When The Christian Chronicle covered and editorialized Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk's murder in September 2025, the reaction from our audience was big and hot. Some Church of Christ folks expressed reverence for Kirk and regarded him as a Christian martyr. Others expressed anger and sadness at how he died, but emphasized that what he believed and how he expressed it did not represent them as Christians. Still others said they never heard of Kirk until his death. In this episod...

"Spiritual warfare" seems to be on the lips and minds of many Christ-claimers in the United States these days, including those in the Church of Christ. But what is "spiritual warfare" and how do we know that we're waging it? Dr. Joe Beam, who wrote the landmark book Seeing the Unseen: A Handbook for Spiritual Warfare in the early 1990s, joins the present-day milieu on how the spirit realm is affecting current events and vice versa. In this episode, Beam answers questions like: What might be c...

A little more than half (52 percent) of Americans say they would allow public school teachers to lead their students in prayers to Jesus in taxpayer-funded public schools. This is according to the latest Religious Landscape Study from the Pew Research Center. In this episode, that study's author, Chip Rotolo, reveals how Americans have changed in both religious and spiritual beliefs and practices since Pew started researching them in 2007. While it may come as no surprise that Americans' adhe...

Colleges and universities with roots and ties in the Church of Christ community have a strong history of seeking and welcoming international students to their campuses. Many of them see this as essential to their Christian mission to "go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Gospel of Matthew 28:19). Rapid changes to federal policies, however, may be keeping some international students out of the United States and out of the Church of Christ colleges and universities they want t...

Church of Christ congregations in the rural areas and small towns of the United States are struggling with closures and membership losses. What act of God and the Church of Christ together could lead to growth and health? Dr. Anessa Westbrook is co-director of the new Center for Ministry at York University in York, Nebraska. In this episode, Dr. Westbrook unpacks some of the reasons that so many congregations in rural and small town America are struggling. She reveals some of the approaches t...

One Church of Christ congregation in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, is going all in on producing live theatre for its community. Since giving its first stage production a try, Bouldercrest Church of Christ is attracting casts and crews comprising Church of Christ members from all over the city. And thousands are attending performances like Scenes from the Life of Christ. In this episode, we hear from the woman at the center of it all. Sheri Gilbert-Wilson is a professional actor, director and writer ...

"Honorary title for this episode is 'Filling the Void.'" Listen and find out why (and thanks to Alonzo Rojo)! Jóvenes for Christ is a summer camp for English-speaking young Christians growing up in bilingual or Spanish-speaking churches and homes. In this episode, we hear from Jóvenes for Christ board members, Kevin Rivera (Lakeview Iglesia de Cristo, Garland, Texas), Alonzo Rojo (Robinson Avenue Iglesia de Cristo, Springdale, Arkansas), and Yazmin Tabares (Robinson Avenue Iglesia de Cr...

MacArthur "Genius Grant" recipient, Pulitzer Prize finalist and world famous investigative journalist Jerry Mitchell talks about how a relentless pursuit of the truth honors God and promotes God's desire for justice. In this episode, Mitchell talks about how he helped crack cold cases that brought to justice the murderers of five 1960s-era Civil Rights workers in Mississippi. He also makes a plea for Christians in society to renew and restore their collective and personal efforts to find and ...

The two youngest members of The Christian Chronicle's full-time news team are incoming managing editor Calvin Cockrell (Gen Y) and outgoing managing editor Audrey Jackson (Gen Z). In this episode, they talk about how working with The Christian Chronicle is exposing them to the Church of Christ they never imagined or knew. They also talk about what it is like to be journalists at a time when the profession is under cultural, economic and political duress. And, if they were to start a new Chris...

In 1979, Church of Christ congregations in Chicago joined together in a concentrated campaign to evangelize the city. That event because the first "Crusade for Christ," an evangelism campaign that visited a major U.S. city every other year until the pandemic. Over the 40 years that the Crusade for Christ visited American cities, tens of thousands of volunteers evangelized tens of thousands of neighbors, leading to countless baptisms. This July 2025, the Crusade for Christ returns and up to 2,...

In early July 2025, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service changed its interpretation of the tax code to give houses of worship more leeway to engage in political speech, which may include endorsing candidates...even from the pulpit. Is this a good thing for the church and its Great Commission? Chris McCurley, preaching minister with the Walnut Street Church of Christ in Dickson, Tennessee, and host of the popular Dear Church Podcast, joins us to talk about politics in church. How much energy and ...

On Sunday, June 22, 2025, a gunman armed with an AR-15 assault rifle opened fire on Crosspointe Community Church in Wayne, Michigan, as it assembled for worship. A fast-thinking deacon and two armed members of the congregation's security team killed the gunman before he could enter the church building and take the lives of any members or visitors. As the frequency of active shooter situations at houses of worship is on the rise, how many congregations are prepared if the worst case happens? O...

On June 12, 2025, The Christian Chronicle's Bobby Ross Jr. released a story about the Arlington (Virginia) Church of Christ. That congregation removed the pews from the center of its auditorium and replaced them with tables. Now, worshipers leave their seats and gather around those tables to share the Lord's Supper with each other. The article stirred up strong opinions among Christian Chronicle readers. Some affirm how the Arlington Church of Christ is trying a fresh and purposeful pra...

Lifeway Research executive director Scott McConnell is back to talk about some new research that sheds light on current events. For starters, church attendance and sales of Bibles are going up. Not only that, but Americans' regard for the Bible seems to be increasing. Young people, in particular are demonstrating more openness to learning about the Bible. Scott explores what could be driving these trends and what it means for Church of Christ congregations and members. Next, we turn to Lifewa...

Church of Christ member Brian Bates is one of the cleanest--and hottest--comedians in the country these days. In this episode, he takes us behind the jokes to reveal how a comedian builds rapport and trust with strangers--whether they're in a bar on Saturday night or a church on Sunday afternoon. Could all Christians learn something about the "Jesus way" from stand-up comedians? Link to Brian Bates's website, including upcoming shows and videos Link to the Nateland Podcast, featuring co...

Could eating more pie lead to healthier and stronger churches? Doug Pell says "yes." A longtime Church of Christ elder and retired senior executive from the U.S. defense industry, Pell recently authored Set in Order the Things That Are Lacking: Lessons in Biblical Leadership (Sain Publications). In this episode, Pell shares the experience he gained from decades in church and corporate leadership and the knowledge he gained from his intense study of biblical eldership for local congregations. ...

For Christians who are Black, life in the Church of Christ in the United States is an experience that is formed by the experience of being Black. In other words, each human being encounters life (and church) through her or his experiences. Likewise, the world (and often the church) perceives human beings through the assumptions that form about certain groups of people. Barron Jones (host of the Unfiltered Crossroads Podcast and the preaching team at Holgate Street Church of Christ in Seattle,...

In the United States, the mood about immigration carried a new administration to power in Washington, D.C. Since then, the news media has reported sensational stories of law enforcement arrests around, or in, faith-based ministries and houses of worship. How does this affect Church of Christ congregations and ministries that are active among immigrant neighbors in their communities? Do they have any reason to fear that law enforcement may target them and their own members and neighbors? What ...

In some congregations, you may find one member whose ministry is sending hand-written cards of congratulations to new Christians upon their baptisms. Imagine if that one member tries to send a card to every new Christian, not just in their own congregation, but in the entire world. Meet Lorraine Smith of Central Church of Christ in Dalton, Georgia. Inspired by a card her grandson received from strangers after his baptism, Lorraine set out to handwrite an encouragement card to every new Christ...

In 2 Corinthians 3:5, the apostle Paul writes: "Not that we are competent in ourselves...but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of the new covenant." Casey Coston is a veteran Church of Christ campus minister of more than 20 years. As he started his third decade in ministry, he took stock of his own "incompetence" and turned it into a book: Made Competent: A Story About Life in Ministry. In this episode, Casey touches on some of the biggest ministry challenge...