Reflecting on the St. Paul Church Protesters
January 21, 2026 Minnesota’s Twin Cities have erupted again. A large deployment of President Trump’s ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents in the area met with icy resistance. Protests […]
Can a Christian Join the Military? Some Arguments For and Against
Can a Christian join the military? Should Christians participate in war? What role should Jesus’ teachings on nonviolence play in all this? If we are encouraged to carry the light […]
Politics Is Downstream from Culture? Exploring the Other Side of the Coin
December 30, 2025 Amen to the Warning About Political Idolatry First, a hearty amen to Daniel and Bobby’s recent and excellent article, “The Birth of Our King and Our Country’s […]
The Birth of Our King and Our Country’s Political Focus
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.” —Isaiah 9:6a (NIV) Jesus was born into a politically […]
Why This Moment Calls for a Better Vision Than Christian Nationalism
In the days since we began working on this article, the public conversation about Christian nationalism has taken center-stage once again. The recent civil war between Tucker Carlson and Ben […]
Facing Cultural Hostility with Cultural Apologetics
October 6, 2025 @NeilShenvi – I understand the desire to “not mix Christianity and politics.” But open, vigorous debate about which policies *actually* align with biblical values seems vastly preferable […]
Os Guinness to Church Leaders on This Cultural Moment
September 29, 2025 In a time of deep polarization, cultural uncertainty, and spiritual drift, Os Guinness stands out as one of the most insightful voices to guide us through the […]
The Killing of Charlie Kirk: A Tragedy in Three Dimensions
Updated September 13, 2025 Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed this week while speaking at a university in Utah. The 31-year-old was fielding questions on his “Prove Me […]
More Thoughts and Prayers, Please
August 29, 2025 “No more thoughts and prayers. We need action.” It’s beyond disturbing how mass shootings have become all too frequent in the U.S. (Even one is too many.) […]
Transgender Interventions for Minors: Conversation with Senator Jack Johnson
June 26, 2025 *Editor’s Note: Can church leaders be a voice of wisdom to politicians—without being seduced by political power? Can church leaders speak up to their churches regarding pieces […]
Celebrating Unborn Life with Light
June 24, 2025 Three years since the overturning of Roe v. Wade When God said, “Let there be light,” He glorified the moments of creation with His own light. Light […]
It Goes Without Saying? A Reflection on Pope Francis
April 25, 2025 “If necessary, use words.” The original (Saint) Francis purportedly said this. Preach the gospel all the time, and—if necessary—use words. To this, we talkers want our chance […]
How Should Christians Think About Nuclear War?
*Editor’s Note: The following is a thoughtful Christian perspective on a difficult topic. There isn’t one, official Christian view on war in general, or on nuclear war in particular. This […]
Why Our Church Decided to Pray About the Transgender Bill
December 9, 2024 *Editor’s Note: When, if ever, should a church take a public stance over local legislation? Recently, the leaders of Harpeth Christian Church in Franklin, TN (located just […]
The Pitfalls of Winning
I am a sports fan. I admit it. I also admit that my mood can rise and fall with the success, or lack thereof, of my favorite teams. Some of […]
2024 Election Reflections
November 11, 2024 A week ago, Bobby Harrington wrote in a pre-election article for RENEW.org that an election is a reflection. He wrote, “More than anything, this election will tell […]
Should Men Remain Silent on Abortion?
November 5, 2024 I’ll just cut to the chase. In the past several weeks, I’ve been told about a half dozen times by both men and women that I shouldn’t […]
What Matters More than the Election?
November 3, 2024 In my corner of the world, we vote this coming Tuesday. How should Christians view national elections? I want to suggest that elections can function for us […]
Church and State: 4 Ways of Church-State Interaction in History
First, some bad news. The bad news is that, historically, churches haven’t always resisted the allure of false, prepackaged gospels. Sometimes churches have traded their call to be the people […]
The Bible & My Vote?
A man in our congregation recently asked, “Would you preach a sermon about Christians and voting?” My inner voice said, “No!” Is there a topic more guaranteed to send people […]
The Political Move You Haven’t Considered
In case you haven’t heard, Americans are electing a president soon. It’s all over news outlets, social media, and even Christian blogs and publishing houses. Amidst all the hype, I—like […]
You Should Vote: 3 Reasons Disciples of Jesus Should Vote
I’m writing from my own context in the United States, where we have a presidential election coming up in just a matter of days. Many argue that it is the […]
What If This Election Is About Discipleship?
“The basic problem of the Christians in this country in the last eighty years or so, in regard to society and in regard to government, is that they have seen […]
3 Dead Mentors for Crazy Times
“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, ‘Look! […]
How Could You Vote for ___?!
I saw a post on Facebook last week where a friend was expressing some thinly veiled frustration regarding a particular candidate for President. I’m confident you’ve seen plenty of posts […]
An Editor’s Take on Megan Basham’s ‘Shepherds for Sale’
September 2, 2024 Everybody loves an editor. (Ha, that’s the closest you’ll get to an editor joke.) The truth is, nobody likes being told all the ways they could have […]
The Lion Is Better than the Elephant and Donkey. But in What Way?
Some think a picture is worth a thousand words. Others aren’t so sure. So, to accommodate both kinds of people, here’s both: first, a picture, and then a (couple) thousand […]
Just Turn the TV Off? Reflections on the Paris Olympic Opening Ceremonies
July 30, 2024 “Just turn the TV off!” That’s the advice Whoopi Goldberg gave in response to Christians outraged by the apparent depiction during the Paris Olympics opening ceremony of […]
4 Reflections on the Attempted Trump Assassination
July 15, 2024 Over the weekend, former President Donald Trump was shot at a campaign rally in an unsuccessful assassination attempt. As I watched history in the making, I was […]
What Does Our Faith Teach That Our Society Needs?
Christianity emerged in a world vastly different from the values espoused by followers of Christ. Slavery was assumed to be a necessary part of a functioning society, and slaves could […]
The Most Interesting Insult I’ve Heard in a Presidential Debate
June 28, 2024 The earliest election cycle I can remember was Bush VS Clinton in 1992. I wasn’t watching politics yet when Lloyd Bentsen said to Dan Quayle, “You’re no […]
What’s the Difference Between a ‘Convicted Felon’ and a ‘Political Prisoner’?
May 31, 2024 In C.S. Lewis’s children’s book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the main characters are sailing on a mission of rescue and adventure when they think they […]
Review of ‘God & Country’ Documentary
It stunk to be an Ephraimite in the days of Jephthah the Judge. In the biblical book of Judges, we read about how one tribe, the Ephraimites, insulted the Gileadites, […]
Navigating an Election Year Without Losing the Gospel
We’re living in volatile times, and the division keeps running deeper. It’s slicing even Christian families and churches right down the middle. Red-state parents send their kids off to deep-blue […]
Is Christianity Political? How the Gospel Frames Our Politics
Meet Brandon, who self-identifies as an agnostic. He describes his current experience with Christians: “Today whenever I experience the activities of American Christians as an organized group . . . […]
The Lies We Tell Ourselves about Ourselves
George Santos lied about some things in his past. Okay, about everything in his past. He lied about where he attended high school (Horace Mann) and college (Baruch) and graduate […]
7 Reasons Some Preachers Avoid Politics in Sermons
Why do some preachers avoid politics in their preaching? Here’s a helpful list… 1. They aren’t very informed. They didn’t major in political science and have never held office. They […]
Will a Heated Election Melt Your Church?
Church bells have been used throughout church history for various reasons. Church bells have been rung to announce times of prayer, begin church services, mark the hours in a day, […]
Carrying a Cross Through Political Crossfire
“Leadership is disappointing your own people at a pace that they can stand.” —Tod Bolsinger Leslie Newbigin was a well-known British missionary to India in the last century. He and […]
Politics Is the New Religion
*Editor’s Note: It can be difficult knowing how to navigate both being a disciple of Jesus and having strong political convictions which put you at odds with political convictions of […]
Christians and Politics: 5 Principles for Christian Interaction with the Political World
What should the relationship between Christians and politics look like? Here are five guiding principles for choosing faithful Christian engagement when it comes to politics: Remember your most primary citizenship. […]
Dr. Carol Swain on the Challenges Christian Face Today
Challenges Christian Face Today: Urgent Wake-Up Call Modern influences like social media, podcasts, and cultural voices can disciple believers into “self-inspired theology” that slowly weakens faith. Renewing the mind means […]
Dr. Carol Swain on the Challenges Christian Face Today
Dr. Carol Swain on Living Faithfully in a Confusing Age Through personal testimony, Dr. Swain recounts how her journey from academic success to Christian conviction reshaped her identity in Christ. […]
5 Insights Jason Whitlock Has Given Me About Being a Disciple of Jesus
Jason Whitlock Christian Insights for Fearless Discipleship Today Fearless conviction is needed to call out deception and resist cultural pressure with biblical clarity. Ruthless honesty builds credibility when confronting sin […]
Ted Lasso, Cancel Culture, and the New Persecution
Ted Lasso and the New Persecution Ted Lasso links cancel culture with a modern form of “death,” showing how reputation loss and exclusion can damage lives in a digital age. […]
Permission to Say No to a Fight
Say No To A Fight And Pick Battles Like Jesus Notice how Jesus repeatedly refused to be pulled into distractions and redirected people toward God’s deeper priorities. Discern which conflicts […]
Make Your Choice: Learning from the Chinese Church
Chinese Church Lessons for Faith Under Pressure Persecution in China reveals how believers endure surveillance and intimidation by standing firm in Jesus without compromise. Conviction grows when Christians count the […]
How Pride Month Taught Me the Power of Spirituality
Pride Month: Seeing Culture Through a Spiritual Lens Exploring the explosion of flags and identities during Pride Month, the article shows how even health sites like Healthline can shift from […]
We’re about to Make a Big Mistake – Reflections on Rebecca McLaughlin’s “The Secular Creed”
The Secular Creed and the Cost of a Godless Morality McLaughlin’s book exposes a new secular religion in which slogans like “love is love” and “gay rights are civil rights” […]
Are White Evangelicals Responsible for Corrupting the Faith and Fracturing a Nation? A Review of “Jesus and John Wayne”
Corrupting the Faith in Light of Jesus and John Wayne Layfield appreciates how Jesus and John Wayne exposes real problems in evangelical culture, including militarism, celebrity pastor models, and weak […]
The Equality Act: The Background, Battle, and Our Beliefs
Equality Act and Religious Liberty in Today’s Culture Sweeping federal protections for sexual orientation and gender identity would reach nearly every public space, reshaping how schools, businesses, and ministries operate. […]
A Resilient Church in a Cancel Culture
Cancel Culture — Practicing Church Resilience Grounded in disciple making, the church develops resilient believers who hold to biblical convictions with joy and courage. Facing cultural pressure, Christians reject timidity […]
The Long March through the Institutions of Society
Long March in Today’s Institutions—A Discipleship Response Decades of university influence spread into media, corporations, and policy, advancing Critical Theory across culture. Marxist-rooted frameworks center power and suppression, conflicting with […]
When the Foundations Are Being Destroyed
Foundations That Endure Through Faith Discover how Foundations grounded in God’s Word give strength when society feels unstable and divided. Explore David’s Psalms to understand why trusting the Lord offers […]
A Tragic Choice for a Hill to Die On
Hill to Die On — Unity, Discernment, and Essentials Grounded in Jesus’ example (John 6; John 12), believers relinquish inferior battles to pursue the cross-shaped mission that bears lasting fruit. […]
Critical Race Theory: Check Box Identity
Critical Race Theory — Intersectionality, Essentialism, and the Church Examines intersectionality’s check-box identity framework and warns that, when detached from empathy and grace, it breeds resentment and entrenches victim/victimizer roles. […]
Top 10 Renew.org Articles in 2020
Top 10 — Lessons that Strengthened the Church Featuring standout discussions on gender, LGBTQ, race, and faith, these articles shaped meaningful reflection in 2020. Addressing deconversion, marriage, and disciple-making, the […]
Critical Race Theory: Empathy and Narrative
Empathy and Narrative — Listening with Gospel Convictions Through Critical Race Theory’s storytelling lens, the article calls believers to hear marginalized voices with humility and compassion. It warns against turning […]
Critical Race Theory: Privilege and Systemic Racism
Privilege and Systemic Racism — CRT Themes and Christian Response Drawing from Delgado and Stefancic, the piece outlines interest convergence, revisionist history, critiques of liberalism, and structural determinism. Affirming minority […]
Critical Race Theory: Bitter Roots
Bitter Roots — What CRT Draws From Surveying sources like Gramsci, Foucault, and Derrida, the article argues that CRT inherits a distrust of truth claims and the liberal order. By […]
Critical Race Theory: Friend or Foe?
Critical Race Theory — Gospel Framework for Discernment Amid its move from classrooms to culture, CRT now shapes public discourse and even school curricula, prompting fair, informed evaluation. Grounding the […]
What Are Christians Doing on Social Media?
What Are Christians Doing on Social Media — Practices for Digital Witness Algorithms often inflame division, so disciples pursue humility, self-control, and allegiance to Jesus when posting or debating. Open, […]
An Election Day Prayer
Election Day Prayer — Peace, Wisdom, and Hope in Christ Rooted in 1 Timothy 2 and Jeremiah 29, the prayer seeks national peace so believers may live quiet, godly lives. […]
Church, You Can’t Lose on Tuesday
You Can’t Lose on Tuesday — Hope that Outlasts Politics Grounded in Joseph’s foresight, the church prepares in seasons of plenty and provides in famine, trusting God’s mercy in both. […]
Can We Be a Unified Church in a Divided World?
Can We Be a Unified Church in a Divided World — Unity That Acts During polarizing seasons, leaders model humility and keep the pulpit non-partisan so honest dialogue can flourish. […]
America Is in a Spiritual War. Are You All-In or AWOL?
America Is in a Spiritual War — Weapons, Courage, and Hope Scripture exposes the unseen battle and calls us to demolish lies and take every thought captive to Christ (2 […]
Following Jesus through Chaos and Cancel Culture: Race, Sexuality, Gender, & the Gospel
Chaos and Cancel Culture – Faithful Discipleship Grounds believers in Jesus’ way amid public shaming, modeling grace and truth in conversations on race, sexuality, and gender. Offers a biblical framework […]
We Can Now Go Post-Christian
Post-Christian Cultural Shift From 60s counterculture to intersectional activism, power is reassigned and “The Man” gets blown down. Ethics remain while faith and authority are displaced, forming a new orthodoxy […]
Progressivism and Church Decline
Progressivism in Church Trajectory Surveyed trends show practicing Christians shrinking as culture-first reinterpretations of Scripture take root. Denominational drift toward progressive theology trades core doctrines—Jesus’ exclusivity and biblical sexual ethics—for […]
A Reckoning for the Church
Reckoning for the Church — Repent and Reconcile Names the harm: judgmentalism and political coercion left many as casualties who need healing, not campaigns. Demands repentance: the church must own […]
Intersectionality, Christianity, & Why Reconciliation > Reversal
Reconciliation in a Divided Age Jesus reframes suffering by confronting it with compassion, turning “just the way things are” into restored life and calling disciples to serve the least of […]
Ditches to Avoid – Part 2 of a Conversation with Bob Russell
Ditches to Avoid and Guardrails for Leadership Preaching through Scripture steadies congregations as elders shield ministers from political flashpoints and help keep Jesus central. Differentiating principles from methods frees churches […]
Racial Reconciliation & Church Unity – Part 1 of a Conversation with Bob Russell
Racial Reconciliation in Church Leadership Bob Russell recounts bridge-building efforts—joint services, grants to inner-city churches, and partnerships—while admitting greater intentionality was needed. Pastors are encouraged to seek elder unity, state […]
A Four-Word Solution to Reach a Divided Nation
Divided Nation in Missionary Engagement Adopting a missionary posture reframes culture wars by affirming the good, naming the broken, and pointing to Jesus over partisanship. Centering on King Jesus moves […]
Confronting Racism in the Church: Part 2 of a Conversation with Anthony Walker
Racism in the Church and Gospel Reconciliation Stories of pain expose ongoing mistreatment; churches must name racism as sin, repent, and match apologies with action. Ephesians 2 centers unity at […]
Racism: A Lament and Call to Repent
Call to Repent for Gospel Healing In light of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd, the church laments evil, listens to pain, and prays with compassion. Scripture frames repentance—Lamentations, James 4, […]
Biden, Trump, and Other Urgent Things That Come Up
Biden and Trump—A Psalm 14 Reality Check Psalm 14 indicts both parties, showing that none of us consistently does good and we often live as if God isn’t there. Political […]
The Iowa Caucus Delay: A Portrait of Theological Progressivism
Theological Progressivism and Its Impact on Clarity Theological Progressivism reflects vague answers to life’s biggest questions, offering optimism without grounding in reality. Candidates’ false optimism parallels theological progressivism, where ungrounded […]
Can Evangelicals Disagree on Impeachment without Being Divisive?
Divisive Politics and Christian Unity in the Church Divisive opinions over Trump’s impeachment have exposed fractures in evangelical circles, challenging the church’s call to unity and mutual respect. Divisive rhetoric […]
What’s a Biblical Disciple to Do with Trump?
Biblical Disciple Perspective on Politics Today Biblical disciples resist political idolatry, keeping their devotion centered on Christ rather than elevating human leaders. Following Jesus means praying for all in authority, […]
4 Ways to Treat the Prisoner as a Person
4 Ways to Treat the Prisoner as a Person in Light of Biblical Justice Treat the prisoner with dignity and compassion. Many incarcerated individuals are awaiting trial and deserve humane […]