Opinion
Governments Won’t Do Right Thing for Vulnerable
The US should not be trading with countries that do not meet minimum standards for fighting human trafficking. Sadly, we can’t count on governments to do the right thing for vulnerable people. We can only control our own actions.
4 Ways You Can Help with Migrant Crisis
While the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says people have the right to flee their country to seek a safe place to live, it also means countries like the US have the responsibility to accept them. Here are 4 ways you can help.
Have Yourself a Petty Little Christmas – Or Not
While many suffer from unmet basic needs during this pandemic-ridden year, the Liberty Counsel’s great concern is that ‘Christian’ shoppers steer their dollars to merchants who might reflect their bigotry and pettiness.
Joy and Justice: Two Sides of Same Coin
Joy and justice have become two necessary sides of the same coin in this unforgettable year. This Advent, ask yourself how we might create a world that is more joyous and just for ourselves, our community and for others.
Nationality: Your Right to Belong in This World
Nationality is the right on which all other rights hinge, telling the world where you belong. But more than 10 million people in the world are denied this right. History has been severe to those robbed of their right to nationality.
No Room for Debate: Trans People Have Rights
Maybe it’s acceptable to argue about whether or not pineapple belongs on pizza or which Star Trek franchise is the best. However, when it comes to human rights, including trans rights, there’s simply no room for debate.
Do We Observe Human Rights or Practice Hypocrisy?
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights contains lofty words that affirm the dignity and equality of all humans, but those words aren’t matching our actions. Until those lofty words do, they amount to blatant hypocrisy.
Advent – A Divided Nation’s Time for Choosing
Our nation faces a choice between two ways of understanding who we are as a people and seeing our move toward a future. Advent presents us with an invitation to choose among the voices calling for our attention and our allegiance.
Government Must Compromise, Respect Others
We have become a government of deadlock, gridlock and stalemate over the last 20 years. No one has been willing to compromise, budge or give in order to get. We need to learn to compromise and respect others’ perspectives.
Look Back | 5 Ways to Teach Kids Art of Civil Discourse
How can you help your children to share their thoughts with gentleness and respect in a culture that seems to have no room for healthy public discourse? These five steps can help give the next generation the tools they need.
An Old-New Mission Field Many Churches Ignore
Older adults have gifts to give to a church’s life and outreach. Some also have needs, including isolation, loneliness, frailty and food insecurity. Older adults are a booming population, but many churches ignore this ministry.
Friendship as Antidote to Loneliness – Part 3
No sane person would say they don’t want any friends, but many people who say they have lots of friends actually have none. Making true friends is an intentional process. Here are three steps to help you find friends.
The Tracks We Leave Behind
We all leave tracks in people’s lives. Whether they look like smiles or sorrows, strength or scars is entirely up to us. And you may have to clean up some muddy tracks first, but it’s never too late to start.
The Bible Doesn’t Tell Me So
The Bible does not support the abuse of anyone, yet those men who manipulate and abuse their wives can make it say just about anything. They have weaponized the Bible, using it to harm and not to heal.
Friendship as Antidote to Loneliness – Part 2
Pursuing romance is easy compared to the pursuit of friendship. To develop true friendships requires effort; it takes time and intelligent practice. Sadly, many people never begin that journey, going through life in isolation.
Donald Trump Goes to Church Every Sunday
President Donald Trump may be golfing most Sundays, but his presence in America’s churches will be felt for a long, long time. While his glowing face may not appear among the worshippers, he is most assuredly there.
When Righteousness and Peace Kiss
The text for the second Sunday of Advent – the week the Peace candle is lit – sends mixed messages of comfort and dismay, restoration and destruction, and the hope for renewal against a grim backdrop of inevitable dissolution.
Friendship as Antidote to Loneliness – Part 1
Many of us have few true friends we can count on. Even in marriage, many couples live essentially alone together, rearing children, supporting each other’s life goals. but never approaching the intimacy a friendship can hold.
SCOTUS Ruling Not a Religious Freedom Victory
The recent Supreme Court ruling wasn’t a victory for religious freedom because the case wasn’t ultimately about the right to gather or the right to worship. It was all about money.
Emerging Voices | A Problem in Women’s Bible Studies
Society has conditioned women to constantly compare themselves to others and always come up short. Even our typical women’s Bible studies don’t help because they can reinforce the very patterns they are trying to erode.
Gratitude is Just the Beginning
While it’s important to be thankful, we could benefit from spending less time counting the blessings we enjoy and more time remembering those who suffered the most in making such benisons possible.
How Flexible Are Your Family’s Rituals?
Rituals begin as convenience or habit, eventually acquiring and bestowing authority and legitimacy. The longer a ritual is performed, the less flexible it becomes; any change is threatening. After all, we’ve always done it that way!
Share, Record Your Family Stories This Holiday
The National Day of Listening is the Friday after Thanksgiving. This holiday, get in touch with older family members and provide space for them to tell the family stories as you record them. Our stories bind us together.
Goodbye, Granddad
Herbert Maxwell Sheffield, my grandfather, passed away last week from complications related to COVID-19. Born in 1926, he grew up with the conviction never to let his family go hungry. He was the greatest man I have ever known.
Facing Some Early-Morning Choices
Early to bed, early to rise makes one – ever more susceptible to infomercials and local news seeking to keep viewers from changing channels. While the coffee brews, some early-morning channel surfing reveals not a lot to watch.
Bringing Your Crumpled Hope to Advent
Even as we have pieced together safe ways to gather as the people of God during the pandemic, it doesn’t feel the same. As we enter the season of Advent, we need to find hope. It may be crumpled in the corner, but it’s there.
Sense of Smell Brings Memories of Joy, Grief
Broccoli casserole. Fresh pies. Newly popped bottles of wine. And mom’s bag she took to the hospital – with the clothes she never got to wear home. Smell is an amazing scent, transporting me back to precious memories of my mother.
What the ‘I Won’t Live in Fear’ Crowd Gets Wrong
Many won’t change their lifestyle during the pandemic because they refuse to live in fear. Their reasoning is rooted in the idea that God tells us to “fear not.” Their blind belief that nothing bad will happen to them is misplaced.
Emerging Voices | How to Stand in Solidarity with People of Color
God has called white Christians to stand in solidarity with their Black brothers and sisters instead of sitting on the sidelines. Many pastors want to minister to their congregants of color, but they do not know where to start.
How Prayer Can Help You with Despair
Prayer leads us to call upon God for help and comfort, sharpening our spirits in the time of suffering. While depression is often a chronic illness that’s tough to treat, prayer can help with the lesser evil of despair.