Home - Word&Way
logo
mobile-logo

Featured

It's at least the second lawsuit challenging the federal government's policy of barring faith leaders from accessing some Department of Homeland Security facilities.

In the opinion released Friday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it was too early to make a judgment call on the constitutionality of displaying a highly edited version of the Ten Commandments in public schools.

The head of the Missouri Senate Education Committee thinks we should force public schools to teach that the Constitutional Convention prayed after Benjamin Franklin said they should — even though it very much never happened.

No posts were found.

Videos

Church

The Rev. Yehiel Curry, a former lay church planter, will be installed as presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in October.

Mara Richards Bim, the new Justice and Advocacy Fellow at Royal Lane Baptist Church in Dallas, spoke about how to bridge what we talk about in church and political action.

Amid a collapse of loyalty to religious institutions, many churchgoers say they are attending multiple congregations on Sunday morning.

Nation

One of the removed panels featured images of Richard Allen and Absalom Jones. Both born as enslaved persons, they were instrumental in starting their churches.

On Monday, the top federal judge in Minnesota issued a blistering critique of three Trump administration officials for repeatedly violating court orders. One of the three is David Easterwood, the acting director of the St. Paul ICE field office. Easterwood is also a pastor at Cities Churches in St. Paul.

Many faith leaders were dismayed when the government announced last January that federal immigration agencies can make arrests in churches, schools, and hospitals, ending the protection of people in sensitive spaces.

World

This issue of A Public Witness offers short highlights from four reflections by Catholic writers on Pope Francis and his papacy.

Francis demanded his bishops apply mercy and charity to their flocks, pressed the world to protect God’s creation from climate disaster, and challenged countries to welcome those fleeing war, poverty, and oppression.

Libya’s move signals its determination not to become a resettlement zone for migrants fleeing violence in East Africa. 

Editorials

Editor Brian Kaylor reflects on the guilty verdicts in the trial of Derek Chauvin and the concept of justice. Kaylor argues that while holding someone accountable for murdering George Floyd is a step toward justice, we must not confuse it with justice itself.

Word&Way Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor responds to the decision by Southwest Baptist University to bar Word&Way from attending an upcoming SBU trustee meeting. Kaylor questions the motivations behind the decision to limit media access.

Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reacts to recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings on coronavirus restrictions and worship. He argues a majority of the justices wrongly compare worship gatherings to commercial activities.

Word&Way Voices

It’s not too late for Christians to see that those who lead us into violence, greed, dehumanization, and Earth destruction are not leading us on good and fruitful paths.

The promise of Christmas is this: as many of us experience the bleakest time of year, we remember a baby who was born to be our light and our warmth.

Exploring Advent in a time of violence in Lebanon, Jeremy Fuzy reflects on how we should pay attention to the ways we interpret the world around us.

E-Newsletter

As Sen. Josh Hawley makes a push to require every federal building across the country to post “In God We Trust,” this issue of A Public Witness looks back at the real history of our national motto.

In life and in death, Charlie Kirk represented the worst of American politics. He stoked dangerous conspiracies, attempted to silence voices he disagreed with, and utilized violent rhetoric mixed with a godly veneer. Then, someone decided to respond with evil by picking up a gun to silence a life.

This issue of A Public Witness covers a 1979 Sunday School lesson from President Jimmy Carter — with concerns eerily fitting for 2025 — taught at the First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, D.C.

Sign up to receive full essays in your inbox!

Recent Episodes

Books

For this issue of A Public Witness, we briefly highlight 15 of our favorite books — beyond those from our monthly giveaway reviews.

In “Budding Lotus in the West: Buddhism From an Immigrant's Feminist Perspective,” author Nhi Yến Đỗ Trần unveils the complexities of Buddhist teachings woven into the American fabric.

In "Simplicity, Spirituality, Service: The Timeless Wisdom of Francis, Clare, and Bonaventure," Bruce Epperly shows us how the lives of three saints from the thirteenth century offer wisdom, insight, and practical solutions to our challenges.

The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty’s Amanda Tyler has reshaped the intersection of religion, politics, and law in recent years. And now she has a vital new book.