Weekend Plug-in 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Got feedback or ideas for this column? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com.

(ANALYSIS) Did he or didn’t he?

That question intrigued top religion reporters — from CNN’s Daniel Burke to the Washington Post’s Sarah Pulliam Bailey — this past week.

All wanted to know if Eric Metaxas, a leading evangelical supporter of President Donald Trump, really punched an anti-Trump protester while leaving the White House last week.

Originally, I planned to highlight coverage by various media, from Religion News Service to World magazine to the American Conservative’s Rod Dreher.

But then Religion Unplugged’s own Paul Glader solved the mystery Thursday, getting confirmation from Metaxas himself about the punch.

“It just happened,” Metaxas told Glader in an email that offered more details.

Read the full scoop.

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. Questions about QAnon: The apocalyptic internet movement “is gaining followers by the thousands, and churches are slow to respond,” Emily Belz reports in a cover story for the evangelical magazine World.

Belz offers an insightful look at the movement while noting that Christians she interviewed “wanted to make sure their loved ones were portrayed with compassion and respect.”

2. Kenosha prayer vigil at ELCA church calls for confession, lament and justice for Jacob Blake: Out of necessity, much news reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic occurs via telephone, email and Zoom.

But it’s helpful when journalists can report from the scene — as Emily McFarland Miller, a Chicago-based national correspondent for Religion News Service, demonstrates with her colorful, detailed report from Wisconsin.

Also, check out Milwaukee Journal Sentinel religion writer Sophie Carson’s story on people in Kenosha turning to faith and art to start healing from a violent, destructive week.

3. A white mom marched alone to say ‘Black lives matter.’ Her Black son urged her to do more: Officially, Jaweed Kaleem is a former religion reporter for the Miami Herald and the Huffington Post.

But still, Kaleem — a national correspondent for the Los Angeles Times — keeps finding compelling religion angles. His latest dispatch highlights the role of faith in the story of a Black son and a White mother:

Mother and son are bound by love and a shared belief in grace that has grown strong through countless Bible studies and Sunday services. But that bond does not always calm the raised voices in the living room that come when discussing race.

More Top Reads

• Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo defends decision to host campaign for Kyle Rittenhouse (by Roxanne Stone, Religion News Service)

• Shelter in place? She’s been doing that inside a Colorado church for more than three years (by David Kelly, Los Angeles Times)

• Schools may not open to students this fall, but churches might — for remote learning (by G. Jeffrey MacDonald, RNS)

• American Christianity’s white-supremacy problem (by Michael Luo, New Yorker)

• Photos: Around the world, faith in the summer of COVID-19 (by The Associated Press)

• On the front lines, some pro-life activists think twice about supporting Trump (by Daniel Silliman, Christianity Today)

• A chaplain’s journal chronicles a pandemic's private wounds (by Chris Kenning, Louisville Courier-Journal)

• Inside the Democratic and Republican parties’ very different appeals to people of faith (by Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News)

• The night that broke Jim Gaffigan, the 'clean' Catholic comedian (by Brian Roewe, National Catholic Reporter)

• What happens when pandemic locks down a globe-trotting pope? (by Nicole Winfield, AP)

• God Is dead. So Is the office. These people want to save both (by Nellie Bowles, New York Times)

Inside The Godbeat: Behind The Bylines

Kelsey Dallas, national religion reporter for the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, delivered the best personal news this week. Literally.

Dallas, whose outstanding journalism is cited frequently in this column (including this week), gave birth to a precious baby boy Monday.

Congrats to her and her husband!

Charging Station: In Case You Missed It

Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from Religion Unplugged.

• One GOP endorsement that Georgia's Rep. Greene will not get (by Dave Schechter)

• Letters urge Orthodox to ‘vote as Jews, not partisans' (by Dave Schechter)

• Like Uber for mosques, new website connects Muslims to Islamic services (by Meagan Clark)

• Evangelical leaders talk COVID-19 restrictions and religious freedom (by Meagan Clark and Mattie Townson)

• Old news in Turkey: What does Islam teach about turning Christian churches into mosques? (by Richard Ostling)

• In Kenya and South Africa, church leaders condemn theft of COVID-19 funds (by Tom Osanjo)

• Should churches like John MacArthur's resist COVID-19 restrictions? (by Paul Marshall)

• Rev. Al Sharpton leads March on Washington against police brutality (by Hamil R. Harris)

• Freethought Caucus in U.S. House reflects the political potential of the non-religious (by Richard Ostling)

• Christian women are fighting immigrant family separations (by Micah Danney)

• India opens pellet fire on Muslim procession for first time (by Zaffar Iqbal)

The Final Plug

Last December, I covered the deadly shooting at the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas, west of Fort Worth.

This week, I reported on that church making an emotional return to its newly renovated worship center.

“When you first walk in, it’s almost overwhelming,” said Glenda White, whose husband was one of two church members killed in the shooting.

Bobby Ross Jr. is a columnist for Religion Unplugged and editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 15 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.