It may now seem surprising to many United Methodists, and even more Baptists, that for most of our histories in the United States, all Methodists and Baptists were regularly designated as evangelical denominations. The most important reason is that both...
Having a masked immigration agent point a loaded gun at him was frightening enough for Illinois State Rep. Hoan Huynh, but just as terrifying were the memories it evoked from his previous life in a communist country. “I think back…
Today marks the 508th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, marking the day in 1517 when Catholic priest and professor Martin Luther’s 95 Theses appeared on the Medieval scene in Wittenburg, Germany. The theses called the Roman Church to account for…
The Assemblies of God — one of the world’s largest Pentecostal denominations — has been thrust into a crisis of theology and failed accountability related to clergy sexual abuse. An exhaustive investigation by NBC News found a five-decades-long pattern of…
Last summer I ate lunch with a long-term kindred spirit friend who, like me, is a retired minister. We spoke about our vocations in the church, both the good and the bad. We also expressed deep disappointments with organized religion,…
It always troubles me when I hear people say, “I don’t even keep up with the news anymore.” They might be referring to cancelling their hometown newspaper subscription. Newspapers have been hurting for decades, most of their advertising (car dealerships…
Key to Donald Trump’s victory last fall was his ability to make inroads with voters who traditionally supported Democratic presidential candidates, including voters of color and younger voters — particularly men. As journalists, activists and politicians all attempt to understand…
“It’s the women,” conservative white nationalist influencer Nick Fuentes smugly declared on the Tucker Carlson show in response to Carlson asking why young people aren’t getting married these days. “The men are extremely conservative, increasingly,” he intoned. “The women are…
As a denominational worker, I sat through countless trainings where visitation was considered a thing of the past as an outreach tool. The truth is, when a church is not held hostage by trends and theological debate, it has the…
A chilling and terrifying convergence is under way on the American religious right. On one side comes raw, unfiltered and vitriolic bigotry straight from the gutter. The most recent display of this came in the form of leaked Telegram chats…
The new superintendent of public schools in Oklahoma has formed a “turnaround team” to help restore public education in the state after the departure of Christian nationalist leader Ryan Walters. Veteran educator Lindel Fields was appointed to the position by…
Half of all U.S. states and the District of Columbia are suing to force the Trump administration to continue food stamp funding currently scheduled to end Nov. 1 due to the government shutdown. The administration blamed its decision to suspend…
The House Freedom Caucus has announced a prayer meeting to seek God’s help solving a problem they created themselves. How ironic. Today’s prayer meeting was called, in part, to ask for divine intervention on the government shutdown, now in its…
