Recent Articles
Jesus is Dead
If you’ve ever experienced a Good Friday service like this, you know the supreme dissonance between the moments when the last candle is extinguished and we walk out of the sanctuary, and when we are all standing together in the foyer, quietly wondering, “What now?”
March 29, 2024
Black Pastors See Popular Easter Services as an Opportunity to Rebuild In-Person Worship Attendance; With Texas’s Deportation Law on Pause, Migrants Turn to the Church; Resigned President is Suing Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for Defamation; England and Wales: Same-Sex Marriage a Decade On: More Choice for All Couples is the Best Legal Way Forward, Study Argues (and more)
Heresy of the Trump Bible
If a claim can be made that God inspired America’s founding documents, then someone else might claim that Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” was inspired as well.
Footnotes | Trump Wants You to Buy the “God Bless the USA” Bible
In a stunningly blatant display of white Christian nationalism, Donald Trump is encouraging his followers to buy a pro-America Bible in partnership with singer Lee Greenwood who is best known for his 1984 song, “God Bless the USA.”
He Died…Didn’t He Die?: A Womanist Response and Critique of Traditional Soteriology
Trauma will no longer be theologized and glorified. Abuse will no longer be a medal of honor. Sexual violence will no longer be worthy of rousing applause.
March 28, 2024
‘I’m Really Proud to Be on the Frontlines of Religion’: New Gallup Poll Finds Drop in Church Attendance; With its Soldiers Mired in Gaza, Israel Fights a Battle at Home Over Drafting the Ultra-Orthodox; Putin, the Religion Card: How Russia’s Leader Uses Public Piety to Wield Power (and more)
Toy Soldiers in the Southern Baptist Wars
A few in my generation of Baptists became leaders in the SBC. Others of us proved the conservatives were right about the slippery slope. That is to say, once you open the door to affirming women in ministry, a belief in the radically inclusive, expansive kin-dom of God is rarely far behind.
Alabama’s Confederate God Marches On
In the 7-2 majority LePage decision, Parker first admits there is no scientific evidence or legal rationale for defining life as beginning at conception.
New Study Highlights the Needs of Hispanic-Led Protestant Churches
Though many are facing financial struggles, U.S. pastors of Hispanic congregations are grateful for their position, according to a recent Lifeway Research report. Diverse worship styles don’t change their shared desire for community outreach and service.
March 27, 2024
A Year After the Deadly Nashville Shooting, Christian School Relies on Faith – and Adopted Dogs; Bible Bill Sent to Tennessee Governor; Listening to the New Emerging Voices of Christianity (and more)
Why I Can’t Honk for Jesus
During this tension-filled political climate, one might expect to encounter a group of Moms For Liberty demonstrating, or worse, something resembling Charlottesville’s “Unite the Right” rally. The primarily blue-voting area of the country is not above such scenes.
PRRI Analyzes Support for LGBTQ Rights
The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) released an analysis earlier this month on the current views on LGBTQ rights in all 50 states. The report was part of PRRI’s 2023 American Values Atlas.
Look Back | March Madness: Dean Smith Visits an RA Banquet
He embodied the teachings of Jesus and quietly lived a life that shunned the limelight and deferred attention to others. His convictions about racial equality and equal rights helped shape the Deep South.
March 26, 2024
Virginia Parent Hoped Holy Bible Would be a Lesson in Book Ban Debate; An Arizona Church Known for Feeding Migrants Now Says the City is Blocking Its Work; Putting Chaplains in Public Schools is the Latest Battle in Culture Wars (and more)
The Church as Welcome Mat
“Come as you are.” The church could be considered God’s welcome mat. But so often, when people arrive, they feel as if the rug has been pulled from under them.
Let’s Get Better at Being Together
Undoing what we know is challenging, but it is easier to unlearn or loosen our grip on what we believe, provided we are honest about it. So, what do we truly understand about death?
Embracing Paradigm Shifts and Possibilities at the Wild Goose Festival
Editor’s Note: Good Faith Media is a 2024 Wild Goose Festival media partner. The following appeared in the March/April issue of Nurturing Faith Journal. Headlines that once shocked us are becoming less surprising. Faith communities are producing more divisive...
March 25, 2024
Thousands of Faithful Attend Palm Sunday Celebrations in Jerusalem Against a Backdrop of War; Gaza Christians Ask for Peace on Palm Sunday; Christian TV Evangelicals Fire Up Trump Support with Messianic Message (and more)
Good Morning, Gorgeous
We must be willing to walk away from doctrines, theologies, dogmas and ideologies that tell us that our blackness is worthless. We must detach from anyone or anything that treats our bodies like objects and not as a testament to divine creativity.
The Power of Doubt
When we get stuck in echo chambers, repeating the thoughts of others, we will never stand on our own two feet. It prevents us from developing a deeper relationship with God.
My Pentecostal Smartwatch
I’m a daydreamer. I have been known to drive many miles past my interstate exit. I can get so far into my imagination that my GPS’s spoken directions are no more than a combination of white noise and the voice of Charlie Brown’s teacher.
The Cheers, Tears and Jeers of Holy Week
On this Palm Sunday, carve out time to listen to the tears and jeers beneath the celebratory cheers because it is in those sounds we hear the work of God, suffering and struggling with the powerless.
Advice from a Jewish Teenager on Combatting Rising Antisemitism
Someone saying something hateful to you is not an excuse to attack that person. If you truly want someone to understand that something they said hurt you, sit down and talk to them about why it hurt you.
10 Practices to Help Us Cultivate a Jesus Worldview
Cultivating a Jesus worldview is an ongoing journey that requires dedication and intentionality.
How Good Faith Media Will Cover the 2024 Presidential Election
Regardless of how much we disdain the term “politics,” everything about how humans order our lives in relation to each other is political. It is, in fact, the very definition of the word. No one could avoid politics if they tried.
Rev. William Barber Shares Insights from Ezekiel, Proposing a ‘Third Reconstruction’ to Baylor University Audience
The Rev. Dr. William Barber II spoke to a crowd at Baylor University on Tuesday, encouraging them to follow the lead of the poor and marginalized in the United States in creating a ‘Third Reconstruction’
The Role of Religion in American Life Is Diminishing
Religion is losing its influence in American public life, according to a recent Pew Research Center report. Eighty percent of Americans surveyed say the role of religion is shrinking, the highest percentage on record.
By the Way | My Career as an Influencer
I gather that every influencer has a niche—food, fashion, home design, identifying tropical bird calls, tut-tutting on the finer points of grammar, or something—so I need to find a niche.
New Report Suggests How Democracy Can Be Improved
In a new report from the Pew Research Center, respondents from twenty-four countries say what they think would improve democracy where they live. The think tank asked 30,000 people to weigh in and three themes surfaced: addressing basic needs, improving the system and overhauling the system.
In Speech to White Evangelical Broadcasters, Trump Lays Out His White Christian Nationalist Vision
In his rambling 75-minute speech, Trump delivered his most thorough articulation of his vision of white Christian nationalism to date. It was received by an enthusiastic crowd, many of whom sported red hats emblazoned with the words “Make America Pray Again.”