Jim Bakker & His Church Settle Lawsuit Over COVID-19 Claims
Jim Bakker and his southwestern Missouri church will pay restitution of $156,000 to settle a lawsuit that accuses the TV pastor of falsely claiming a health supplement could cure COVID-19.
Is it Safe to Sing at Church Yet? Depends Who You Ask.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s newest guidance about masks was about individuals; its advice for “communities of faith” has not been updated since Feb. 19 and currently does not mention singing.
Unmasking the Pandemic
The mask debates reflect how a serious illness has infected Jesus’s followers in a way that is killing our churches. This disease existed before the pandemic, but our experiences with COVID-19 have exacerbated the severity of the sickness.
Houses of Worship Grapple with the Vaxxed & Unvaxxed Divide
Worship online just isn't the same, even after a year of getting used to it. Yet widespread vaccinations haven't resolved all the questions of how to gather again, despite the eagerness of congregants to see each other again. Read full piece
Pentecost Sunday Brings ‘Fresh Hope for New Beginnings’ as Pandemic Eases
As this year’s Pentecost celebration approaches for congregations, the Spirit arrives as a yearlong pandemic hopefully draws towards an end. But emerging from the pandemic can be even more complicated and controversial for churches than their first responses to it.
What Will Become of Sunday School?
While much worry has been expressed about whether people will come back to church in general, we probably should be concerned particularly about whether people will come back to small groups at church. Read full piece
For Some Pastors, the Past Year was a Sign from God it was Time to Quit
The last eighteen months or so have been difficult for pastors. Already stretched with the day-to-day concerns of running a congregation at a time when organized religion is on the decline, they’ve increasingly found that the divides facing the nation have made their way inside
Do People Become More Religious in Times of Crisis?
Traumatic events are, at their heart, crises of meaning that cause people to question assumptions about their lives, including their spiritual beliefs. The years 2020 and 2021 certainly fit that bill.
Americans Return to In-Person Church with Emotion — & Uncertainty About the Future of Worship
The wave of vaccinations in recent weeks is bringing some back to experience fellowship after the pandemic upended their spiritual life Read full piece
Faith, Freedom, Fear: Rural America’s Covid Vaccine Skeptics
Resistance is widespread in white, Republican communities like this one in Appalachia. But it’s far more complicated than just a partisan divide. Read full piece