refugee resettlement
An array of American faith-based organizations roundly condemned President Trump’s Sept. 30 decision to limit refugee resettlement in 2021 to no more than 15,000. That would be the lowest level on record, following a year that already brough an 80%…
Black and white Baptist groups work side-by-side in Louisiana
Two Baptist traditions — one predominantly Black, the other mostly white — are leaning into a long-standing relationship to collaborate in disaster recovery efforts in Lake Charles, La., the coastal city ravaged by Hurricane Laura in late August. Even with…
Atlanta church turns Fellowship Hall into COVID-safe learning center for children
It took Smoke Rise Baptist Church’s Rebecca Caswell-Speight less than two weeks to organize and open a space for more than two dozen public school children to participate in virtual learning while their parents are at work. Among other tasks,…
Pizzas el Buen Samaritano puts refugees to work while waiting
A Baptist minister is confronting pandemic-induced poverty, widespread despair and menacing drug cartels by putting refugees to work baking and selling pizza in Mexico. Lorenzo Ortiz, who directs three shelters for refugees in communities that border the U.S., has launched…