We are living in violent and deeply troubling times. In New York City, a teenager raised in Philadelphia participated in an attempted terrorist attack on Gracie Mansion. According to security experts, the attack is part of a rising tide of…
The Charlotte Pentecostals inverting the slogans of Christian nationalism
I was in Charlotte and attended several protests against the presence of ICE in the city. One I went to was made up of largely left-leaning white protesters, which you would see at many Indivisible or No Kings rallies. These…
American Baptist leaders praise clergy protesting ICE
Leaders of the American Baptist Home Mission Societies issued a statement Nov. 18 offering support for clergy who have been arrested while protesting ICE, including an American Baptist pastor in the Chicago area. While many Mainline Protestant clergy have been at the…
What Kristi Noem and DHS won’t admit about clergy-led protests
Last Thursday night, I had dinner at the home of Baptist pastor Michael Woolf, his wife, Anna Piela, and their young daughter. We ate lasagna that Woolf had cooked. The next morning, a Reuters photo of Woolf’s arrest at a…
A conversation with Michael Woolf about ICE and Chicago
On Halloween, ICE agents carried out a number of raids in and around Chicagoland — including in Evanston, home of Lake Street Church, an Alliance of Baptist congregation. In response, Lake Street’s senior pastor, Michael Woolf, joined protests at the…
Jesus is being tear gassed at Broadview
What follows is an open letter from more than 100 Chicago-area clergy issued Friday, Oct. 17. “Can I use my pastoral expense account to buy a gas mask?” It’s a question dozens of Chicago pastors asked our church boards…
Chicago pastor sues Trump after ICE assaults him while praying
A Presbyterian minister attacked by ICE agents during the peaceful protest of a Chicago-area migrant processing center has joined a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration’s violence against demonstrators and media. David Black, senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of…
The evidence-based path from protest to power
I know activists who have protested every American military action since the Korean War. They’ve spent decades hitting the streets to try and end needless death and destruction. Their moral determination is powerful, and they’ve kept resistance alive when others…
It’s time for white Christians to take to the streets
My friend David Dark often posts on social media that there are lots of ways to love God. I have seen some of those forms of love recently, as have you. Since President Donald Trump unleashed masked ICE officers on…
Here’s what’s really happening in Los Angeles
How many of you have seen the images of burning cars and Mexican flags being flown over destruction and carnage? Or maybe your algorithm serves you up endless videos of police trampling, striking or shooting helpless protestors. These days it…
Trump’s actions in LA are popular only with Republicans
Nearly half of Americans are opposed to the deployment of U.S. Marines and National Guard troops to Los Angeles to quell protests against President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign. A June 9 CBS News/YouGov poll found 45% of adults surveyed…
How I’m preparing for No Kings Day
In the long-ago time when cell phones were becoming more ubiquitous, we were encouraged to put the letters ICE with the names of our contacts who should be called In Case of Emergency. Everyone knew if someone was in need…