As a physician during the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m frequently asked, “Should I take the vaccine?” My answer is yes. For the vast majority of people, the benefits of COVID vaccination greatly outweigh the risks. Almost all doctors I know wanted the vaccine for themselves and their families as soon as it became available. This is […]
Guest Editorial: Why I Changed My Mind About Recommending COVID vaccines
A defining characteristic of honest medical clinicians is the ability to admit when they are wrong when confronted with new data. Well, with the thimble full of humility that I possess, I am here to tell you I was wrong about the COVID vaccine (actually, it’s a genetic therapeutic agent). Let me back up a […]
COVID-19 Vaccines: Are Mandates the Solution?
Should you take the COVID vaccine or not — that is the issue. There are enough confusing and conflicting reports revolving around the COVID vaccinations that many well-meaning people could be puzzled and disturbed. Franklin Graham, leader of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, says you should take the shots and that pastors […]
Wholly Healthy: Vaccination Hesitation
COVID cases are surging, and hospitals are reaching capacity. This has led many to ask why there is so much resistance to having a vaccination that might have kept us out of the situation now facing the nation. I believe that the COVID vaccine is a remarkable, life-saving achievement. While we will doubtless learn more […]
Baptist nurses stand in the gap with facts, hope
Members of the Baptist Nursing Fellowship had already witnessed, literally, the realities of COVID-19 in emergency rooms across the country before Nov. 21 last year. That day it became personal, however, when the group’s executive director, Lori Spikes, died after being hospitalized with the illness. “She was steps away from being able to receive the […]
U.S. churchgoers say they’ll return post-COVID
Churchgoers aren’t attending yet at pre-pandemic levels, but most say they value gathering with their congregation and are anxious to do so when the threat of COVID-19 ends. A study of 1,000 Protestant churchgoers in the U.S. from LifeWay Research found that when COVID-19 is no longer an active threat to people’s health, 91 percent […]
Churches’ embrace of technology likely permanent
Facebook timelines changed forever on Sunday, March 15, 2020. Many, if not most, churches opted to go digital-only that day after witnessing such steps as President Trump declaring COVID-19 a national emergency, and professional and collegiate sports suspending activities. As church leaders looked to make services available for members, Facebook scrambled to keep up with […]
Small Churches Doing Big Things
How can a small church do big things? By making an eternal impact in the lives of people. Keith Davis has been the pastor of Zion Hill Baptist Church in Spartanburg for almost 21 years. The church is relatively small in number but is making a spiritual impact in the lives of people in the […]
Guest Viewpoint: Four Tips for Navigating 2021
2020 was rough! People lost loved ones. Individuals lost their jobs. And even the most distinguished among us felt like utter failures in the home if our children were unable to adapt to online education and wearing a mask, ad nauseam. I am in no way trying to trivialize the diverse trials that we have […]
New COVID vaccines raise hopes
With approximately 300,000 COVID-19 deaths in 2020, the news of vaccines that can protect people from the virus brings hope to millions of people across the nation and around the world. The largest and most comprehensive vaccination deployment in the history of the United States began Dec. 14. First to receive FDA approval was drug […]