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The bad king

Nimrod is the biblical archetype of the corrupt leader obsessed with his own power.

by Mordechai Beck

The mother load

In Die My Love, Jennifer Lawrence’s character seems to have intuited an invisible straitjacket of maternal expectations, and she is desperate to shake it off.

by Kathryn Reklis

Imagining the grace to come

Witness is an act of trust in a God who sends us to see and tell of all the things God is doing.

by Eric D. Barreto

Are we on the cusp of a revival?

Rumors of it are premature but persistent.

by Benjamin J. Dueholm

Online Columnists

Sing Christmas carols during Advent. Put up the tree before Halloween.

God’s RSVP has no date or time.

by Brandon Ambrosino

Books

The monsters we make

Historian Surekha Davies exposes humanity’s long-standing practice of turning difference into monstrosity.

by A. Trevor Sutton

The power of charismatic narrative

Why has the authority of American elites been swept aside? Historian Molly Worthen argues that it’s because they failed as storytellers.

Ministry and other callings

Kristen Bentley’s research indicates that there is no single right way to be a bivocational pastor.

by Susan Willhauck

When ableism and racism intertwine

Black autistic pastor and disability scholar Lamar Hardwick shows how ideas around race and disability can cost people their lives.

News

Pope Leo XIV and Patriarch Bartholomew sign document urging progress on Christian unity

by Claire Giangravé

Religious groups seek to prevent holiday immigration raids

by Jeff Brumley

Bible sales keep growing, even as many in the US lose their religion

by Bob Smietana

Bridgett A. Green named president and publisher of Presbyterian Publishing Corporation

by Presbyterian News Service

In This Issue

In the Lectionary

December 21, Advent 4A (Matthew 1:18-25)

Birthing takes a village. Our Christmas pageants recognize this truth.

by Liddy Barlow

Hope lets go

To grow into Christ’s likeness is to step away from power and toward failure.

In the Lectionary

December 14, Advent 3A (Matthew 11:2-11)

There is ample evidence that Christ is alive and on the move.

by Liddy Barlow

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Voices

Sketch of Phil Christman

Phil Christman

The poverty of gossip

It’s not just that it’s sadistic. It also lacks aesthetic or psychological imagination.

Benjamin J. Dueholm

Benjamin J. Dueholm

Are we on the cusp of a revival?

Rumors of it are premature but persistent.

Illustration of columnist Rachel Mann

Rachel Mann

Hope lets go

To grow into Christ’s likeness is to step away from power and toward failure.

Illustration of columnist Debie Thomas

Debie Thomas

Christ in my nerve endings

Living with chronic pain is deepening my understanding of the incarnation.

Brian Bantum illustration

Brian Bantum

I keep listening for the chorus

My partial hearing loss is teaching me about Advent waiting and finding my place in God’s song.

Illustration of columnist Isaac S. Villegas

Isaac S. Villegas

The heft of a pulpit Bible

As I pressed my sermon’s pages across the book’s valley, I couldn’t keep them from sliding into the groove.

Politics

The bad king

Nimrod is the biblical archetype of the corrupt leader obsessed with his own power.

by Mordechai Beck

The power of charismatic narrative

Why has the authority of American elites been swept aside? Historian Molly Worthen argues that it’s because they failed as storytellers.

Are we on the cusp of a revival?

Rumors of it are premature but persistent.

by Benjamin J. Dueholm

This political moment demands theology

As Christians, we need to protest authoritarianism and support the people it targets. We also need to underscore the deep foundations of this work.

by Douglas F. Ottati