Houses of worship helping solve foster care crisis in Oklahoma
By Bobby Ross Jr. | For Religion News Service EDMOND, Okla. — When Cody and Breanna Brumley began the process of adoption a few years ago, they asked two dear friends in their Sunday school class for advice. “This is going to be hard,” Breanna Brumley remembers the friends telling them. “This is going to change you, but for the better.” The stern warnings surprised … Continue reading Houses of worship helping solve foster care crisis in Oklahoma
‘Fixer Upper’ stars Chip and Joanna Gaines to host church for the homeless
By Bobby Ross Jr. | For Religion News Service WACO, Texas — Tractor-trailer rigs roared overhead. Cigarette smoke wafted in the air as a praise band played drums and electric guitars on a stage set up amid tall concrete columns. On the Sunday (Nov. 18) before Thanksgiving, poor people riding bicycles and pushing old grocery carts lined up — as they do every week — … Continue reading ‘Fixer Upper’ stars Chip and Joanna Gaines to host church for the homeless
Can Churches of Christ reach millennials?
Florida church planters look to the Bible for inspiration as they seek to ‘reclaim’ a skeptical generation. First Place, Theme Issue, Section or Series, Associated Church Press (for “Big Questions” project) By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle Roslyn Miller’s heritage in Churches of Christ runs deep. However, Reclaimed Church — the congregation she’s helping plant in Orlando, Fla. — is not a mirror … Continue reading Can Churches of Christ reach millennials?
‘Paradise is lost,’ but minister and wife escaped deadly wildfire ‘with the clothes on our back’
Fast-moving blaze that ravaged Northern California town destroyed the Church of Christ’s building and most members’ homes. By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle On Thursday morning, minister Joe Glenn got a call at his Paradise Church of Christ office. A friend in the 50-member Northern California congregation, which Glenn has served for nearly 15 years, warned the preacher, “We’ve been ordered to evacuate.” A fast-moving … Continue reading ‘Paradise is lost,’ but minister and wife escaped deadly wildfire ‘with the clothes on our back’
After California massacre, sister universities show support for Pepperdine
Freshman Alaina Housley died in Wednesday night’s mass shooting at a country music venue. By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle “To Pepperdine: You are not alone in this tragedy.” That’s the headline on a staff editorial in The Optimist, the student newspaper at Abilene Christian University in Texas. As Pepperdine University grieves the death of freshman Alaina Housley in Wednesday night’s mass shooting in Thousand Oaks, Calif., its sister universities across the U.S. are … Continue reading After California massacre, sister universities show support for Pepperdine
Harvest Bible Chapel sues bloggers for spreading ‘false information’
By Bobby Ross Jr. | For Religion News Service For six years, two bloggers at a website called The Elephant’s Debt have raised questions about an influential evangelical pastor and his Chicago-area megachurch, criticizing his leadership style and the church’s finances. Now, claiming that reputation-harming “false information” published by the bloggers caused 2,000 people to leave the congregation, pastor James MacDonald and Harvest Bible Chapel … Continue reading Harvest Bible Chapel sues bloggers for spreading ‘false information’
Post-election storylines: Five religion angles as dust settles from Tuesday’s voting
By Bobby Ross Jr. | GetReligion
Good morning from blue America!
I mean, I guess Oklahoma — where I live — is still a red state. But my congressional district just flipped, electing a Democrat for the first time in 40 years in what The Oklahoman characterized as “a political upset for the history books” and FiveThirtyEight called “the biggest upset of the night” nationally.
(Neighboring Kansas turned a little blue, too, electing a Democratic governor.)
Religion angle? In advance of Tuesday’s midterms, we asked here at GetReligion if a post-Trump rise of the religious left was a real trend or wishful thinking.
Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District, which Democrat Kendra Horn won in a nail-biter, was one of the places where a group of progressive evangelicals called Vote Common Good brought its tour bus. The Oklahoman’s pre-election story noted:
If Horn, an Episcopalian and Democrat running for Congress, is to do what others claim cannot be done — namely, defeat Republican Rep. Steve Russell on Nov. 6 — she will need to make inroads with a voting bloc that has helped propel Russell’s political career: evangelicals.
What role did religious voters played in Horn’s upset win in one of the reddest of the red states? I haven’t seen reporting on that angle yet. No doubt, changing demographics in the Oklahoma City area played a role, as did the rural-urban divide, but perhaps suburban evangelical women turned off by Trump did, too? Stay tuned.
As we begin to digest Tuesday’s outcomes across the U.S., here are a handful of religion angles making headlines or likely to do so:
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All of my GetReligion columns (November 2018):
18 wheels and a heart to serve
After Hurricane Michael, a retired Christian steers a big rig full of food and emergency supplies to hard-hit Florida. First Place, Personality Article, Evangelical Press Association First Place, Feature Article, Associated Church Press By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle PANAMA CITY, Fla. — In the dark, John Kincaid could see hints of the devastation in this seaside city. The downed tree limbs in every … Continue reading 18 wheels and a heart to serve
Once-segregated Christian university targets racism with launch of new research center
Founding director urges churches to speak out against ‘situations that carry the foul scent of racial injustice.’ Third Place, Theme Issue, Section or Series, Associated Church Press By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle ABILENE, Texas — In 1960, a professor named Carl Spain delivered an explosive Bible Lectureship sermon that reverberated far beyond what was known then as Abilene Christian College. In stark terms, Spain called … Continue reading Once-segregated Christian university targets racism with launch of new research center
