Missouri Blocks Spiritual Advisor Request for Prison Pastor’s Execution
With the execution of Lance Shockley approaching, this issue of A Public Witness unpacks the debate over his religious freedom rights for his final moments.
God Is Our Anchor
James Ellis III reflects on how being a preacher these days feels different. It’s unsettling how many people are thoroughly consumed by rage — and we as Christians should know better.
In Dallas, 6,700 Women Rally for Culture War Battles After Kirk’s Death
The ‘Share the Arrows’ conference founded by commentator Allie Beth Stuckey emboldened women to carry on Charlie Kirk’s conservative fight.
The West Bank’s Dwindling Palestinian Christian Communities Continue to Struggle Amid Violence
Proudly Palestinian, Taybeh’s Christians struggle with the threats of violence from Jewish settlers and the intensifying restrictions on movement imposed by Israel. Many also say they fear Islamist radicalization will grow in the area as conflicts escalate across the region.
As Willow Creek Turns 50, the Onetime ‘Church of the Future’ Redefines Success
In the mid-1970s, a group of high schoolers and their former youth pastor started a church in a movie theater and named it Willow Creek. American religion hasn’t been the same since. The church celebrates its 50th anniversary Oct. 11-12.
The Book Review That Wasn’t
Brian Kaylor didn’t expect World magazine to like his new book, "The Bible According to Christian Nationalists." But he did anticipate that if the influential conservative Christian publication reviewed it, they would at least do so honestly. Apparently, that was expecting too much.
Judge Bars ICE From Taking Some Violent Actions Against Religious Activists, Journalists
The suit was primarily brought by journalists who allege they have been targeted by federal agents, but the list of plaintiffs also included the Rev. David Black, a Chicago-area Presbyterian minister.
The Impending Execution of a Prison Pastor
This issue of A Public Witness looks at Lance Shockley’s extensive history of Christian leadership while in prison, as well as the role restorative justice should play in our criminal legal system.
Reading the Bible in Ways That Challenge White Supremacy and Patriarchy
Some Christians today argue that empathy is wrong, even calling it a sin and unbiblical. For Angela Parker, associate professor of New Testament and Greek at the McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University, this idea is absurd.
Franklin Graham Quits Membership in Financial Accountability Group
Graham said the standards mandating a leader care plan ‘puts ECFA into the role of trying to be the moral police of the evangelical world.’