Recent Articles
Do You Need to Don Face Masks in Coronavirus Pandemic?
To don a mask or not to don a mask. First, the government claims they’re ineffective. Then, we’re told to wear them. So, did the government lie? What is going on here?
Will You Do What it Takes to Survive Coronavirus Exile?
We are in a coronavirus exile. Will we set aside our claims to privilege and instead identify with those who are suffering? Solidarity with the suffering always is the first step toward liberation, redemption and renewal.
April 17, 2019
One Church’s Tale of Two Pandemics, 100 Years Apart (Episcopal News Service) Whether It’s Celebrated by DC or Denied In NYC, Evangelical Proselytizing Isn’t in Quarantine (Religion Dispatches) Falwell Focuses on Critics as Coronavirus Cases Near His University Grow...
When Church Members Prefer Denying Reality to Seeking Truth
Truth is an important and frequently mentioned subject in the Scriptures, yet religious people often seem most easily manipulated by those denying reality. As religious leaders, we need to help congregants become seekers of truth.
Baptist News Global Names New Executive Director and Publisher
With more than two decades of experience in faith-based journalism, Mark Wingfield, associate pastor at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, has been named executive director and publisher at Baptist News Global. He begins July 1.
A Different Easter to Celebrate During Coronavirus War
Gone were the new outfits, the in-person Easter egg hunts, the gatherings for worship. We watched the worship service on computers, iPhones and iPads. It was a different Easter, but we were good soldiers in the coronavirus war.
4 Lessons When Domestic Terrorism Struck the Heartland
Twenty-five years ago, America awoke to the reality of domestic terrorism when 168 people were killed after a bomb destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. These four lessons are worth reflection.
April 16, 2020
Trump’s Darkness: White Supremacy, Christian Nationalism and the Coronavirus (Salon) US Christian Nationalism is Far From Christianity, Authors Argue (National Catholic Reporter) Department of Justice Backs Churches Defying COVID-19 Restrictions (National Review) New...
Remember the victims; recommit to peace
By John D. Pierce Sunday, April 19, marks the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City — that contained a childcare facility. The blast killed 168, including 19 children. Hundreds more were injured. That morning, local...
Inherited Stubborn Hope Will Pull You Through This Crisis
All of us are experiencing, and will continue to experience, grief from the lives lost and the hopes and dreams dashed because of the spread of COVID-19. But stubborn hope will pull us through when we least expect it.
Pandemic Grief | Speaking Comfort When the World is Crumbling
When the world is crumbling, everything is harder than it should be. Routines become more complicated; chores more stressful. The church has the awesome responsibility of proclaiming comfort, but not just any comfort.
‘Truth and Hope’
The prophetic tradition of truth-telling anchored in hope is exactly what we need in this particularly perilous time in which fear and uncertainly seek to rule our days. Walter Brueggemann’s timely new book hits the mark.
April 15, 2020
GOP Congressman Says Letting More Americans Die of Coronavirus is Lesser of Two Evils Compared to Economy Tanking (CNN) Pandemic Raises the Stakes in US’ Partisan Religious Divide (CNN) Pastors Sue California Governor Over Coronavirus Restrictions on Church Gatherings...
Why Some Use Coronavirus to Stoke Fear, Prejudice in Public
When tragedy strikes, people start to look for someone to blame for their woes. Even today, leaders are willing to use pandemics like COVID-19 to incite fear and prejudice in order to enact political and economic goals.
Reflecting on the Long and Winding Path of Today’s Theology
Theology is not a kind of esoteric knowledge possessed by a few superior intellectuals. Whenever and wherever anyone possesses faith – and seeks to understand its basis and structure – they are doing theology.
Confidence in Organized Religion Continues to Decline in US
Confidence in organized religion continues to decline among U.S. adults, with only 16% saying they had ‘a great deal of confidence’ in organized religion, ranking it ninth of the 11 institutions surveyed.
April 14, 2020
Gerald Glenn Dead, Evangelical Pastor Dies From Coronavirus Weeks After Holding Packed Church Service (Inquistr) Coronavirus in Kentucky: Some Pastors Refuse Orders to Self-Quarantine (Louisville Courier-Journal) Attorney General Carr Ready to Take ‘Action’ Against...
Your Church Doors May be Closed; You Can Still Open Your Hearts
As the COVID-19 pandemic has required many churches to close their doors, church members can still open their hearts by reaching out to support their local school districts as they make sure hungry kids are fed.
Your Work Carries Dignity but You’re Not Enslaved to It
From the beginning of the story we tell about ourselves, we are concerned about work. Aside from the respite that a weekly sabbatical brings, it says something about work. Our work carries dignity, but we are not enslaved to it.
US Christianity Sees Decline in Many Faith Expressions
US Christianity is seeing a continued decline in many expressions of faith, a report said. The number of practicing Christians as a percentage of the U.S. population has been in decline for most of the past decade.
April 13, 2020
There’s No Church, But It’s Still Easter and Christians are Celebrating (CNN) Pastor: The Global Crisis Hammers Home This Truth: People Matter More than Religion (The Guardian) Kansas Court Strikes Down GOP Measure Allowing In-Person Easter Church Services (Washington...
Guest blog: Where is God in the COVID-19 pandemic?
Editor’s note: This Good Friday guest blog is by my friend Benny McCracken, pastor of First Baptist Church of West Yellowstone, Montana. Where is God in the COVID-19 pandemic? By Benny McCracken To hearken back to my conservative roots: "God is on his throne...
April 10, 2020
Easter During the Coronavirus: Online Church Services, Dinner Delivery, Egg Hunts and More (Tampa Bay Tribune) Religious Leaders Warn Against Relaxing Social Distancing for Easter Holiday Amid Spike in Coronavirus Deaths (Chicago Tribune) Jimmy Carter’s Former Pastor...
Rediscovering Life
Our churches may be empty on Easter morning, but rediscovering life in a global pandemic might mean rediscovering the church’s mission. What if the church rediscovered the Jesus-model of working and relating within the world?
After Pandemic Passes, Some Things Must Not Go Back to Normal
Some things can’t return to normal at the end of the coronavirus pandemic. For starters, people need a living wage when they put their health at risk for us. And access to health care shouldn’t depend on whether you have a job.
This Lent Has Destroyed Your Illusion of Self-Sufficiency – Part 2
The pandemic has attacked the very illusions we live by. In short, we need one another. Not simply when we are faced with viral contagion. We are created for one another, to flourish together or not at all.
Pandemic Grief | Being the Church When the World is Crumbling
Being the church when the world is crumbling requires naming grief. Making space for, and doing the work of, naming grief is a necessary predecessor to almost everything else that a church can do.
April 9, 2020
National Security Officials Warn of White Supremacist Hate Groups Exploiting Coronavirus Pandemic (CNN) Kentucky Church Leader Vows to Hold Easter Service Evan After Getting Governor’s Stop Order (Louisville Journal) New York’s Massive Cathedral, Including Its Crypt,...
FAQ: Your Good Faith Media Questions Answered
Do you have questions about Good Faith Media? Find answers to many of your questions in this FAQ.
Lenten Lectionary | Easter 2020: Can Fear, Grief, Joy Coexist Together?
COVID-19 has taken a toll on us. How do we talk about resurrection and new life in a world where fear and grief seem to be the dominant emotional and mental states? Yet Easter reminds us fear and joy can coexist together.