Author: Bobby Ross Jr.

Bobby Ross Jr. is an award-winning journalist who has reported from all 50 states and 20 countries.
Religion Unplugged

5 key takeaways: Sex abuse reforms top Southern Baptists’ actions at annual meeting

By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com. 1979 was a highly consequential year for the direction of the Southern Baptist Convention. So was 1985. And 2021, come to think of it. No doubt … Continue reading 5 key takeaways: Sex abuse reforms top Southern Baptists’ actions at annual meeting

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The Ross News

I hated how I left a newspaper job in 1993. Three decades later, I got to write a better ending.

By Bobby Ross Jr. EDMOND, Okla. — I interned at the Edmond Evening Sun my senior year at Oklahoma Christian University. That was way back in the Stone Age, circa 1989-1990. The Sun — launched a century earlier in Oklahoma Territory — published Tuesday through Friday afternoons and Sunday mornings. It had a daily circulation of roughly 10,000 (I don’t recall the exact figure). I made … Continue reading I hated how I left a newspaper job in 1993. Three decades later, I got to write a better ending.

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Religion Unplugged

God and guns

People of faith debate solutions to America’s string of mass shootings. By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com. TULSA, Okla. — God and guns. After a string of mass shootings nationwide, conversations with people of faith … Continue reading God and guns

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Christian Chronicle

After yet another mass shooting, Tulsa church prays, reflects: Is there a solution?

Two doctors, a receptionist and a clinic visitor were killed in a medical office attack. By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle TULSA, Okla. — Shock. Tears. Prayers. Gun debate. All ripple through The Park Church of Christ, a 2,000-member congregation that is a microcosm of Tulsa, as yet another American city mourns lives lost in a mass shooting. “A few days ago, we all found … Continue reading After yet another mass shooting, Tulsa church prays, reflects: Is there a solution?

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Christian Chronicle

‘The mass shooting that would end mass shootings’ didn’t

For some Christians, the recent attacks in Buffalo, N.Y.; Uvalde, Texas; and elsewhere rekindle painful memories. By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle When a gunman killed 32 people at Virginia Tech in 2007, Seth Terrell was a 21-year-old campus minister for the nearby Blacksburg Church of Christ. Freshly graduated from Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tenn., with a double-major in Bible and history, Terrell suddenly faced the biggest challenge of his young … Continue reading ‘The mass shooting that would end mass shootings’ didn’t

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Religion Unplugged

Faith emerges as a vital part of Uvalde’s story, even as attention focuses on police and guns

By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com. In the 10 days since a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, questions about the incompetent police response … Continue reading Faith emerges as a vital part of Uvalde’s story, even as attention focuses on police and guns

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Religion Unplugged

‘May God heal their little hearts, their little souls’: Prayer and lament in Uvalde

By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com. Another week. Another mass shooting — this time at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. I lack the words to convey the enormity of this tragedy. Instead, … Continue reading ‘May God heal their little hearts, their little souls’: Prayer and lament in Uvalde

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Religion Unplugged

‘An apocalypse’: Probe into Southern Baptist sex abuse turns up ‘bombshell’ findings

Editor’s note: This is a special Monday edition of “Weekend Plug-in,” which each Friday features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com. “It is an apocalypse,” declares Russell Moore, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty … Continue reading ‘An apocalypse’: Probe into Southern Baptist sex abuse turns up ‘bombshell’ findings

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Christian Chronicle

Wanted: loving Christian houseparents

Children’s homes across the nation adapt as pandemic deepens staffing concerns. By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle MOUNT DORA, Fla. — In their 29 years of marriage, Troy and Rebecca Allen have devoted themselves to caring for children. Through birth, adoption and foster care, they’ve raised — or helped raise — more than 40 boys and girls. They’ve spent the past six years as houseparents … Continue reading Wanted: loving Christian houseparents

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