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Christian Leaders Urge Protecting Worshippers’ Rights After Protesters Interrupt Service
Brian Kaylor, a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship-affiliated minister and leader of the Christian media organization Word&Way, called having an ICE official serve as a pastor ‘a serious moral failure.’
Black Church Leaders Aid Minneapolis, Seek Laws Curtailing Federal Agents’ Mask Usage
Minneapolis-area AME Church officials stated Renee Good’s death ‘never should have happened’ and listed more than a dozen ways they have tried to meet community needs there.
Protesters Disrupt Southern Baptist Church of Pastor Who Leads ICE Office in Minnesota
‘Jesus — who they claim to worship — went into the so-called houses of God, he flipped over tables. … So that’s what we did today,’ said minister and organizer Nekima Levy Armstrong.
Church
Churches Consider What Sanctuary Might Look Like in Trump’s Second Term
The news that Trump may rescind a policy discouraging immigration officials from arresting people at churches is making some church leaders reconsider sanctuary.
Winter Solstice Is Having a Moment — in Churches, Too
In mainline Christian circles, winter solstice celebrations and longest night services are growing in popularity.
Pennsylvania’s Bethlehem: The City Founded by Moravians on Christmas Eve Keeps Its Traditions Alive
The Moravian Church is one of the world's oldest Protestant denominations. Its name comes from the historical provinces of Bohemia and Moravia in what is now the Czech Republic.
Nation
Chris Tomlin’s Worshipwashing of Charlie Kirk
Before the memorial service started, two hours of songs from the biggest worship artists today served to frame everything that followed as part of a church service — sending the message that Kirk’s politics were from God.
Summit Challenges Christian Nationalist Attacks on Public Schools
This issue of A Public Witness takes you to the heart of Texas to consider the promise of public education and church-state separation.
From ‘Faust’ to ‘Him’: Why Hollywood Can’t Quit the Devil’s Deal
‘Him,’ the Jordan Peele-produced horror film reaching theaters Friday, is the latest testament to the fact that, in cinema at least, the devil’s offer never goes out of style.
World
Africa’s Six Anglican Women Bishops Meet and Issue Call to Combat Africa’s ‘Triple Threat’
The weeklong gathering outside Kenya's capital focused on gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy, and HIV/AIDS, saying the Anglican churches in Africa have been silent on these issues affecting many African women.
Nicaragua Releases Imprisoned Catholic Bishop and 18 Priests
Nicaragua’s government released a prominent Catholic bishop and 18 other clergy members imprisoned in a crackdown by President Daniel Ortega and handed them over to Vatican authorities who welcomed them in Rome.
Signing Our Blessing to War
This issue of A Public Witness takes a look at past efforts from Christian clergy to bless weapons of war before returning to a current conflict to hear from a pastor in the little town of Bethlehem.
Editorials
Beating Bad Bills
With the start of a new year, state lawmakers will return to their chambers for a new legislative session. Christians should pay attention to bills under consideration. Although the debates and tweets
Shrugging at Christmas
There is a scene in the biblical Christmas story that bugs me. I didn’t notice it for years. But one Christmas as I was preparing a couple of sermons, I was struggling
Profits of War, Prophets of Peace
Last month, news headlines called the shooting in Las Vegas the “deadliest mass shooting in US history.” That’s the fifth time in my life that such a tragedy claimed that title —
Word&Way Voices
False Claims of a ‘Biblical View’
Evangelicals place great stress on the authority of the Bible and have often labeled their interpretation “the biblical view.” Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy outlines the problems with this framing and offers some helpful tips for combating it.
Lenten Reflections: Why We Must Stand in Solidarity With Gaza
Dr. Gregory Shay, a pediatric pulmonologist, deliberates on anecdotes of sickness and tragedy through a faith-based lens, arguing that it is inherently Christian to show solidarity with vulnerable populations — especially children.
How Does God Heal?
David Rice examines faith healing through the lens of both denominational differences between Baptists and the Assemblies of God as well as his personal struggles living with a disability.
E-Newsletter
‘Perverted Justice’
Clergy blast Missouri Gov. Mike Parson for freeing the police officer who was convicted of killing 26-year-old Cameron Lamb.
Lessons From Unsettling Advent
In this issue of A Public Witness, we share some of what we’ve learned from our series of devotionals this year on Advent in a time of rulers clinging to power, dangerous pregnancies, and violence in Lebanon.
Review & Giveaway: Religion for Realists
In his latest book “Religion for Realists: Why We All Need the Scientific Study of Religion,” Samuel Perry challenges some of our most cherished assumptions.
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The State of the Senate, from SC to ME to TX to KS
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham as well as issues of faith and morality in Senate races in Maine, Texas, and Kansas. You can… -
Southern Baptists, the Pentagon, & UFC
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about the Southern Baptist Convention's push against women in ministry, the Pentagon changing how it codes the faith of military members, and the latest in… -
Southern Baptists, Women in Ministry, & a Billboard
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Meredith Stone, executive director of Baptist Women in Ministry. The conversation includes discussion of efforts in the Southern Baptist Convention to further target women serving in churches and how BWIM is advocating for women (including with a billboard to greet SBC messengers next week in Orlando,… -
Divergent Visions for Rededicating the Nation
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about Rededicate 250, gerrymandering, Adam Hamilton's Senate campaign in Kansas, and the MAHA movement. You can watch a video version of the conversation here. Here are a few pieces… -
The Christian Past That Wasn't
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Warren Throckmorton, a retired professor who has spent years debunking false claims by Christian Nationalist pseudo-historian David Barton. Throckmorton is the author of the new book, The Christian Past that Wasn't: Debunking the Christian Nationalist Myths that Hijack History. You can watch a video version of… -
Trump vs. Leo
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about President Donald Trump's attacks on Pope Leo XIV, Leo's witness against the Iran war, Trump's AI image of himself as Jesus, and the electoral… -
Fight Like Jesus with Jason Porterfield (Reissue)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Jason Porterfield about his book Fight Like Jesus: How Jesus Waged Peace. This episode originally aired in 2023, except for a new introduction noting a violent prayer by Pete Hegseth during a recent Pentagon worship service and Palm Sunday comments by Pope Leo XIV. Note: Don't forget… -
Pete Hegseth's Crusader Bible (A Trick of State)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor considers Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's use of the English Standard Version of the Bible, patriarchy in the faith communities Hegseth has been a part of, and his Christian Nationalism. It also reveals that Hegseth's ESV Bible includes two Crusader symbols stamped onto the cover (and that match… -
An Unholy War
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about the Iran war, Christian opposition to the war, and viral claims of military leaders claiming this will bring "Armageddon." It also includes consideration of… -
Rewriting the Ten Commandments (A Trick of State)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor looks at legislation across the country that purports to want the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. But the version mandated by lawmakers cannot be found in any Bible. Kaylor unpacks where the edited language came from, why such legislation is an attack on religious liberty, and the…
Books
Review: What Do We Do When Nobody Is Listening?
Robert D. Cornwall reviews What Do We Do When Nobody Is Listening?: Leading the Church in a Polarized Society by Robin W. Lovin. This book, written by a United Methodist minister and Christian ethicist, tackles the question of how churches
Review: Azusa Reimagined
Robert D. Cornwall reviews Azusa Reimagined: A Radical Vision of Religious and Democratic Belonging by Keri Day. The book explores how the Azusa Street Revival that began in Los Angeles in 1906 served as the foundation of Pentecostalism and the
Review: Freeing Jesus
Robert D. Cornwall reviews Freeing Jesus: Rediscovering Jesus as Friend, Teacher, Savior, Lord, Way, and Presence by Diana Butler Bass. This book is her attempt to free Jesus from the captivity she has experienced in life and in doing so
Review: The Making of Biblical Womanhood
We review a book each month at A Public Witness and for this installment, Beau Underwood examines and recommends Beth Allison Barr's The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth. He also discusses some