🗳️ What do the 1968, 1996 and 2024 elections have in common? Hint: It involves a cake 🔌

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 For a journalist, Election Night typically means tight deadlines and pizza. And, in my case, an occasional cake with lighted candles. I celebrated my first birthday — … Continue reading 🗳️ What do the 1968, 1996 and 2024 elections have in common? Hint: It involves a cake 🔌

Oklahoma SPJ honors Bobby Ross Jr. as Print Reporter of the Year

By Bobby Ross Jr. OKLAHOMA CITY — I was pleased to receive the Print Reporter of the Year award in the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists’ 2024 annual contest. I was recognized for a portfolio of five stories that I wrote for The Christian Chronicle, Religion Unplugged and The Associated Press: 1. Jesus at the ballpark: Why MLB teams host faith nights from San Diego. 2. Sharing love … Continue reading Oklahoma SPJ honors Bobby Ross Jr. as Print Reporter of the Year

🍔 In the race for president, why are we talking about McDonald’s? 🔌

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 “Would you like fries with that?” Who knew that question might play a role in the 2024 presidential campaign? Given my quarter-century on the Godbeat, I can … Continue reading 🍔 In the race for president, why are we talking about McDonald’s? 🔌

✈️ Planes, trains and automobiles (and even motorcycles): The road to religion news 🔌

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 OKLAHOMA CITY — I’ve helicoptered across Israel and cruised past “Moose Crossing” signs on an Alaskan highway. Jetlagged, I’ve dozed on a passenger train from the Netherlands … Continue reading ✈️ Planes, trains and automobiles (and even motorcycles): The road to religion news 🔌

🏟️ Faith and baseball: Why these fans feel a special connection to MLB’s playoff teams 🔌

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 D.J. Iverson’s love for the San Diego Padres runs deep.  Soul deep. Baseball is not a religion to Iverson, the associate pastor for New Vintage Church in … Continue reading 🏟️ Faith and baseball: Why these fans feel a special connection to MLB’s playoff teams 🔌

⛈️ With chainsaws and supply runs, ‘faith-based FEMA’ responds to Hurricane Helene 🔌

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 Idon’t even know where to start. The stories and pictures of Hurricane Helene’s aftermath — particularly in western North Carolina — are unreal. As I write this, the official … Continue reading ⛈️ With chainsaws and supply runs, ‘faith-based FEMA’ responds to Hurricane Helene 🔌

Don’t skip the Pleasant-ries

A Saturday afternoon at Michigan Stadium was thrilling, but time spent with a coaching legend was even better. By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle ANN ARBOR, Mich. — When a legend invites you to the Big House, you go. That’s how I ended up among 110,250 fans at Michigan Stadium — the largest stadium in the United States — for last Saturday’s football game between the defending … Continue reading Don’t skip the Pleasant-ries

‘God, I need help’: 9/11 military heroes with PTSD still fighting a war at home

By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged A Glock 19 handgun on his lap, the decorated combat veteran prepared to take his own life. “I’m telling you, I was going to become a statistic,” retired Air Force Lt. Col. Damon Friedman said. Every day, an estimated 22 U.S. veterans die by suicide. Friedman, a special warfare officer who served four tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, intended … Continue reading ‘God, I need help’: 9/11 military heroes with PTSD still fighting a war at home

📽️ ‘Reagan’ movie: God’s purpose in president’s life emerges as a central theme 🔌

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 MANCHESTER, N.H. — I grew up in the 1980s, which helps explain the nostalgia I felt watching “Reagan,” a new feature-length film chronicling the life of President Ronald … Continue reading 📽️ ‘Reagan’ movie: God’s purpose in president’s life emerges as a central theme 🔌