Adults with intellectual disabilities can have robust spiritual lives. Are we learning from them? Every Sunday afternoon, my daughter and I join a Zoom call with her friend and her friend’s mom, who live a few hours away—for a special time we’ve come to call “God Talk.” My 17-year-old daughter, Penny, and her 18-year-old friend,…
After trials and turmoil, the first Black lead pastor at the DC-area megachurch will be commissioned with a nod to his heritage. Weeks before his installation as the first Black lead pastor at one of the most influential churches in the Washington, DC, area, Mike Kelsey came across a dissertation written by a distant relative,…
The Evangelical Theological Society has its first female president. But what about intellectual life for women in the pews? The scandal of the evangelical mind is pink. Or to put it less dramatically, there’s another scandal of the evangelical mind—beyond the widely recognized one, introduced by Mark Noll’s landmark book and rightly the topic of…
In the commercial capital of Malawi, Pentecostal pastors and churches face fines or removal for making a joyful noise. Loud Pentecostal worship is part of the soundtrack of Africa’s major cities. From Johannesburg, South Africa, to Lagos, Nigeria, booming preaching and boisterous worship rings through the alleys, apartments, and street corners. But in Blantyre—the commercial…
Harrowing journey with children and grandparents reunites family with husband, as Palestinian Christians sheltering at Orthodox and Catholic churches grow increasingly desperate. Janet Maher is out of Gaza. The Palestinian wife of the Egyptian former pastor of Gaza Baptist Church had been sheltering in the Saint Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church with her three children and…
Elevation’s recent hit has stirred a broader discussion on how to incorporate imprecatory language in worship without being triumphalist. “Spiritual Enemies to be Encountered,” one of the lesser-known texts written by Charles Wesley, urges the believer to persevere in the battle against “legions of dire malicious fiends” and “secret, sworn, eternal foes.” There’s talk of…
A tea date with a Middle Eastern stranger led to friendship with women from nearly 20 countries—and changed my perspective on the world. It’s 5 a.m. and my house is quiet, but the world is loud. Here in the US, we’re preparing for Thanksgiving, and against the glistening backdrop of what we think the holiday…
As a young mom, I tried to do everything right. The longer I parent, the less I seek “success” and the more I rely on God’s grace. We did everything right. As Christian parents, we scan the checklists of steps to bring up a child in the Lord. We teach them right from wrong. We…
The former COGIC leader and Oral Roberts mentee said he wore his “heretic” label “like a badge.” When Carlton Pearson was a teenager, he cast out a demon in church. He was the son and grandson of Church of God in Christ (COGIC) ministers and knew what to do. He looked at the girl in…
Christians have every reason to reduce light pollution. It’s hard not to be sentimental about a Northern Hemisphere December, with its snow (or in the American South, where I live, its relative cool), its coziness, and of course, the Christmas decorations. Twinkling lights transform city streets into galaxies, and an ornamented Christmas tree fills my…
