September is a big month for Andrew Wommack, the controversial health and wealth preacher who celebrates the 30th anniversary of his Charis Bible College on Sept. 6 and hosts his annual gathering of his Christian nationalist political arm, the Truth…
Politics, faith and mission: A conversation with Tia Levings
Tia Levings was deeply embedded in a Christian fundamentalist movement that sanctioned her abuse and complete control by her husband. As she describes in her new memoir, A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy, she fled that tradition to…
What happens when one church controls a majority of the City Council?
In Redding, Calif., members of a single evangelical megachurch now control a majority of seats on the City Council. While this is a highly unusual situation for a city of nearly 100,000 people, Bethel Church is a highly unusual congregation…
What I’m learning about Christian nationalism
Christian nationalism is gaining ground among Republicans, they say — and I’m not sure who “they” is, but it could be somebody who knows what they’re talking about. I am trying to learn about all this because it has to…
Two viruses threaten the life of the Southern Baptist Convention: Male hierarchy and dominion theology
There is most likely a virus inside your body right now. Probably even a few. These latent viruses are tiny squatters that call our bodies home. Some of the more well-known latent viruses inhabit as much as 80% to 90%…
Angels from Africa: Reckoning with the New Apostolic Reformation
There’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear. Two days after Joe Biden was declared winner of the 2020 presidential election, Paula White, the ex-president’s thrice-married spiritual advisor, launched into a stunning rant. “I hear victory in the…
An American Taliban?
Has the Christian Right morphed into an American version of the Taliban? Are these folks trying to transform America into a fundamentalist theocracy? Don’t they talk about making the Bible the law of the land? Don’t they speak of “taking…