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) COVID-19 rages on.

So does the pandemic’s big impact on American religion.

From in-person attendance declining to pastors burning out, here are four related trends to watch:

1. Churches changed during the pandemic and many aren’t going back (by Janet Adamy, Wall Street Journal)

“The number of churchgoers has steadily dropped in the U.S. over the past few decades,” Adamy reports. “But Covid-19 and its lockdown restrictions accelerated that fall. In-person church attendance is roughly 30% to 50% lower than it was before the pandemic, estimates Barna Group, a research firm that studies faith in the U.S.”

2. Why the minichurch is the latest trend in American religion (by Bob Smietana, Religion News Service)

Smietana profiles a small church in Wisconsin, noting, “Cornerstone is part of the fastest-growing group of congregations in America: the minichurch. According to the recently released Faith Communities Today study, half of the congregations in the United States have 65 people or fewer, while two-thirds of congregations have fewer than 100.”

3. The pastors aren’t all right: 38% consider leaving ministry (by Kate Shellnutt, Christianity Today)

“Pastoral burnout has worsened during the pandemic,” Shellnutt explains. “A Barna Group survey released (this week) found that 38 percent of pastors are seriously considering leaving full-time ministry, up from 29 percent in January.”

See related coverage from the Washington Times’ Mark A. Kellner.

4. Most churches find financial stability in 2021 (by Aaron Earls, Lifeway Research)

“Emerging from the pandemic, most churches don’t seem to be underwater financially, but many are treading water,” Earls reports.

“Around half of U.S. Protestant pastors say the current economy isn’t really having an impact on their congregation, according to a Lifeway Research study. The 49% who say the economy is having no impact on their church marks the highest percentage since Lifeway Research began surveying pastors on this issue in 2009.”

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. His reasons for opposing Trump were biblical. Now a top Christian editor is out: For me, editor-in-chief Marvin Olasky and the evangelical Christian magazine World have always been synonymous.

Not anymore.

New York Times media columnist Ben Smith outlines how a clash over culture and politics (think Trump) has led to the resignations of Olasky and other key World staff members, including senior editor Mindy Belz.

At Religion News Service, Bob Smietana writes that Olasky “survived Trump as World magazine editor. But not the hot takes.”

Independent journalist Julie Roys offers more details on the World staff upheaval, and GetReligion’s Terry Mattingly weighs in, too.

2. Catholic bishops approve Communion guidelines, avoid rebuking Biden, other politicians: “In an overwhelming show of support, U.S. Catholic bishops voted Wednesday in favor of issuing a new document regarding the importance of Holy Communion — although the text did not single out President Joe Biden or other Catholic politicians as being unworthy of receiving the sacrament because they favor abortion rights,” ReligionUnplugged.com’s own Clemente Lisi reports.

Check out additional coverage from Baltimore from The Associated Press’ Peter Smith, the New York Times’ Ruth Graham, the Washington Post’s Michelle Boorstein and Religion News Service’s Jack Jenkins.

3. 'An emotional rollercoaster': Julius Jones' spiritual advisor discusses their latest meeting: The Oklahoman’s faith editor, Carla Hinton, talks to the spiritual advisor for Jones, an Oklahoma inmate who received a reprieve from Gov. Kevin Stitt hours before his scheduled execution Thursday.

The case made national news. In my time with The Oklahoman, I covered Jones’ arrest in 1999.

BONUS: “Diapers save a lot more babies than ultrasounds,” says Tere Haring, a Texas woman who sees it as her Catholic duty to help women who decide not to get abortions.

The Washington Post’s Casey Parks profiles Haring in a piece praised by GetReligion’s Julia Duin.

Also at the Post, Stephanie McCrummen writes about how “evangelical women in Texas are mobilizing for a future without abortion.”

More Top Reads

• In the shadow of the Holocaust, a Jewish community begins to take root (by Ian Lovett, Wall Street Journal)

• The growing battle over ‘woke religion’ (by Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News)

• ‘I thank the God of our weary years’ (by Audrey Jackson, Christian Chronicle)

• Agape Conference discusses how to bridge racial divide in America’s churches (by Frank Lockwood, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

• The Christian peacemaker who left a trail of trauma (by Daniel Silliman, Christianity Today)

• Exploring faith and Black churches in America (by Adelle M. Banks, Pew Trust magazine)

• Is that kosher? Rabbis debate plant-based ‘pork’ (by Dov Lieber, Wall Street Journal)

• The first time he died, it changed his life. Then he got shot in front of his church (by Erika D. Smith, Los Angeles Times)

• Darryl Strawberry: In ministry for 17 years now, here's how he views post-baseball life (by Justin Toscano, NorthJersey.com)

• Ahead of the holidays, Christian charities plan around supply chain holdups (by Ericka Andersen, Christianity Today)

• Call to remove Black pastors adds to agony in Arbery’s town (by Jeffrey Collins and Jay Reeves, Associated Press)

Inside The Godbeat: Behind The Bylines

Michael J. O’Loughlin, national correspondent for the Catholic magazine America, has written a new book, “Hidden Mercy: AIDS, Catholics and the Untold Stories of Compassion in the Face of Fear.”

O’Loughlin shared the book with Pope Francis, and Francis sent back a positive reply.

The journalist reflects on the pope’s response in a guest essay for the New York Times.

Charging Station: In Case You Missed It

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

• Roe V. Wade is already weakened — will this Supreme Court deal the final blow? (by Kenneth Pybus and Bobby Ross Jr.)

• As bishops focus on communion, Biden and pope, are there bigger issues? (by Terry Mattingly)

• Communion conundrum: 3 Things to watch for at the fall USCCB meetings (by Clemente Lisi)

• Latter-day Saints address their church's history of polygamy and 'plural marriage' (by Richard Ostling)

• Q&A with Rev. Gary Mason: Faith on the peace lines of Northern Ireland (by Brie Loskota)

• Michigan anti-abortion demonstrators to doctor: ‘One day you will be judged’ (by Bobby Ross Jr.)

• In 'King Richard,' Venus and Serena Williams' father takes too much credit (by Jillian Cheney)

• FaithTech uses the IT crowd for spiritual help, not just technical (by Shannon Cuthrell)

The Final Plug

Here is a tweet to help you finish the week with a smile on your face:

Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend. Plug-in will take a Thanksgiving break, but I hope to see you back in this same space in two weeks.

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.