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Featured
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.
AU Sues Defense, Labor Departments Over Government Worship Services
Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed two lawsuits against the Trump administration today as part of their investigation into government worship services.
Pete Hegseth’s Crusader Bible
The defense secretary’s tattoos of the Jerusalem Cross and “Deus Vult” are frequently invoked as literal signs of his Christian Nationalism — and rightly so. But the same symbols on his Bible were overlooked until now.
Church
An American Baptist Church Ministers in Shadow of Pretti Killing
An American Baptist church is just one block from where nurse Alex Pretti was executed Saturday by federal agents in the street. The church held a joint worship service the next morning elsewhere, but opened up its own building to serve those coming or leaving the memorial to Pretti.
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.
‘Just Like Selma’ Hymn Project Aims to Help Churches Recall King, Mark Black History Month
The new song’s composer thought it could be a way to again hear from Black churches, collectively, about civil rights.
Nation
3 Democratic Pastors in Iowa Are Running for Congress, a Snapshot of a National Trend
After years of white Christians overwhelmingly supporting Republican Donald Trump, a striking number of clergy are currently running for political office as Democrats.
Interrupting Worship for a Candidate
This issue of A Public Witness heads down to Georgia to consider the devil in the details of the race to determine who will be the next Republican nominee for governor.
Judge Strikes Down Arkansas Law Mandating Schools Display a Highly Edited Version of the Ten Commandments
Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas all have enacted similar laws — and as such, each mandate has faced legal challenges that many expect to eventually be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
World
Jerusalem Historic Churches Call Christian Zionism a ‘Damaging’ Ideology
Historic Christian churches representing the predominantly Arab Christian community and mostly U.S. evangelicals who support Israel are at odds with each other.
US Catholic Cardinals Urge Trump Administration to Embrace a Moral Compass in Foreign Policy
The unusual statement marked the second time in recent months that members of the Catholic hierarchy have asserted their voice against a Trump administration many believe isn’t upholding the basic tenets of human dignity.
While MAGA Preachers Cheer, Mainline Protestants Strongly Condemn Attack on Venezuela
This issue of A Public Witness looks at criticism of the Trump administration’s actions in Venezuela by various Christian denominations and organizations, as well as pleas for peace by Venezuelan Christian leaders.
Editorials
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.
United Methodists Condemning Christian Nationalism Should Address Their Complicity
The thinning of the UMC’s conservative ranks makes this week’s conference a perfect time to address the issue.
Before Trump Promoted a Bible, President Truman Blessed One
Missing in all the jokes and news reports about the Trump Bible is that this isn’t the first time a presidential stamp of approval was sought for the Good Book.
Word&Way Voices
Unsettling Advent 2025, Day 13
When we have created — and allowed — a world where the fearmongering of scarcity is rewarded far and above the possibility of abundance, we are indeed facing Advent in a time of starvation.
Unsettling Advent 2025, Day 12
The good news of Advent is this: Christ entered the violence of human life, the very violence that says some folks are more valuable than others, and took on these abstractions.
Unsettling Advent 2025, Day 10
Advent teaches us that a shiny, gilded facade only serves to cover up the other side of the story. If we keep our focus on the child sleeping in an animal feeding trough, we might be unsettled — but the truth we see will compel us to live differently.
E-Newsletter
White House Commission Caught in Ugly Dispute Over Antisemitism
Given the importance of promoting religious liberty and addressing religious bigotry, this issue of A Public Witness delves into the debates swirling around the White House’s “Religious Liberty Commission.”
At Labor Department Prayer Service, MAGA Preacher Says Employees are Working for God and Trump
Leon Benjamin, a charismatic preacher who frequently spoke at the ReAwaken America Tour, attended the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally on Jan. 6, 2021, and even walked with the crowd to the Capitol grounds.
At National Prayer Breakfast, Hegseth Says US Soldiers Gain Salvation by Dying for ‘Christian Nation’
Coverage of Thursday’s event has largely focused on Trump’s rambling remarks — but the much more problematic and dangerous comments actually came later from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
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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… -
198. American Christianity Divided in Responses to ICE
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 ICE actions in Minneapolis, how many clergy are leading protests against ICE while others are supporting ICE, and new research worried about the loss… -
197. Anna Piela and Michael Woolf on Confronting Islamophobia in the Church
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with American Baptist ministers Anna Piela and Michael Woolf on Islamophobia, immigration, and how Christians can better engage with interfaith efforts. Anna and Michael are coauthors of the new book, Confronting Islamophobia in the Church: Liturgical Tools for Justice. Watch a video version of this conversation here.… -
196. Martha Bardwell on Faith Communities Responding to ICE in Minneapolis
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Martha Bardwell, pastor of Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on how faith communities are responding to ICE violence in the Twin Cities and the ICE killing of Renee Good. Watch a video version of this latest conversation here. The episode includes a discussion on… -
195. Attacking Venezuela & Gambling on Jesus
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 consideration of the U.S. attack on Venezuela and how Christians are responding, Pete Hegseth's pledge to change the military chaplaincy program, and how people are now… -
194. Dangers of Faith in the Pentagon & AI in Faith
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 consideration of U.S. strikes against Venezuelan boats, Pete Hegseth's Christian prayer services at the Pentagon, the use of AI in churches, and alarms about AI Christian…
Books
Review: Contesting the Body of Christ
In this book, Baptist theologian Myles Werntz explores the landscape of twentieth-century ecclesiology and shows how the four marks of the church were remade, contested, and reaffirmed in surprising ways.
Review & Giveaway: The Seven Mountains Mandate
Beau Underwood reviews The Seven Mountains Mandate: Exposing the Dangerous Plan to Christianize America and Destroy Democracy, which Matthew Boedy wrote to alert those who were ignorant or complacent about what was going on and what was at stake.
Review: We Call Ourselves Disciples
Written by Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) pastors and scholars, this collection of essays explores the mainline Protestant denomination’s diverse history, theology, worship, and mission.
Review: Rooted in Faith and Justice
As the world’s attention is on the devastation of Gaza, this book offers a powerful and enlightening perspective through the eyes of Palestinian Christian leaders and thinkers.