Weekend Plug-in 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com.

(ANALYSIS) In 2018, I was blessed to visit Haiti with an American mission team and write about a Christian humanitarian aid organization that drills water wells around the world.

I keep thinking about that trip — and the amazing people I met — as I read about the latest turmoil facing that Caribbean island nation.

This week, I hand off the top part of my column to ReligionUnplugged’s managing editor, Meagan Clark. She found an interesting detail about the self-described pastor accused in the Haitian president’s assassination: 

By Meagan Clark

An American suspect in Haiti’s presidential assassination, Christian Emmanuel Sanon, 63, was arrested at his gated home in Port-au-Prince by Haitian police last week.

Sanon identifies himself on social media as a “Medical Doctor and Christian Minister.”  The Sun Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, may have been the first to unearth that Sanon did not have a license to practice medicine in Florida. At ReligionUnplugged, we wondered about his faith background, credentials and motivations.

The New York Times, TIME and others reported that Sanon attended Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, citing the Florida Baptist Historical Society. But when I called Midwestern, the registrar’s office said the school has no records of Sanon ever attending, online or in-person.

A Florida Baptist Society representative told ReligionUnplugged that Sanon wrote in a biographical profile of himself that he attended Midwestern, and the society relies on honesty to compile its biographies. The representative said that in fact, the society has since learned that Sanon attended a training course that Midwestern sponsored, not the seminary itself. The Florida Baptist Society has updated its website.

Sanon pastored Tabarre Evangelical Tabernacle in Haiti, The Associated Press reported, citing 2013 U.S. bankruptcy records and an unnamed friend of Sanon’s. That church apparently does not have an online presence.

That friend also said Sanon was approached by people he believed were U.S. officials who would arrest the former president, not kill him. The AP also reported that Sanon helped on faith-based humanitarian projects in Haiti, including serving as president of the organization Rome Haiti that sent supplies after the 2010 earthquake.

The Washington Post reported that Sanon presented plans to turn Haiti into “a free and open society” and then obtained a private security force to protect him until he became Haiti’s president. Sanon was to eventually pay for the security using the country’s assets, and Sanon obtained more than $860,000 in loans for ammunition, transportation, accommodations and more, according to draft plans the Post obtained.

The police investigation may offer up more details, but in the meantime, we wonder: Was Sanon duped and ignorant of the murder plot? Is Sanon a faithful man of God? Was he using the social status of a pastor to further his plans to assume the presidency?

Stay tuned. 

Thank you, Meagan!

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. Among Mormon women, frank talk about sacred underclothes: Have we mentioned lately that the Godbeat is never boring?

Enter New York Times religion writer Ruth Graham with an insightful story on the undergarments worn by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Women, the Times reports, are venting “their frustrations with the holy apparel: itchy hems, bunchy seams, pinching waistbands and even chronic yeast infections caused by fabric that does not breathe.”

2. Wally Funk’s church celebrates her Blue Origin spaceflight: ‘What an inspiration she’s been to us all’: National reporter Emily McFarlan Miller is a key piece (along with Jack Jenkins) of Religion News Service’s unofficial “Religion in Space” team.

Miller’s feature on the home church of Funk — the 82-year-old pilot who this week became the oldest person in space — is a delightful read.

Equally fascinating: Jennifer Graham’s Deseret News piece on “God, space and Jeff Bezos.” (Hint: There wasn’t much God).

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo as an Orthodox Christian and star of the 2021 NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks: ReligionUnplugged’s own Paul Glader delves into the faith of the player who led the Bucks to their first NBA title in 50 years.

Meanwhile, Terry Mattingly highlights “the life-and-death challenges that have tested the faith of Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams.”

One final NBA note: Associated Press basketball writer Tim Reynolds explains why a little-known Christian college is getting some of the credit for the Bucks’ memorable season.

BONUS: I didn’t know when I asked Christian Chronicle correspondent Deana Nall to report on a Church of Christ minister charged with state and federal sex crimes that she had experienced abuse herself.

Nall not only did an excellent job of covering the news, but she opened up about the night church stopped being her safe place.

More Top Reads

• Case of high-ranking cleric allegedly tracked on Grindr app poses Rorschach test for Catholics (by Marisa Iati and Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post)

• Georgia church loses pastor, then its assets, to regional UMC leaders (by Jeremy Steele, Christianity Today)

• How a book about evangelicals, Trump and militant masculinity became a surprise bestseller (by Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Washington Post)

• The religious leaders on the front lines of mental health (by Clare Ansberry, Wall Street Journal)

• Seemingly safe GOP incumbents under attack from right wing (by Sean Murphy, Associated Press)

• Thousands gather in California for unveiling of Lady of La Vang shrine (by Alejandra Molina, Religion News Service)

• As pope restricts Latin Mass, some Boston Catholics respond with praise, some with frustration (by Jack Lyons, Boston Globe)

• David Platt’s dreams for McLean Bible Church sour as members file lawsuit over elder vote (by Bob Smietana, RNS)

• U.S. churches reckon with traumatic legacy of Native schools (by Peter Smith, AP)

• These churches are done with buildings. Here’s why (by Mya Jaradat, Deseret News)

• 3 generations, 8 families: what the condo collapse took from a church (by Evelyn Blackwell, New York Times)

• Two Orthodox Jewish pitching prospects juggle baseball, religion (by Mark A. Kellner, Washington Times)

• Missouri church leaders implore congregants: Get vaccinated (by Jim Salter, AP)

Inside The Godbeat: Behind The Bylines

The American Academy of Religion has announced the winners of its 2021 best in-depth reporting on religion contest.

Jaweed Kaleem of the Los Angeles Times won first place, followed by Jeff Sharlet of Vanity Fair and Adelle Banks of Religion News Service.

Charging Station: In Case You Missed It

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

• Pope Francis documentary offers broad overview of life and papacy, emphasizes role of the Holy Spirit (by Jillian Cheney)

• An Iraq War law invites presidential overreach. Americans of faith are rallying to repeal it (by Julia Gledhill)

• South African clerics trace bloody looting frenzy to ‘a wounded society’ (by Cyril Zenda)

• Resignations, turmoil, continue at Piper’s Bethlehem Baptist church (Steve Rabey)

• New Roberto Baggio biopic doesn't shy away from soccer star’s Buddhist faith (by Clemente Lisi)

• A guide to Olympians of faith competing in 2020 Tokyo Games (by Liza Vandenboom Ashley)

• What happens to faith when religious leaders die from COVID-19? (by Cyril Zenda)

• The world’s largest Muslim organization just honored Evangelicals (Paul Marshall)

• Ugandan clergy: internet tax prevents access to online church in lockdown (John Semakula)

• Flowers and the First Amendment: once again, the Supreme Court elects to punt (by Terry Mattingly))

• New Roberto Baggio biopic doesn't shy away from soccer star’s Buddhist faith (by Clemente Lisi)

• Any kind of turnaround for 'mainline' Protestantism would be big news, but is it true? (by Richard Ostling)

• Yiddish music is resurging in the Weimar square Hitler frequented (by Ken Chitwood)

The Final Plug

“Baby, Baby,” I can’t think of a better way to end this week’s column.

Religion News Service national reporter Bob Smietana interviews Amy Grant at the the 30th anniversary of her “Heart in Motion” album.

“I look at my journey of faith and think, there were times I felt smarter and more together,” Grant tells Smietana. “And now I mostly think about thankfulness and a whole lot of grace.”

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.