U.S. mission groups stranded by Haiti unrest, and CNN — to its credit — reports on it
By Bobby Ross Jr. | GetReligion
Summer is prime time for faith-based mission trips.
Many U.S. church groups — often including teens and college students — travel all the world this time of year.
I just returned from a Christian Chronicle reporting trip to Puerto Rico, where I followed a Kentucky congregation helping with Hurricane Maria relief work. While there, I noticed the news about unrest in Haiti, a country I visited just a few months ago to report on water well drilling.
Just weeks ago, I reported on political violence prompting the cancellation of dozens of church mission trips to Nicaragua. Not so many years ago, of course, ongoing concerns over drug cartels began curtailing mission work in Mexico.
Not too often, though, do major news organizations cover the impact of the dangerous world on church mission trips, even though there’s frequently a compelling story there.
That’s why I was so pleased to see CNN tackle that angle amid the Haiti unrest:
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All of my GetReligion columns (July 2018):
In red-state Oklahoma, marijuana ballot question splits people of faith
Oklahoma residents grapple with faith, legalizing medical marijuana. @washingtonpost version of my @RNS story on State Question 788 https://t.co/hmmIRp7xzJ — Bobby Ross Jr. (@bobbyross) June 10, 2018 Clergy on both sides of State Question 788, which would permit the distribution of medical marijuana, call it a moral issue. By Bobby Ross Jr. | For Religion News Service OKLAHOMA CITY — As Presbyterian minister Bobby Griffith … Continue reading In red-state Oklahoma, marijuana ballot question splits people of faith
1,000 wells around the world
A Tennessee-based ministry that drills for clean drinking water in Haiti and other nations hits a major milestone. Second Place, Feature Article, Evangelical Press Association By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle AKDESÉ, Haiti — In this remote mountain village, water gushes from a well drilled by Healing Hands International. As one woman pumps the handle, another gleefully splashes the clear, flowing liquid on her … Continue reading 1,000 wells around the world
Amid political violence in Nicaragua, dozens of church groups cancel mission trips
More than 90 people have died since clashes began six weeks ago between government forces and civilian protesters, according to observers. By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle Normally, a team from the Highway Church of Christ in Judsonia, Ark., would be sweating for God in the mountains of Jinotega, Nicaragua. For 15 straight summers, the congregation has sent teens and adults to help with Misión Para … Continue reading Amid political violence in Nicaragua, dozens of church groups cancel mission trips
Let’s be honest: Many voicing opinions about Colorado baker don’t know the facts
By Bobby Ross Jr. | GetReligion
Everybody, it seems, has an opinion about Jack Phillips.
But not everybody — trust me on this — has taken the time to review the facts of Phillips’ case.
Does the Colorado baker — in whose favor the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 this week — really “refuse service” to gays and lesbians as a matter of general business practice?
Not according to him.
His position — one that resonated with the court’s majority — is more complicated than that.
Yet headlines such as this one in USA Today serve only to fuel the misperception:
Poll: 51% of white evangelicals support business’ refusal of service to LGBT customers
Here is the question that the survey covered by the national newspaper asked:
Do you support or oppose allowing a small business owner in your state to refuse to provide products or services to LGBT individuals if doing so violates their religious beliefs?
I have the same concern with that question that I did one asked in a previous survey that I highlighted last year: I’m just not sure it’s the right one. There are better questions to get closer to the real issue.
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All of my GetReligion columns (June 2018):
Continue reading “Let’s be honest: Many voicing opinions about Colorado baker don’t know the facts”
In Haiti, a calling — and a baby
When an infant’s mother died, missionaries from Kentucky suddenly found themselves with a new member of the family. By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle TITANYEN, Haiti — Ten days after Jason and Jennifer Carroll began Christian missionary work in this Caribbean island nation in 2014, they got an unexpected gift: a newborn boy. The mother of an infant named Edyson — “Edy” for short … Continue reading In Haiti, a calling — and a baby
Baptist seminary president removed over controversial remarks about abused women
By Bobby Ross Jr., Sarah Pulliam Bailey and Michelle Boorstein| The Washington Post FORT WORTH — Prominent Southern Baptist leader Paige Patterson has been removed from his job as president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary amid an evangelical #MeToo moment: a massive backlash from women upset over comments he made in the past that are newly perceived as sexist and demeaning. Seminary leaders were vague as … Continue reading Baptist seminary president removed over controversial remarks about abused women
Best Reporter winner: Bobby Ross Jr. honored by Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists
TULSA, Okla. — I was honored May 19 to win second place for “Best Reporter” from the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists. The award recognized my 2017 stories on Syrian refugees in Canada, the 50th anniversary of the Detroit race riot, Hurricane Harvey disaster relief, a woman who confessed to murder after her baptism and a prom for special-needs teens and adults. Jennifer Palmer of Oklahoma … Continue reading Best Reporter winner: Bobby Ross Jr. honored by Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists
Minister ‘Still Wrestling’ with his faith after murder of his wife and son
“There were mighty dark days,” recalls Les Ferguson Jr., author of a new book exploring the doubt that consumed him. By Bobby Ross Jr. | For Religion News Service JACKSON, Miss. — In a few weeks, Les Ferguson Jr. will move on from the pulpit at Lake Harbour Church of Christ in Ridgeland, Miss., just north of Jackson, to a new position in Oxford, home to “Ole … Continue reading Minister ‘Still Wrestling’ with his faith after murder of his wife and son
Faith. Family. Fastballs. 