News

A group of church members at First Baptist Church in Bossier, Louisiana, has sued the church, claiming the pastor diverted money from missions to a conservative Baptist group. The pastor says Satan is trying to destroy the church.

Faith-led advocacy group the Poor People’s Campaign is pushing for a broad-based meeting with President Joe Biden to discuss poverty, arguing the White House has not adequately responded to requests for a summit despite the president endorsing the group while running for office and speaking at their events.

Gunmen opened fire on worshipers and detonated explosives at a Catholic church in southwestern Nigeria on Sunday, leaving dozens feared dead, state lawmakers said. 

After a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, several pastors around the country challenged their conservative counterparts with this question: Are you pro-life if you are pro-gun?

After more than four decades, the pastor of one of the nation’s largest and most influential churches is ready to step down. And he has named a young couple to take his place.

The governing body of the largest Mennonite denomination in the United States passed a resolution on Sunday (May 29) confessing to “committing violence against LGBTQ people” and committing to LGBTQ inclusion. In a separate vote, Mennonite Church USA also repealed instructions to pastors not to officiate at marriages between people of the same sex.

For decades, the Presbyterian Church (USA) has urged its members to study, dialogue and act to prevent gun violence going back to the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Other mainline denominations have also joined, like the Episcopal Church’s Bishops United Against Gun Violence.

In this issue of A Public Witness, we recall an earlier “satanic panic” before looking at the hellish impact that demonizing our political opponents has on democracy.

Perfect for Father’s Day, a review of Dear Son: Raising Faithful, Just, and Compassionate Men by Jonathan Hall and Beau Underwood. And learn how to win the autographed copy we will give away.

As racism and violence against Asian Americans began to spike during the COVID-19 pandemic, groups like the Asian American Christian Collaborative formed to fight back with information and advocacy. Still, some Asian American Christian leaders believe there is more the church can be doing to address racism and violence against Asian Americans.