A rough election is turning into a rough Christmas for some. But the holiday blues will come screeching to a halt after a conversation with Abraham Deng. Deng, 35, was one of thousands of “Lost Boys of Sudan” who, as…
Barth, Church and migrants in Calais
Last week, French authorities began clearing an area of Calais called the “Jungle.” After enduring war and poverty, millions of people fled the Middle East, Asia and Africa. About 7,000 men, women, and children built a shanty town near the…
Refugees — also known as family members
As I write this Wednesday, Oct. 5, the mandatory evacuation of 1.1 million people from the coastal low country of South Carolina has begun. People seeking to escape the arrival of Matthew the Hurricane are being told to move at…
Before the chasm is too great: Reflections on Luke 16.19-31
The Gospel reading for Sunday, Sept. 25, takes us to the bosom of Abraham. Well, technically Luke’s telling has angels carrying Lazarus to the bosom of Abraham after a life of isolation, neglect and suffering. The rich man who overlooked…
For a congregation in Spain, feeding ministry defines identity
Feeding people does more than satiate their hunger. Daniel Banyuls, pastor of Iglesia Evangelica Bautista in Cerdanyola, Spain, can testify to that. “Through this feeding ministry, we are fighting material, educational, emotional and spiritual poverty,” Banyuls said. Banyuls has served…
Brexit, Trump and the Stranger
The news of the British referendum shook the world this week, sending financial markets into turmoil, prompting rage from British Millennials, and inspiring no small amount of fear in an American public. Few waited very long to draw comparisons between…
Southern Baptists debate resolution supporting Israel
The Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution June 14 criticizing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement to put economic and political pressure on Israel to end the occupation of Palestinian lands despite objections by an Arabic pastor. Pastor Jamal Bishara…
Churches helping refugees despite fear and rhetoric, say those involved in resettlement
For some Americans, domestic and overseas terror attacks, plus a good dose of anti-Syrian political rhetoric, have made refugee resettlement something to be feared. And a lot of the Americans who hold that view are churchgoers – including a lot…
Baptists aid Syrians who escaped war only to freeze in refugee camps
By Leah Reynolds The terror and violence became unbearable. At 4 a.m. some two years ago, Yusuf and Fatima Assad gathered their nine children and abandoned their home, possessions and comfort to search for a better life, away from bombings…