Posts tagged Bobby Ross Jr.
🍼 ‘In God’s Timing’: 2 Adoptions, 31 Years Apart 🔌

In 1982, a 3-month-old girl named Rebecca became the 13th child adopted through Lifeline Children’s Services. The Birmingham, Alabama, nonprofit — launched the previous year — grew out of an evangelical crisis pregnancy ministry called Sav-a-Life.

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📕 He Bought A Book For 50 Cents: It Turned Out To Be A ‘Crown Jewel’ 🔌

In the early 1960s, Ron Bever paid 50 cents — roughly $5.34 in today’s dollars — for an old religious book at an estate sale. A rare books enthusiast, even Bever didn’t realize at first what a treasure he’d acquired.

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🇫🇷 Love In Many Languages: Diverse Christians Connect In Mediterranean Melting Pot 🔌

God and Google can bring people together in any language. A diverse group of Christians connected on a recent Sunday in Marseille, France.

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🎃 Inside The Halloween Tailgating Trend Gaining Popularity At Houses Of Worship 🔌

Trunk-or-treating — aka Halloween tailgating — is a growing trend in houses of worship and elsewhere. Plug-in delves into the history of the events as well as why not everyone is a fan.

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⚠️ Warning: Baptisms, Funerals And Giant Fish Can Be Hazardous To Preachers’ Health 🔌

On lists of most dangerous jobs, professions such as logger, roofer and lineman rank high. Preacher? Not so much. But serving the Lord can be — at least occasionally — difficult on one’s physical health, as David Duncan, Randy Roper and Trey Morgan discovered.

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🚜 Off The Beaten Path: It’s Where To Find Some Of The Best Faith Stories 🔌

A reporting trip to middle-of-nowhere western Idaho got our Weekend Plug-in columnist thinking about the speck-on-the-map places that chasing stories takes him.

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🎬 ‘The Chosen’ Films The Crucifixion: How It’ll Be Different From Mel Gibson’s ‘Passion’ 🔌

Next year, a new feature-length presentation of the Crucifixion will hit the big screen. It’ll mark the culmination of the much-anticipated Season 6 of the worldwide phenomenon “The Chosen.” What should viewers expect? Will it be similar to — or different from — “The Passion” version?

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✝️ Forgiving Kirk’s Killer: Grieving Widow, Trump Offer Differing Theologies 🔌

At Charlie Kirk’s memorial service, the theology of forgiveness marked his grieving widow Erika Kirk’s remarks. But President Trump — who spoke after her — offered a different perspective,

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⚾️ Home Runs Are Nice, But These MLB Players Pursue A Higher Calling 🔌

For years, MLB teams such as the Detroit Tigers and the San Diego Padres have boosted ticket sales by appealing to evangelical Christians. Sunday’s Faith and Family Night marked a first for the Rangers — at least in several years — as Texas joined the growing trend of franchises organizing such events.

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🇺🇦 As War Drags On, Ukrainian-Born Christian Keeps Serving Refugees In Alaska 🔌

At first Zori Opanasevych thought her ministry to serve Ukrainian refugees might last a few months. But more than three years later, she’s still at it — leading the nonprofit arm of a Pentecostal church that helped more than 1,300 people fleeing the war resettle in Alaska.

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🛢️ Detour To A Culture War: Chicken, Dumplings And Food For Thought At Cracker Barrel 🔌

Cracker Barrel became the latest company engulfed in a culture war after announcing a new logo — and then reversing course amid criticism from everyone from President Donald Trump to the Democratic Party.

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🏈 How A Prominent National College Football Writer Became A Small-Town Pastor 🔌

George Schroeder loves college football. He just loves Jesus more. After over a quarter-century as a sportswriter, Schroeder found a new calling in ministry.

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📰 ‘Our Job Is Not To Cover Up Sin’: Reporter Jerry Mitchell On Faith And Journalism 🔌

Legendary journalist Jerry Mitchell reflects on faith and journalism. “The church is supposed to take care of sin,” Mitchell says. “We’re not supposed to wink at it or cover it up.”

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🗞️ My 35 Years In Full-Time Journalism: What’s Changed And What Hasn’t 🔌

Weekend Plug-in columnist Bobby Ross Jr. reflects on his 35 years in full-time journalism. It started with the editor of a small-town Oklahoma newspaper taking a chance on him.

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🏈 ‘God, Why Me?’: Deion Sanders Never Asked That While Battling Cancer 🔌

Deion Sanders can’t — or won’t — stop talking about the Lord. Especially now. This week, Colorado’s head football coach mentioned God and faith at least three dozen times during a 40-minute news conference to discuss his private battle with bladder cancer.

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📺 ‘Like Losing A Friend’: Why Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s Death Hit Gen Xers So Hard 🔌

Oh no, not Theo. That was the first thought of millions of Generation Xers when the news broke this week of Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s accidental drowning death in Costa Rica at age 54. Here’s why “The Cosby Show” actor was so influential and beloved.

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Welcome Back, Carter: Faith Helps Texas Rangers’ ‘Little Savior’ Overcome Setbacks

Evan Carter helped the Texas Rangers win the World Series in 2023. But Carter — still just 22 — has faced multiple challenges over the past two seasons. He talked to Religion Unplugged about his journey as a ballplayer and, more importantly, as a person of deep Christian faith. “Baseball is what I do, but I try and not make it, as the cliché goes, who I am,” he said.

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⛪️ Conviction And Controversy: Pastor John MacArthur’s Legacy 🔌

When a high-profile religious leader dies, it’s always fascinating to see what words various news organizations choose to encapsulate that person. Such is the case with this week’s passing of the Rev. John MacArthur — after his hospitalization for pneumonia — at age 86.

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⛈️ Grief And Guilt: Parents Who’ve Lost Children Feel The Pain Of Texas Flooding Deaths 🔌

The grief. The guilt. The giant fog. Matt Collins can’t help but experience the catastrophic Texas flooding — especially the deaths of children in a sudden natural disaster — through a deeply personal lens.

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💙 Hoops and Healing: Why The Thunder’s First NBA Title Means So Much To OKC 🔌

Why did the Oklahoma City Thunder winning the NBA title mean so much to our Weekend Plug-in columnist — just a casual fan? It’s simple: This is about much more than basketball, y’all.

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