by Justin Cox | Oct 28, 2026 | Opinion
I did not grow up around churches that blessed animals. The closest I saw was my grandmother letting loose a loud “Jesus Christ!” when Max, our thunder-shy German Shepherd, dashed inside her house during a heavy storm. For her and my grandfather, animals had a...
by Justin Cox | Oct 15, 2026 | Opinion
It weren’t nothing but an egg. A deviled one at that. The line was long in the church fellowship hall. I was one of three pastors scrambling around. The Baptists, Lutherans, and Presbyterians decided to get together to eat. Our congregations share a neighborhood, and...
by Justin Cox | Sep 29, 2026 | Opinion
“There’s no AC in the sanctuary.” That’s what the text said. The church administrator sent it to me. She’d also included the chair of the building and grounds committee in the group chat. “Helluva time for it to give out,” I wrote back. Summer in North Carolina can...
by Justin Cox | Aug 26, 2026 | Opinion
Southerners are known for our ability to turn a phrase. We have certain sayings and expressions. Many have made their way into the larger culture. “Bless your heart.” “Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.” “He’s slower than molasses.” I know such things intimately....
by Justin Cox | Jul 29, 2026 | Opinion
Joy is a word you don’t hear much anymore. Talk of it in recent years feels almost foreign. My tongue needs practice to form it. I believe it’s easy to feel this way when you wake daily in a country where an administration seems hell-bent on overthrowing the last...
