Modern-day Job preaching again

Modern-day Job preaching again (reporting from Ridgeland, Miss.): After the murders of his wife and son, Mississippi minister Les Ferguson Jr. wrestled with God. RIDGELAND, Miss. — Les Ferguson Jr. couldn’t help but scream at God. Why — the longtime minister demanded to know — didn’t the Almighty protect his wife and son from the predator who murdered them? In his darkest days, Ferguson couldn’t imagine ever trusting … Continue reading Modern-day Job preaching again

Dear God, please stop Ebola, Liberian immigrants pray

Dear God, please stop Ebola, Liberian immigrants pray: Rhode Island minister hopeful as rate of infections slows in his disease-ravaged homeland. A space vehicle named Philae lands on a comet 310 million miles from Earth? That news strikes close to home. An Ebola outbreak kills thousands in West Africa? Many of us find that news harder to fathom — except when an isolated case of … Continue reading Dear God, please stop Ebola, Liberian immigrants pray

5Q+1 interview: Godbeat pro Peter Smith discusses his in-depth project on immigrant religion in Pittsburgh

5Q+1 interview: Godbeat pro Peter Smith discusses his in-depth project on immigrant religion in Pittsburgh GETRELIGION.ORG — Peter Smith has spent the last several months reporting on immigrant religious communities in Pittsburgh, carving out time for the special project between daily assignments. After 13 years on the Godbeat with the Louisville Courier-Journal, Smith joined the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as its new religion writer last year. He previously freelanced … Continue reading 5Q+1 interview: Godbeat pro Peter Smith discusses his in-depth project on immigrant religion in Pittsburgh

November 2014: GetReligion

Did the devil make an Oklahoma man smash into Ten Commandments monument? Or did mental illness? Published Nov. 3. Big Bang and Bobby Jindal: Is Louisiana governor’s silence on pope’s evolution remarks newsworthy? Published Nov. 4. No pepperoni, plenty of ghosts: Generic Christians open a pizza cafe as a vague ‘experiment of faith.’ Published Nov. 6. Five for Friday: Zombies and other Godbeat headlines that you may have missed. … Continue reading November 2014: GetReligion

Remember the Titans, neglect the saints

Remember the Titans, neglect the saints: For some, gridiron gods compete with God for time and attention on Sunday.  In my Associated Press days, I wrote about a church that developed a “Holy Huddle” program to combat people leaving services early to watch the Dallas Cowboys. More recently, a preacher I know in a different NFL city complained about members slipping out in the middle of … Continue reading Remember the Titans, neglect the saints

5Q+1: From God and guns to Death Row salvation, JoAnne Viviano excels reporting on faith and values

5Q+1 interview: From God and guns to Death Row salvation, JoAnne Viviano excels reporting on faith and values GETRELIGION.ORG — JoAnne Viviano covers faith and values for the Columbus Dispatch, a central Ohio newspaper with a daily circulation of 120,000 and an average Sunday circulation of about 230,000. Her Godbeat writing earned her the 2014 Cornell Religion Reporter of the Year Award from the Religion Newswriters Association. That … Continue reading 5Q+1: From God and guns to Death Row salvation, JoAnne Viviano excels reporting on faith and values

Tragic Sunday: Kentucky church elder, wife, daughter shot to death

Tragic Sunday: Kentucky church elder, wife, daughter shot to death: Authorities allege the couple’s son enlisted a fourth victim as a hitman on his family, then killed him.  On a recent Sunday morning, elder Lindsey Champion and his wife, Joy, worshiped, as always, with the Cadiz Church of Christ in western Kentucky. Preacher Randall Evans visited with them and shook their hands after the 10 a.m. … Continue reading Tragic Sunday: Kentucky church elder, wife, daughter shot to death

In a Latino trailer park, Terry Davis pays his blessings forward

Part of The Christian Chronicle’s “One Nación Under God” special project. A ‘bus ministry kid’ gives back (reporting from Norcross, Ga.): In a Latino trailer park, Terry Davis pays his blessings forward.  NORCROSS, Ga. — Terry Davis found Jesus on a “JOY bus.” Growing up in a housing project on Atlanta’s south side, Davis slept on the ground to avoid flying bullets. “I still shake when it comes to bullets … Continue reading In a Latino trailer park, Terry Davis pays his blessings forward

Five tips that can help churches secure more favorable lending terms

Get a Loan in the ‘New Economy’: Five tips that can help churches secure more favorable lending terms. An emphasis on changing its culture to reach a younger generation has helped the Copper Pointe Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, quadruple in size in recent years. The evangelical church — with ties to the Assemblies of God — has grown to more than 2,500 people at its … Continue reading Five tips that can help churches secure more favorable lending terms