The war in Ukraine continues to rage. “I know that the war has gone down the list of headlines in North America,” Don Parsons told me right before leaving the US to head back to Poland. “But the war is just as intense as it was. There is heavy fighting. There are people who are …
Looking for silver linings in the pandemic? Photographer and author Dorothy Littell Greco believes we can mine helpful marriage lessons from the disruptions of the past two years. “COVID made it impossible to ignore or dismiss the fact that we are all limited people and that we don’t have much control over the world, …
The pandemic has taken a toll on the Church. “Churches initially lost 50 percent of their congregations,” says pastor, author, and podcaster Dr. Desmond Barrett. “Since that time, 75 percent of it has come back, but there is a quarter of the population that has not come back to the church.” Barrett serves as the …
New research finds that 42 percent are thinking about leaving full-time ministry, according to Joe Jensen, Vice President of Church Engagement for The Barna Group. The percentage of pastors thinking of stepping down from the pulpit had already risen from 29 to 38 percent in the course of 2021. Jensen says doesn’t believe that in …
More people have begun researching their family history during the pandemic–and family research was already the second-most popular hobby in the US. “I think the people who are starting to search, who are doing Ancestry DNA tests, are looking for connection,” says speaker and author Michelle Van Loon, whose newest book is Translating Your …
We spend our teen years figuring out where we belong. Pandemic isolation and an uptick in social media use has made this more difficult for today’s teenagers, according to Anna Meade Harris. Harris is the editor-in-chief of the Rooted Ministry blog, and author of a February 2022 Gospel Coalition article “Breaking Social Media’s Grip on …
We spend weeks getting ready for Christmas, but have we built a tradition around getting our families ready to celebrate the Resurrection? “Christmas kind of steals the spotlight,” says Birmingham, Alabama pastor, father of four, and pediatric physician Scott James. “But Christmas points to Easter. Without Easter, Christmas loses its glimmer.” James has written the …
Christians have the best reasons to hope, but we don’t always feel hopeful. “People find the pandemic a mystery,” says author Jack Countryman. “It’s a scary time. We see that thousands of people are dying and you wonder whether or not you’re going to be next.” Countryman is the author of 35 books, …
No question, our teachers are heroes. During two years of pandemic disruption they’ve cycled through teaching remotely, teaching in person, and teaching both ways simultaneously. “Over the last two years, one of the biggest changes has been how often we have an update that changes things,” says Ann Collins, who serves as the principal …
The Inside Out podcast is checking in with parents of young children to learn what they’re facing as they raise children in extraordinary times. “It’s really been like a blur of survival mode for nearly two years,” says Addison, NY-area Janet Mourhess. She and her husband are the parents of four children, ranging in …
