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By Kathryn Post
(RNS) — ‘The biggest lesson I had to learn is that God’s lack of an answer to my prayers to change me was an answer, because there was…
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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 Driver
During 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 Conradt
When 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 Editor
A 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 Golden
Editor’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 Editor
Editor’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 Hung
A 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…
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#NFLKneeldown: Leroy Barber on Fasting from Football
An interview with Jesus-follower Leroy Barber about boycotting the NFL and kneeling for justice. Leroy, what is the #NFLkneeldown? NFL Kneeldown has been a series of peaceful actions, where supporters…
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The God Who Transcends Inclusive Language
By Tony Campolo
Recently, I heard a speaker who referred to God as SHE! My initial reaction was surprise. Just when I began reflecting on why he referred to God as SHE, he…
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Silent No More: How Women & People of Color are Changing U.S. Sports and Christianity
“… women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as the law also says,” 1 Corinthians 14:34. Rarely has any…
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The Power of Going First
“I’ll go first” is perhaps the most powerful statement a Christian can make. It is the people who go first that I most admire: the innovators, the risk-takers, the pioneers.…
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A Reminder for the Relocated
It is hard to believe—as I catch the glistening light bouncing off the wings of bronze dragonflies that swarm the black-eyed Susans in front of the church chapel—that a murder…
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Prayer, Posture, and the Politics of Patriotism: Sunday School Edition
By Khalid Smith
This is my third week since officially deciding to boycott the NFL. One of my chief concerns was how I would do this without being just a social media activist who…
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Sleeping with Dreams of Justice
In light of the U.S. president’s announcement earlier this month to end DACA, the “dreamer” legislation protecting more than 680,000 residents living in the United States from deportation, I was…
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A Black Man Convicted by a Racist Juror Is About to Be Executed
It seems pretty clear that an African American isn’t going to get a fair trial from a juror who calls him a “nigger.” And yet that’s what happened in the…
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The Gospel of Donald Trump
By Morf Morford
For Christians, the gospel is the ultimate Good News. But it is only “good news” if we recognize how desperately we need it. I’ve been a member of a Presbyterian…
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Revolutionary Love in an Era of Rage
By Valarie Kaur
Sixteen years ago a Sikh American father was shot down in front of a gas station in Arizona. Balbir Singh Sodhi, affectionately known as Balbir Uncle, was the first person…
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The Truth About Debt
I want to make a confession this week. I’m in debt. Major debt. I have student loans from seminary I’ll be paying off for years. We have two car loans…
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History Through the Eyes of the Poor & Oppressed
By Tony Campolo
If you were to ask African-American students here at Eastern University why they want the statues of Confederate generals and memorials to Confederate soldiers removed from public places, they are…
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#TheDeclaration: Speaking the Truth with Love, Without Apology
It shouldn’t have worked, but it did. Rev. Trey Lyon, watched a Facebook Live feed from friends present at the Charlottesville Mass Prayer Service on the night before the planned…
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Why I Took My Family to Face White Supremacists
By Jon Huckins
My wife, Jan, and I were having a relaxed morning watching our four kiddos play at our neighborhood park when I got word that a white supremacist group was planning…
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Why I’m Hanging Up My Football Jersey
By Thomas Kaden
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” ~Desmond Tutu I couldn’t sleep two nights ago. Before turning out the lights, after…
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The Power and the Threat of Kneeling: Colin Kaepernick
There are plenty of reasons to dislike Colin Kaepernick, if you want to do so. Maybe it’s his hair. It refuses to conform, be tamed. Maybe it’s his background: half-black,…
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Theological Declaration on Christian Faith & White Supremacy
By RLC Editor
Editor’s Note: After Charlottesville, a group of theologians and movement makers drafted a statement denouncing the religion of white supremacy. Modeled after the Barmen Declaration, this theological statement represents an…
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Red Letter Christians in These Troubling Times
By Tony Campolo
Abraham Lincoln once said, quoting scripture, that a house divided against itself cannot stand. It is increasingly obvious that our country, right now, is a nation divided against itself. The…
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How The Nashville Statement Erases Jesus
On Aug. 30, a group of American Evangelical pastors and leaders put out a statement they innocuously called The Nashville Statement, named after the town it was written in. Like an…
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A Statement on The Nashville Statement
By Eric Minton
I recently attended a rally in my town to advocate for the spread of “kindness” rather than vitriolic hate speech. I did so because there is apparently so much confusion…
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The Twisted Theology of White Supremacy: ‘We Light the Cross’
I’m in Tennessee on a little mountain getaway, trying to write a book. As soon as I got down here and settled in, I heard about a white supremacist rally…
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Charlottesville Call to Conscience
By RLC Editor
Editor’s Note: Read this call to action by local clergy in Charlottesville, VA, inviting faith communities around the country to join them in rejecting the evil ideology of white nationalism.…
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The Moral Imperative to Abolish Nuclear Weapons NOW
By Art Laffin
The recent military crisis between the U.S. and North Korea, with both countries threatening to use nuclear weapons against each other, has demonstrated to the world that the prospect of nuclear war…
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InterVarsity Offers the World a Gay Saint?
By Tim Otto
Last October, InterVarsity, a Christian college ministry with chapters on 4,701 campuses, directed staff members to resign if they didn’t believe in their hearts and confess with their lips that…
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Do Good “X” for Change
If this past week of hate and tragedy has taught us anything, it’s the need for Christianity to reach beyond church walls. I see a growing interest among Christian leaders…
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Yesterday, Today, and Forever?
By Claudia May
Dedicated to the multitude who live for justice, peace, and love yesterday, today, and forever. On Friday . . . We remember the men, women, and children Who wear their…
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Siding with Jesus & Justice
By Tony Campolo
During His earthly ministry, Jesus crossed the lines of prejudice. The Apostle Paul later declared that in Christ racial, ethnic, and nationalistic barriers have been destroyed. Over the past week,…
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Salvation for White People
By melissab
I grew up in a church where hell-preaching and aisle-walking were a sport. I don’t know why they insisted we wear dresses and suits to church – workout clothes and…
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Will America Pick Up Its Cross?
On Saturday, August 12, in Charlottesville, Va., I was faced with a choice: “Would I pick up my cross?” Jesus warns his disciples: “If any want to become my followers,…
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Sound the Alarm: A Liturgy for Troubling Times
“The only thing strong enough to move you from the first half of life to the second half is faith in the midst of suffering, the ability to bear darkness and…
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Lies from the Pit of Hell: The Dangerous Theology of Rev. Jeffress
Any preacher who sanctions the use of nuclear weapons is from the pit of hell. This isn’t a time to be subtle about it. Saying that God has empowered a…
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August 9th: A Day of Repentance?
August 9th is a tragic day in history. August 9, 2014, Mike Brown was killed in Ferguson. August 9, 1945, the United States dropped the nuclear bomb on Nagasaki, killing…
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The Blessedness of Reclaiming Time
I used to participate in some mommy message boards shortly after my boys Jacob (4) and Josh (1) were born. Sometimes, in the fatigue and stress and anxiety of sleeplessness…
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Repentance in the Face of God’s Reckless Love
It is 2008, and my then boyfriend (now husband) and I are discussing Proposition 8, which is a big deal right now in California. I tell him that if I…
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Red Letter Christians v. Donald Trump’s Evangelicals
By Don Golden
A candidate for president of the United States initiated his candidacy on a racist conspiracy theory designed to undermine the legitimacy of America’s first black president. He announced his presidential…
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A Good Christian Woman…Not That One
According to Google, when searching for “good Christian woman,” the top article link describes her as: Married Defined by her husband (remember, she’s married) White (see the images) Young (see…
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All Means All: Remembering Our Trans Service Members
You know those nice commercials with the service members? You know the ones, with instrumental music in the background, maybe an American flag? Then the camera cuts to the service…
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#Faith4Healthcare: On Being One with the Vulnerable
By Don Golden
Yesterday, I joined 26 others in disrupting Congress to voice opposition to the vindictive Republican attempt to dismantle Obamacare – a heartless act that would leave 20-30 million more Americans…
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Keep Standing Up for Health Care: It’s Personal
By Jacqui Lewis
Just a few minutes ago, it happened again. As my cab speeds to JFK, I think, “Mom will want to know that I am flying. Let me give her a…
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Why Evangelicals Voted for Donald Trump…and Continue to Support Him
By Tony Campolo
More than 81% of white evangelicals in the United States voted for Donald Trump and there were reasons for this. Since most evangelicals are pro-life, many of them found that…
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We Cannot Turn Back Now: Call to Action for Healthcare
Last Tuesday, July 18th, clergy and other moral leaders returned to Senate Majority Leader McConnell’s (R-KY) office to demonstrate our opposition to any legislation that would take healthcare away from…
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#BlackClergyUprising: A ‘Call to Action’ Against the ACA Repeal & Trump Budget
As Rev. Aundreia Alexander, General Secretary for Advocacy and Action for the National Council of Churches, stepped to the stage on the evening of Monday, July 17, at Ebenezer United…
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BREAKING: Christians Unite In Direct Action to Oppose the ‘Better Care Reconciliation Act’
By RLC Editor
This morning, Christians from a range of faith traditions and ethnic backgrounds will descend on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) office to urge Congress not to leave vulnerable people without…
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The Holy Tradition of Going to Jail for Jesus
I’d like to take just a moment to make the case for civil disobedience, especially for my Christian brothers and sisters who may be reluctant to see going to jail…
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Now Is The Time For Prophetic Moral Action
On Thursday, July 13th, Senate Leader Mitch McConnell unveiled the latest version of his last ditch effort to repeal and replace Obamacare, whatever the cost. In obedience to Jeremiah 22,…
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Jesus Calls Us to Be Political, Not Partisan – Keep the Johnson Amendment
“Render unto Caesar what is Caesar, and unto God what is God’s.” – Matthew 22:21 In Matthew 22, the Pharisees ask Jesus whether it is right to pay the imperial…
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Repentance When Taking Bread & Wine
By Tony Campolo
This past Sunday, while sharing The Lord’s Supper with fellow worshippers, I was challenged to repent of my sins. Before eating the bread that symbolized Christ’s broken body or drinking…
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Hate Crime or Not, We Belong to Each Other
When we heard about the tragic killing of 17-year old Nabra Hassanen, we felt compelled to reach out and see how we could help. Through emails and Facebook messages, we…
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‘I’m Not Full American, Because I’m Not White’
By Eugene Hung
What’s more American than corn flakes, the Fourth of July, and Uncle Sam? These lyrics came sweetly from the lips of my seven-year-old daughter as we awaited a ranger program…
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The Pledge of Allegiance to Each Other
It’s time for a different kind of 4th of July. In too many Christian circles, religious nationalism has become an idol — as exemplified most recently by the church choir…
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Putting the Death Penalty on Trial
By Art Laffin
EDITOR’S NOTE: Twelve abolitionist defendants were found guilty on June 29, 2017, for recently protesting against the death penalty at the U.S. Supreme Court. Several of the defendants are part…
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Why the ‘Better Care’ Act is NOT Gospel Good News
By Erin Donovan
This morning I sat in my office and was reminiscing about a recent sermon series on the gospel of Luke that I heard. The series looked at Jesus’ interactions with…
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Starvin’ for Justice: Abolishing the Death Penalty through Moral Witness
We might just be witnessing the generation that ends the death penalty in the U.S. Studies show that support for state-sanctioned executions are at an all-time low, thanks in large…
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The Power of Corporate Courage
I’ve been a critic of capitalism — especially the corporate capitalism that leaves masses of people in poverty while a handful of billionaires own the same amount of money as…
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Daring to Lead Differently
By Dori Baker
When the Forum for Theological Exploration (FTE) recently brought together Christian innovators in Los Angeles, it became clear that within our individual stories and our collective memories, lie the blueprints for creating…
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Why Are Southern Baptists So Afraid of LGBTQ Inclusion?
Last week, I was kicked out of the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Why, you might ask? Was I protesting? Causing a scene? Not at all. As…
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What Will It Take to Ban the Bomb?
When I was a young teenager, I would venture down to the basement where my father had his desk. He’d be plugging away at letter writing, or working on a…
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A Legacy Worth Passing On: Tony Campolo’s ‘Divine Dissatisfaction’
By RLC Editor
Film director Greg Fromholz has done it again. After first producing short-form, legacy documentaries about Christian luminaries Eugene Peterson and Phyllis Tickle, he recently finished another film featuring Tony Campolo.…
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Standing in Wonder Woman’s Boots
At age 10, my son asked me to name my favorite superhero. I told him without hesitation, Wonder Woman. He wanted to know why, which of course in his universe…
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A University for Red Letter Christians
By Tony Campolo
There are several Christian universities that hold to many of the socially progressive beliefs that are embodied in the Red Letter Christians movement — but few embody them better than…
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Our Daily Bread: The Myths of Scarcity & Abundance
In common usage, the word “myth” means something that isn’t true — a false belief or idea. However, among theologians and historians, the meaning is different. To theologians and historians,…
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Justice and Mercy for the Poor (Including Us)
Once you meet people in deep and extreme poverty, you understand the fury of the prophets. It was in a slum in Bihar, India, where my heart first cried out…
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Millennials + Minimalism…Hold on, It’s Not What You Think
By Eric Minton
One of the surrealist effects of a flood is when the waters finally recede, leaving boats once used to navigate flooded streets now overturned in the middle of a dry,…
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A Palestinian Christian Perspective on Pentecost & Hillsong’s Heart
By Shadia Qubti
Dear Joel Houston and new Hillsong friends, The past few weeks since I wrote about my experience at a Hillsong concert in Caesarea and then another follow-up interview, I have learned…
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Big Trouble Comin’: An Interview with Walter Brueggemann
By Don Golden
Don Golden interviews Red Letter Christian friend and renown Old Testament scholar, Walter Brueggemann, on his book, God, Neighbor, Empire: The Excess of Divine Fidelity and the Command of Common Good (Baylor…
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Why We Must Never Forget the Plight of Refugees
There is so much hurt and anguish in the world that the suffering of an individual is often forgotten. When the news broke recently that there were talks in South…
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Dear Hillsong…Palestinians Do Exist
By Shadia Qubti
I recently had lunch with my family when my sister-in-law told me that Hillsong would be performing in Israel. I’ve always enjoyed their music and performance, which enables me to…
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Redeeming the Soul of America with ‘Reverend Resistance’
In a recent Rose Garden ceremony made for television, President Trump welcomed religious leaders who blessed his campaign to celebrate “religious liberty.” With a flurry of prayer and contemporary Christian…
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The Power & Privilege of White Women
Dear White Women, A couple days ago, my two young sons stood in the kitchen, fighting over a toy from a McDonald’s Happy Meal. I have a strong desire to…
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Isolation Won’t Save Us
In the days following the 2016 presidential election, while Americans yelled at each other over Facebook and attacks against Muslims and immigrants spiked, a group of faith leaders sat down…
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HIV/AIDS: The Fight Continues
By Erin Donovan
Prophetic voices move mountains. I could rattle off great movement leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Gandhi, and you would shake your head in agreement with me…
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A Prayer to ‘Save Us From the Unmerciful and Un-American Health Care Act’
EDITOR’S NOTE: This prayer was issued by Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, President and Sr. Lecturer of Repairers of the Breach, during the National Day of Prayer on May…
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Jesus (Not Trump) Speaks at Liberty Graduation
Last night I had the strangest dream… It was graduation day at Liberty University. Donald Trump was the speaker. Jerry Falwell Jr. introduced Mr. Trump to an enthusiastic crowd… or…
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It’s Time to Detoxify Christianity
A collective of justice-seeking Christians recently recorded eight powerful discussion videos called Detoxify Christianity. In this series, we sought to center people of color and queer voices. Many of the presenters…