‘Sister Keeble’ stayed strong in mind, faith
The widow of famous traveling evangelist Marshall Keeble lived to be 108. By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle I never got to meet Marshall Keeble or hear him preach. I was a baby when Keeble, the famous traveling evangelist who started hundreds of Churches of Christ, died 50 years ago. “I wish you would have had the chance of meeting him,” Daniel Harrison, minister … Continue reading ‘Sister Keeble’ stayed strong in mind, faith
‘Dear Jesus, send some angels’: Faith and prayer inside Southwest Flight 1380
By Bobby Ross Jr. | GetReligion
Several years ago, I was flying home from a reporting trip when the pilot came on the loudspeaker and reported trouble with the controls that direct the plane.
He said we needed to make an emergency landing, and rescue vehicles would be waiting as a precaution. But he stressed that the flashing lights on the ground shouldn’t alarm anyone because he didn’t expect any problem landing the plane.
That statement would have provided more comfort if I hadn’t kept asking myself: If the plane were going to crash, would he be so candid as to say so?
“Attention, passengers, I fully expect that we are all about to die. Please buckle your seat belts and get your affairs in order.”
For an anxious flyer such as myself, that experience was scary enough.
But I can’t even imagine what the passengers of Southwest Flight 1380 endured this week. As you no doubt heard, one passenger was killed and seven others wounded Tuesday after an engine exploded.
However, as I noted Wednesday, devout Christian pilot Tammie Jo Shults is being praised for her “nerves of steel” in calmly maneuvering the plane to the ground and avoiding a much worse catastrophe.
Since I wrote that post, I’ve come across more faith-filled news coverage that needs to be highlighted.
• • •
All of my GetReligion columns (March 2018):
Continue reading “‘Dear Jesus, send some angels’: Faith and prayer inside Southwest Flight 1380”
In Heart of America, LTC helps train church leaders from small congregations
Nationally, Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes and Leadership Training for Christ events draw more than 40,000 to 17 sites in 13 states. By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Four families from the Northern Hills Church of Christ in western South Dakota drove more than 700 miles each way to attend the Heart of America Leadership Training for Christ (LTC) convention this past weekend. Alaethia Thompson — … Continue reading In Heart of America, LTC helps train church leaders from small congregations
Where the buffalo roam, a Passion play approaches the century mark
Oklahoma’s version of old Jerusalem provides the setting for what organizers describe as North America’s longest continuously running outdoor Passion play. By Bobby Ross Jr. | For Religion News Service WICHITA MOUNTAINS WILDLIFE REFUGE, Okla. — Before the sun sets at a remote mountain attraction called Holy City of the Wichitas, Jesus and a band of white-winged angels walk through a crowd gathering on the … Continue reading Where the buffalo roam, a Passion play approaches the century mark
Papa Ross, World War II hero and loving grandfather, was born 100 years ago today
Lloyd Lee Ross, my grandfather, was born on March 24, 1918. Today would have been his 100th birthday. Papa Ross was one of a kind. And I — like so many others whose lives he touched — loved him so much. After he died in 2011, I wrote a column about him that appeared in the Father’s Day edition of The Commercial Appeal newspaper in … Continue reading Papa Ross, World War II hero and loving grandfather, was born 100 years ago today
When adoption agencies can turn away gay prospective parents, what happens to the kids?
Those who study the issue say it’s hard to tell exactly how such rules governing adoption affect the numbers of children placed in “forever” homes. By Bobby Ross Jr. | For Religion News Service OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma lawmakers may soon sanction private adoption agencies turning away same-sex couples and other prospective parents who don’t meet their religious criteria, a possibility cheered by the Roman … Continue reading When adoption agencies can turn away gay prospective parents, what happens to the kids?
Guiding bivocational ministers through the tax maze
Special considerations for ministers who also work outside the church. By Bobby Ross Jr. | For Church Finance Today Vince Stover left a full-time pastor’s job in 2014 and moved 250 miles with his wife, Katie, to a city where the couple didn’t know a soul. He found a job in insurance sales and planted Bible Pathway Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky. The couple started … Continue reading Guiding bivocational ministers through the tax maze
After a rescinded invitation, Ken Ham talks about God at an Oklahoma university
Its president cited the historic commitment of the public university to the critical and civil examination of ideas, no matter how controversial. By Bobby Ross Jr. | For Religion News Service EDMOND, Okla. — Students at the University of Central Oklahoma got a lesson in free speech as the 16,000-student public university welcomed a presentation by Ken Ham, a nationally known creationist who rejects Charles … Continue reading After a rescinded invitation, Ken Ham talks about God at an Oklahoma university
#ChurchToo: Sexual abuse victims ‘fed up’ with silence
Social media advocacy empowers survivors, pedophile preacher’s son says. By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle For far too long, victims have been silenced. Finally, they have an outlet to spotlight their painful ordeals. That’s how Jimmy Hinton characterizes the social media movements — first #MeToo and now #ChurchToo — where sexual abuse survivors are recounting their real-life nightmares. “Quite simply, millions of abuse survivors are fed … Continue reading #ChurchToo: Sexual abuse victims ‘fed up’ with silence
Faith. Family. Fastballs. 