Recent Articles
How People of Faith Can Respond to the Earthquake in Syria, Turkey
Ten days after the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, the voices of the thousands who remain buried under the rubble are becoming quiet. As the buried voices start fading away in silence, I wonder about our role in all this.
Why My Therapist is Wrong
A recent trip to my therapist ended with her making a statement that left me irritated. After further reflection, I felt mad about the assertion and told her this in our next session. Here is what she said – and why she is wrong.
February 20, 2023
Jimmy Carter, 39th US President, Enters Hospice Care at Home; Inside a Flint Pastor’s Unique Mission to Teach Black History; Georgia Lawmakers Want to Make West Hunter Street Baptist Church a National Historic Site (and more)
Sophia Said’s Interfaith Work Recognized by Arkansas Church
No sermon was preached at Second Baptist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Sunday, February 12. Instead, an award was presented to a Muslim woman. Sophia Said received 2BCLR’s Brooks Hayes Award.
Holy See, Stockholm Environment Institute Produce ‘Guide to Caring for Our Planet’
A new guide on environmental protection is the result of a collaboration between science and spirituality. “Our Common Home,” was created by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Stockholm Environment Institute.
Look Back | Giving Up Our Obliviousness to Racism for Lent
It is fitting that Lent, a time for repentance and reckoning, begins smack dab in the middle of Black History Month. Let’s use this season to interrogate the places where we are still oblivious about our participation in racism.
February 17, 2023
World’s Oldest Hebrew Bible Could Fetch $50 Million at Auction; Kentucky High School Students Walk Out in Protest of Anti-LGBT Legislation; Hindus Only: How Religious Nationalism Has Spread Through India’s Villages (and more)
Who Is God? God Is Love
The Church of England is considering using gender-neutral language when referring to God in its liturgy. This offers an opportunity to consider the question, “Who is God?”
African American History Month Reminds Us of the Importance of Storytelling
Each year in February, we celebrate African American History month, which aids in displacing prejudices, stereotypes and myths of inferiority.
All-Time High in U.S. Dissatisfied With Gun Laws
Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults say they are dissatisfied with the nation’s current gun laws, according to a Gallup report. This is an all-time high in the two decades of polling this question.
January 16, 2023
White Racist Gets Life Sentence for Buffalo Market Massacre; Abortion is a Religious Belief, Montana Legislator Argues; Pastors’ Views: Sermons Written by ChatGPT Will Have No Soul (and more)
Nurturing Faith Commentary Year A, Volume 3 Now Available
Nurturing Faith Commentary: Year A, Volume 3 by Tony W. Cartledge is now available. This release is part of a planned 12-volume commentary series that will cover every designated text for every Sunday in the three-year cycle of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Don’t Mess With Stress
A 2022 report from the American Psychological Association suggests that we are a stressed-out nation. In “Stress in America 2022,” the authors outline primary sources of stress.
What A Trip to the Barbershop Revealed About Economics and Cultural Trends
A recent trip to the barber resulted in a surprise: a $10 price increase for a haircut. This led to a reflection on how economics and poverty impact and influence cultural trends.
Exposing and Countering Christian Nationalism: How White Christian Nationalists View Themselves
I am a big fan of letting white Christian nationalists define themselves, whether in action or word. After all, who better to do so? Here is what some of their actions and statements have revealed.
How the Double V Campaign Brought Social Antagonism and Racial Transformation
During World War II, the United States’ desire to become a global superpower via decadent militaristic imperialism. The Double V Campaign was a moment of social antagonism and racial transformation, transcending class, gender and religion.
When to Wash Our Faces and Shake Our Shoes
There are always things to learn if we are curious enough. The late storytelling songwriter Tom T. Hall got me to digging after contemplating some of his words that flowed from the radio.
February 14, 2023
Oldest Schoolhouse for Black Children – a Religiously-Based School – in the Country Moved to Virginia Museum; Why Carl Sagan Believed that Science is a Source of Spirituality; What Happens When Church and State Merge? Look to Nazi Germany for Answers (and more)
Police Brutality Has a Generational Impact
We leave justice up to the court system, but the unimaginable pain of losing their loved one never left the family of Atatiana Jefferson. Police brutality has a long history in America, affecting generations within a single family.
‘Walking Into History’ Out of Whitewashed Tombs
A significant civil rights event took place in hometown of Clinton, Tennessee. In fact, it happened in the very building in which I attended middle school. Yet, the first time I heard about it was through a musical performance.
Global Christian Population Projected to Reach 3.3 Billion by 2050
There will be over 2.6 billion Christians worldwide by the middle of 2023 and around 3.3 billion by 2050, according to a report published in early January by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary.
February 13, 2023
In today’s curated news and analysis headlines: Amendment to Bar Nebraska Kids from Church Camps – a Response to an Amendment to Bar Kids from Drag Shows – Grabs National Attention; His Popular Blog Debunks Christian Myths. With the Profits, He Does the Christian Thing.; Black People Who Left Christianity are Sharing Their Reasons Why, and They Had a Lot to Say (and more)
People of Good Faith: Amy Butler
Amy Butler is founder of Invested Faith. She previously served as pastor of several churches, and she is a contributing correspondent at Good Faith Media.
EJUSA Evangelical Network Is ‘Locked in Solidarity’ With the Mass Incarcerated
A February 9 webinar hosted by the Equal Justice USA Evangelical Network focused on mass incarceration and how churches can respond. The presenters were Jamila Hodge, executive director of Equal Justice USA, and Sam Heath, manager of the EJUSA Evangelical Network.
U.S. Adults Continue to Be Dissatisfied with Nation’s Morality, Ethics
U.S. adults continue to express dissatisfaction regarding the morality and ethics of the nation, according to a Gallup report published February 2. The level of dissatisfaction is near the poll’s all-time high.
December 10, 2023
The Christian Groups Fighting Against the Child Indian Welfare Act; Church of England Allows Same-Sex Blessings for Couples; Preventing LGBTQ Discrimination in Michigan Just Moved a Step Closer to Reality (and more)
Embracing MLK’s Ten Commandments for Non-Violence
Missy and I walked through the Boston Commons, visiting some of our favorite sites recently. We also stopped by a new sculpture on the Commons known as “The Embrace,” focused on Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King.
By the Way | Holy Days, Holidays and the Super Bowl
America enters its high holy days this week: the run-up to Super Bowl Sunday. This event is filled with symbolism and ceremonies that mirror and parallel religious symbols and rituals.
White Evangelical Protestants Most Likely Religious Group to Support Christian Nationalism
A majority of most U.S. religious groups reject or express skepticism about Christian nationalism, according to a Public Religion Research Institute and The Brookings Institution report. Two groups were outliers.
February 9, 2023
Two-Thirds of White Evangelicals, Most Republicans Sympathetic to Christian Nationalism; To Be Ordained, Would-be PCUSA Pastors Had to Interpret the Worst Story in the Bible; More Black Americans Turning to Spirituality and African Traditions Over Organized Religion