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 Dr. Emiola Oriola Jr.
(Editor’s Note: What does it take to remain faithful when the change we long for is slow, uncertain, or may never come in our lifetime? Throughout our four-part “Practicing Moral Courage” series, Dr.
By Liz Cooledge Jenkins
(Editor’s Note: Churches are often evaluated not only by how they treat the people sitting in their pews, but by how they respond to those who are most vulnerable. Throughout Scripture, God’s concern for the oppressed, the marginalized, and the stranger is woven into the story of redemption, reminding us that justice is not separate from the church’s witness but central to it.
By Liz Cooledge Jenkins
(Editor’s Note: What does it mean for a church to be a place of refuge? Throughout Scripture, Jesus consistently restores the dignity of those who have been marginalized, excluded, or harmed, while the earliest Christian communities became known for their radical hospitality and care for the vulnerable.
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.