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For years, I have sat in dialogue rooms across from people whose politics, experiences, and understanding of the place we both call home were very different from mine.…
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Why I Stand with the LGBTQ Community
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you…
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Wakanda Forever: Cultivating Moral Imagination & Beloved Community
Most of my friends and family saw the Black Panther movie two or three times. I saw it twice during the week it was released. I first viewed it on opening night…
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A Glimpse of Heaven
A friend of mine, a pastor, recently shared that he’d gotten some complaints from his church. Apparently, he doesn’t preach about hell enough. I’ve heard a version of this a…
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At ‘Red Letter Revival,’ Leaders Give Voice to Evangelicals on the Margins
By Jack JenkinsWhen Tony Campolo began his altar call in Lynchburg, he embellished his spiritual charge in a way not often heard in evangelical services. “Are you ready to say ‘I’m going…
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Of Pastors and Presidents
By Mark SilkBack in 2007, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour questioned the late Jerry Falwell about inviting confessed adulterer and presidential wannabe Newt Gingrich to give the commencement address at Liberty University. “How do you resolve…
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#LynchburgRevival LIVE STREAM
By RLC EditorAfter a whirlwind time of planning and prayer, the #LynchburgRevival is finally here! Folks are coming from 28 different states (and a few countries) to seek refreshment and renewal. Tune…
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Revival: A Liturgy for Repentance
“He asked me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ I said, ‘Sovereign Lord, you alone know.’” (Ezek. 37:3) As the Red Letter community prepares for its upcoming revival taking…
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Break My Heart, Heal My Heart
“Heal my heart and make it clean Open up my eyes to the things unseen Show me how to love like you have loved me. Break my heart for what…
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Don’t Domesticate MLK
Whenever we remember the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., some people inevitably pull out a piece of sandpaper and try to smooth the sharp edges of the great civil rights…
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How Might Easter Be Reinterpreted in Light of Climate Change?
There’s a new hashtag game called #ExplainEasterToAnAlien. Funny stuff. But it got me thinking: How will we explain Easter to an alien? As I recently wrote for the BBC, the discovery of extraterrestrial…
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What If We Heard Each Other This Easter?
This past Sunday I turned 33. Because I work as a Pastor in a church, this past Sunday I also preached twice and led a Bible study. And let me be honest with you,…
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The Power & Legacy of Revivalism
By Tony CampoloThe revival meetings led by Charles Finney, the “Billy Graham” of the 19th century, were a far cry from what they became in the 20th century. Finney’s revivals, as part…
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How Jesus Saves Us from Slaveholder Religion
Editor’s Note: This excerpt is from Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove’s new book, Reconstructing the Gospel: Finding Freedom from Slaveholder Religion (InterVarsity Press) – a fitting confession for Holy Week as we remember Jesus…
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Am I Not a Theologian, Too?
When you think about the great theologians, what names come to mind? Those who have profoundly impacted my theological foundation include the Rev. James Cone, philosopher Cornel West, the Rev. Eboni…
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Call It A Family Reunion
By Kate KooymanI got to hold a baby who was less than a day old. I got to watch big sister look with pride and a little suspicion, the first glances of…
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God, Guns, & Gen Z
By C.S. PearceOne week after the Parkland school massacre, Florida’s House of Representatives voted 97-10 to pass a measure requiring every school in the state to display the motto “In God We…
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The Power of Showing Up
From our vantage point, sitting in the car, it looked as if every police officer from Missouri came to give their respects. The procession included ambulances, fire trucks, and police…
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#EnoughIsEnough: My 5-Year-Old is Afraid
Yesterday, I drove my son Jacob to Pre-K at 9:55 a.m., and on our way we drove through the neighborhood streets surrounding our local high school. As we got closer on the…
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The Wall, The People, and The President: Let’s Have the Conversation
By Jon HuckinsYesterday, President Trump made his first visit to California since his inauguration. One of his campaign promises was to build a wall on the southern border, and contractors having been…
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A New World Is Possible: Reviving the Soul of America
By Don GoldenIn case you missed it, Red Letter Christians is holding a revival in Lynchburg, Va., on April 6-7. The idea for this revival took shape at our annual Red Letter retreat…
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Women: “The Devil’s Gateway?”
By Jon HuckinsJimmy Carter recently named the abuse of women “as the primary human rights issue in the world today.” We don’t have to look far into the global plight of women…
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Can American Evangelicalism Be Saved?
By Jana RiessShocked. Devastated. And most of all, worried about the future. That’s how I’d describe the tone of the new book Still Evangelical?: Insiders Reconsider Political, Social, and Theological Meaning, in which…
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Dear Conservative Evangelical Christian, Answer Me This
I have to admit, I’m growing increasingly confused with nearly every moment. Not just confused — alarmed, if I’m honest. I’m no spiritual giant, but it’s been my longtime understanding…
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Displaced Souls: Manus Island Refugees & the Death of DACA
Hours after President Trump equated immigrants with a “vicious snake” at last week’s conservative CPAC Forum, he stood side by side with Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull at a joint…
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A Revival On Its Knees
By Sam HerrmannIt’s hard to anticipate what a new school, community and culture will be like, let alone understanding how it will affect you. When I transferred to Liberty University three years…
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Why Organizations Need Values-Driven Hope
By Gary EdmondsMuch has been said over the last several decades about why organizations should be values-driven and how to recognize one that is. Becoming values-driven takes more than just writing down…
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Thoughts & Prayers Are Not Enough
The headlines, alerts and tweets appeared on my screen — again. Another school shooting. The 30th U.S. mass shooting this year alone. And it’s only February. Not long after the…
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Ground Zero: Why We Need the Lynchburg Revival
On October 30, 2017, I went to Liberty University for two reasons: to see my friends Johnnyswim in concert and pray with a handful of students the next morning. These were students who have consistently expressed concern about…
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Kids Can Fix Our Guns Fixation
In Broward County, Fla., it has been like we are all sitting shiva. The shooting in our backyard — 17 students and staff killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School…
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#LentTogether: The Cost of Discipleship, in Community
Lent is a season of preparation. It is a liturgical period of time where we soberly look toward the cross and consider the true cost of discipleship. It is a…
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The School Shooting Epidemic: America’s Chickens Have Come Home To Roost
An idol is anything we sacrifice our children for. May the blood of our children lead us to repentance. 29th day of school. 18th school shooting. “America’s chickens have come…
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The Little Big Differences in Christian Nationalism
Sometimes small alterations make a great deal of difference. For instance, we have about 90 percent of the same genes as cats and more than 98 percent of the same…
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Ashes to Ashes, I Love You
The collision of Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day on the same date this year feels a little strange, yet there’s also something poetic about it. “Remember that you are dust,…
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Christian Group Plans ‘Revival’ to Protest ‘Toxic Evangelicalism’
By Jack JenkinsA group of progressive evangelicals and other Christians are planning a “revival” this spring to protest “toxic evangelicalism” and evangelical leaders such as Jerry Falwell Jr. who support President Trump.…
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To Turn Our Backs on Dreamers is to Turn Our Backs on Christ
As Republicans in Congress and President Trump persecute immigrant families and leave young immigrants’ futures in limbo, they should take note that they are out of step with the president’s…
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Paul Ryan Faces an Urgent Moral Challenge
By John GehringBlues legend Robert Johnson, the story goes, made a deal with the devil and sold his soul on a Mississippi highway to play virtuoso guitar. House Speaker Paul Ryan’s musical…
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Progressive Christians Can Embrace Paul Too
As churches struggle to become more inclusive, the Apostle Paul continues to confound. Conservatives champion Paul, quoting his writings to support their arguments. For progressives, Paul is often a source of disdain. To them, Paul hates women, condones…
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Super Bowl 2018: God Will Be Watching
By Richard MouwTwenty years ago this month I had a public theological disagreement with Reggie White of the Green Bay Packers. In addition to his significant role as defensive end for the…
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Sorting Through the Church’s Silence on Sexual Abuse & Assault
By Beth MooreThe choirs of outcries from Hollywood over the Harvey Weinstein scandal and those echoing globe-wide over the atrocities of USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar against children drop a question…
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The Unveiling of Christian Nationalism
As the Trump administration struggled to celebrate its first year amid a government shutdown, Vice President Mike Pence had a particularly hard time with churches recently. Determined to soldier on…
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3 Lessons From a Pastor Up Close to the Kentucky School Shooting
As the shots rang out through Marshall County High School, shock waves simultaneously reverberated throughout all of Marshall County as one fact was becoming increasingly clear: Our county would never…
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Love Song for Liturgy
Seven years ago, when we opened the doors of our now-closed intentional Christian community house, I was unfamiliar with the power of liturgical, call-and-response prayer. Growing up in a southern,…
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How to Change Hearts on Race
By Richard MouwA pastor from a small Midwestern town once asked me for advice. “I serve a congregation in an all-white town. The nearest city is an hour’s drive away,” he said.…
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Where is the Church on #MeToo?
By Autumn MilesOver the past several months our society has experienced a monumental shift in the treatment of women — particularly in regard to how they are treated by men in power.…
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‘Pro-Life’ Must Encompass More Than Opposition to Abortion
By John GehringIf being “pro-life” only means opposing abortion, we need a better conversation about the myriad ways human life is threatened today. Today, the March for Life will bring together thousands…
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Baby Jesus Was a Dreamer in Egypt
By Thomas ReeseI feel guilty that I have not written about “Dreamers,” those children who were brought illegally into the United States by their parents. The reason I find it difficult to…
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An Open Letter to Pastor Jeffress: Fight Racial Injustice in the Spirit of Rev. Dr. King
Dear Pastor Jeffress, Grace and peace. I greet you in the name of our Lord and Liberator, Jesus Christ. I have been moved to write you this letter because our…
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4 Thoughts on Trump’s Remarks About ‘Sh*thole Countries’
By Jon HuckinsIn the midst of figuring out a road forward on DACA and comprehensive immigration reform, President Trump made a statement about countries who had the most need for support/relief in…
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Searching for Evidence of Hope in 2018
By Gary EdmondsHave you watched the news recently? Things look dour, don’t they? But, I have good news that I hope will encourage you. Rather than feeling anxious about what media companies…
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Highpoint Church: How You Know Jesus Has Left Your Church
Here’s how you know Jesus has left your church building: When only the powerful are allowed to speak and preach the word of God. When forgiveness is offered without repentance.…
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On Mormons, Modesty, & Missing the Point of the #MeToo Movement
By Jana RiessDuring the Golden Globes on Sunday, history was made. Women draped themselves in black to protest the culture of sexual harassment that has long defined Hollywood. Women and men spoke…
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6 Religion Podcasts to Start 2018
By Aysha KhanTrue crime and self-help podcasts are all the rage. But even avid listeners might not know about a trove of podcasts aimed at those interested in religion. If your resolution…
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Politically Homeless: How Republicans — and Democrats — are Leaving Many Christians Behind
By Jim WallisI feel politically homeless as we enter 2018 — and I know I am not alone. Many Christians are feeling the same, as other Christians, especially white evangelicals, have undertaken…
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Looking Back with Lament, and Forward with Hope
By Richard MouwThe final days of 2017 have been the occasion for various published lists of “the most notable” happenings of the past year. I have read many of those lists, including…
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Mary Knew the Risks of #MeToo
When the angel of the Lord announces the plan for Mary to carry within her and birth Emmanuel, she questions, but ultimately agrees. Mary gave consent. So Mary does not…
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Deep Down, You Don’t Really Want to Change the World
In 2010, two researchers rounded up teachers and college students for two studies. The first asked college students to rate their peers. The names of the most creative — those most likely to…
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Sexuality, Race, & Gender: 3 Explosive Insights About America’s 100 Largest Churches
Last October, evangelicalism was rocked by the launch of ChurchClarity.org, an organization that reports churches’ LGBTQ+ policies and rates congregations based on their level of clarity. The website angered Christians on both sides…
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What Jesus’ Economy Looks Like
Jesus has a different economy in mind than the one on offer in our world. Jesus’ currency is love. He believes in empowering the impoverished. He also believes in every…
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Breastfeeding God
We can assume that Jesus was a breastfed baby; after all, he survived. Before the human-made miracle of baby formula and without access to a potential wet nurse, breastfeeding was…
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The Real Meaning of Christmas — God Entered the Crap
God is with us in the struggle to survive, amid the throes of poverty, in the fight for freedom, in a world full of violence.
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Waiting for God in Sanctuary
At 4:45 a.m., Pastor José Chicas logs onto Facebook Live to lead his scattered congregation in prayer. Before the darkness lifts, most of his faithful will be on their way…
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The Wrong Choice? An Advent Meditation
By Anton FloresSimeon said to Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the…
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Calling the Bluff on White Jesus
I love this picture of white Jesus clutching a baby dinosaur to his bosom. Apart from the fact that it reminds me of a young mother snuggling her sleeping baby…
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Turning Guns into Garden Tools
By Mike MartinThe shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary sent shock waves across the country. Many thought it would be a turning point in federal gun legislation. That didn’t happen. Many states took local action by…
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It’s Time for a Sexual Counterrevolution
After radio host Garrison Keillor was dumped from his media throne for sexual misconduct, a friend of mine quipped on Facebook, “Are there any old famous dudes who haven’t been sexually gross?”…
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Disarm Our Hearts: An Advent Prayer
By Art LaffinDuring Advent, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus coming into the world, I am challenged and inspired by Jesus. Who is Jesus? What does it mean to…
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The Bible Roy Moore Forgot: Psalm 40 for Alabama
The worst part about the prospect of Senator Roy Moore getting elected — and I had a lot to choose from — might have been that this man was stealing…
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Turning of the Tide
Today is a turning of the tide. Last night, Doug Jones won the Senate race in the state of Alabama. “The people of Alabama have more in common than that divides us.…
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5 Faith Facts About Doug Jones
Democrat Doug Jones wasn’t supposed to have a chance in the Senate race that pitted him against Republican Roy Moore in the ruby red state of Alabama. But in recent…
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Consider the Ram: A Letter on Not Sacrificing One Another on the Altar of Self-Righteousness
By Eric Minton(A Brief Explanation) Open letters delivered over the internet are typically one of the least interesting and most easily dismissed mediums for getting your point across, especially to people who…
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Lamenting the Lost Hope of Advent
By Mark CharlesAdvent is the season of hope, the season of waiting for the coming of Christ. As Christians we believe that our hope is found in Christ, and that the church,…
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How Abortion Covers a Multitude of Sins, Even Condoning a Pedophile
Once again, abortion is being used to justify supporting a political candidate that deserves nothing but condemnation by Christians. Repeatedly, we find that opposition to abortion “covers a multitude of…
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Don’t Mess Around with Jerusalem
President Trump just announced that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Some say that it is an early Hanukkah gift for the Jewish people. I don’t…
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The Politics of Christmas
By Will O’BrienAmong the many manifestations of his project to “make America great again,” President Trump has frequently and pompously declared that “We will be able to say ‘Merry Christmas’ again!” When…
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Keep Watch: Peacemaking Through Advent
Advent is all about waiting. It is about patience, expectation, and longing. We wait in hope for the arrival of something better than what we have now. This is a…
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The tax bill: What happened to ‘family values’ and ‘pro-life’ principles?
Abraham Lincoln said, “If you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” Sure enough, now that Republicans are in power with majorities in both chambers of Congress, the cabinet…
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Day Laborers of the Bible
By Cory DriverDuring a recent taxi trip through the various neighborhood of Rabat, Morocco, I was reminded of the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Hundreds of Sub-Saharan migrants sat or…
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The Crisis of Evangelicalism
At first, I was hesitant of coming on the #RubyWooPilgrimage, because “evangelical” is not a word I care to be associated with. In the past year, this word has shifted,…
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Creation Groans: Why Red Letter Christians Should Care About Animals
I was a Christian long before I started advocating for animals. And though I’ve scoured the Bible looking for something like “Blessed are the vegans, for they shall inherit the…
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Our Come to Jesus Moment: The Boston Declaration
Taking a page from the Hebrew Bible, a diverse group of theological experts recently gathered in Boston wearing sackcloth and ashes to dramatize their grief and sorrow over the corruption…
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A Confession (Of Sorts) from a Former Fundamentalist Christian
By Tara ConradtWhen I first walked into church I knew as much about politics as I did about faith. As I immersed myself in fundamentalist Christian culture, I found myself breathing in…
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The Wall I Pretended Not to See
A half hour from my house stands an icon I used to rarely think about. The San Ysidro Port of Entry is considered one of the busiest border crossings in…
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Why Guns in Church are Not for Me
So it’s been a week now, and after thinking about it nearly every day, I’ve come to a decision… I still do not want you to bring a gun to…
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Clean Water and ‘The Living Water’
There are still places in the world where people have never heard the name of Jesus. This is the case for much of the state of Bihar in Northeast India.…
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Praying for DREAMers
By Elrena Evans“What’s DACA?” my eight-year-old son asked the other day. “DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals,” I told him. “It was a program that allowed children brought to this…
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Calling All #SoulsToEnroll: Health Care for All
If you haven’t been following the national conversation about health care closely, you may not know that the time to sign up for health care is now. To be very clear,…
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An Altar Call to Support the Captives on Manus
No food. No water. No sanitation. No safe place to go. No future. This is the reality on Manus. This week, our “aerial sit-in” has been one of many actions…
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Hope’s Drums: A Call and Response Litany
This time, one year ago, members of extended families shivered at the reality of the unavoidably approaching Thanksgiving holiday. I was among them. If we’d learned nothing else before November,…
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#LoveMakesAWay: Aerial Sit-In for Asylum Refugees
By RLC EditorA pastor and a provisional psychologist were recently suspended four stories above the Subiaco office of Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on a hanging tent. The two Christians, part of…
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Covenant Fidelity: An Interview with Walter Brueggemann
By Don GoldenEditor’s Note: This is the second part of an interview series with Walter Brueggemann on his book, God, Neighbor, Empire: The Excess of Divine Fidelity and the Command of Common Good (Baylor…
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Is It Okay to Be White?
Apparently there is a national movement started by white nationalists in the netherworld of 4chan to post sheets of paper on college campuses and other places that say, “It’s okay…
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An Open Letter to Liberty University to ‘Engage in Peaceful Debate’
By RLC EditorEditor’s Note: On October 30, 2017, pastor and anti-Trump author Jonathan Martin was escorted off Liberty University by armed campus police officers. He was banned for life from Liberty University for…
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Conservative Evangelical Christianity, The Death of America
There’s an unsettling of the spirit moving across the land — the culmination of years of religious Christian corruption. Good people everywhere are sensing it deep within. What for many…
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Why I Bother Being Lutheran: Theology of the Cross
Author’s note: Oct. 31, 2017 marks 500 years since German monk Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg, sparking the Protestant Reformation and forever changing the Christian…
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For the ‘Cause of Christ,’ Liberty Alumni Return Diplomas
Regarded as the largest evangelical Christian university in the world, Liberty University attracts thousands of students each year to its Lynchburg, Va., campus. The private institution, founded by the late…
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Why This Pro-Life Christian Does Not Support Banning Abortion
I’m a Christian who sees abortion as an ethical issue. I believe people of faith should oppose abortion and work to reduce the abortion rate. Because of this I won’t vote…
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As A Mother of Two Sons, My Take on #MeToo
Every time another powerful man in America is revealed to be a serial abuser of women: Harvey Weinstein, Bill Clinton, Bill O’Reilly, Roger Ailes, Bill Cosby, Donald Tr … take…
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The Mosque in My Backyard
I have a mosque in my backyard. Not an imposing, domed, stone edifice with spindly minarets—it actually looks like a small, utilitarian, B-Flat, or ordinary type of building. If you…
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‘Because #MeToo Breaks My Heart, Makes Me Pissed as Hell’
By Eugene HungA few years ago, I worked for a women’s rights NGO, mobilizing men and boys both to stop violence in their communities against women and girls and to advocate for…
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#RubyWooPilgrimage: Supporting Women in Leadership
Did you know that the first feminist convention to promote women’s rights was not in Seneca Falls in 1848? And it was not all white. A good decade before the…