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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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Changed for Good? What “Wicked” Reveals About Privilege, Complicity, and the Work of Racial Reconciliation
By Josh Olds
Warning: This article contains spoilers for “Wicked” and “Wicked: For Good”. Strip everything else away from the two Wicked films—the spectacle, the steampunk, the singing—and you’re left with the story’s…
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“The Wilderness is Not Safe”, taken from “Enough for Today,” Ch. 29
By Donna Barber
The path to freedom is not safe. Who has ever made their way from bondage to freedom without risk? There are always things to go under, around, or through. Barriers…
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Pope Leo’s first Vatican Christmas crèche carries message of peace
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — As the Vatican unveils its crèches, Pope Leo XIV marks his first Christmas with a calmer tone and a forceful call against antisemitic violence. Editor’s Note:…
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Born out of national division, ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’ is a balm for Christmas
(RNS) — A century and a half after Phillips Brooks wrote this haunting carol, there is much once again to lament, fear and grieve. Editor’s Note: Previously published on Religion…
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Children Behind the Walls: From Herod to ANAR
Week 4 Love Children Behind the Walls: From Herod to ANAR Bethlehem Is Not a Storybook: An Advent Journey Toward Peace “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great…
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Sometimes Having a Baby Is Resistance to Empire
Week 4 Love Sometimes Having a Baby Is Resistance to Empire Bethlehem Is Not a Storybook: An Advent Journey Toward Peace The Birth of Love “And she gave birth to…
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What Time Is It: Ancient Strategies for Modern Battles
Editor’s Note: Previously published on Randy Woodley’s Substack on Jul 29, 2025. Photo: Tipi at Eloheh. Photo by Jim Sequeira. Our Indigenous ancestors had a saying that roughly translates to…
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“Viewing Urban Youth with Value”, adaptation from “Don’t Despise Our Youth”
Viewing Urban Youth with Value Our perspective of young people is very important. Proverbs teaches us to “start children off on the way they should go and even when they…
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Why Do Many Christians Devalue Conscience and the Fruits of the Spirit?
I practiced psychiatry for 41 years in Birmingham, Alabama and incorporated some spirituality focused on conscience. Most of my patients were Christians. This article is based on my impressions from…
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The Invitation of the Living Church in Bethlehem
Week 3: Joy The Invitation of the Living Church in Bethlehem Bethlehem Is Not a Storybook: An Advent Journey Toward Peace “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices…
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Mary: The Mother Who Sings
Week 3 Joy Mary: The Mother Who Sings Bethlehem Is Not a Storybook: An Advent Journey Toward Peace From Silence to Song “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit…
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When Bethlehem Weeps: An Advent Reflection on Gaza’s Christians
By Jack Nassar
“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted because they are no more.” Matthew 2:18 I cannot light…
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“Jubilee Economics: The Purpose, Practices and Possibilities for a Better Future”, an Excerpt
Biblical economics first caught my attention as I read about the brickyards of Egypt. Deprived of their livelihood, then their land, and finally their own labor and liberty, the Hebrews embodied loss…
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An Inescapable Invitation
We are, as Pierre Teilhard de Chardin observed, not human beings having a spiritual experience but spiritual beings having a human experience. The mystic awakening of our time is the…
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The Silent Saint
Week 2 Peace The Silent Saint Bethlehem Is Not a Storybook: An Advent Journey Toward Peace Dodging traffic in the winding streets of Bethlehem as I made my way toward…
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A Visit with the Shepherds
Week 2 PEACE A Visit with the Shepherds Bethlehem Is Not a Storybook: An Advent Journey Toward Peace The children squealed in delight as someone banged on the front door.…
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But who do I love? Absolutely everyone. But how? And what does that even mean?
Editor’s Note: First published on Public Theology with Zach W. Lambert on October 24, 2025. Years ago, I was sitting in the main session of a church leadership conference when…
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The Holy Door Portal
The Jubilee Year happens every 25 years in the Catholic Church. In ancient times it had radical ramifications with its call to free prisoners and forgive all debt. Today it…
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Hope Does Not Disappoint (Romans 5:5)
The Jubilee Year happens every 25 years in the Catholic Church. In ancient times it had radical ramifications with its call to free prisoners and forgive all debt. Today it…
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No Room at the Inn: Then and Now
Week 1 Hope No Room at the Inn: Then and Now Bethlehem Is Not a Storybook: An Advent Journey Toward Peace “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that…
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Bethlehem is Not a Backdrop
An Advent Journey Join the Advent journey over the next four weeks, beyond pageants and nostalgia, and step into the heart of Christ’s coming. Discover how He still moves in…
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A Reflection from “Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals”
O Lord, let my soul rise up to meet you as the day rises to meet the sun. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy…
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“Peace, Peace” When There Is No Peace: Trump’s Dogs of War
Editor’s Note: Previously published on Randy Woodley’s Substack on October 28, 2025. The prophet’s job, then and now, is to speak the truth loud and clear about what we’re actually…
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Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples Pilgrimage: Relational Healing on Navajoland with Earth, Wind, Fire, Air
Featured Photo Caption: St Christopher’s Mission “Relational healing lives, on the landscape of St Christopher’s Mission through pilgrimage” In my faith journey as a Mennonite, I am aware of the…
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Candles and Concrete – The Birth of Jesus Today
If Jesus were born in Bethlehem today, His first cry would be inside a walled city. Mary and Joseph would travel a road divided by checkpoints and concrete, stopping again…
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“In the Low”, an excerpt
When the floor fell out from underneath our Family, I found myself left in the lurch by folks who’d told me they’d stick by me. I found myself waiting for…
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Who Do We Want to Be?
By S.M. Reed
In our country today, you see two very different visions of America emerging. There are many ways we could define this, but I want to focus on just one: immigration.…
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Tony Campolo on Red Letter Christianity
Listen to Tony discuss the ideas and scripture behind the Red Letter Christians movement.
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A Legacy Worth Passing On: Tony Campolo’s ‘Divine Dissatisfaction’
Editor’s Note: One year ago today, our friend and co-Founder of Red Letter Christians, Tony Campolo, passed away, and today, we honor his life with a few posts, and links…
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An Altar Call from Tony Campolo
Transcript: We are facing a problem and that is that we’ve run out of time, and we have to close this thing down. I was going to preach. I’m…
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Who is Welcome at the Table? Hint: It’s Everyone.
Editor’s Note: First published on Public Theology with Zach W. Lambert on September 9, 2025. When it comes to Jesus’ table, there has long been debate about who is invited…
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What If Friendship Isn’t the Goal?
By Jer Swigart
Every semester, I invite my leadership students to do something that feels both ancient and radical: take their “other” out to lunch. The instructions are simple: invite someone whose worldview…
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Why I Stopped Saying ‘I’m Christian Before I’m Black’ … My blackness is never at odds with my Christianity
By Jemar Tisby
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on Footnotes by Jemar Tisby, on October 21, 2025. At first I tried to ignore it. I had been here before. The same online debate seems…
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A Moral Appeal to Policy Makers and ICE Agents to Stop The Immigration Reign of Terror
By Art Laffin
On October 3rd, members of Pax Christi USA, along with Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore, the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, Franciscan Action Network, Congregation Action Network, Sisters of Mercy of the…
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A Moral Meeting with Leader Hakeem Jeffries
By Joel Simpson
In the midst of a government shutdown, clergy and people being impacted by healthcare cuts in the federal budget gather in the Capitol Building in DC. The halls are active…
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Human Suffering is Not a Political Pawn
By S.M. Reed
I’ve written on my blog before about the necessity of the separation of church and state. It is truly to protect the Church, both from state influence and from becoming…
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The Communities We All Long For: Recovering the Shared Vision Beneath our Divisions
By Jemar Tisby
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on Footnotes by Jemar Tisby, on October 7, 2025. Morning light slips through your curtains, warming the comforter as you stretch awake—safe, rested, and…
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Not Out Front, But Among: Leadership in a Dividing Age
By Jer Swigart
The ground is shaking beneath us. Policies shift overnight. Communities fracture. Neighbors disappear. Congregations scatter. Leaders everywhere feel the pressure to respond: to rally the troops, cast the vision, and…
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Project Open Fridge: Love Beyond Walls Founder Dr. Terence Lester Takes the Refrigerator out of Kitchen in Unconventional Protest for Students Living in Poverty
As the recent U.S. government shutdown disrupts vital food assistance programs and November as National Homelessness Awareness Month, Love Beyond Walls announced the launch of Project Open Fridge, a campaign…
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Societal Collapse, Collective Psyche, and the Telos Adam
The following excerpt is adapted from the book, The Son of Man & Its Mystic Awakening: Reclaiming Eschatology & Atonement During A Convergence of Globalization, Nihilism, Science, and Spirituality, copyright…
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On Mount of Olives where Jesus Prayed, Monks and Nuns Keep Harvesting Olives
JERUSALEM (AP) — This year’s harvest happened as a ceasefire agreement was reached, spreading a tenuous hope for peace — peace that olive branches have symbolized since the biblical story…
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A Reflection for Halloween…
Before there was “Halloween”, there was “All Hallows’ Eve” — and All Saints Day. For hundreds of years, before jack-o-lanterns and zombies and candy corn, Christians around the world have…
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Unity or Uniformity?
A few months ago, a former classmate who is now a pastor reached out to me to ask my sense on a particular theological issue. I stated that one of…
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In ‘Dilexi te,’ Pope Leo presents early church as exemplar of love and care for poor
By Thomas Reese
(RNS) — In Scripture and in the history of the church, the poor are where we encounter God, the pope writes in his ‘Dilexi Te.’ Editor’s Note: Previously published on Religion…
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Neuroscience, Mysticism, and the Cruciform Brain
The following excerpt is adapted from the book, The Son of Man & Its Mystic Awakening: Reclaiming Eschatology & Atonement During A Convergence of Globalization, Nihilism, Science, and Spirituality, copyright…
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“Pastoral Acedia” an excerpt from “Pastoral Confessions: The Healing Path to Faithful Ministry”
By Jamin Goggin
My gray hair tells the story. I’ve been a pastor for twenty years. Long enough to know the trials of the vocation. Years of diligently preparing sermons, only to be…
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“The Father You Get: And the Ones You Make, Believe In, and Become”, an excerpt
By Patton Dodd
To paraphrase Voltaire’s famous saying about God, if fathers did not exist, it would be necessary to invent them. And if the fathers who do exist do not father us—if…
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“Shoes: Things That Speak of Vulnerability”, an excerpt from “Souvenirs of the Holy: Encountering God Through Everyday Objects”
We all enter creation barefooted: slick and wet, covered in fluid from the primordial womb that births us. As we grow, our feet develop and change, allowing many of us…
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“Seed Pods and Beach Stones”, an excerpt from “Rooted: A Spiritual Memoir of Homecoming”
Over the past few years of pandemic and polarization, as the ugliness of the world swelled around me in disappointing waves, my secret garden expanded. My need to create beauty,…
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Resisting from a Place of Rest, adapted from “Beauty and Resistance”
Adaptation from Beauty and Resistance by Jonathan Walton. In early 2023, I wept in the car from anxiety one Friday afternoon. I was afraid of losing my job. This isn’t…
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Beauty from Ashes
By S.M. Reed
For those of you who don’t know my story, let me summarize for you: I was raised in the White Evangelical Church. I attended all my life. I was a…
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Ruth: The Divine Love That Overcomes Othering, excerpt from “Reviving the Golden Rule: How the Ancient Ethic of Neighbor Love Can Heal the World”
In his book Reviving the Golden Rule: How the Ancient Ethic of Neighbor Love Can Heal the World, Andrew DeCort offers a fresh guide into the history of “love your…
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When I Was Hungry: The Least of These & The Christian Duty to Act
Matthew 25:31-46 The Call: The least protected children on earth In the operating room in southern Gaza, an American orthopedic surgeon counted the wounds then stopped. “I’ve seen more incinerated…
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“Mary, the Good Mother”, an excerpt
Mary, the Good Mother, an excerpt from Embracing the Old Witch in the Woods: Liberating Feminine Wisdom from Christian Patriarchy In patriarchal contexts, women’s worth has historically been tied to…
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Communion that Heals the Wounds of Sin and Violence
A couple of months ago we had an idea. I’d say the Holy Spirit moved among us and we launched a new initiative called God Loves Gaza (if you haven’t…
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Accepting Humanity, Not Crimes: Praying for the Enemy
“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:27-28 Rifles and a backyard table Yohanna Katanacho,…
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“The Justice of Jesus”, an excerpt
“What do you mean by ‘justice’?” This is a question I frequently am asked when I talk about justice in my preaching or writing. If you’re a Christian advocate for…
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The Credibility of the Gospel in Palestine and Israel is at Stake When the Church Remains Silent
Today, we are at a real crossroads—historic, moral, and spiritual—because the Church’s witness is at stake. The world is watching to see how Christians will respond to the grave, man-made,…
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Blessed to Be a Blessing
By S.M. Reed
Have you ever been through a difficult move? I have moved around quite a bit in my life, actually, but the hardest move I remember was when I was seventeen…
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Declaration from Church at the Crossroads: Our Response to the Public Calls of Palestinian Christians
Shane’s Invitation to Sign the Declaration Introduction This document is a public declaration of Christians gathered at the 2025 Church at the Crossroads conference in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. In it, we…
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“In Guns We Trust: The Unholy Trinity of White Evangelicals, Politics, and Firearms”, an excerpt
Floodlights bathe the stage in a purple haze as I step back from the microphone and tap a foot pedal, sending a riff from my Stratocaster reverberating out across the…
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The Sages We Silence
From Jerusalem to Gaza: when teachers are targeted, a people’s future is executed “I am sending you …wise ones” “Therefore I am sending you prophets, wise ones, and scribes; some…
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Church at the Crossroads: Our Response to the Public Calls of Palestinian Christians
Introduction This document is a public declaration of Christians gathered at the 2025 Church at the Crossroads conference in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. In it, we seek to respond to two public calls…
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Palestinian Christians at Chicago Conference Ask Fellow Believers to Stand Against Gaza War
By Bob Smietana
Glen Ellyn, Ill. (RNS) — The Christ at the Crossroads conference, organizers said, is aimed at moving US Christians from feeling bad about the war in Gaza to taking action…
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American History
American History Poem by Reynolds Chapman The storytelling of the oppressed Will have its enemies Like flowers have weeds Drought, pavement, extraction We will not stop planting Weeding, keeping…
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When Power Silences Prophets
From Jerusalem to Gaza, Jesus’ Lament Lives On in the Martyrdom of Palestinian Journalists Author’s note: Judaism is a many-voiced, ancient faith to which Jesus belonged. Zionism is a modern…
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Statement on the Murder of Charlie Kirk
My heart goes out to Charlie Kirk’s family and all who loved him… especially his wife, Erika, and their two precious children. We must never rejoice in death. My faith…
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“Trust What You Love,” excerpted from “Give Me a Word”
Trust What You Love Jungian analyst and wise woman Clarissa Pinkola Estés writes, “It is said that all you are seeking is also seeking you. That is, if you lie…
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When You Don’t Have a Pencil: The Trauma of Poverty in Education
Taken from From Dropout to Doctorate by Terence Lester. Copyright (c) 2025 by Terence Brandon Lester. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press. www.ivpress.com In April 2014, educator Joshua T. Dickerson was inspired to write a…
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Gathering in the Garden: The Story, an excerpt from “We Pray Freedom: Liturgies and Rituals from the Freedom Church of the Poor”
Early in the pandemic, leaders of Domestic Workers United (DWU), a grassroots organization of Caribbean, African, and Latinx domestic workers building power and demanding their rights in New York City,…
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This Time Will Be Different
Addiction doesn’t just affect the one who uses. It affects all of us. Families get caught in the same circle of hope, disappointment, anger, and exhaustion. We keep saying, “This…
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The ‘Single-Issue Voter Club’ and the Fight Against Gun Violence
Please, for the love of God, for the sake of those not yet killed by the next mass shooting, consider becoming a “single issue voter.”
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Juan de Fuca and the Shifting Sands
It is August – that most pregnant time of year. This moment is always so full– so full with the unfolding of the previous 8 months. And so full of…
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What Kind of Christian Faith Constructed Our Current Reality?
By Jer Swigart
“What kind of faith leads to that?” It’s the question that’s been echoing in my mind since my conversation with Latasha Morrison, Founder and CEO of Be the Bridge, on the Mending…
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Response to Minneapolis Shooting
Originally released on August 27, 2025: https://www.instagram.com/redletterxians/p/DN3dRH-0oTh
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A Pastoral Letter to Donald Trump
By Bishop William J. Barber II, DMin,Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove,Rev. Dr. Della J. Owens-Barber,Rev. Dr. Hanna R. Broome,Shane Claiborne,Jacqui Lewis,Cece Jones-Davis
Editor’s Note: Previously published on “Our Moral Moment w/ Bishop William Barber & Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove” on August 28, 2025. Today is the 70th anniversary of the murder of Emmett Till –…
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Rightly Ordered Love and Recognizing Our Neighbors
We are living in a season of chaos and uncertainty. Regardless of political, social, and particularly spiritual affiliation, our lives have become inundated with dialogue and debate on hot-button topics…
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The Garden is Not the Goal
By Max Harris
“God is a masterful creator. His creation—both humanity and the world—was perfect. Yet through sin, we lost that heavenly world. Still, if we listen well and grow in holiness, perhaps…
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The War on Mercy: Gaza’s Healers and the Sins of Sodom
They came not with weapons, but with stethoscopes. On December 18, 2023, Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh, head of orthopedics at AlShifa Hospital in Gaza City, was arrested by Israeli forces. Weeks…
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The Parable of the Good Samaritan
By David Titus
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?”…
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Trading Matcha for Peace: When Your Sacred Ritual Becomes a Sacred Gift
Trading Matcha for Peace: When Your Sacred Ritual Becomes a Sacred Gift I’ve been drinking matcha regularly for almost 20 years. Started when I was a Starbucks barista in the…
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Who is My Neighbor?
By S.M. Reed
“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not…
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Sally Mann is Arrested Under the Prevention of Terrorism Act – and she waited for it to happen
Editor’s Note: This piece was first published on RLC-UK’s blog on August 12, 2025 and is republished here with permission. The full version of the article was published in The…
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Conscience, Religion, and the Axial Age (Part 1)
Conscience and Religion In my psychiatric practice for 41 years, I incorporated spirituality whenever appropriate (which was fairly often). A significant part of my effort was to emphasize the importance…
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Not Just the Fantastic Four: Why the World Needs Collective Resistance
By Josh Olds
*Note: The following article contains spoilers for the Marvel movie, Fantastic Four: First Steps* Last month, I wrote an article about the principles of non-violence as seen in Marvel’s Thunderbolts*…
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The Open Table of Leadership: How Jesus Redefines Power and Influence
By Max Harris
Rethinking Christian Leadership in the Shadow of CEOs and Presidents When the administration changed in January, I was unexpectedly furloughed from my nonprofit job, which relied heavily on government funding.…
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Justice like a River
Yesterday, my twenty one year old daughter got a call from the local WIC office (the nutritional program for Women, Infants and Children) letting her know that due to funding…
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An Ocean of Tears; On The 80th Anniversary of Korea’s Partition
By Dan Yi
There are so many experiences and disappointments that drive sensitive people toward nihilism and resignation. That is why it is good to learn early that suffering and God are not…
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It All Starts with Me . . . Not (excerpted from “Kingdom Racial Change: Overcoming Inequality, Injustice, and Indifference”)
Here are common phrases we hear people say, both outside and inside the church: I’ve got to get my life right, then I can . . . I need to…
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A Very Special Calling
Editor’s Note: Content taken from The Missionary Kids: Unmasking the Myths of White Evangelicalism by Holly Berkley Fletcher (Author), ©2025. Used by permission of Broadleaf Books. Helen is tired. She has…
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“Better Ways to Read the Bible”, an excerpt
“Your son is disruptive, disrespectful, and dishonoring to God. He asks too many questions during Bible study, and it’s causing the other students to doubt their faith. I’m sorry, but…
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Cruelty as National Policy
By Will O’Brien
Editor’s Note: Photo in DC earlier in July (author on right). Previously published on Radical Discipleship on July 22, 2025. The outrages of the Trump Administration are legion, but in…
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Rehumanizing Those We’ve Dehumanized
By Jer Swigart
“You’re a filthy MAGAt!” Her voice was easily heard above the rumble of my city’s life. I’m familiar with this double entendre and derogatory label leveled at a perceived conservative,…
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The Weight of Linked Fate
By Mark Anslem
In May, I spent a couple of days over a weekend at a retreat that marked the end of an 8-month spiritual formation cohort. On the first night, at our…
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I Was a Stranger, And You Deported Me
“Why can you come to my country and stay however long you’d like, but it’s impossible for me to even get a passport or visa to visit yours?” The above…
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When Men Are Absent
By Morf Morford
Stories and themes from the Bible that most of us would rather not hear I have long had an idea for a book that would detail all the ideas and…
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Apology petition to the people of Japan on the 80th anniversary of the US atomic bombings
By Art Laffin
Pax Christi USA has just posted an updated Apology Petition to the People of Japan to commemorate the upcoming 80th anniversary of the US atomic bombings on August 6-9, 2025.…
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The Gospel According to Thunderbolts: When Nonviolence Wins
By Josh Olds
*Note: The following article contains spoilers for the Marvel movie Thunderbolts* For basically my entire adult life, I have been regaled with stories from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. These stories,…
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Ready Position
My mom, ever the rebel, was not one for “passing things down” in the traditional sense. But she sure taught us how to play tennis. My mom weighs all of…
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On Floods and Overcoming
The Guadalupe River rose around 30 feet in less than ninety minutes around four o’clock the morning of July 4th sweeping away cars, whole RV parks with people trapped inside,…