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⚾️ Home runs are nice, but these MLB players pursue a higher calling 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Click to join nearly 10,000 subscribers who get this column delivered straight to their inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers boast an estimated $243 million annual payroll.  The MLB team — presumed dead in the pennant race two weeks ago but suddenly … Continue reading ⚾️ Home runs are nice, but these MLB players pursue a higher calling 🔌

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🇺🇦 As war drags on, Ukrainian-born Christian keeps serving refugees in Alaska 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Click to join nearly 10,000 subscribers who get this column delivered straight to their inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The war in Ukraine was just a few months old when I first met Zori Opanasevych in April 2022. I connected with the mother of … Continue reading 🇺🇦 As war drags on, Ukrainian-born Christian keeps serving refugees in Alaska 🔌

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🛢️ Detour to a culture war: Chicken, dumplings and food for thought at Cracker Barrel 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Click to join nearly 10,000 subscribers who get this column delivered straight to their inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged NAMPA, Idaho — I exited off Interstate 84 and straight into the nation’s latest culture war. Unintentionally, I should stress. A reporting trip brought me to the Pacific … Continue reading 🛢️ Detour to a culture war: Chicken, dumplings and food for thought at Cracker Barrel 🔌

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🏈 How a prominent national college football writer became a small-town pastor 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Click to join nearly 10,000 subscribers who get this column delivered straight to their inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged NORMAN, Okla. — George Schroeder loves college football. He just loves Jesus more. Our paths first crossed when we both worked at The Oklahoman — me getting my … Continue reading 🏈 How a prominent national college football writer became a small-town pastor 🔌

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📰 ‘Our job is not to cover up sin’: Reporter Jerry Mitchell on faith and journalism 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Click to join nearly 10,000 subscribers who get this column delivered straight to their inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged PEARL, Miss. — Jerry Mitchell is a legendary investigative reporter — and a devoted Christian who characterizes his secular job as both a calling and a ministry. … Continue reading 📰 ‘Our job is not to cover up sin’: Reporter Jerry Mitchell on faith and journalism 🔌

🗞️ My 35 years in full-time journalism: What’s changed and what hasn’t 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Click to join nearly 10,000 subscribers who get this column delivered straight to their inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged STILLWATER, Okla. — In August 1990, the first President Bush occupied the White House, Iraq invaded Kuwait, and a gallon of gasoline cost $1.19. I was a 22-year-old … Continue reading 🗞️ My 35 years in full-time journalism: What’s changed and what hasn’t 🔌

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🏈 ‘God, why me?’: Deion Sanders never asked that while battling cancer 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Click to join nearly 10,000 subscribers who get this column delivered straight to their inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged Deion Sanders can’t — or won’t — stop talking about the Lord. Especially now. This week, Colorado’s head football coach mentioned God and faith at least three dozen … Continue reading 🏈 ‘God, why me?’: Deion Sanders never asked that while battling cancer 🔌

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‘Like losing a friend’: Why Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s death hit Gen Xers so hard

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Click to join nearly 10,000 subscribers who get this column delivered straight to their inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged Oh no, not Theo. That was my first thought — and that of millions of Generation Xers — when the news broke this week of Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s accidental … Continue reading ‘Like losing a friend’: Why Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s death hit Gen Xers so hard

⛪️ Conviction and controversy: Pastor John MacArthur’s legacy 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Click to join nearly 10,000 subscribers who get this column delivered straight to their inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged Pastor, theologian and author John MacArthur made a major impact on Matthew Dowling’s life and ministry. “Dr. MacArthur was the first preacher I heard who demonstrated expository … Continue reading ⛪️ Conviction and controversy: Pastor John MacArthur’s legacy 🔌