It shouldn’t feel so hard to write about voting rights in a way that will not offend partisan sensibilities. It didn’t used to be this way. In 2006, Congress reauthorized the 1965 Voting Rights Act with a unanimous vote in…
A wish list for the common good in a new era
With the presidential inauguration, a new session of Congress and state legislatures gearing up, Americans receive fresh reminders to look toward the future with hope. Of course, we place ultimate trust in God and not government. But we propel our…
Christian advocacy puts words and actions together in following God
Words matter. They are how we frame our society, our relationships, our entire lives. They are a gift. Actions matter. They impact everyone and everything around us. They have the power to help or harm. The central question for Christians,…
Coronavirus teaches us that ‘church’ is a verb
In this time of coronavirus, we need a new grammar of church. “Church” is not a noun with a cynosure of place. It is a verb. It is a verb not to be used in the singular but always in…
‘You had a future and so should we’: practical steps for climate justice
Yes, the environmental picture is bleak, and we need to know just how dire the situation is. But as people of faith, we are never without hope.
Opposition to Trump ‘zero-tolerance’ must go grassroots, organizers say
Public outrage over President Donald Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policy has given way this week to controversial Supreme Court rulings, including one upholding the president’s Muslim-focused travel ban. But religious and other non-profit groups that serve immigrants have not taken their…
Gospel politics in the midst of social turmoil
Jesus came preaching the good news of the kingdom of God that is at hand. That good news threatened political leaders who failed to attend to the common good and it brought blowback from religious leaders who minded the status quo. Preaching the whole gospel will do that in any age.
With little opportunity for youth and children — or almost anyone else — Christian community builds chances from the ground up
Helms Jarrell, co-director of the QC Family Tree intentional Christian community, had given crystal-clear instructions for the youth group’s annual trip to Boone, N.C. They had just hauled a van-full of Enderly Park teenagers up from Charlotte and the group…
For this intentional Christian community, seeking the world’s healing means battling gentrification close at home
Enderly Park is blistering under an unseasonable September heat, and Frank Byers saunters across Tuckaseegee Road to the rec center where he likes to play cards with his neighbors. He doesn’t use the crosswalk, but in many ways he’s earned…