Retirement is one of the strangest words in the Christian vocabulary. We know how CEOs retire, athletes retire and politicians retire. They shake a few hands, kiss a few babies, give a farewell speech, collect a plaque engraved with their…
It’s time to listen to the prophets
Lately, I’ve been noticing how the evangelical emphasis on salvation can come at the expense of any meaningful discussion of sanctification. I see it everywhere I go: Christian radio and media, leaders who hold correct doctrinal beliefs but live abhorrent…
Court prophets and the crisis of the prophetic
We are living in a moment of widespread moral confusion, and yet we have no shortage of people claiming to speak with moral and even prophetic authority. Everyone seems certain. Everyone seems outraged. Everyone seems convinced God is on their…
The word of the Lord to Donald Trump
We read from Isaiah 1 on Sunday, and the prophet didn’t mince words about Judah’s need to repent, not just of personal sin and idolatry but of remaining silent in the face of rampant injustice and oppression: Wash and make…
ICE, Gaza and the threat of stupid Jesus
“They killed the boy.” That was the explanation a Bible professor once gave me for why Jesus wasn’t a good model of leadership. The Christian scholar had been describing how, many years before, a subordinate had proposed holding a pastor’s…
What the prophets knew that America has forgotten
The U.S. Supreme Court is in summer recess, offering a temporary respite to the millions of Americans whose lives have been made more complicated by the court’s recent rulings. Whether by upholding President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship,…
Trump’s prophets ratchet up attacks against Harris after presidential debate
Some of Donald Trump’s evangelical supporters are ratcheting up their attacks against Kamala Harris in the aftermath of last week’s presidential debate, going so far as to compare her once again to “Jezebel” and calling the Democratic Party “demonic.” The…
NAR prophets still declaring Trump is God’s man, scholar warns
Among the most ardent Christian nationalists today is a subgroup most Americans are not aware of but that is having an outsized influence on conservative politics and culture. That group, the New Apostolic Reformation, is a focus of research done…
It’s time for the prophets among us to stand up and speak out
I was recently with a group of pastors and laity from The United Methodist Church (the denomination I’m a part of). There, I lamented the fact that some pastors are afraid of addressing things like Christian nationalism within their congregations….
Deconstructing God as king
As Donald Trump criticizes Kamala Harris for supposedly “turning Black,” laughing too expressively or creating AI-generated crowds, his poll numbers are slipping. Therefore, many of his political advisers are urging him to focus on policies. One of the most common…
Pro-Trump ‘prophets’ are taking their show on the road
A group of pro-Trump “prophets” who are 2020 election deniers are taking their show on the road with FlashPoint Live, which will visit seven cities before this year’s presidential election. As Religion News Service reported, FlashPoint Live is based on…
In Zambia and beyond, controversial ‘prayer consultation’ hotels drive mini real estate boom
“One-on-one” or “consultation hotels” are motels built by wealthy evangelical prophets to offer personalized “spiritual services.” And they are driving a mini real estate boom in Zambia’s biggest cities and even in neighboring countries. “To see a senior prophet, the…