The evangelical embrace of secular politics has changed what counts as evangelism. The cultural wars, with their anger, outrage and hyperbole, have proved intoxicating to the previous heralds of the good news of Jesus. Evangelism has been watered down to…
Beware of evangelists on airplanes
What could be worse than “Snakes on a Plane”? How about “Preachers on a Plane.” This is the latest trend going viral in white evangelicalism’s spiritual warfare campaign. And as Samuel L. Jackson would say, “Enough is enough!” Attention to…
Churches must disciple well and listen well in response to rise of Christian nationalism
Churches have a task on their hands to raise standards of theological literacy in their congregations amid growing Christian nationalism, while at the same time listening to and engaging with the concerns of people in their flock.
When Christians welcome immigrant souls but not their bodies
Within the last two weeks, Franklin Graham has publicly celebrated what he describes as hundreds of people responding to the invitation to repent during evangelistic events in Argentina. Images of crowds and language of spiritual breakthrough have echoed a revivalist…
How a jar of cookie ingredients led our family to church
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…
6 ways to gain credibility in our gospel witness
The gospel message itself always has been a big ask for much of the world to accept: an unmarried virgin’s conception, Jesus’ myriad supra-science miracles, the atoning death, the bodily resurrection. It is for this very reason the Apostle Paul…
ISIS Victims Welcome Christian Help, Not Christian Conversion
The previous article in this series highlighted the impact of USAID cuts on the vulnerable Yazidi community in Iraq. ISIS displaced Yazidis from their historic home of Sinjar in northern Iraq in 2014, killing and enslaving thousands.
European Evangelism Congress Preaches Hope Despite Rising Secular Tide
When evangelist Billy Graham came to West Germany in 1954, more than 80,000 people packed into Berlin’s Olympic Stadium to hear the American preacher’s message. It’s hard to imagine that big of a crowd gathering in Germany to hear a sermon these…
If Jesus loves me, why is Donald Trump ruining everything?
I heard one of those televangelists preaching at me online the other day, declaring with equal sincerity that Jesus loves me and that Donald Trump is the savior we’ve all been waiting for. I’m having a hard time reconciling these…
It’s 2025: Where’s our witness?
We were out visiting for the church, the Deacon and I, two Baptists prepared to “win the lost for Christ” on a steamy summer Sunday afternoon in Fort Worth. The Deacon was a committed soul winner, and I was a…
I’m eager to talk about the whole gospel and all the good news at Lausanne Congress
This week, the fourth Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, “Let the Church Declare and Display Christ Together,” is happening in Seoul, South Korea, where thousands of international Christians have come together from diverse backgrounds to consider “gaps and opportunities” in…
We can no longer ignore the toxic forms of ‘evangelism’
Recently, I wrote an analysis about some of the shadow funders behind Project 2025. As part of that article, I pointed out how the form of evangelism embraced by many evangelicals is “dominating, colonialist and culturally offensive” and therefore “morally…