By Ruth Perkins-Lee Our elementary teachers staged a parade and I cried! My children were not surprised, and mostly just ignore me when my emotions leak out through my eyes. These teachers decorated their cars, divided up addresses and meandered through neighborhoods of the students in their school. With windows rolled down, streamers flowing, painted … Continue reading
By Melody Harrell We were supposed to be talking about COVID-19 and were already thick in the weeds of overwhelm, like every conversation about this global pandemic goes. But after a few minutes of processing out loud, our conversation turned to something else. A potential encounter in this unmatched shared experience—resilience. What is it? Who … Continue reading
By Paul Baxley By any definition, these are very different days. Schools across the country are out indefinitely. Almost all congregations have suspended in-person worship gatherings. Some state and local governments are issuing “shelter in place” orders, placing varying levels of restriction on movement and interaction among people. Many businesses and nonprofit organizations that are … Continue reading
Churches are pivoting from what is normal and into something unknown. This crisis requires adaptable leadership from clergy and congregational leaders. From a broader organizational standpoint, leaders at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship are seeking to share stories and resources to help congregations succeed during this crisis. Join us in the coming days and weeks as … Continue reading
Churches and clergy are facing an unprecedented crisis. How is this moment affecting pastors personally? How are ministers leading their congregations through all of this? What resources are being offered to connect churches together? And where do we find and see God? Join us in the coming days and weeks as we connect with leaders … Continue reading
By Shauw Chin Capps In the early years of my social work career, I started volunteering at a rape crisis center in Louisville, Kentucky. I would be on call and respond to hospital calls whenever they had a rape victim walk into their ER. I went on to become a therapist, providing counseling for survivors … Continue reading
By Andy Hale Every day, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than 130 people in the United States die after overdosing on an opioid. I don’t know why, but when I heard that statistic, it registered on a profoundly emotional and spiritual level. For one, we Moderates to Progressives seem to have … Continue reading
By Rev. Elizabeth Denham Thompson As a pastoral counselor and a congregational consultant, I have facilitated quite a few retreats, trainings, and workshops over the years, and am trained in crisis response work. So, when the email arrived from CBF at the end of September, asking if any endorsed counselors were available to be spiritual … Continue reading
By Ashleigh Bugg In June of 2019, Mary Nell McCoy co-led the first Disaster Spiritual Care training as a part of the CBF General Assembly in Birmingham. The Disaster Spiritual Care program is used to train chaplains to work with teams deploying to help people during crisis and disasters. According to McCoy, the DSC chaplains minister to emotional … Continue reading