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Michael Youssef’s ‘Christ Our Hope’ Campaign Starts in Amman, Jordan
Youssef discussed his 52 years of ministry, Christians in the Middle East, and preparation for a major commemoration in 2030: the 2,000th anniversary of the baptism of Jesus at Bethany Beyond the Jordan.
Seven Vermont Clergy Arrested While Protesting ICE Targeting Center
'I think it is imperative on me, as a faith leader, to proclaim that human beings are not targets and that God is a God of justice and of love,’ said the Rev. Rebecca Girrell, a United Methodist pastor who was among those arrested.
‘A Weaponized Bureaucracy That Chills First Amendment Activity’
As the Trump administration claims ‘anti-Christian bias’ under Biden, activists and mainline Protestant denominations are pushing back against ‘church invasions by ICE.’
Church
Inside a Brooklyn Church Where Immigration Activism Is the Gospel
From encrypted apps to legal clinics: How an immigrant-majority church is responding to protect its congregation.
SBC Leaders Called an Abuse Crisis a Hoax. Abuse Survivors Want an Apology.
In an open letter, a group of survivors and advocates say that comments by SBC President Willy Rice and Texas pastor Jack Graham make it harder to address the issue of abuse in churches.
With Voting Rights in Mind, Progressive National Baptists Head to Capitol Hill
'The Supreme Court, not too far from here, decided that it was OK for Black folks to not deserve representation in Congress,' said its social justice commission co-chair.
Nation
Supreme Court Asked to Review Texas Law Requiring the ‘Ten Commandments’ in Public Schools
Civil rights advocates on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Texas law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments, teeing up a potential new test of state-sponsored religious expression in classrooms.
US Military Base Schools Put New Emphasis on Western Civilization and Christianity
The Department of Defense is introducing a course centered on Western civilization and Christianity this fall in the schools it operates for military families, part of an effort by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to redirect the education system toward patriotic values and classical learning.
Department of Homeland Security Spied on Churches in the Twin Cities
A surveillance incident at a Baptist church particularly raises questions since the congregation’s building is covered by a federal injunction blocking warrantless DHS actions there.
World
AP Exclusive: Under Notre Dame Cathedral, a ‘Dig of the Century’ Unearths 1,700 Years of History
Among the hundreds of objects already found: a fourth-century coin stamped with the face of the Emperor Constantine, and shards of medieval pottery painted on the inside with marks no expert has yet deciphered.
In His First Encyclical, Pope Leo XIV Says AI Must Serve Humanity, Not the Powerful Few
In ‘Magnifica Humanitas,’ Leo's 83-page manifesto on AI, the pope tackles the social, economic, and political challenges associated with artificial intelligence.
Belarus Authoritarian Leader Welcomes US Evangelist Franklin Graham to Hold Massive Gathering
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko asked Graham to convey warm greetings to President Donald Trump and tell him that he has ‘reliable friends and supporters in Belarus.’
Editorials
Unsettling Advent 2024, Day 1
For the first devotional exploring Advent in a time of rulers clinging to power, Brian Kaylor reflects on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro declaring Christmas in October to distract from his false election claims.
Speaker of the House Takes Southern Baptist Approach to Covering Up Gaetz’s Alleged Sex Crimes
Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on Speaker Mike Johnson working to cover up a House Ethics Committee report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz after President-elect Donald Trump nominated Gaetz to serve as U.S. attorney general.
On the SBC Sidewalk
While messengers to last week’s annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention debated how to treat churches with women in pastoral roles, Baptist Women in Ministry showed up to offer a counter witness.
Word&Way Voices
Trapped Between ‘The Art of the Deal’ and ‘The Art of War’
Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy argues that Trump's war against Iran, like his entire presidency, is an exercise in blowing things up. He has shown that he is a demolition expert, not a deal maker.
A Flag Gained, the Gospel Lost
In significant sectors of American evangelical Christianity, Israel is a theological object beyond moral scrutiny. This is not political support for an ally. It is worship. And by Christianity’s own doctrinal standards, it is sin.
Why America Loves War
Stanley Hauerwas writes that ‘war is America’s central liturgical act necessary to renew our sense that we are a nation unlike any other nation.’ Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy connects this idea to our TV habits.
E-Newsletter
Add Your Voice for Church-State Separation
Trump’s ‘Religious Liberty Commission’ is now receiving public comments that it will review before issuing a final report. While they will not repent of their Christian Nationalism, it can still be an important sign of how unpopular their agenda is if they are swamped with public opposition.
When Blasphemy Flashes on the National Mall
This issue of A Public Witness strikes at the heresy in Trump’s Fourth of July remarks and thunders some disapproval for similar rhetoric recently offered by Speaker Mike Johnson.
J.D. Vance Quotes Violent ‘Pulp Fiction’ Scene to Explain His Faith Conversion
The first moment of the Quentin Tarantino film highlighted by the vice president during a recent interview occurs just seconds after the Samuel L. Jackson monologue used by Pete Hegseth as a prayer during a worship service at the Pentagon in April.
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Backslide with Robert P. Jones
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor and Robert P. Jones, author of the forthcoming book Backslide: Reclaiming a Faith and a Nation After the Christian Turn Against Democracy. Jones is also the founder and president of PRRI. He previously appeared on Dangerous Dogma in 2023. You can watch a… -
DHS Spies on Churches & White Sox Honor Pope 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 revelations that the Department of Homeland Security has been spying in churches, a controversial golf ad, and a White Sox night celebrating Pope Leo.… -
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…
Books
Review: Feasting on Hope
Through sharing her personal story of deep loss, Hannah Miller King reflects on how the ancient Christian practice of communion can reframe our grief by embedding it in a larger picture of gospel hope.
Review: Witness — Converting Worlds
The latest book from Amos Yong recasts what Christians call the missiological question first and foremost to those who would be true believers, including all who might wish to bear appropriate witness to their faith in a pluralistic world.
Review: Suicide and the Communion of Saints
Drawing on her vocational insights and personal experiences, Episcopal priest, historian, and spiritual director Rhonda Mawhood Lee offers a compassionate vision for understanding and responding faithfully to suicide.
Review: Undoing Manifest Destiny
L. Daniel Hawk exposes the belief systems and practices that settlers developed to justify the displacement, destruction, and cultural erasure of Indigenous peoples, beginning in the early American colonial period and extending to the present day.