Low pay and benefits. Overly demanding leaders. Unrealistic expectations. Full-time ministry often doesn’t have the best reputation, contributing to a shortage of candidates to fill pulpit openings. John and Carla Moore began work at Bear Valley Bible Institute six years ago with a goal of reversing the trend.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Tragic reports about the killing of Nigerian Christians have become all too common. And the recent account of a Catholic priest being shot and burned alive in his church just before Christmas was particularly gruesome — in that same incident, 40 worshippers, including children, also lost their lives.
Read More(OPINION) Violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief, including in their most egregious manifestations, whether crimes against humanity, war crimes or even genocide, are not issues left behind in 2022, or in the past. The early days of 2023 already show that such violations will continue.
Read More(OPINION) Around the nation, in response to the life-threatening injury to Buffalo Bills football player Damar Hamlin, people prayed. Hamlin’s teammates and coaches prayed. Millions of fans joined in prayer, tweeting their support. Even on live TV, sports commentators stopped in the middle of their broadcast to pray. But this is only natural. During times of crisis, especially life and death crisis, people turn to God.
Read MoreA North Carolina church cheated out of more than $793,000 in funds it had raised to build a new sanctuary has set up a GoFundMe account to try to replace some of the stolen money. Elkin Valley Baptist Church lost the funds when cyber thieves compromised a staff member’s computer and intercepted an email from Landmark Construction.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Plus, as always, catch up on all the top headlines and best reads in the world of faith.
Read More(OPINION) Temple Grandin says that without a major shift in how we learn, one that values neurodivergent people and all visual thinkers, American innovation will be stifled. If you’re a Christian, that ought to be of interest to you.
Read More(FILM REVIEW) The seven-time Oscar-nominated movie “The Fabelmans” is Steven Spielberg’s reflection on his early family life and filmmaking aspirations. It’s also a reflection on his Jewish roots.
Read More(OPINION) Cardinal George Pell had no way to know, as he rose to preach during a spiritual retreat in southern Italy, that this was his last sermon — opening with the biblical cry, “Repent, because the Kingdom of God is near.”
Read More(OPINION) Provorov is just the latest example of this reverse bigoted, small-minded, judgmentalism which leaves us with only one ethical choice: We will continue to love our LGBTQ+ neighbor as ourselves and we will refuse to back down on our convictions regardless of cost or consequence. That’s what Jesus would have us do.
Read MoreTo a visitor entering the Northwest Church of Christ on a recent Sunday, the assembly might have sounded like the Day of Pentecost. Distinct voices praised God in English, Korean and Spanish — all at the same time.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Many Muslims today believe it is inappropriate to depict Muhammad, but it was not always so in the past. Debates about this subject within the Muslim community are ongoing. Within the academic world, this material is taught in a neutral and analytical way to help students assess and understand historical evidence.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The Catholic Church recently lost a giant. The recent death of Cardinal George Pell at age of 81 was the literal loss of a giant — he stood at a towering 6 feet, 6 inches. But he was also a man who attracted both controversy and consternation. Now his final words regarding what he thought about Pope Francis and the direction of the church have come into fuller view since his death.
Read More(OPINION) By coincidence, both party leaders in the U.S. House are now Baptists, a faith that outside the South has generally been underrepresented among the political elite. Catholics — think Nancy Pelosi, John Boehner, Paul Ryan — monopolized the speaker and minority leader posts for much of the 21st century.
Read More(OPINION) We’d prefer saints come wrapped in pure polished gold (or at least carved from alabaster), ready for mounting on a church shelf or a plinth in a public square. Sadly for us — and for our religious and civic saints, too — nobody, not even the greatest among us, navigates life on Earth without amassing dings, tarnish and cracks.
Read MoreIn Sikhism, a religion which originated in India about 500 years ago, unhealthy attachment is considered one of the five biggest sins. Therefore, alcoholism and drug addiction are discouraged. Despite this, the northern Indian state of Punjab, home to 16 million Sikhs, has struggled with substance abuse for decades.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the state of the anti-abortion movement 50 years after Roe v. Wade — and seven months after Roe’s overturning. Plus, as always, catch up on all the top headlines and best reads in the world of faith.
Read MoreThe Confessing Movement, a lay-led conservative Christian movement that pushed back against the influence of liberalism and progressivism in the United Methodist Church, has shut down in reaction to the recent launch of a new conservative Methodist denomination.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Ambrogio A. Caiani, in his book “To Kidnap a Pope: Napoleon and Pius VII,” tells the story of how Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII tussled over church versus state superiority and eventually ironed out a foundation of religious freedom whose effects Europe still enjoys today.
Read More(OPINION) After the Christmas season and before Lent, Orthodox priests have — for centuries — rushed to visit church members’ homes to bless them with prayers and splashes of holy water flung about with a foot-long brush or handfuls of basil.
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