If Gen Z is coming back to church, the real work is just beginning
(RNS) — The church’s purpose in a young person’s life must be entirely unique compared to any other institution.
Living
Faith at work in ordinary weeks
RSS for Living
Mumbai Churches Fight Anticonversion Law with Consent Forms
Kishore, a construction worker in Mumbai, has worshiped at a local home church for nearly two years. But his pastor recently asked him to fill out a “consent and self-declaration” form to declare he has participated there with “free will and voluntary intention.” The form require
Maria Bartiromo Unexpectedly Out at Fox News
Fox News abruptly announced that Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo is no longer with the network. “We thank Maria for her work over the last 12 ½ years and wish her all the best on her next chapter,” Fox News said. The network said in a statement: “The last episode of Mornings
Pastor’s Stage 3 Cancer Diagnosis Sparks Powerful Response
Pastor Brian Hoehler has spent much of his life running toward people who need help. Now, facing a Stage 3 cancer diagnosis, he is discovering just how many people are willing to run toward him. Hoehler, pastor of New Hope Community Church in Green Township, Ohio, was recently di
Russian Strike Destroys Christian Aid Warehouse, but It Cannot Stop the Gospel
A Russian strike destroyed a humanitarian warehouse operated by Ukraine for Christ, wiping out years of supplies used to serve displaced families, grieving households, soldiers and communities near the front lines. The Aug. 28 attack destroyed the ministry’s office, food, equipme
Christian Grandma Refuses to Back Down After Government Demands She Stop Feeding Community
What started as a woman feeling called to cook breakfast for a handful of friends has turned into a dispute over food, faith, and government regulations. Kathy Kite, a resident of Harrisburg, Missouri, began welcoming locals into her home for breakfast back in May after the commu
At least 176 Christians killed or imprisoned in Iran
Dozens of Christians are among those killed and imprisoned amid rising persecution in Iran, Texas-based Iran Alive Ministries told Baptist Press, citing cases from among its underground church network in Iran. In one of its latest moves against evangelism, the Iranian government
African Doctors Imagine Their Health Systems With a Less Involved US
One summer morning, Win Kaari, a clinician at Chogoria Hospital in rural Kenya, grabbed a sip of tea between seeing patients who were lined up on outdoor benches. She thanked a friend for buying her chapati bread to go with her tea—the friend used to work with Kaari caring for HI
The Ham Loaf Is Plenty. The Workers Are Few.
Eleven minutes before the start of lunch service at Salem Lutheran Church Dining Hall, a woman inside the screened-in cafeteria orders a girl to make sure all six tables get a final scrubbing. “Get off your phone,” the woman says. “We are a church, so hospitality is top of the li
Wendell Berry, writer and farmer, was extolled by many as a modern-day prophet
(RNS) — His writings touched on conservation, community and belonging, and he acquired legions of fans beyond environmental studies — including many scholars of religion.
Florida Pulls Flock Cameras
Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has ordered all Flock cameras to be pulled from state highways in 30 days. During a recent press conference, DeSantis said the surveillance network posed by license plate readers is “out of control,” and noted that “people are right to be concerned.”
Nepal warns of possible fresh flooding as communities grapple with devastation
DHADING, Nepal (AP) — The missing include hundreds of people from over a dozen countries who were in the region to work, visit the mountains or make a pilgrimage to a sacred peak.
Debate: How to Retire Like a Christian
Each day in the United States, around 10,000 people turn 65, and that pattern will continue for the next couple of years as more baby boomers reach retirement age. In addition to asking the usual questions—How much money do I need to retire? Who will take care of me when my healt
The Questions ChatGPT Can’t Answer
Bryon Hand, an Atlanta-based Christian tech worker, was laid off last December from the payment platform Cash App. At that point, he had been working there for more than two years, first leading a design team and then switching to a role in strategy. Tech companies have a well-ea
How One State Is Making Churches Safer
A black Toyota 4Runner covered in scratchy white chalk paint was parked outside Living Word Community Church in Red Lion, Pennsylvania, last year. The paint spelled out apocalyptic predictions: “On the 23rd and 24th of September, I will come to take my church —Jesus”; “More lockd
His Patients Call Him ‘Mr. Fix-It-All’
“I am not your run-of-the-mill chiropractor,” says Michael Berglund, sipping black coffee from a mug almost the size of his head. The 63-year-old Wisconsin native sits relaxed in his spare office, feet up on an adjustment table, dressed head to toe in green scrubs. Cracking necks
The Work of Their Hands
Greek philosophers conceived of the divine as philosophical abstraction: a cosmic principle that held together the fabric of the universe. In the poetic imagination of Hebrew writers, however, the divine was also irrepressibly, exuberantly tactile. This God got his hands dirty: H
The global rise of unhappiness and how religion can reverse the trend
(RNS) — Young people are facing an epidemic of despair, but data shows religious community is an antidote.
AI and Everyday: What Are Some Practical Frameworks for Christians?
Michael Graham and Keith Plummer explain how Christians and churches can embrace helpful technologies while guarding the deeply human and spiritual realities those technologies can never replace.
As tensions test interfaith ties, Omaha’s experiment with three-faith campus marks 20 years
(RNS) — ‘The challenge is the actual work, the actual relationship, navigating these geopolitical pieces, without having to lose hope,’ said Karim Khayati, the president of the mosque on campus.
Nepal prayer plea
Sovereign Lord and heavenly Father, in whose hands are life and death, Our hearts ache for the families waiting for news of loved ones caught in the Nepal flash floods. Preserve life, O Lord. May many of the missing be found safe and returned to their homes. Grant strength, endur
Conference confronts cyber theft with faith, resolve
The New England Conference is working with federal and local investigators after the cybercrime earlier this month. Conference leaders also are taking steps to help fellow United Methodists prevent wire fraud.
Christian, Your Suffering Isn’t Pointless
We don’t get to see how God is working all things together for good. We just get to hope that he is and wait and see what he has in store.
Smithsonian-Affiliated Museum Sparks Controversy Over 9/11 Exhibit
A museum affiliated with the Smithsonian depicts Arabs as victims in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. The Arab American National Museum (AANM) in Dearborn, Michigan, has an exhibit stating Arabs are victims of the attack. “The Arab American community suffe
American synagogues are spending more than ever on security. How much is enough?
(The Forward) — As Jews prepare for the High Holidays amid formidable threats, rabbis and security experts are confronting another question: How do you protect an open religious community without turning it into a fortress?
Living
The front door and the grumble
Peter's instruction about hospitality is short, and the qualifier is the hard part.
Died: Bryant Myers, Who Walked with the Poor
Bryant Myers passed away on August 15 after many years of helping Christian relief and development organizations, seminaries, churches, and practitioners see poverty and the people experiencing it in new ways. He worked in both the practical setting of World Vision and the academ
The Malnourished Ministry of Relational AI
E. M. Forster’s 1909 short story “The Machine Stops” depicts a dystopian world of individuals kept apart from one another in pods. The culture Forster imagined discourages leaving one’s pod for embodied, human interaction, and—relieved of the need to work and having learned to fr
A controversial ceremony at Brisbane Cathedral
Filming of scenes for a controversial online show ‘Turned On: Dirty, Sexy Money’ at Brisbane’s Anglican Cathedral has drawn a shocked reaction after Collective Shout campaigner Melinda Tankard Reist posted about it. Making the point that the series is “part of a PR blitz” for the
Settler attacks threaten the West Bank’s final Christian village
(RNS) — As settler violence escalates in Taybeh, a Catholic priest and a papal charity are working to give Palestinian Christians security, jobs and community support to remain in the Holy Land.
Gavin Newsom Signs ‘Stop Nick Shirley Act’
Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed a bill that expands the state’s address-protection program to those working in immigration services. Critics of the bill say it impedes journalists and investigations, while supporters believe it protects workers from threats. The law, AB 2624,
You Don’t Have to Be an Intellectual to Be a Theologian
“I’m not an intellectual—theology isn’t for me,” replied my friend from church when I invited her to join a theology reading group. I get why she turned me down. Our church community has plenty of theology “professionals,” folks with advanced degrees who work in the academy or se
Staying Faithful When the Work Is Slow and Hard
Carey Moore wanted to offer classes and Bible studies to women in a hard part of Memphis. Instead, she bought a tea company and hired them.
Living
Read the whole letter in one sitting
This week's tip is simple and rarely done: hear 1 Peter the way its first readers did.
Living
Spend like a foreigner
Peter calls Christians strangers in the world, and that identity reaches all the way into the wallet.
Justin Giboney: ‘Our Allegiance to Jesus Is Bigger Than This’
From our member-exclusive livestream on August 6, hosted by CT deputy editor Bonnie Kristian and featuring Justin Giboney. They discuss Justin’s recent article, “Working Out the Grand Experiment,” and explore how the American church can move beyond culture-war gridlock to model g
If Jesus showed up today, would he play guitar?
Nashville (RNS) — During a gathering in Nashville, scholars looked at the theology, money and music reshaping how Americans worship and experience God.
Netanyahu & Kushner Agree: No Gaza Withdrawal or Reconstruction Until Full Disarmament of Hamas
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy, Jared Kushner, met for over four hours in Jerusalem on Monday, discussing the U.S.-backed framework to end the Gaza war, which Hamas ostensibly approved. Netanyahu rejected the 15-point proposal b
Living
Eat It With Your Cloak Tucked In
Passover was to be eaten dressed for the road, and there is a life lesson in that.
Flock Cameras: Surveillance Company Updates Network After System Backlash
Surveillance company Flock Safety announced changes to its systems after facing widespread backlash due to concerns of data retention and misuse. Its new changes include the rollout of “Evidence Mode,” which will “preserve specific data for active investigations when needed,” the
As Buildings Fell, Colombia’s Churches Stood Up
On August 13, three days after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake rocked western Colombia, rescue crews in Pereira, a city in Colombia’s mountainous coffee region, were still searching for life beneath the ruins. Hundreds of volunteers in hard hats, Red Cross workers, firefighters, army
Welcome Back to School! Does Your Kid Have a Teacher?
My eldest daughter wanted to be a teacher. She admires her own instructors, and she thought she could build a meaningful career working in special education. But when she shared her hopes with teachers we know, their reactions were uniform: Don’t. “Don’t get me wrong, I love the
WWII Memorial in DC Closed Down After Being Targeted by Vandalism
The World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., was vandalized on Thursday. Bubbly soap and graffiti disfigured the memorial, which was closed while workers began the process of removing the graffiti, according to Reuters. “Clean hands Dirty $” was painted in red on one surface. E
Living
Take Off Your Sandals
A small bodily habit for marking the threshold between the day's rush and prayer.
Israeli mother and daughter disappear during Austria vacation, sparking large-scale search
An Israeli mother and her 23-year-old daughter have disappeared during a vacation in Austria, prompting a large-scale search involving Austrian police, Israeli authorities and members of the local Jewish community. The circumstances of the incident remain unclear. Mali Yahalomi,
Living
Two Midwives and the Job You Are Told to Do
Exodus 1 records the names of two working women and forgets the name of the king.
Archaeologists Make Stunning Discovery at Jesus’ Crucifixion Site
For nearly 2,000 years, Christians have believed the Gospel accounts of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now, archaeological evidence uncovered beneath one of Christianity’s holiest sites appears to line up with a remarkably specific detail recorded in Scriptur
ICE detained Adventist pastor at Houston airport, church says he has legal work authorization
(RNS) — Pastor Luis Morales Pérez is at least the third Texas pastor detained by ICE at an airport in the last month amid a mass deportation campaign spreading to airports.
Report: Former SPLC Executive Heidi Beirich Arrested on Federal Fraud Charges
Heidi Beirich, a former senior executive at the Southern Poverty Law Center, was arrested in California on Tuesday and charged with federal fraud and money laundering offenses stemming from her time overseeing the organization’s intelligence-gathering operations, according to the
Not giving up: A group of social justice warriors sustains the resistance with community and meditation
RALEIGH, N.C. (RNS) — Over the past decade, a group of democracy activists with a long history of involvement in social and political causes has found a balm in Buddhist meditation.