Resisting the Single Story: What Advent Teaches About Power
By Laurie Nichols
Every powerful system has a way of telling its own story.
It tells us who matters, who gets to speak, and who should stay quiet. It rewards certainty and punishes nuance.
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 Laurie Nichols
Every powerful system has a way of telling its own story.
It tells us who matters, who gets to speak, and who should stay quiet. It rewards certainty and punishes nuance.
An interview with James Choung
James Choung serves as InterVarsity’s national director of evangelism and is ordained with the Association of Vineyard Churches. He has over two decades of extensive service in multiethnic settings in both the church and campus worlds.
By Jim Cates
On the importance of dialogue with—rather than withdrawal from—those whose theological understandings differ from ours.
An interview with Brian Jenkins
“Everyone has a dream. Everyone has ideas.” ~Brian Jenkins, founder and president of Entrenuity
An interview with Samir Selmanovic
Samir Selmanovic is an author, speaker, and community organizer known particularly for his work in interfaith dialogue. Born and raised in a culturally Muslim but atheistic family in Croatia, as a teenager he joined an underground group of believers and became a Christian.
By John Backman
Francis Schaeffer said that if he had an hour alone with a stranger, he would spend the first 50 minutes asking questions—especially about the stranger’s beliefs—and pointing out the inconsistencies. Then, in the last 10 minutes, he would present the gospel.
An interview with Dan Merchant
Dan Merchant thinks that America has become a bumper-sticker culture. “We’re way too comfortable with one-way communication,” says Merchant. “We like to tell people what we think, but we don’t like to listen.”
By Al Tizon
Confessions of an evangelism professor—and the holistic approach that makes “bearing witness” bearable
By Rudy Carrasco
In 2013, U2 frontman Bono made ripples across evangelical America with an interview with Focus on the Family’s Jim Daly. In the interview Bono affirmed his Christian faith, reciting a stream of biblical quotes along with his own commentary and applications to daily life. At one point he clearly stated, “I believe that Jesus was the Son of God.”
By Al Tizon
How can I believe in evangelism in this day and age? In light of my own journey to faith, how can I not?
By Landon Eckhardt
How one church helps congregants integrate their faith with their work
By David Gushee
A kingdom reframing of Christian mission, as I argued in part 1 of this article, helps settle the evangelism vs. social action debate, once and for all. Let’s hope we never have to revisit it.
By David Gushee
As you read this, our nation will be preparing to inaugurate a new president. Half the country will be thrilled; the other half will be outraged.
By Matt
A look at what happens when we’re willing to be misunderstood for the sake of love
We were a dozen participants, united in professing Christian faith, but representing a variety of sexual orientations and theological positions on same-sex sexual relationships.
By Craig Wong
The political theater around the topic of immigration can best be described as painfully comic, especially in election seasons, as each candidate frets and spins in a clumsy attempt to communicate a coherent position.
By Charles Metcalf
It was a Tuesday night, and I found myself in a strange yet familiar place. I had been invited to attend a Bible study. Nothing new here. The unfamiliarity came from the fact that this Bible study was bilingual.
By Dannah Gresh and Juli Slattery
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)
When the current wave of erotica hit us, the term “mommy porn” came with it.