As America prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, our latest report, “Competing Visions of America at 250: Politics, Religion, and Identity,” surfaces a troubling signal for the future of our democracy — and it centers on the nation’s youngest citizens. Generation...
Our role as leaders of congregations is most visible when we stand up to preach. Whenever we step into the pulpit, we are “out in front” — thus fulfilling the shorthand definition of a leader. On any given Sunday, we…
To say that Flint, Mich., has a complicated relationship with water is perhaps an understatement. That’s why a production there of the classic rock musical Godspell is drawing a different kind of national attention. The entire production takes place in…
Several weeks ago, I had a strange and troubling dream. In my dream, I attended a massive rally. Thousands of people flocked to the stadium to hear their hero speak. As throngs of people entered the stadium, Jesus quietly entered…
Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown is known by some as the godfather of California politics, but he wants to be remembered for helping people. “If you are in the business of politics, you come forward with the foundation that…
Descendants of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and a number of Bonhoeffer scholars have signed letters denouncing Eric Metaxas and other Christian nationalists they say are twisting the German theologian’s writing to serve their cause. “From Project 2025 to violent political rhetoric, the…
The food we waste may fall out of our memory pretty quickly, but it doesn’t disappear. The French fries you couldn’t finish at lunch, the leftover casserole from the church potluck, the moldy loaf of bread you forgot about, the…
Once upon a time, if anyone used the phrase “purple church,” they might well have been referring to the sanctuary during Advent and Lent; the church’s two annual liturgical waiting rooms, sacred seasons when altars and pastors are draped and…
Gender dysphoria is “irrelevant” to claims of transgender youth and the Biden administration that a Tennessee law blocking gender-affirming medical care for minors is unconstitutional, according to the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. Fighting transgender medical treatment…
Focusing on American attitudes about gender and gender roles reveals more about the 2024 election than simply tracking the sex of voters, said Melissa Deckman, CEO of Public Religion Research Institute. “That is far more important to understanding American politics,”…
There’s an old Irish drinking song that was repopularized in the 1960s about a young soldier who ran off to South Asia to join the British armies fighting the Kandian War in modern day Sri Lanka. The lyrics capture the…
The Christian publishing world is consolidating again, with news that David C. Cook plans to acquire Group Publishing. The acquisition would make David C. Cook the largest independent publisher of curriculum for the interdenominational church market, a news release says….
I hope reading this column is a good use of your time, and I hope writing this column was a good use of my time, because you and I waste a lot of time. We turn on the TV out…
