How should Christian leaders respond to a pandemic?

The toll of the last six months on clergy requires a sustained response, from the seminary and denominational levels as well as congregations, writes an expert on faith and mental health.

More than 550 congregations took part in Lake Institute’s survey about the pandemic. While their finances have been impacted, many faith communities are adapting, which will be critical moving forward.

Fear is not the antithesis of faith and truth; nor does it indicate a lack of trust in God, writes a pastoral care professor and licensed clinical psychologist. Indeed, God created us with fear to keep us safe.

The long-term financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic remains to be seen, but the struggles will be as diverse as the schools themselves, says the executive director of The Association of Theological Schools.

It is natural to be afraid at a time like this. But the spiritual practice of reading Scripture within a deep tradition can be grounding for us, and can help us be resilient in the face of fear, writes a UMC bishop.

Parenting right now is chaos, but there is a lot of opportunity to teach our children to love God, says a worship leader.

Beyond keeping churchgoers safe when buildings reopen, congregational leaders need to consider these three things, writes a managing director of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.

COVID-19 -- and its impact on black and brown communities -- is the American empire in viral form, writes the pastor of Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C.

When the students at the Baptist Student Ministry in the Rio Grande Valley opened a deli near campus, they knew it was innovative. What they didn’t know was that their restaurant would become a vital source of meals for people in need.

Poetry can give us words when we are struggling to find them, says a poet and activist.

Pandemic response requires more than words of encouragement for those who are suffering. It requires concrete steps to undo systemic injustices, writes the director of the Office of Black Church Studies at Duke Divinity School.

Don’t let the ingrained belief that only churches with full-time pastors can thrive keep you from making the switch to part-time clergy, writes an author who has researched the effects of part-time ministry.

As the pandemic keeps us from visiting our sanctuaries, a professor of Christian spirituality considers a notion from Abraham Joshua Heschel: “Sabbaths are our great cathedrals.”

Because Christ is alive and has gone ahead of us, the ministry of the church can be carried out in homes and through relationships, in the smallest of settings. That is how it was in the beginning -- and how it needs to be in this moment, writes the executive coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

Leading during a global health crisis requires trust in medical professionals and the courage to love and not fear, say two pastors who cared for a congregant whose life was upended by Ebola.

Her experience with serious illness convinced a theologian that the virtual body of Christ can make a real difference in a hurting world.

Common communion cups and passing the peace transmit germs. But rather than overreact to the H1N1 pandemic, church leaders can develop thoughtful, temporary policies that preserve community, writes historian Daniel Sack.

Deeply and faithfully loving and caring for oneself is enough -- it’s not just a pause between activities, writes a seminary professor and psychologist.

On the verge of burnout, a hyperbusy ‘Martha’ goes on a retreat, hoping to channel her inner ‘Mary’ -- but finds it hard to let go of her Martha-like ways.

A young mother diagnosed with cancer talks about her new book, “Everything Happens for a Reason,” and the connection to her work on the prosperity gospel as a Duke Divinity School professor.

Medicine needs physicians who can call on the Christian tradition to offer another way of thinking about human flourishing, sickness and health, says a physician-theologian.

AME founder Richard Allen saw in the 1793 yellow fever epidemic an opportunity to help his fellow citizens and to advocate for equality, writes Rochester Institute of Technology history professor Richard Newman.

Even after Hurricane Sandy left everyone feeling bruised and battered, the pastor of Marble Collegiate Church, New York City, reassured his congregation that Christ is always with us in the storm.