
The Witness Protection Program: When God’s People Go into Hiding
By Terence Lester, PhD, and Emiola Oriola Jr., EdD
“If you scared, go to church. You knew the job was dangerous when you took it.” [1]
Ice Cube did not write those words as theology.
This Online Articles area (formerly our Library) gathers reflections, op-eds, and essays that engage the pressing questions of faith, justice, and public life. Here, you’ll find hundreds of thoughtful and engaging pieces from scholars, practitioners, and everyday Christians — leaders and writers who bring fresh insight and faithful imagination. These articles are meant to spark deeper discipleship, fuel courageous action, and equip the church to embody the gospel in a complex world. We invite you to explore, learn, and join the ongoing conversation toward a fuller expression of Christian faithfulness and a more just society.
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By Terence Lester, PhD, and Emiola Oriola Jr., EdD
“If you scared, go to church. You knew the job was dangerous when you took it.” [1]
Ice Cube did not write those words as theology.

By Terence Lester, PhD, and Emiola Oriola Jr., EdD
“If you scared, go to church. You knew the job was dangerous when you took it.” [1]
Ice Cube did not write those words as theology.

By Liz Cooledge Jenkins
(Editor’s Note: Every person who walks into a church carries a story. Some come seeking community. Others arrive bearing invisible wounds from spiritual abuse, exclusion, grief, injustice, or other painful experiences that have left them wondering whether the church is truly a place of refuge.

By Steven Félix-Jäger
Every 4th of July, my family follows the same ritual. As evening settles in, we carry blankets into the backyard and wait for the sky to turn dark. From our home, we have a clear view of downtown Pomona’s (CA) annual fireworks display just beyond the wall that borders our yard.

By Andre Henry
(Editor’s Note: Racism is one of the most painful and misunderstood realities shaping both society and the church today. Many Christians want to engage these conversations faithfully but feel uncertain about where to begin, how to think biblically about race and justice, or how the church itself has contributed to racial harm throughout history.

By Andre Henry
(Editor’s Note: Racism is one of the most painful and misunderstood realities shaping both society and the church today. Many Christians want to engage these conversations faithfully but feel uncertain about where to begin, how to think biblically about race and justice, or how the church itself has contributed to racial harm throughout history.

By Andre Henry
(Editor’s Note: Racism is one of the most painful and misunderstood realities shaping both society and the church today. Many Christians want to engage these conversations faithfully but feel uncertain about where to begin, how to think biblically about race and justice, or how the church itself has contributed to racial harm throughout history.

By Andre Henry
(Editor’s Note: Racism is one of the most painful and misunderstood realities shaping both society and the church today. Many Christians want to engage these conversations faithfully but feel uncertain about where to begin, how to think biblically about race and justice, or how the church itself has contributed to racial harm throughout history.

By Terence Lester, PhD, and Dr. Emiola Oriola Jr.
When Home Is More Than a Place
I stood outside with Eddie, a friend and community member who had been sleeping in the same spot for weeks, and I watched as people walked past him as if he wasn’t there.

By Rubin McClain
In October 2025, I spent a few weeks with family in South Korea, exploring Seoul and enjoying amazing BBQ and a lovely spicy noodle dish called bibim naengmyeon.
As I wandered through winding markets and repeatedly returned to my favorite street food stalls, it was easy to forget how precarious the geopolitical reality beneath the surface remains.

Interviewed By CSA Staff
In a culture that often prizes certainty, strength, and polished faith, what does it mean to acknowledge fracture not as failure but as the very place transformation begins? In her latest book, We Mend with Gold (Broadleaf Books), Kristin T.

By Ray Stanton
On October 18, 2025, across from Radio City Music Hall, Pastor Justin Adour stepped into a small gathering of about 25 people and raised a tall sign overhead. It stood like a quiet beacon in Midtown’s chaos, proclaiming a single allegiance: “The only King we serve is our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.”
Then he asked the group to bow their heads.

By Timothy Sean Baluyot Ignacio
How would you react if the U.S. announced that it was going to run out of fuel in a matter of months?
We were in that exact situation, here in the Philippines, just a few weeks ago.

By Scott Sabin
We had spent three days hiking into the mountains above Lake Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was 2016, and our group was visiting several small villages where Plant With Purpose had begun working the year before.

By Terence Lester, PhD
At times, public discourse on war becomes detached from the lived realities experienced by those directly affected. It is troubling to hear everyday citizens in the United States, along with some commentators and journalists, speak about war without meaningful proximity to conditions on the ground, often engaging it from a place of detachment that distances them from its human consequences.

By Scott Bessenecker
(Editor’s note: At the time of this writing, rhetoric around a potential U.S. escalation with Iran has intensified, with language that frames overwhelming military force as decisive and necessary. In moments like this — when calls for power grow louder and the stakes feel existential — Christians are again faced with an old and urgent question: What does faithfulness to Jesus require of us?)
Imagine Christians in one country believing it was their biblical duty to fight in a war against Christians of another country.

By Giselle Soares
(Editor’s Note: As Christians for Social Action, we are committed to making space for voices from within the global church, especially those whose experiences are shaped by conflict, constraint, and deep faith.