Do activists often invest their work with religious significance? All the more reason for Christians to be discerning co-laborers. I love nature documentaries, especially those narrated by David Attenborough. Whether watching with my children or on my own, I love seeing the majesty of the snowy Alps or kelp forests. But I’ve noticed that in recent years, nearly every somber vignette of a species struggling on the edge of survival ends with a call to action. Viewers are beckoned to take responsibility for causing a poor animal’s plight and to consider how they can fix things before the species ..read more

The government plans to close its porous border with Myanmar to boost security, separating ethnic groups that straddle the boundary. Ngamreichan Tuithung runs a Christian boarding school that sits right at the border of India’s Manipur state and Myanmar. Amazing Grace Mission School is based in Wanglee Market, a small Indian town, and serves around 150 students from Myanmar and 6 from India. Since Myanmar’s 2021 coup, the school has become a safe haven for parents wanting to send their children away from the violence of the war raging on in Myanmar. To Tuithung, it’s an opportunity to share w ..read more

The rage of the mob is a poor substitute for real community. This piece was adapted from Russell Moore’s newsletter. Subscribe here. As Columbia University and other elite campuses erupt into protests against the United States’ diplomatic and military support of Israel’s war against Hamas, US Sen. John Fetterman denounced the antisemitic speech of some of these protesters, remarking on the social platform X, “Add some tiki torches and it’s Charlottesville for these Jewish students.” Whatever one thinks of Fetterman’s analogy or of the Israel-Hamas war, we would do well to listen to the common ..read more

Let us not give up meeting together—even when we disagree. Recently, a woman at my church approached me with a question borne out of genuine curiosity. She asked, “You’re a female theologian. Why did you choose to come to our church when women aren’t allowed to preach here?” Since much of my work as a Bible scholar is public, it is no secret that I support women’s full participation in ministry, including in church leadership. So I wasn’t surprised that someone happened to notice my convictions did not match our church’s practice on this issue. It’s a good question, and one I’ve wrestled with ..read more

Beyoncé’s right. Whether listening to Cowboy Carter or reading theology, diversity is a good thing. I wasn’t planning to listen to Cowboy Carter, the eighth studio album from American singer and songwriter Beyoncé. I’ve always had a love for her music—but country has never been my thing. Plans changed when I started to read what people were writing about the record, from comments on social media to reviews in major publications. Their reactions were bitter, even cruel. “Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ isn’t a country album. It’s worse,” proclaimed one review in The Washington Post. “Beyoncé has cho ..read more

The world is realizing anew that our faith has tangible benefits. This is an opportunity for the gospel. As Christianity in the West, the broader world has begun to notice something’s missing. There seems to be a growing awareness that—for all the scandals and failings of the church—the loss of a Christian culture leaves us all worse off, and that there are benefits to being a Christian and to living in a Christian society. For example, Derek Thompson recently wrote in The Atlantic about the loss of community that comes with declining church attendance. “Maybe religion, for all of its faults ..read more

How the keeper of the beat is adapting to shifts in worship music. It was a church drummer’s worst nightmare. In the middle of a service, David Wagner was playing “Heaven Invade” with his worship band when his in-ear monitors stopped working. Wagner posted a clip on Instagram of what happened. It includes the audio that should have been coming through in his monitors: a mix of the sound from the band, some added reverb, and of course, the click track—a repetitive tapping sound that keeps time, usually sounding for each beat. Halfway through the video, one of the vocalists—his wife—passes him ..read more

NIL deals in college athletics present new challenges—and opportunities—for colleges and students. When Deverin Muff played Division I college basketball at Eastern Kentucky University, student athletes weren’t allowed to earn money off their name, image, and likeness (NIL)—their personal brand. Now he’s a professor at the university, and some of the players in his classes have agents. An NCAA policy change in 2021—heralded by Muff and other Christian athletes as a matter of fairness—allows college athletes to earn money beyond financial aid or scholarships. “This is a matter of justice, fran ..read more

Christians can disciple each other toward action, prayer, and hope. I’m 26 and mostly full of enthusiasm for the future. But when I think about the heat waves, floods, and humanitarian crises that I’ll likely experience in my lifetime, I feel a sense of dread. And even more so when I think about the future of my children and my children’s children. I wonder if they’ll get to experience all the beauty of God’s creation that I so cherished while growing up. As a young farmer, I feel my chest tighten as I watch weather patterns and the seasons become more and more erratic. I worry if there’ll be ..read more

C.S. Lewis recommended discernment over diatribes in exactly the moments we’re most eager to indulge in critique. I’d just finished reading one of C. S. Lewis’s lesser-known books, Studies in Words, when I happened upon a recent New York Times report on evangelical support for Donald Trump. The former president’s summer of legal woes is off to an early start, and many have asked whether the present trial (or another) will lose him support ahead of Election Day. The answer—among his base, anyway—is undoubtedly no. If anything, the opposite is true: In some circles, his adversities are hailed a ..read more