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“Democratic Space” (excerpted from The Introduction) It was Martin Luther King Jr. who, in 1963, spoke to “the fierce urgency of now.” Now more than then, we need…
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Despair in the Holy Land
By Thomas ReeseEditor’s Note: This article first appeared in Religion News Service on April 29, 2024. (RNS) — It is easy to despair over the Holy Land. For almost 80 years it…
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Burnt Out for Jesus?
It was 2019. At work, I was newly-appointed to my role and trying to lead a national communications department of a Christian missionary organisation through significant change. At home, I’d…
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Response to: “A Call for Repentance: An Open Letter from Palestinian Christians to Western Church Leaders and Theologians”
October 20, 2023, a network of Palestinian Christian institutions located throughout Israel/Palestine published “An Open Letter from Palestinian Christians to Western Church Leaders and Theologians.”—a clarion call for Western church…
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The Ballot and the Movement: Reflections on the Uncommitted Movement
By Phil LewisMany of us have heard about the recent movement in the Democratic presidential primary to encourage voters across the country to vote uncommitted. There are several news articles discussing what…
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“For Love of the Broken Body: A Spiritual Memoir” Excerpt
Being a Sister is a form of radical discipleship of Jesus Christ, I figure. It is how I can live in a committed intentional community long-term with like-minded prayerful, Gospel-centered women;…
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Lectio Tierra – Praying in Nature
Have you had your awe and wonder sighting for today? If not it’s time to go out and take notice. Our daily experience of life, God and God’s world are…
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Addiction and the Ministry of the Body of Christ
Every morning, I wake up and read the obituaries. That may seem like an odd way to greet the day, but I am a pastor who has a deep calling…
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“Isolated and Othered”, Adaptation from “Beyond Ethnic Loneliness”
Adapted from Chapter 4, “Isolated and Othered” “Pick a color,” she said. “Write down your color.” I was at a writers’ workshop in Minnesota, and this was our prompt. I…
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The Terrifying Truth
By Joel SimpsonShots fired in the hallway. People screaming. One class can’t lock their door, so they block the entrance with furniture. The door gets kicked in. Eventually, the shooter is stopped. …
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Israel’s Conscientious Objectors Stand on the Shoulders of Giants
By Ariel GoldEditor’s Note: This piece was previously published on the FORUSA.org website and is reprinted here with permission. According to legend, the organization I lead, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, was founded…
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Three Years Ago We Stopped Harper Collins/Zondervan from Publishing the “God Bless the USA” Bible
By Jemar TisbyEditor’s Note: This piece was first published on Jemar Tisby’s Substack, Footnotes by Jemar Tisby, on March 27, 2024 and is reprinted here with permission. The disturbing origins of this…
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Marriage, Sex, and Jesus
Sometimes I’m hesitant to post my wedding anniversary celebrations on social media, fearing I may be sending the unintentional message of “See? We did it right. You should be like…
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Josh Garrels and the Cowardice of Evangelicals
By Brian GormanIn this article, I discuss how a prominent Christian musician’s trajectory away from engagement in the world is emblematic of a growing part of moderate evangelicalism. In June 2008, I…
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Good Trouble on Good Friday, Part 2
Editor’s Note: You may wish to enable captions on the video. TRANSCRIPT: We got into good trouble on Good Friday. Twenty-five people were arrested for a nonviolent direct action…
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The Symptoms of A Nation Approaching Spiritual Death
When we recognize that something which impacts anyone of us can quickly impact all of us, we know everyone must learn the signs of what the disease looks like before…
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Highlights from “MLK 55 Years Later: Can the Church Study War No More?” 2022 Event
We are up against some fierce principalities and powers – the triplet evils of racism, materialism, and militarism are as alive and well as they were 55 years ago. But…
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America is exceptional — in its addiction to violence and war
We have work to do to continue to “break the silence.” As our world is increasingly plagued by violence — not just in Ukraine but also in the streets of…
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We Shall Not Be Moved: a Reflection on Good Friday 2024
As a soldier I do not have the luxury to disconnect myself from the impact of America’s weapons on people. The death that happens to those at the other end…
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What would (those who crucified) Jesus do?
By Morf MorfordIt would be easy to make the argument that Christianity in the 21st has taken on an identity few of the original disciples would recognize. Or maybe they would recognize…
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Good Trouble on Good Friday
We got into good trouble on Good Friday. Twenty-five people were arrested for a nonviolent direct action at the headquarters of Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest weapons contractor, where the…
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Easter Vigil for Gaza, Bethlehem, March 30th, 2024, Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac
By RLC EditorRed Letter Christians was honored to participate in a special Easter Saturday service broadcast LIVE from Bethlehem. Our friend Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac preached a powerful sermon. Here’s the transcript…
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“Pretend Catholics”
On St. Patrick’s Day, I was invited to a White House brunch to celebrate with President Biden and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. As the fourth son of Irish Catholic…
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Palestinian Christians Make an Easter Call for Relief from War’s Tightening Grasp
Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in Religion News Service on March 29, 2024. (RNS) — Palestinian Christians, a community that dates back to Jesus’ time, have long lived under the…
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March 2024 Global Christian Leaders Call for Permanent Gaza Ceasefire
By RLC EditorEditor’s Note: Churches for Middle East Peace distributed the following press release on March 26, 2024, and we share it again below in its entirety. The full letter and list…
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Discernment in a Time of Deception: Learning from Simeon to Identify & Receive the True Savior
By Bob EkbladLuke’s Gospel presents a man named Simeon as the first to identify Jesus as the world’s consoling, Savior King. In alignment with the Magi of Matthew’s Gospel, who follow a…
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If Heaven is anything…
By Morf MorfordThere’s a popular social media meme with a photo of a dour, even judgmental, crowd facing the viewer with a caption like “Spending eternity with people like this doesn’t have…
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A Second Chance Should Be Our First Choice with Prison Reform
Editor’s Note: This piece was first published by NewsOne on March 6, 2024. Republished here with permission. August 2024 will mark two years since my daughter, Michelle was released from…
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Hide and Seek Jesus
By S.M. ReedThe following blog post was originally posted on my blog, “The Jaded Evangelical”. “The Jaded Evangelical” is part devotional and part Christian apologetic, aiming to encourage those who have walked…
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For Boodah…
What does the enneagram have to say about a grown man who takes the time to put a tutu on a chihuahua? The stars, how about the stars? I wonder, what…
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Red Letter Christians sends $130,000+ to Gaza and the West Bank for Humanitarian Relief and Peacebuilding Efforts
Red Letter Christians, a Christian organization mobilizing a movement of believers who live out Jesus’ counter-cultural teachings, raised and disseminated over $130,000 for humanitarian relief in Gaza and to support…
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Are You Asking For Trouble?
This article was first published by Good Faith Media and is shared with permission. What has the North American church gotten itself into? Known more for infighting, schisms and splits,…
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Adaptation from “Enduring Friendship”
Adapted from Chapter 7, “Excuses” For years, Bible scholars have danced around the matter by saying slavery in Rome was far different from slavery in the first few centuries of…
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Gun Violence and Mental Health
Kansas City recently had yet another horrific mass shooting. On the same day there were two more mass shootings in Georgia, one in Atlanta and one in Claxton. According to…
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Tears of Gold: Portraits of Yazidi, Rohingya, and Nigerian Women, an Excerpt
Content taken from Tears of Gold by Hannah Rose Thomas, ©2024. Used by permission of Plough Books. Excerpt from the Foreword One of Hannah’s aims is to capture not only…
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An Unforgiving Christian, excerpt from “Forgiveness after Trauma”
The summer I turned nineteen, I felt a need to reckon with someone who had both harmed me deeply and done much good in my life. I decided to set…
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Commentary on Dorothy Day’s article, “Suicide or Sacrifice”
Dorothy Day’s article, “Suicide or Sacrifice”, was previously published by The Catholic Worker on November 1, 1965 and is reprinted with permission. On November 9, 1965 Roger LaPorte, a young…
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Two Names to Remember of the 30,000 Killed
One of the most powerful elements of the GazaCeasefirePilgrimage.com movement globally is hearing from the Palestinian Christian minority, like our new friend, Cami. You may remember, the week before Christmas,…
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How an MMA Fighter Became a Pacifist
By John JensenHow an MMA fighter became less violent I learned a few things since I knew it all! After years of starting churches, leading alternative worship events, living in Christian community,…
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A Tribute to Constantine
The Emperor Constantine was born on February 27 in the year 272 AD. There are parts of the Church that honor him as a saint… so this feels like a…
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For Love of the World God Did Foolish Things
For love of the world God does foolish things is my theme for Lent this year. It came from the fact that Ash Wednesday coincided with Valentine’s Day this year,…
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Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage, Philadelphia
By RLC EditorAs Mary wept over Christ’s body, this Lenten season we are all mothers in Gaza weeping over the dead — over 30,000 killed since October 7, 2023 — senselessly from…
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Lent 2024 – Surprising Hope
Transcript of Jarrod McKenna’s Lent reflection on Isaiah 42:1-4 for Common Grace’s 2024 Lent Series Bible Verse – Isaiah 42:1-4 Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one…
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God, Money, and Provision
By David TitusSeveral years ago, the Bible story of John sending his disciples to ask if Jesus was the one…. caught my eye in a new way. Luke 7:22b – Jesus tells…
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“How Ableism Fuels Racism” an Excerpt
On September 12, 2001, I had an encounter with police that could have ended far worse than it did. The tension was high that day. Terrorists had attacked our country…
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Expanding Our Scope: Land as a Means for Repair through Equitable Development
By Cote SoerensExcerpt by Coté Soerens from Gone for Good? Negotiating the Coming Wave of Church Property Transition (Eerdmans Publishing, January 2024), Mark Elsdon, editor. Reprinted with permission. Expanding Our Scope: Land as…
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Christianity and Human Rights: Back to Basics
In this piece I reflect on the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and conflicting notions of Christian Theology that have recently threatened it. Human Rights are…
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In Between A Rock Is A Hard Place
I love the Psalms because the conversations shared are raw, uncensored, uplifting, and reassuring. They model the brutal honesty we can boldly and safely have in our relationship with a…
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A High Churchman Feels the Spirit Moving
There was to be no clapping in church. No clapping during music. No clapping when a child was baptized. No clapping when an award was presented or when a couple…
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Appraisal and Critique of Deconstruction Movement
Personal Appraisal Shared Values Base skepticism, critical questioning, cultural criticism, and having the courage to speak truth to power are all values that I share in common with contemporary deconstructionists.…
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Deconstructing Deconstruction: Why Is Deconstruction So Popular?
Why are so many people my age deconstructing Christian belief and practice? The Main Reasons for Faith Deconstruction Idealism and Perfectionism: Much of this comes from the church itself: spiritual…
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Deconstructing Deconstruction: What Is Deconstruction?
The animated Disney film Wreck-It Ralph draws an interesting contrast between two leading characters: Felix and Ralph. In the arcade game Fix-it Felix Jr., the passionate and quick-tempered “Wreck-It Ralph” demolishes buildings with his…
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‘The Bible belt is a death belt’ Why Christians must drop the death penalty
First published on January 29, 2024 by Premier Christianity: The UK’s Leading Christianity Magazine. Reprinted with permission. Alabama has executed convicted murderer Kenneth Eugene Smith with nitrogen gas, the first…
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A Response for Palestine and Israel
By Bob BowenKnowing how to respond to the current crises in Gaza and Israel is a challenging task. As a Christian, my call is to overcome evil not with evil, but rather…
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We Theologized Hate
In honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day – here is an excerpt on antisemitism entitled “We Theologized Hate” from Rethinking Life by Shane Claiborne. Reprinted with permission. We all have prejudices,…
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Dr. Jeff Hood in conversation with Shane Claiborne about Kenneth Smith’s Execution
Join us in conversation with Dr. Jeff Hood who was the spiritual advisor to death row inmate Kenneth Smith who was executed Thursday, January 25, 2024, with nitrogen gas by…
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Faith is a Verb
By S.M. ReedEditor’s Note from the author, S.M. Reed: “The following blog post was originally posted on the blog, “The Jaded Evangelical”. “The Jaded Evangelical” is part devotional and part Christian apologetic,…
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prayer (xxvi) …for Munther Isaac and Gaza…
prayer (xxvi) …for Munther Isaac and Gaza… this year, the child will be found swaddled in rubble. soft infant flesh surrounded by rough slabs and crumbling. do not neglect the…
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135 Mennonites Arrested in Washington Singing for Gaza Ceasefire
135 Mennonites arrested in Washington Singing for Gaza Ceasefire 200 attend peace vigil while 135 arrested at Capitol On January 16, 2024, hundreds of Mennonites and interfaith allies from across…
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Roe v. Wade Anniversary
On January 22, 1973, the US Supreme Court decided in Roe v. Wade that a mother has the legal right to end her pregnancy up until the point at which…
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Another Way is Possible
By Mike MartinFrank Jonas, a firearms dealer for Remington once said, “We certainly are in a hell of a business…A fellow has to wish for trouble so as to make a living,…
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For This Christian, Christmas Services This Year Left a Taste of Bitterness
As a Singaporean who has lived overseas for the past decade, coming home for Christmas is always a special time. I love seeing friends and family, basking in the celebratory…
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In Honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.
By RLC EditorOn January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia. In celebration of his contribution to the civil rights movement, the United States Congress made the third…
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Dialogue on the Middle East, Part 3
Excerpt from Red Letter Revolution by Tony Campolo and Shane Claiborne. Reprinted with permission. TONY: I was on a radio show in New Zealand with a Christian Zionist who believes that…
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Dialogue on the Middle East, Part 2
Excerpt from Red Letter Revolution by Tony Campolo and Shane Claiborne. Reprinted with permission. TONY: To call Israel and Palestine “the Holy Land” is a misnomer when what goes on there…
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Dialogue on the Middle East, Part 1
Excerpt from Red Letter Revolution by Tony Campolo and Shane Claiborne. Reprinted with permission. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom … these are the beginnings…
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Church for ‘Nones’: Meet the Anti-dogma Spiritual Collectives Emerging Across the US
By Kathryn PostEditor’s Note: This article first appeared in Religion News Service on December 20, 2023. ATLANTA (RNS) — Twenty minutes outside downtown Atlanta, Vinings Lake sits along a humming thoroughfare connecting…
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Creative Ways of Following Jesus As We Race Into 2024 – a NEW YEAR of Accelerating Change
By Tom SineHere’s your invitation to join others who are creating innovative ways to be a difference and make a difference in the turbulent 2024 and beyond that reflect the ways of…
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Development Without Displacement
One of the most substantial things we do in Philly is turn abandoned houses into homes for families who need one. This year, we celebrated 25 years of life on…
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Subversive Peace for this Christmas Season
By Joel JacksonIt is to this group of social outcasts that God chooses to make an announcement of astonishingly good news—good news in which God declares a true peace that subverts the…
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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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Christ in the Rubble: A Liturgy of Lament
Editor’s note: Below is a replay of the earlier livestream of “Christ in the Rubble” led by Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac with the transcript of the talk provided directly below.…
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The “Virgin Birth” and Global Justice: A New Perspective on a Core Christian Doctrine
By Will O’BrienThe “Virgin Birth” and Global Justice: A New Perspective on a Core Christian Doctrine, By Will O’Brien As we celebrate the holy season of Christmas, Christians recall the story of the…
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Blessed Are the Peacemakers
Bio: Carolyn S. Byars, MDiv, is a graduate of Howard University School of Divinity. She is the author of “Is American Christianity Antichrist?” and established Authentic Christian Life Ministry (https://authentic-christianity.life) to…
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Ditching the Myth: God’s Ancient Covenant, English Settlers, and the Ongoing Saga of Misapplied Promises in America
In late 2022, I came across a survey from the Public Religion Research Institute that has lingered in my thoughts ever since. The findings revealed that half of White evangelical…
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If I Knew Then What I Know Now
Former president Donald Trump, in a speech on Veterans Day described people who politically disagree with him as vermin. He said “we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and…
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Challenging War Profiteering with Jesus’ Prophetic Alternative
By Bob EkbladWhen Hamas militants massacred 1200 people inside Israel and carried 240 hostages into Gaza on October 7, they succeeded in provoking the State of Israel to unleash its wrath on…
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Do you know the real St. Nick?
The original “Old St. Nick” who inspired the tradition of Santa Claus… was a bishop of Myra in fourth-century Turkey (Christians around the world remember him on December 6). We…
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Stable Or Home and Why Does It Matter
It’s Advent and Christmas is just around the corner. Here in the U.S. the stores have been full of Christmas regalia for months and many of us are already sick…
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For Susanne
Last night I couldn’t sleep. I was clawing away at a fading memory of something so insignificant: my high school boyfriend’s youngest brother’s name. I finally got it at about…
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Praised by Faint Damnation
Praised by Faint Damnation Why American Evangelical Responses to October 7 are Dangerous Bruce N. Fisk In the aftermath of October 7, many American evangelicals are displaying unwavering support for…
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Finding Christ in the Unexpected: Loving Our Unhoused Neighbors
It was the end of a balmy San Diego Christmas day. My family had just left, and as my kids were winding down from all the excitement, I tackled the…
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Decolonizing Thanksgiving
By Cherise BockEditor’s Note: Previously published on The Watershed Discipleship blog on November 21, 2017. Reprinted with permission. As we head into the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in the United States, it’s great…
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When Grief and Gratitude Embrace
I am in the midst of what I call my gratitude season. Ever since the year I celebrated Thanksgiving in Canada at the beginning of October, and American Thanksgiving at…
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Evangelical Appeal to Moral Case for Cease-fire
Editor’s Note: Video replay of the vigil is below. ** Transcript of Adam Taylor’s talk is below. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of…
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Lamenting the Cost of Violence
By Bryson DavisMy heart grieves deeply with… Palestinians and Israelis who are being devastated by violence — Jewish, Muslim, Christian…beloved, human. Haitians living in a gang-controlled capital, victims of murder, abduction, extortion,…
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Churches for Middle East Peace Nov. 20th White House Candlelight Prayer Vigil
By RLC EditorWHITE HOUSE CANDLELIGHT PRAYER VIGIL CALLING FOR CEASEFIRE AND END TO VIOLENCE BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HAMAS Candlelight Prayer Vigil Ceasefire Now! All Are Welcome Monday, November 20, 2023 6 p.m. – 7:30…
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Adaptation from “Rethinking the Police”
Adaptation from Rethinking the Police by Daniel Reinhardt (Adapted from the Introduction) I am a white male and was a police officer for twenty-four years in a racially diverse urban…
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Diversity Is God’s Idea – So Why Are Our Differences Taking Precedence Over God’s Word?
By Skot WelchWhat do you think of when you hear the word language? I know what I think of: the funny story my friend Sharon shared with me about her introduction to…
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A Different Way
This is a poem that I wrote regarding the violence in Gaza. I feel helpless to do anything meaningful from so far away, yet am horrified by the footage I…
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The Realism of Retaliatory Love
By Bob EkbladAs I follow the daily news from Gaza, I find myself needing to actively resist feelings of anger, helplessness, and despair. I feel pressured to not only understand but justify…
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Christian Leaders Discuss Peacemaking and a Call for Repentance
By RLC EditorChrist at the Checkpoint Conference On Saturday, November 4, 2023, more than 500 Christians from around the world gathered online with Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters from Bethlehem, Nazareth, and…
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Reconnecting with my Faith
By Ariel GoldI love Shabbat (the Jewish day of rest). I end my workweek in the early afternoon on Friday and bake the challah bread that I will bless. My daughter, who…
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From Information to Transformation: One Parish’s Story of How Unveiling a Painful Past Unlocked the Freedom to Act with Integrity Now and in the Future
Editor’s Note: This piece was first published by The Episcopal Diocese of Long Island. This interview was conducted and written by The Rev. Dr. Craig D. Townsend, Historian in Residence…
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Secretary-General’s Climate Ambition Summit Previewed Growing Impatience of Inaction on Climate Change
By Ilka VegaOn September 17, I joined several of my sisters with United Women in Faith at the March to End Fossil Fuels. We hailed from Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and all over New York, where our organization…
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“The Stones Cry Out”; an Excerpt
By Chris MabeyINTRODUCTION It’s Easter week and I am re-reading well-thumbed events from the Gospels. Jesus passes the Mount of Olives as he approaches Jerusalem. The crowds are ecstatic, welcoming the Messiah…
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When Religion Gets it Right
I’m not going to lie. I was anxious as we pulled into the parking lot, driving past two large German shepherds who were incessantly barking and running back and forth…
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A Call for Repentance: An Open Letter from Palestinian Christians to Western Church Leaders and Theologians
By RLC EditorSign On Petition: An Open Letter from Palestinian Christians to Western Church Leaders and Theologians · Change.org “Learn to do right; seek justice; defend the oppressed” (Isa 1:17). We, at…
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Evangelicals Beware: Our Onesideism about Israel is Lethal
By Jer SwigartOne week ago, I evacuated from Israel. While there, I was outraged by the terror inflicted upon Israelis by Hamas’ insurgents. I witnessed, firsthand, the ripples of violence in the…
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Excerpt from “Nice Churchy Patriarchy: Reclaiming Women’s Humanity from Evangelicalism”
“When the Anonymous Disciple Is a Man:” An Excerpt from “Nice Churchy Patriarchy: Reclaiming Women’s Humanity from Evangelicalism” When I took my first preaching class in seminary, one of our…