Thank God for Nurses!
The World Health Organization has designated 2020 as “Year of the Nurse,” marking 200 years since the birth of Florence Nightingale, who “will forever be linked with modern nursing — and rightly so.”
White House Tells CDC to Butt Out of Religion
Preachers periodically inform congregations that the Ten Commandments are not the Ten Suggestions. As part of its coronavirus reopening plan, the CDC came up with a few dozen suggestions for faith communities. The White House has rejected them as commandments that infringe on religious rights.
The Tooth Fairy as an Essential Worker in a Child’s World of Wonder
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, adults and children alike have called on political leaders and health experts to address a concern: Is now a bad time to lose a tooth? I am delighted that our leaders have not mistaken childishness for triviality.
Before We Get ‘Back to Normal,’ We Need to Grieve and Pray
Like many pastors and church leaders around the world, I've been grieving the damage caused by COVID-19. Yet, God is at work. We are mindful of the promise in Paul's Letter to the Romans: “We know that all things work together for good for those
Gambling with Our Lives
As states across the country shut down non-essential businesses in March and April, debates started about what should count as essential. But one unessential business apparently remained open as “essential” across the country: state lotteries.
There’s a New Baptist Sex Abuser Database, but SBC Action Is Still Needed
For more than a decade, abuse survivor advocates have been asking the Southern Baptist Convention to establish a clergy predator database, and they've been confronted with a denomination determined to do nothing. A new Baptist sex abuser database has been launched at BaptistAccountability.org.
Just Because the Economy Is Reopening Doesn’t Mean Churches Should
No matter how we plan, people in disaster situations are notably bad at assessing risk and predictably overconfident about the control they have over their environment. Nor can church leaders control the behavior of whoever might walk in the door.
The Bible and the Newspaper
Karl Barth is widely regarded as the greatest (Protestant) Christian theologian of the twentieth century. Among a myriad of other things, Barth (1886~1968) is often credited with saying that people should hold the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.
What Is This Time Doing to You?
Dallas Willard once said, “Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” In addition to the crucial questions about health and safety, it might be even more important to ask these spiritual questions as
Worshipping and Performing in the Digital Age
As this pandemic changes the way we engage, perhaps permanently, with both physical and digital space, and as legions of artists now find themselves unable to gather, or rehearse, let alone perform, it’s worth asking what the next generation of art — whether literature, music