Featured
In a Year of Waiting & Hoping, Advent Reminds Us Patience Can Be Healthy
Our consumer society’s dependence on instant gratification has infected our religious practice. Advent comes with a countervailing message: Expect God to show up in unexpected places, like a subway car, a Zoom call, or a stable.
Deck the Halls? Not at the Illinois Capitol (Due to Coronavirus)
The coronavirus has extinguished some traditional holiday cheer at the Illinois Capitol. There will be no Christmas tree nor any holiday displays inside or outside the building.
Pastor Says Vandalism of Black Baptist Church is Spiritual Attack
Gordon Coleman, pastor Mount Vernon Missionary Baptist Church in Callaway County, Missouri, talked with Word&Way after vandals left massive damage on Wednesday to the Black Baptist church founded by enslaved people before the Civil War.
"Baptist Without an Adjective" Listen to more146. Ryan Burge on Religion, Politics, & the 2020 Election
Ryan Burge, assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University and pastor of First Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, talks with Word&Way Editor & President Brian Kaylor about religious voting trends in the 2020 election. He also discusses ministry during coronavirus and the rise of the nones. (This episode is sponsored in part…145. Starlette Thomas on the Raceless Gospel
Starlette Thomas, author, activist, and minister to empower congregations for the D.C. Baptist Convention, talks with Word&Way Editor & President Brian Kaylor about her work on the "raceless gospel." She also discusses politics, coronavirus, and lamenting. (This episode is sponsored in part by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.)144. Steve Harmon on Sources of Light
Steve Harmon, professor of historical theology at Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, talks with Word&Way Editor & President Brian Kaylor about his co-edited book Sources of Light: Resources for Baptist Churches Practicing Theology. He also talks about global dialogue between Catholics and Baptists. (This episode is sponsored in part by…
Baptist
Pastor Says Vandalism of Black Baptist Church is Spiritual Attack
Gordon Coleman, pastor Mount Vernon Missionary Baptist Church in Callaway County, Missouri, talked with Word&Way after vandals left massive damage on Wednesday to the Black Baptist church founded by enslaved people before the Civil War.
Mid-Missouri Black Baptist Church Vandalized
A historic Black Baptist church in mid-Missouri originally started by enslaved Blacks before the Civil War was hit by vandals Wednesday. The significant damage to Mount Vernon Missionary Baptist Church near Holts Summit in Callaway County is significant.
Two SBU Trustees Again Attack Word&Way
Two trustees at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri, continued their attacks on Word&Way for reporting about the two-year controversy involving the school and the Missouri Baptist Convention.
Nation
Deck the Halls? Not at the Illinois Capitol (Due to Coronavirus)
The coronavirus has extinguished some traditional holiday cheer at the Illinois Capitol. There will be no Christmas tree nor any holiday displays inside or outside the building.
Church Organization in Kansas, Oklahoma Pays Medical Debts
Medical debts totaling more than $5.2 million owed by more than 3,200 families in Kansas and Oklahoma have been paid through a project of the United Church of Christ Kansas-Oklahoma Conference, church officials said Tuesday.
Black Baptists Lead Anti-Coronavirus Effort with United Way
Black clergy leaders are joining forces with the United Way of New York City for a new initiative designed to combat the coronavirus’s outsized toll on African Americans through ramped-up testing, contact tracing and treatment management.
World
Palestinians May Limit Christmas Celebrations in Bethlehem
The Palestinian Health Ministry has recommended strict limits on Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem this year due to the coronavirus outbreak. Celebrations in the biblical town revered by Christians as Jesus’s birthplace are usually attended by thousands of people from around the world.
Pope Book Backs George Floyd Protests, Blasts Virus Skeptics
Pope Francis is supporting demands for racial justice in the wake of the U.S. police killing of George Floyd and is blasting COVID-19 skeptics and media organizations that spread their conspiracies in a new book penned during the Vatican’s coronavirus lockdown.
Germany Warns of Anti-Semitism Among Lockdown Protests
A German government official warned Tuesday (Nov. 24) that anti-Semitism is emerging as a common position among people protesting pandemic lockdown measures who otherwise come from widely differing political backgrounds.
Faith & Culture
Martin Luther’s Pandemic Advice Goes Viral — 500 Years Later
Luther's advice was the subject of a lunch-and-learn session hosted Friday on Zoom by Good Shepherd Church, a congregation in suburban Naperville affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Stay Home, Evangelical Medical Organization Tells Churches as COVID Spreads
The Christian Medical & Dental Associations is calling on churches to stop meeting in person and to move their services online. Church members can still read the Bible, sing hymns, and take part in online services from the safety of their homes.
How Law-and-Order Evangelicals Helped Shape Today’s Criminal Justice System
Evangelicals have largely championed the rise of mass incarceration, writes Aaron Griffith in his new book. They've also undertaken novel ministries to try to bring compassion, healing and conversion to those behind bars.
Scriptures in Pictures
2 Chronicles 13 or 1 Kings 22
As fighting continues between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, priests from the Armenian Apostolic Church conducted a blessing and baptism service for soldiers. Such images fit biblical stories. But is this 2 Chronicles 13 or 1 Kings 22?
Exodus 13:20-22 (in photos)
Exodus 13:20-22 as seen in photos of a caravan of about 10,000 indigenous Colombians traveling to the capital of Cali to express to President Ivan Duque their grievances about violence and government neglect.
Amos 5:16 (in photos)
Amos 5:16, as seen in photos from the National COVID-19 Remembrance, outside of the White House on Oct. 4, 2020. There were 20,000 empty chairs, each representing 10 Americans who have died from COVID-19.
Editorials
Powering the Engine
Editor Brian Kaylor reflects on the ministry and impact of Word&Way this year, and he expresses thanks to our readers and donors who helped make it all happen.
Unmasking Dangerous Religious Exemptions
As more cities and states consider enacting much-needed mask mandates during the growing coronavirus pandemic, Editor Brian Kaylor urges a healthy view of religious freedom that does not carve out unnecessary and dangerous exemptions.
The Voice of God
Editor Brian Kaylor reflects on the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, and the important role of Christians in bringing peace and the voice of God to a war-filled world.
W&W Voices
Letter to the Editor: MBC Meeting Apology
Robert Ingold writes a letter to the editor to offer a public apology concerning concerning allegations he made during the Missouri Baptist Convention annual meeting in October.
Project Thank You
With November being the month of Thanksgiving, there always seems to be a gratitude or thankfulness challenge that pops up on social media. Columnist Heather Feeler writes about trying a “thank you project.”
The Curious Angel Looks at Thanksgiving
Columnist Wade Paris explores the idea of gratitude by imagining a conversation between a curious angel and God as they peek in on several people on Thanksgiving Day.
Other Opinions
In a Year of Waiting & Hoping, Advent Reminds Us Patience Can Be Healthy
Our consumer society’s dependence on instant gratification has infected our religious practice. Advent comes with a countervailing message: Expect God to show up in unexpected places, like a subway car, a Zoom call, or a stable.
Liberty University Football Team Realizes Falwell’s Winning Vision, But at What Cost?
Liberty University has long bragged about being one of America’s largest Christian colleges, but this year, even after suffering its first loss by one point on Saturday, it can also boast about its nationally ranked football team. But to get there,
Evangelical Christians Once Were Saved. After Trump, They’re Lost.
Trump did more than capture White evangelical Christians’ votes: He in many ways became the face of White evangelicalism. But when White Christians fail to stand in solidarity with Black people and immigrants, there is really nothing Christlike about our