COVID-19 has changed life and family dynamics in ways some people never expected. Recent Pew Research reveals that young adults are now living with their parents in the greatest numbers we’ve seen since the Great Depression. Since February, more than 2.6 million people have moved back home due to job loss or college campus closure. …
Continue...My church finally opened its doors in July after five months of closure, requiring ticket reservations, masks, and social distancing to enter the service. It was comforting to see the familiar eyes of our weekly door greeters and grab an elbow bump from the welcoming crew, but things felt strange—and not just because of the …
Continue...The economic effects from COVID-19 will reverberate for many years, and communities of color will feel them most powerfully. The Washington Post reports that 20% of Latinos—the highest reported demographic—were furloughed or laid off during the national quarantine. The Post also reports that 6 in 10 African American and Latino households said they didn’t have …
Continue...Will churches return to the Sunday morning status quo when COVID-19 passes or can the liturgy of quarantine persist to breath new life into our church communities? It's been a defining month for the future of the Church in the United States. Forced to cancel services after CDC guidance to restrict gatherings of more than …
Continue...My 5-month-old was pulling on my necklace, on the verge of snapping it, as I wrestled to open the email on my phone. Big Brothers Big Sisters of America had found a match for me. I devoured the letter, piled with details about a 9-year-old girl named C who lived just 10 minutes away. She …
Continue...Two weeks ago, 30-year-old pastor and mental health advocate Jarrid Wilson took his own life, prompting many to consider why a vivacious young man with a thriving ministry and two small children would do think the world better without him. He’s not alone. Last year, pastor Andrew Stoecklein of Inland Hills Church in California died by …
Continue...Mayra Rodriquez was fired from Planned Parenthood after 15 years of service at a clinic in Arizona. Last month, Rodriquez won $3 million for wrongful termination in her court case against the abortion giant, who fired her soon after she began raising questions concerning medical reports from post-abortive patients treated by one doctor in particular. …
Continue...Grim statistics arise when you search anything about “fatherlessness” in the United States. Children without fathers are more likely to live in poverty, face abuse, abuse drugs, drop out of high school, and commit crimes. There’s very little good that comes from a child growing up without a father. Yet, God can and does redeem …
Continue...A powerful movement is gaining momentum in America, sparking light in the darkness for those suffering from the diseases of addiction, depression or perhaps, just plain loneliness or general sadness. It’s not a new or fancy concept, but church planting has received an updated model. The days of mega-church aspiration have gone. The new …
Continue...When I met my mother-in-law for the first time, her toothless smile, poverty-stricken trailer, and hard-worn wrinkles, visually confirmed the preconceived notions I had developed about her. She was a matriarch symbol of the ailment of our nation’s time—drug addiction. She was the woman who chose bottles of Jim Beam, bags of white powder, and …
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