In what may be his final book, theologian/ethicist Stanley Hauerwas remains true to the principle he’s taught and preached across almost six decades — a call to unflinching obedience to Jesus embodied in the church. At 84, Hauerwas still knows…
How Southwestern Seminary is bouncing back from financial catastrophe
Over the past six years, we have spilt buckets of digital ink here bringing you the saga of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. I’m writing today not in the format of a news story but in the…
Is Christianity’s statistical decline slowing?
Between the New Atheist movement of the 2000s, clergy shortages in the Catholic Church, and the demographic collapse of Mainline Protestant sects in the United States, the story of religion for the past 35 years has been one of persistent…
Burning down the church
Just prior to the 2008 presidential election, 52% of American adults attended worship. As the 2024 election approached, only 31% of the white American population was regularly in church, a decline of 21 percentage points. In 2008, 68% of 18-…
Dismantling Education Department is straight out of Project 2025
News that President Donald Trump is preparing to sign an executive order dissolving the U.S. Department of Education has riveted attention on Trump’s adherence to Project 2025, a conservative evangelical blueprint for dismantling the federal government. The Wall Street Journal…
Turns out, we have partisan brains — but there’s hope
It’s no secret politics divides America. The growing hostility between Republicans who support Donald Trump and the Democrats who oppose him is fracturing friendships, families and churches. Each side wonders at the rationale of the other: “How can they possibly…
‘These people!’
President Donald Trump, at his smirking, scoffing, bragging best, spent his State of the Union address making a campaign rally speech. He could not conceal his rage at the Democrats who are duly elected members of Congress but won’t bow…
Our debate ultimately is about the dignity and humanity of women
A conservative friend on social media recently admitted that some of the storylines around Donald Trump’s second term have been extreme but concluded this is simply the way the pendulum swings. In one sense, what he said was true. Since…
When Trump canceled US aid, these evangelicals rejoiced
When President Donald Trump canceled U.S. grants distributed through church charitable organizations, Phil Vischer posted on X: “The Trump admin sent notices on Wednesday to the Christian orgs that work to help refugees resettle in the US — informing them…
7 lies Trump is telling about Ukraine
In an unparalleled abandonment of decades of American foreign policy, President Donald Trump has sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin against Ukraine. Trump says, “Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into…
Are we a democracy or a republic? Why words matter
“The United States is not a democracy! It’s a republic!” my independent Baptist high school government teacher declared over the sound of gunfire and cannons exploding in the Civil War re-enactment across the street. Almost three decades later, the debate…
Social Principles are basis of UMC opposition to Trump policies
Note: This is the first in a five-part series on the updated Social Principles of The United Methodist Church. Still reeling like many Americans from the “shock and awe” of the first few weeks of the new federal administration,…