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Featured
Kansas Faith Leaders Urge Governor to Grant Clemency Requests From People Sentenced to Death
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.
The Latina Women in Texas Reshaping the UMC
Latina United Methodist Church leaders in Texas are emerging with fresh models for ministry following years of schism, decline, and uncertainty within the denomination.
Not Your Mother’s ‘Little House’
A new Netflix series captures the edginess of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books while also reconsidering the narrative in the face of frontier America’s actual history.
Church
Willy Rice, Florida Pastor and Abuse Crisis Skeptic, Elected SBC President
Rice’s win is a triumph for critics who argue that the nation’s largest Protestant denomination has lost its way in recent years.
At TPUSA’s Women’s Summit, Christian Influencers Say Feminism Threatens Motherhood
Thousands gathered for the Texas event as young women increasingly abandon religion.
4 Years Running, Southern Baptists Weigh Tightening Ban on Churches With Women Pastors
Even as the convention's membership shrinks, the annual meeting in Orlando serves as a bellwether for religious and political trends among evangelicals.
Nation
Monthly Pentagon Worship Service Features Catholics for First Time
Jonathan Morris, a former priest and current Fox News commentator, and Washington Nationals pitcher Trevor Williams led the service in Pete Hegseth’s absence.
Which Bible Passages Are in Texas’ Proposed Student Reading List? Here’s What the Sections Reveal.
The chosen readings, to be voted on by the State Board of Education, draw heavily from Christian perspectives.
Oklahoma Pastor Who Was Backed by Trump Exits GOP House Runoff After Reports of Inappropriate Texts
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.
World
Pope Leo XIV Rejects Claims That God Justifies War in Palm Sunday Mass Message
He said God doesn't listen to the prayers of those who make war or cite God to justify their violence, just after Israeli police prevented the Catholic Church’s top leadership from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Cancer Nurse Turned Archbishop Celebrates Election As First Woman to Lead Church of England
Sarah Mullally's appointment instantly makes her one of the most recognized Christian figures in the world, alongside the pope.
Jerusalem’s Palm Sunday Procession Canceled Due to Iran War
In lieu of the Palm Sunday procession, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem called on Christians around the world to commit to a moment of prayer for the Holy City of Jerusalem.
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
A Pacifist Response to the Minnesota Killings
While each aspect of the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti has been dissected and analyzed under a microscope, contributing writer Rodney Kennedy takes a macro approach to examine how American Christians approach violence.
Saying Ouch or Amen: How Druski’s Jokes Can Help the Church
Comedian Druski’s latest viral church parody contains some truth in its critique, however uncomfortable it may be. The Church and the Christians within it should face that openly.
What ‘The Testament of Ann Lee’ Teaches Us About Religious Liberty Today
From the beginning, the U.S. has prided itself on being a haven for persecuted believers. But it has also demanded those believers demonstrate their loyalty in ways that blur the line between conscience and citizenship.
E-Newsletter
Rededication or Misdirection?
These days, it can feel like Christian Nationalism is the majority opinion. But while Christian Nationalists have grabbed significant power, many times — like with ‘Rededicate 250’ — it’s just that they’re being extra loud.
Labor Department Cancels Monthly Worship Service After Secretary’s Ouster
While the organizing and hosting of monthly government worship services has been paused at DoL, such services continue at the Pentagon — and this trend has now spread to the Small Business Administration.
Rededicating to the Wrong Example
This issue of A Public Witness unpacks why the upcoming ‘Rededicate 250’ gathering was planned for May 17 and the Christian Nationalist fight to remake the past and present.
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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: Serving Up Scripture
Using the metaphor of cooking, scholars Jennifer Garcia Bashaw and Aaron Higashi explain how you, the chef (interpreter), can whip up meals (insightful interpretations) from the ingredients (chapters/verses) in your Bible.
Review: Reading the Bible on Turtle Island
Indigenous scholars Chris Hoklotubbe and Danny Zacharias explore what it means to read the Bible from the lens of Indigenous peoples in North America.
Review & Giveaway: Furious Minds
Political theorist Laura Field provides an intellectual tour of the MAGA New Right, a movement that has twice carried Donald Trump into the White House.
Review: Dispatches From Mormon Zion
Combining gifted storytelling with keen analysis, Ryan Davis illuminates lived experiences within the LDS community and offers thoughtful reflections on what it might mean to share one heart and one mind in today’s polarized world.