Something remarkable and courageous, perhaps even miraculous, happened in Russia on Monday, March 14. Marina Ovsyannikova, a news editor at Channel One, the Kremlin’s leading news channel with 250 million viewers worldwide, suddenly appeared behind the news anchor during the…
The recovery of prayer at the turn of the age
It is becoming clearer by the day that we are living at a turn of the age, as one era ends and another is beginning — religiously, socially, politically and globally. The words of the Irish poet W.B. Yeats in…
How to pray for Vladimir Putin
I struggle to reconcile Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:44 with my desire to see Vladimir Putin and his minions annihilated. The Gospel text states: “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Two questions…
American churches turn to prayer and song in solidarity with Ukraine
On the first Sunday of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, churches across America took to their knees and their feet, and turned to song and silence to utter their prayers for Ukrainians under siege. “When people were sharing their prayer…
Ukrainian and European Baptist leaders issue urgent calls to prayer
Ukrainian Baptist leaders, along with other European Baptist leaders, have issued urgent calls to prayer for the intense conflict emerging at the Ukrainian-Russian border. As dawn broke in the region Wednesday, Feb. 16, the status of the enormous threat from…
How a 5-minute phone call changed my view of being a pastor
A five-minute phone call completely changed the way I think as a pastor. Every Monday in our church staff meeting, one of our team members leads a devotional before our collective time of prayer. On this particular Monday, one pastor…
Americans growing less religious and more strictly religious at the same time
In the current sociology of American religion, there are two trends moving in opposite directions. The “nones” are growing in number, while among those who identify as Christian, varieties of fundamentalism are growing. Religion researcher Ryan Burge recently summarized this…
Supreme Court appears skeptical of Texas Death Row inmate’s appeal for Baptist pastor to be present with him at execution
A U.S. Supreme Court that increasingly views freedom of religious expression as an absolute right even amid a global pandemic appears to feel differently about the religious rights of a condemned inmate. On Tuesday, Nov. 9, the high court heard…
Virginia pastor shows that women can pray over NASCAR races too
Baptist minister Libby Grammer is slated to give the pre-race prayer Sept. 25 at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia, where she became the first woman ever to do so in early April. But Grammer’s motivation is less historical than it is…