In early 2026, I was invited to participate and help facilitate a conversation with clergy from around the country as a part of a Zoom conversation hosted by Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. My breakout session was on how…
Churches must resist polarization as a path to reducing violence
Churches are an essential part of responding to violence in America, beginning with emphasizing Jesus’ commandment to love our enemies. Preachers must stop calling down hellfire on those who disagree with them, and instead acknowledge that everyone is our brother…
In first interview, Pope Leo XIV takes on billionaires, polarization and war
The Catholic news website Crux published excerpts of Pope Leo XIV’s first extended interview with any media outlet, giving the first look at his perspective on the papacy and the challenges facing the church and society. Leo talked about his…
How to talk about polarizing topics at church
Churches can talk about polarizing topics — even politics — if they enter those conversations seeking transformation rather than conformity, church consultant Matt Cook told participants at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly in St. Louis June 26. Cook, director…
Even as polarization surges, Americans believe they live in a compassionate country
As the granddaughter of immigrants from Lithuania and Poland who spoke little English, I understand what it’s like to be treated as a stranger in America.
Beyond the divisions: 5 guiding principles for Christian citizenship in a polarized nation
For all the complexities and sharp disagreements among Christians on matters that shape our citizenship, a certain foundation of shared faith can guide all of us who believe we have a constructive, even transformative, role to play in society.
Invoking Hauerwas and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount: Christians, stop the killing
Would it be too much to invoke the spirit of Hauerwas’ words to ask that Christians in America stop killing each other, either with physical weapons or with weaponized words?
Crossing the lines we draw: Will our response to this pandemic unite or further divide us?
Amid the widening divisions and deepening polarization in every area of life, we can make choices that are intended to bring people together rather than push them farther away.
When this pandemic subsides, may compassion continue
In the wake of COVID-19, let us never discount the cumulative impact of compassion. Small acts of concern and sensitivity can bring about transformational healing in people’s lives and promote societal wholeness.
Will our common vulnerabilities in this moment lead us to unite for the common good?
Perhaps this global pandemic will gather in each of us a calm assurance, having become so weary of our vices, we finally embrace our cure – by embracing one another.
Re-setting broken bones: Why the oft-lamented division in our culture is necessary and helpful
This moment does not call for cheap unity, but for a clarified division.
2019 was not a good year for the church: 10 resolutions for doing better in 2020
It’s high time for the church to drop all its stones and stop acting like its role is to be judge, jury, and executioner for those who believe and live in different ways.