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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CSA’s free weekly publication, a carefully curated collection of original articles at the intersection of spiritual formation and social action.
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 Lisa Hoffman
السلام على يديك
Bless your hands.
Every language has its courtesies, and Arabic is a language full of beautiful sentiments for particular moments. There are words of invitation to call out to a passerby and offer a cup of coffee.
By Joshua Carson
I only have two feet, but I stand in a lot of different camps.
I was raised as an evangelical in the American South at a Southern Baptist church, and yet my home church ordains women.
By Jim Baton
Ding-dong. As I head for the door, my daughter screams. “Dad! Do not open that door!”
I turn to find my daughter peeking out the window. “Why not?” I ask.
From CSA
New Copernicans are those who embrace a new and emerging social imaginary that is post-Enlightenment and post-secular in its ethos. Carried predominately by millennials, the New Copernican perspective is both the hope for the American evangelical church and the emerging soul of American culture.
By Norman Wirzba
Sometimes when I ask people what it is they are looking forward to in heaven, they have surprisingly little to say. “It’s gonna be great!” and “I’m not going to be in pain anymore” are about as specific as it gets.
By Kristyn Komarnicki
The history of our planet is one of abundance and beauty, of life and goodness. While there is also war and disease, pollution and decay, God’s dream for us is clearly the former.
By Darren Calhoun
A team from Christians for Social Action recently visited the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC on Twitter) in Washington, DC. Our purpose was the development of a one-day racial justice immersion experience for a variety of audiences—including students at our home base of Eastern University, church groups, and others in the CSA community.
By Elli Atchison and Molly Lorden
“When the righteous cry out the Lord hears them and delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 34:17-18
Jesus was no stranger to death and sorrow.
By Elrena Evans
My family recently took a road trip to Florida, because we thought logging over two thousand miles in a car with five kids would be fun. It was fun, actually—not without hiccups, as all road trips are, but even the hiccups were fodder for many family memories.
By Elli Atchison and Molly Lorden
“Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And then, love your neighbor as yourself.” Mark 12:29
Jesus was no stranger to obedience. The King of Kings came quietly at his Father’s request.
By David P. Leong
Throughout high school, I worked in our family photo lab in Vancouver Mall, and on breaks I would walk around to see other store displays nearby. In the early to mid-’90s, there was a particular trend in a lot of the poster and gift shops, which would display large, patterned images with a “hidden 3D picture” out in front of the store.
By Sharon Watkins and Richard H. Lowery
Read Isaiah 50:4–9a.
“The Lord God helps me… / I know that I shall not be put to shame.”
Today’s reading is from the third of the so-called “servant songs” in the portion of the book scholars call “Second Isaiah.” The songs are reflections on the experiences of a “servant,” often clearly identified as Israel as a whole, but sometimes apparently referring to some sub-group or individual among the exiles in Babylonia.
By R. Maurice Boyd
O Thou who art as the shadow of a mighty rock in a weary land,
Comfort our distraught, distracted, and bewildered Nation.
Enable us to discern Thy judgements and Thy grace in the distress, confusion, and anxiety of our time.
By Fred Clark
You probably haven’t heard many sermons about Joshebbasshebeth the Tahchemonite. His story is tucked away in 10 verses at the end of 2 Samuel and besides, not many preachers want to pronounce names like Joshebbasshebeth from the pulpit.
By Jenny Rae Armstrong
I was nine years old when it happened, peering out the window of our second-story apartment in Monrovia, Liberia. The multiplex we lived in was in a good area, popular with internationals; the families on the top story were from India, the Peace Corps volunteers across the hall were American like us, and Mrs.
By Jan Johnson
Imagine three women standing in a town square, facing each other and reflecting on the current Middle East situation. These three women have just come from their respective places of worship. The oldest woman is Sarah, a Hebrew woman, the wife of Abraham, and matriarch to Isaac and Jacob.