By: Joel Zantingh on October 29, 2025
Background I grew up around male-centred and male dominated leadership in the home and in the church. When I first had to grapple with what I believed about women leaders, I had to do a lot of reconstruction. It was in the late 1980s, a time when evangelical groups were picking sides on where they…
By: Ryan Thorson on October 29, 2025
When we visited Washington, D.C., I asked a question that still echoes in my heart: Is there any hope for the church here? I wrote about that trip in my earlier reflection, walking past cathedrals and Capitol buildings, feeling both awe and ache. The city felt like a paradox—full of faith communities doing beautiful work,…
By: Adam Cheney on October 29, 2025
I grew up in a complementarian church, never witnessing a woman preach or lead from the stage. I currently attend a church that has leaned even further into complementarianism, where women are not allowed to lead in any program for sixth grade and older. When I first began attending, the church only leaned complementarian, but…
By: Glyn Barrett on October 29, 2025
When I opened Dr Anna Morgan’s “Growing Women in Ministry: Seven Aspects of Leadership Development,”[1] it was more than just another book on leadership for me. I know the church context from which she writes. While I have never met Anna, her husband and I have been friends for many years, we share the same…
By: Shela Sullivan on October 28, 2025
Introduction I enjoyed reading the book, Growing Women in Ministry: Seven Aspects of Leadership Development by Anna Morgan. [1] Morgan delivers a holistic, research-based framework for developing women in ministry leadership, grounded in both personal experience and scholarly discovery. The book equips readers with practical tools, policy suggestions, and an understanding of how women grow…
By: Jeff Styer on October 28, 2025
On my way out of South Africa I was able to get a copy of the local newspaper, Cape Argus. Reading through the newspaper, I stumbled upon an article titled “The Quiet Power of Women in Education.”[1] The author, Dr. Beverly Evangelides writes “I’ve learned that true leadership is not about position, it’s about purpose.…
By: Debbie Owen on October 28, 2025
Ten of the twenty-six names are women. In Romans 16, the closing chapter of his theological masterpiece, Paul commends Phoebe, Priscilla, Mary, Junia, Tryphena and Tryphosa, Persis, the mother of Rufus, Julia, and the sister of Nereus. As Nijay Gupta notes in Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church,…
By: Joel Zantingh on October 25, 2025
Every era of Christian history has come with the calling to confess that “Jesus is Lord” over and above whatever earthly power structures exist. The challenge is to figure out how to do this as both “not of this world” but also clearly “sent into the world” (John 17:14-15, 18). This is the anchor for…
By: Jennifer Eckert on October 24, 2025
Foundations My sweet Great-Grandma Esther (1911–2005) loved Jesus and Jimmy Swaggart. Her old black-and-white TV only came on for his hour of power. She was a faithful servant of God, quietly giving through her gifts. By all accounts, Esther lived a simple life, ironing clothes by day, sewing by night. She fed neighbors, cared for…
By: Noel Liemam on October 23, 2025
Introduction As I was growing up in the Island, two Bible phrases were drilled into my memory, not only from our Sunday School teachers, but from our parents. They were (a.) “seeking first the kingdom of God and all be added,” [1] and (b.) “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” [2]…
By: Daren Jaime on October 23, 2025
Growing up Catholic in New York, I remember the annual holiday services at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, where politicians and local officials would gather for Mass. Saint Patrick’s became a familiar backdrop for major religious ceremonies, often filled with recognizable faces. Yet beyond those special occasions, I witnessed little political engagement or presence within the life…
By: Christy on October 23, 2025
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” (John 18:36, NIV) The more I reflect on the intersection of faith and politics, the more I am convinced that this is not…
By: Elysse Burns on October 23, 2025
The current entanglement of Christianity and politics in the United States reveals how evangelical activism’s historic impulse toward cultural engagement has, in some circles, been reshaped into the ideology of Christian nationalism. Before beginning this writing, I tried to recall moments when I first became aware of the intersection between Christian faith and political engagement.…
By: Chad Warren on October 23, 2025
Initial Understanding and Beliefs My approach to politics and faith has always been shaped by curiosity, caution, and formative experiences. Early exposure to politics came through American Legion Boys State, where high school students simulate state government, and Boys Nation, a national-level continuation of it. These programs introduced me to the drama, strategy, and performative…
By: Kari on October 23, 2025
“How do you share your faith in a country where proselytizing is illegal?” This is a question I often receive when I return to the United States. My answer echoes the quote commonly attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.”[1] I desire to live my life in…
By: Shela Sullivan on October 22, 2025
Current Understanding and Beliefs Growing up in a non-Christian family in Malaysia and coming to faith later in life, I approach the relationship between Christian faith and political engagement with caution and curiosity. I am not politically savvy, and I am wary of how political discourse can divide communities, including the church. I believe faith…
By: Debbie Owen on October 22, 2025
I. Introduction I was raised to believe that faith and politics should never mix. Yet as the public witness of Christianity in America has become increasingly defined by partisanship, I can no longer separate the two so neatly. Losing Our Religion, written by Russell Moore, exposes how the church’s pursuit of power has often displaced…
By: Graham English on October 22, 2025
Reflective Framework: Politics, Faith, and Ideological Discipleship Opening Question – Current Understanding and Beliefs I believe that Christians are called to be Kingdom-minded, Christ-centred, and missionally engaged. This means that Christians are to live out their faith in every realm of life To be Kingdom-minded means we live as God’s citizens first in our communities…
By: Jeff Styer on October 21, 2025
Having read books, the Bible, and other sources of media, I have seen that religious beliefs have influenced the politics of nations and empires for centuries, for example, the laws of Israel and during exile we read how King Darius was encouraged to pass a law preventing anyone from petitioning any man or god except…
By: Glyn Barrett on October 21, 2025
I am a Pentecostal, I am not Evangelical, whilst also serving for a time on the board of the Evangelical Alliance in the UK. I say that to say many of the challenges written in “Losing our Religion”[1] and “Jesus and the Powers”[2] are not unique to Evangelicalism in America. The globalisation of the world…
