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This issue of A Public Witness treks to The Six to cover the recent gathering of the Baptist World Alliance.

An hour before the faith leaders gave remarks to reporters at the Statehouse, Gov. Laura Kelly denied clemency requests from brothers Reginald and Jonathan Carr.

Latina United Methodist Church leaders in Texas are emerging with fresh models for ministry following years of schism, decline, and uncertainty within the denomination.

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Videos

Church

Only about 1% of houses of worship in the U.S. today existed in 1776. Here are four that predate the revolution — and still hold services.

One of the most popular worship songs, ‘How Great Is Our God,’ has moved from churches to political rallies in recent years.

Jones is stepping down as president of Union Theological Seminary after 18 years. Her tenure has been defined by difficult, sometimes unpopular decisions that helped stabilize the institution even as mainline Protestantism declines.

Nation

The chosen readings, to be voted on by the State Board of Education, draw heavily from Christian perspectives.

Jackson Lahmeyer, who founded Pastors for Trump and leads Sheridan Church in Tulsa, exchanged thousands of romantic text messages with a woman who is not his wife.

A new poll by PRRI shows two-thirds of Americans still prefer a nation made of many different faiths, despite the growth of Christian Nationalism in the public square.

World

While figures like Franklin Graham and Pete Hegseth bet on a holy war where God is on their side, many Christian leaders in the U.S. and around the world were quick to condemn the so-called ‘Operation Epic Fury.’

Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel who calls himself a Christian Zionist, made the comments in an interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson that aired Friday.

The alleged pipeline is a sign that the Russian state is leveraging its national church’s expansion into Africa.

Editorials

Brian Kaylor reflects on state executions during Christmastime and the modern parallels with a biblical character we often leave out of our nativity sets and pageants.

Lawmakers are arguing that if the federal government can restrict structures in the Rio Grande, then they could use the same Act everywhere because of Noah’s flood. Putting aside the legal silliness of the appeal to Genesis, this issue of A Public Witness joins the 22 Republican representatives in their

Focusing almost entirely on the SBC not only minimizes the theological (and political and racial) diversity of Baptists, but it also privileges a patriarchal body over others.

Word&Way Voices

Jesus didn’t say ‘peace’ because the disciples were safe or because the soldiers went away, but precisely because they were waiting outside and yet peace was still possible.

As Christmas approaches and the world gazes once again toward Bethlehem, a fundamental choice emerges: Will Christians justify oppression and exclusion, or will they stand with the local Christian community?

The season of Advent urges us to slow down; to dwell in the fullness of God’s good news. God offers us life-affirming joy even as calamity follows crisis like an ever-unspooling tragedy.

E-Newsletter

This week, Rev. William Barber II gathered in front of the White House along with dozens of other clergy to protest the conflict that the Trump administration started against Iran.

This week’s Summit for Religious Freedom, organized by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, struck a tone of joyful resistance.

A court of appeals ruling just overturned Supreme Court precedent on posting the Ten Commandments in public schools — and the majority opinion conscripted a legendary colonial Baptist figure who fought for church-state separation to justify their actions.

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Recent Episodes

Books

This new book from Diana Butler Bass offers an essay for every week in the seasons of the Christian year — from Advent and Christmas to Lent and Easter, through the entire calendar.

William Schultz, a historian of American religion at the University of Chicago Divinity School, makes a compelling argument that there was a moment where Colorado Springs was a place of enormous cultural influence.

In this distinctive introduction to the Bible, minister and theologian Jonathan Linebaugh illuminates Scripture’s dual capacity for revealing human sinfulness and imparting divine love.

For this issue of A Public Witness, we briefly highlight 15 of our favorite recent books beyond those from our longer giveaway reviews. It can be a great resource for gifts or your own wishlist.