Thread of pep talk to pastors: (a) struggling with the difficult of decision-making amidst the uncertainty of the pandemic, (b) seeing high profile Christians act nothing like Jesus, (c) with members snippy and outraged about our world, (d) missing wholesome social interaction:
Such a great question. @drjoshpackard and I have conducted research on this. A book is coming April 2022 from @Fortresspress. "Stuck: Why Clergy are alienated from their calling, congregation, and career."
As I feel more optimistic about many getting the vaccine and the covid relief bill helping the poor in the US, I am reminded that there is injustice, suffering, and danger elsewhere: Myanmar, Belarus, Yemen, Ukraine, Russia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and North Korea. God help us.
1. I'm reminded to pray because it is overwhelming.
2. I appreciate experts keeping us up to date about their sense of horror about these matters.
3. May the US leadership be wise.
4. Long-term, let's encourage people to live in other countries with generosity and curiosity.
And Brazil with poor leadership and a terrible tragic crisis.
Two crises the Biden administration needs to be prepared for: Another Russian invasion of Ukraine, and a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Both could happen at any moment. https://t.co/O7RsDJdBqr
In #Belarus, police and security forces detained 245 people in 23 cities and towns yesterday, on Belarusian Freedom Day. At least 6 journalists were detained.https://t.co/zwfFT8oAzQ
In addition to being wrong about what the war is about, Knights' argument is just incredibly tone-deaf. The war on Yemen is indefensible and the cause of massive suffering. https://t.co/QLAALwby2u
Devastating reporting of Ethiopia's use of rape as a weapon of war in its brutal assault on the Tigray region: ‘They Told Us Not to Resist’: Sexual Violence Pervades Ethiopia’s War https://t.co/wXCYlXWXep More outstanding reporting by @declanwalsh
As for me, I consider myself dead. It's just a matter of when. But it doesn't mean I give up. I will do everything I can and keep resisting the coup together with our people. Justice must prevail. https://t.co/DtfNtDnq2R
With Trump's impeachment over, "there is not much news going on." But I recommend paying attention to the bill in Congress because:
(a) it is possible with the filibuster almost nothing else will pass in the next four years, and
(b) this could dramatically help poor people.
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It is impossible to overstate the difference between the people struggling in the United States and those who are doing well. The stock market indices are at all time highs. The constant talk on CNBC is of large and startup companies being so rich there is worry about a bubble.
People who have had money in the stock market in 2020 have reaped massive returns. And rich people have not been able to spend as much money on vacations, entertainment, and eating out so they have been spending it on nicer homes and on saving and investing their cash.
Meanwhile, 15% of workers have been directly hurt by the COVID recession. https://twitter.com/hshierholz/status/1357692597469253634
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell (nominated by President Trump) says unemployment in January was close to 10%, which is horrendous.
Today is the last #JobsDay with data from the Trump Administration (today’s data are from mid-January). So what does the economy former President Trump handed off to President Biden look like? It’s bleak. 1/
This 10% drop in employment is worse than other recessions.
How this recession compares to previous ones. Jobs deficit today is still bigger than it was at the very worst point of the Great Recession (with thanks to my colleague @salvesergio) pic.twitter.com/i4ZqWO7j2M
Here's the clearest sign yet the recovery is in trouble:
May: +2.7 million jobs added back June: +4.8 million July: +1.8 million August: +1.5 million Sept: +711,000 Oct: +654,000 Nov: +264,000 Dec: -227,000 Jan: +49,000 –> many are "temp jobs"https://t.co/nFxwPdHFTy
As Christians, we can certainly jump in as private citizens and churches to meet needs. However, we can also advocate that government assist with helping people through effective means like SNAP benefits (food stamps).
“When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 23:22. https://t.co/kkowUuuwKR
I wish every US Senator would take the time to sit down & talk this thru w/ a minimum wage worker like Ray. But if they won’t, we should do a little public education to give them some remedial education in Front Porch Math.
CBO's employment effects of the minimum wage are *really* out there. Dube's comprehensive review implies job losses less than one-tenth the size. NEUMARK'S review implies job losses less than one-third the size of what CBO finds. 1/ https://t.co/LzcfgGn77X
For those appalled by the idea of government assistance, note the leading conservative Republican thinkers (Brad Wilcox, Yuval Levin, Ramesh Ponnuru, Ross Douthat) are open to the massive payments Mitt Romney proposed to assist families with children.
