Most Americans only encounter Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 if their child is one of the 8.5 million public school children with a 504 Plan. Whether they are dyslexic, have cerebral palsy or a temporarily broken leg,…
Dramatic changes in early childhood centers affect churches too
Many of the nation’s early learning and child-care systems have reached a critical turning point as revenues decline, wages stagnate and families are priced out of options, experts in the field say. “Costs are exorbitant and providers can’t afford to…
What Dostoevsky Taught Me About Sending My Son to College
This spring, our oldest son will graduate from high school. We have spent the last several months guiding him through what feels like endless writing and rewriting of application essays and supplemental essays, screening colleges, and planning visits.
‘Pro-family’ groups dislike transgender ‘cult’ but like Melania’s parenting advice
Politically conservative “pro-family” groups ended 2024 by calling to stamp out the “transgender cult,” opposing constitutional rights for Satanists, promoting Melania Trump’s parenting advice, warning against sympathy for immigrants, and celebrating Donald Trump’s second election as a source of spiritual…
Finding hope after the murder of a child
On Aug. 6, 1995, Michael McEachern and Katy Nesbit — two spirited, trusting young people — went to a Whataburger and never returned to the friends and family who loved them so much. They were murdered over the theft of…
How to talk to your children about hard things in difficult times
As I drove my children to school the day after the election, my middle school daughter began to ask questions. Days, weeks and months leading up to the election, there were questions from both of my daughters. They could see…
Letter to my Black daughter on the 2024 election
Zyan, you haven’t gotten home yet from school, but there are tears running down my eyes as I hear Vice President Harris in the background conceding the election. This morning when you went to school, I could tell in your…
Tucker Carlson is a danger to American families
Just when you think the lies and threats from MAGA world can’t get any scarier, Tucker Carlson shows up. The fired Fox News personality spoke at a Trump rally in Georgia Oct. 23 sponsored by Turning Point Action, an evangelicals-for-Trump…
Should I force my child to go to church?
In my years of serving as a pastor to students and their families, I’ve heard the following question phrased in a few different ways: Should I force my child to go to church if they don’t want to? In the…
Arkansas governor reignites campaign debate about stepchildren versus biological children
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders bragged about her humility at a campaign rally Sept. 18, taking a dig at Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris for being a stepmother and not a biological mother. In a campaign already scorched with “family…
JD Vance and Al Mohler use fuzzy math to sound an alarm on falling birth rates
Over the past two months since Donald Trump chose JD Vance as his running mate, many people have been surprised to learn about Vance’s demonization of women in the workplace and his strange fascination with large families. Just this past…
Little League coach’s speech: Home run, foul or something else?
If the speech were a hard-hit baseball, it was high, deep and down the baseline. Some say it was a home run. Some say despite feeling and looking great to many of the “home-team fans” (aka Christians), it went foul….