The Jim Wallis Podcast

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) talks with Rev. Jim Wallis about the potential for a Kairos moment during the unprecedented crisis our nation is facing.Coons says, "A basic fundamental change can happen because there is the action of God in history, touching hearts, moving people ... When there is sin, when there is brokenness, when there's division, we can't be reconciled to each other until there is a confrontation with our own history, a willingness to be open to challenges or criticism of our own behavior, and our history, and our hearts, and then a willingness to repent."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How do you balance the sometimes competing demands of religion and democracy? Religious and legal scholar Melissa Rogers talks with Rev. Jim Wallis on about the fine line that is sometimes hard to distinguish when examining our duty to our religion and our government.Rogers says, "You think about this pandemic and the way that government and all institutions, including religious institutions had to turn on a dime. ...We need to be both able to partner with government for good. And we need to also be prophetic interrogators ofgovernment too... So I think it's that dual role of cooperating and challenging that we need to perform when we're dealing with government.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, speaks with Rev. Jim Wallis about our need to focus our outrage on the tragic death of George Floyd and the systemic structures that caused it. She warns against being distracted by Donald Trump's brazen attempt to falsely cloak himself with spiritual authority by staging a photo op in front of St. John's, Lafayette Square."I have friends and people that you and I both know who are working so hard to keep the protest for justice engaged and focused on the outrage of George Floyd's death," Bishop Budde says. "That's the work to be done. And as several of our clergy colleagues of color have said to us, 'You know, it's not as if white supremacy was invented yesterday. You may have just come to a deeper appreciation this week, but this is what we've been dealing with for a while.'"She continues, "Think about the things that need to be done right now, that can be done because of the Kairos moment that we may be blessed with to really move, to push something forward. Every once in a while, you get a window of time and space and serendipity and grace, where you can actually push something forward."  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Whitney Parnell, Founder and CEO of Service Never Sleeps, talks with Rev. Jim Wallis in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd about systemic racism, white privilege, and the hope for our collective future.Parnell says, "White supremacy is the institutionalization of white dominance and power. And racism is the structural upholding of that[...] Being born as a white person, you are born into that system in a position of privilege."Parnell continues, "Hope is the belief that we can build a better tomorrow than today. And that just helped bring everything home for me ... Every day I can work towards tomorrow being better. And that just helps me feel like this is a manageable way for me to approach this very difficult work each day."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As we pass the horrifying milestone of 100,000 American deaths to the coronavirus, we’re using the hashtag #Lament100k to urge people to pause — to lament.Rev. Jim Wallis tells us, "We must stop. We must weep. We must mourn. We must honor. And we must lament."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Robert P. Jones the CEO and Founder of the Public Religion Research Institute (https://www.prri.org/staff/robert-p-jones-ph-d/) and a leading scholar and commentator on religion, culture, and politics speaks with Rev. Jim Wallis on the impact and the importance of polling in the Presidential Election season and the impact of COVID-19 on the perceptions of people of faith.Jones says, "We've been able to see really as the pandemic has progressed and as Trump has shifted his responses is that he reached a peak of support in March. Now for Trump, peak support is actually just under 50%, 49%. But that was the highest favorability rating we had ever recorded for President Trump...but we saw this really remarkable drop across groups."PRRI reports, "Currently, two-thirds (66%) of white evangelical Protestants, nearly half (48%) of white Catholics, and 44% of white mainline Protestants hold a favorable view of Trump, a significant decline from their March 2020 ratings (77%, 60%, and 62%, respectively)." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Rev. Jim Wallis talks with Myungsung Church's lead pastor Rev. Hana Kim about South Korea's response to COVID-19 and the moral, ethical, and religious imperative we have to help the most vulnerable as Jesus commands, many of whom are more at-risk during this global crisis.Kim says, "We have to reclaim Jesus in this crisis. I'm trying to be a true believer and if you're a true believer, you must embrace not only teachings of Jesus Christ, but also the life of Jesus Christ: his character, his disposition, his heart, his love and his willingness to be close to the neighbors and the sick at the marginalized, the poor, ... to reclaim not only the words of Jesus Christ, but the life of Jesus Christ."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Rev. Jim Wallis talks with theologian and immigrant advocate Karen González about the lessons of immigration in the Bible.The metrics of the COVID-19 pandemic show how disproportionately affected our immigrant and refugee neighbors have been. González says, "The story of the Bible isn't just a story of moving from being lost to being saved, but it's one of being a foreigner and moving toward being part of the family of God to belonging. And that's a trajectory we can see throughout the scriptures from the very beginning when we meet Abraham — God is asking him to migrate, and we see he and Sarah's vulnerability in Egypt. Over and over again the scripture restates some 83 times ... that we're to treat the immigrant as ourselves, we're to love the immigrant as ourselves, we're to do justice for the immigrant. And there's judgment. There's a whole book of the Bible, Obadiah. And it's judgment for those who did not treat the refugee and immigrant well, for those who did not do justice for the immigrant."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

President-elect of Bread for the World Rev. Eugene Cho talks with Rev. Jim Wallis about the need for faith leaders to speak out about politics in the time of the coronavirus."I think the word 'politics,' for lots of reasons, it's grown to become this difficult, challenging word in our culture and context. Especially I think in the evangelical context," Cho said. "... That's not the only thing that we as Christians do. But it is one way, a significant way, in which we try to live out this calling to be a good neighbor, because politics, it shapes and informs policies that impact people. And the last time I read the Bible, God really cares about people. ... I share in that prayer that more Christians would get engaged in advocacy, in speaking up and to urge our lawmakers and leaders to lead with moral courage, and to lead with empathy and compassion."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ahead of Mother's Day, New York times bestselling author and historian of Christianity at Duke Divinity School, Kate Bowler and Rev. Jim Wallis dig into a meaningful discussion about what being human looks like amid a global pandemic. From waking up in the morning to parent and raise a child to navigating the inevitable suffering life brings, Kate provides a clarifying voice and perspective for how to live through these trying times. Her scholarship in American heresies, like the fallacy of the Prosperity Gospel, make for an interesting investigation into America's unique, and sometimes upsetting, response to our current crisis. Bowler says, "In the end, bad things happen to good people because there is no cure to being human. And the world will not mete out its punishments in relationship to our faithfulness or whether we don't cheat at golf. And  if there is math, we don't get to see it. So the problem is of course, is that we're left with suffering without apparent meaning. That's scary for us because we derive a lot of purpose from meaning."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Marie Dennis, senior advisor and former co-president of Pax Christi International, and Rev. Jim Wallis analyze the importance of government social programs to provide true security to our nation. Dennis says, "What we're seeing in this pandemic is the result of a distorted sense of priorities for years in our own country, and that is echoed in the rest of the world. What we're seeing is the need to rethink what we mean by security and talk about security in a different way. ... According to a new definition of security, our investment [needs to be] in health care, in the safety of children, in ending hunger, in reducing food insecurity and on and on and on."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Rev. Dr. Cynthia Hale, the founder and senior pastor of the Ray of Hope Christian Church talks with Rev. Jim Wallis about the need to observe the Sabbath during this time of the COVID-19 crisis.  "The emotional strain of this experience has been undeniable. The uncertainty is a beast. One day when I was feeling overwhelmed by it, all my Apple watch vibrated and when I looked at it, it simply said, breathe. All of us need to receive this message on a regular basis and particularly right now we all need to take time to breathe because as ministers we spend our lives in perpetual motion sometimes without stopping to even catch our breath." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Peggy Flanagan, Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, talks with Rev. Jim Wallis about state and federal responses to the coronavirus."We started as part of our overall response to COVID-19, something called our community resiliency and recovery work group, which is really grounded in ensuring that we don't return back to normal and that we are centering people of color, Native Americans, immigrants and refugees, low-income folks, and people experiencing homelessness at the center of our response."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Rev. Dr. Frederick Haynes III and Rev. Jim Wallis discuss how the coronavirus pandemic has further revealed the structural and racial inequalities embedded in our nation and in our society.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Billy Shore, founder and chairman of Share Our Strength and the architect of the No Kid Hungry campaign, talks with Rev. Jim Wallis about how to feed the kids who are missing nearly 34 million meals each day now that schools are shuttered because of the coronavirus."Hopefully one of our responsibilities or charges from a leadership point of view is to help people see how we can make some permanent changes, so the next time there's such a crisis, the vulnerable are not as vulnerable; we're more on an equal footing," Shore says.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Latin American theologian, missiologist, and educator Ruth Padilla DeBorst and Rev. Jim Wallis discuss the importance of social consciousness in the creation of government policy. Speaking of government priorities, Padilla DeBorst says, "If there is an awareness that the place of government is to guarantee the wellbeing of people and not just to serve the interests of a few or to line one's pockets, it makes a big difference. That's something we can be grateful for at same time as we mourn the lack of that kind of consciousness on the part of many governments in the world." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Brian Gallagher, the CEO of United Way Worldwide, speaks with Rev. Jim Wallis about the catastrophic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on his perspective as the leader of a global network that represents organizations from 40 countries and six continents, Gallagher says, "Extreme political leaders are crushing the soul of our country right now."Addressing extremism from the political right and left, Gallagher calls for us to work together for the common good, especially in the wake of the devastation of the coronavirus.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Myrna Pérez, director of the Brennan Center's Voting Rights and Elections Program, discusses the role of faith in democracy with Rev. Jim Wallis. Pérez and Wallis examine challenges to exercising our right to vote during the pandemic. Together, they discuss the biblical precepts that require all people of faith to defend the voting rights of all Americans, especially those who are the most marginalized.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this very special Easter Sunday Sermon episode of The Soul of the Nation podcast, Fr. Richard Rohr and Rev. Jim Wallis discuss the many examples of hope and grace to be found amid the despair of the deadly coronavirus pandemic. Rohr is a Franciscan of the New Mexico Province, an academic dean and author, a spiritual teacher, and the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, N.M.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Emergency Medicine expert Dr. Mel Herbert talks with Rev Jim Wallis on the importance of spiritual healing in a time of medical crisis. Herbert is an award-winning professor, physician, and editor who serves as the attending physician and professor of emergency medicine at the UCLA School of Medicine. Herbert shares with Wallis the uplifting stories of the medical heroes battling on the front lines to keep the public safe.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Larry Brilliant, an American epidemiologist who helped eradicate smallpox in the 1970s, and Rev. Jim Wallis discuss the current administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Brilliant outlines the moral, ethical, and scientific responses needed to respond effectively to the coronavirus.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As the nation tries to slow the advance of the coronavirus pandemic, most of the nation is engaged in responsible social distancing. In this episode of our Sunday Sermon in a Pandemic series, Sojourners Executive Director Adam Taylor and Rev. Jim Wallis share their thoughts on biblical teachings that can guide us through these times when the staggering devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic ravages our nation — and the world — after months of unconscionable inaction by President Trump.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The massive $2 trillion stimulus bill will provide relief for many Americans during the financial crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic. But many vulnerable people will be ineligible for much-needed financial aid. The Rev. Jim Wallis and Robert Greenstein, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, dissect the particulars of the bill, explaining how you can access the protections contained in the legislation. They also highlight the failures of the aid package that ignore the needs of the people on the margins of society whom Jesus calls us to feed, clothe, and shelter. Greenstein calls us to apply the "golden rule" in the fight ahead, so that we can expand coverage to our brothers and sisters who need it most in the next round.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As the nation tries to slow the advance of the Coronavirus Pandemic, we are all engaged in responsible social distancing. In this first episode of the Sunday Sermon in a Pandemic Podcast, Bishop Michael Curry and the Reverend Jim Wallis discuss making connections to faith and worship, spirituality and justice, in the digital and social media age.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this very special episode of The Soul of the Nation, the Reverend Jim Wallis speaks with Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician, public health leader, and a passionate advocate for patient-centered health care reform.  Dr. Wen shares urgent advice for sustaining and protecting our body, as well as our mind and soul, amid the coronavirus pandemic.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this very special episode of The Soul of the Nation, the Reverend Jim Wallis sits down with the Reverend Adam Taylor, Sojourners' Executive Director, to discuss the role of the Church in politics in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.Dr. King famously said, "The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority. If the church does not participate actively in the struggle for peace and for economic and racial justice, it will forfeit the loyalty of millions and cause men everywhere to say that it has atrophied its will. But if the church will free itself from the shackles of a deadening status quo, and, recovering its great historic mission, will speak and act fearlessly and insistently in terms of justice and peace, it will enkindle the imagination of mankind and fire the souls of men, imbuing them with a glowing and ardent love for truth, justice, and peace. Men far and near will know the church as a great fellowship of love that provides light and bread for lonely travelers at midnight." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Reverend Jim Wallis shares his thoughts and his blessings this Christmas Season.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the third episode of this new season of The Soul of the Nation, the Rev. Jim Wallis interviews Mayor Pete Buttigieg.Throughout this special season, Wallis will sit down with the 2020 presidential candidates to discuss the intersection of faith and politics. The candidates explain how personal faith has shaped their passion for public service and positive social change.  "It is my hope that discussing faith, from many different religious backgrounds, can clarify how faith will play a role in politics moving forward and further discourage this myth that the right owns religion. From unapologetically faith-forward campaigns to campaigns without a connection to faith at all, the wide spectrum of religious affiliation among the 2020 presidential candidates makes way for rich conversations about religion’s role in 2020," says Wallis. "Whether it is addressing poverty, combatting racism, or solving the climate crisis, how does faith inform the moral leadership our electorate is seeking? This special series works to answer this question and many more." In one-on-one interviews, Wallis and the 2020 candidates try to envision how an open dialogue about faith will change our country's current political landscape and potentially embolden social action among churchgoers.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the second episode of this new season of The Soul of the Nation, the Rev. Jim Wallis interviews Secretary Julian Castro.Throughout this special season, Wallis will sit down with the 2020 presidential candidates to discuss the intersection of faith and politics. The candidates explain how personal faith has shaped their passion for public service and positive social change.  "It is my hope that discussing faith, from many different religious backgrounds, can clarify how faith will play a role in politics moving forward and further discourage this myth that the right owns religion. From unapologetically faith-forward campaigns to campaigns without a connection to faith at all, the wide spectrum of religious affiliation among the 2020 presidential candidates makes way for rich conversations about religion’s role in 2020," says Wallis. "Whether it is addressing poverty, combatting racism, or solving the climate crisis, how does faith inform the moral leadership our electorate is seeking? This special series works to answer this question and many more." In one-on-one interviews, Wallis and the 2020 candidates try to envision how an open dialogue about faith will change our country's current political landscape and potentially embolden social action among churchgoers.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the first episode of this new season of The Soul of the Nation, Rev. Jim Wallis interviews Senator Cory Booker.Throughout this special season, Wallis will sit down with the 2020 presidential candidates to discuss the intersection of faith and politics. The candidates explain how personal faith has shaped their passion for public service and positive social change.  "It is my hope that discussing faith, from many different religious backgrounds, can clarify how faith will play a role in politics moving forward and further discourage this myth that the right owns religion. From unapologetically faith-forward campaigns to campaigns without a connection to faith at all, the wide spectrum of religious affiliation among the 2020 presidential candidates makes way for rich conversations about religion’s role in 2020," says Wallis. "Whether it is addressing poverty, combatting racism, or solving the climate crisis, how does faith inform the moral leadership our electorate is seeking? This special series works to answer this question and many more." In one-on-one interviews, Wallis and the 2020 candidates try to envision how an open dialogue about faith will change our country's current political landscape and potentially embolden social action among churchgoers.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's always amazing to me how — somehow, apparently, mysteriously, and even miraculously — Jesus has survived all of us Christians.And yet, it’s undeniable that the election of Donald Trump and the presidency that has followed — and the Christian response to all of it — have revealed how disconnected many American Christians have become from Jesus. In particular, the uncritical support Trump enjoys from many white evangelicals in the religious right, and the Faustian bargain they have made for power, are turning many Americans (and others) away from Christianity altogether.While we’ve long known that institutional Christianity is in decline in the United States — especially among younger generations — the bottom is starting to fall out of evangelicalism, with people identifying with “no religion” surpassing evangelicals and Catholics for the first time earlier this year as the most common answer on a religious self-identification survey of Americans. Increasing numbers of Americans are “falling away from religion because they see it as so wrapped up with Republican politics.”Here’s why I believe this is actually good news.Recently, I spoke to a group of university students who are in Washington, D.C. doing internships this semester on the Hill, at the White House, the cabinet, and other agencies around the Capitol.As I began to talk about this Jesus who we have all become disconnected from (especially in the churches), and how the questions he asked or prompted are so deeply connected to the moral and political crisis we now find ourselves in, they lit up. After I laid out some of those Jesus questions and their relevance to us today, including what they see and hear around them in the nation’s capital every day, hands came up from all over the room.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This podcast explores the themes in Jim Wallis’ new book Christ in Crisis: Why We Need to Reclaim Jesus. Pre-order at Book.Sojo.NetIn recent weeks the hashtag #antichrist trended on Twitter for nearly 24 hours in response to presidential tweets. And in response to the mass-shooting in El Paso, perpetuated by a white nationalist who invoked Christian theology, evangelical leader Beth Moore said in a tweet:  Any “Christ” that can be invoked in support of white nationalism is a false Christ of the highest, most hellish order. An anti-Christ. A wholly-opposite christ. No such christ is the Christ Jesus of Scripture who taught His followers a love that sacrifices life & limb for others.Anti-Christ is a very big word, very evocative of our deepest spiritual realities and feelings, and is seldom invoked without controversy. It’s been abused by those promoting bad “end times” and “left behind” theology. But it’s also a profoundly biblical concept, one we must take as seriously in our day as Jesus did in his. Jesus warned his followers to be on the lookout for “pseudo-christs,” those that claimed his name but were far from the true heart of God, and said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”There seems to be a clear choice, a real and stark choice, going on in this country and even in the churches, between the politics of Jesus and anti-Christ politics. I believe that the fear of the other, the hatred of the other, and violence against the other are the core of anti-Christ politics. And the love of the other, calling the other your neighbor, is at the heart of the politics of Jesus.Jesus said eight different times, “Be not afraid ...” Anti-Christ politics says, “Be afraid. I'm going to make you more afraid.” Jesus says that leadership is about service. Anti-Christ politics says it’s about wealth and power — it's about winning and losing. The Bible says we are all made in the image of God, but anti-Christ politics says, “No, some people are more valuable than other people.” In Jesus politics, how we treat the “least of these” is the test of our politics. In anti-Christ politics, the “least of these” are the least important. So this isn’t about left or right, liberal or conservative, but goes deeper — this is about “What did Jesus say?” And I think to love our neighbor, the one who is different than us, is the most key question or choice for America's future; that will most determine the soul of this nation going forward.But what we see from the White House now is merely the latest example of what has beset us as a country from the beginning. We must face the reality that anti-Christ politics have been used and manipulated by this president ever since he descended that escalator in Trump Tower, launching his presidential campaign by labeling those who God calls “beloved," murderers and rapists.When presidential narcissism turns to blasphemy, it’s time to name that as #antiChrist. And when we decide to study the gospels again and learn the politics of Jesus, it’s time to speak out and stand up for that by #ReclaimingJesus. My prayer is that this book will help in that study of Jesus and our rejection of anti-Christ politics.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In his first Inaugural Address, President Abraham Lincoln appealed to “the better angels of our nature.” That is what our political and religious leaders should always do — appeal to our best angels. But at the other end of the moral spectrum, political and even religious leaders now often appeal to our worst demons: fear, anger, resentment, greed, prejudice, division, and hatred. And the danger we are discovering is that our demons in America have been lying just below the surface and have been aggressively brought forth in the past few years. We see white supremacists marching openly with torches aloft in Charlottesville and elsewhere, and a growing white nationalism feels emboldened by the White House. We see children in cages and families torn apart at the southern border because of policies made in the same building where they call immigrants “invaders.” We now see the worst elements of America’s history rekindled by some who see these elements as their plan for this nation’s future, often with the language of Christianity painfully deployed in defense of that.The dangerous political crisis we now find ourselves in has revealed how disconnected from Jesus many Christians in America have become. Closing the gaping distance that presently exists between Christians and the Jesus that too many Christians desperately try to avoid often seems a daunting challenge — where can we even begin? Are there fundamental truths of Jesus’s ministry that can help us find our way back to him, even and especially amid this fearful moment? Yes, I believe there are and that some of the key questions Jesus asked or provoked would help show us the way forward.That is what my new book Christ in Crisis: Why We Need to Reclaim Jesus is all about.We are asking you to help us in two ways:1. Pre-ordering Christ in Crisis: Why We Need to Reclaim Jesus ( https://book.sojo.net/) will help the book break into and even change the national conversation going on right now. You can directly help change that conversation by reading the book, sharing it, and using it as a tool and guidebook in your congregations, small groups, schools, and local communities. We have also created a 10-week study guide with videos and resources for small group and congregational and school study; and2.Inviting me and other voices to come and speak in your community, so we can go deeper into conversation together about what these questions mean in your community and our country and world more broadly. We are already in contact with diverse local leaders in many places who are going to participate in those conversations. If you build the events, we will come.The good news is that we will not be alone; we can take that journey with our brothers and sisters in our congregations, our families, and our communities; a pilgrimage — a sojourn — of prayer, study, discernment, and action.We may not all have the same answers to the questions Jesus asked and prompted, but they must be asked; and perhaps it is our conversation about them together that could help heal a broken nation. In the midst of the painful, shameful, and embarrassing examples of religion selling its soul for power, more and more of us will make clear that we are reclaiming Jesus.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Racism is a sin that has been biblically established. It was and is America’s original sin. Racism is notoriously both implicit and explicit, but covert and overt racism must be acknowledged and repented. When racism is made explicit and overt in the public arena, it must be named and called out for what it is — especially when the comments come from the president of the United States. Donald Trump’s tweeted and spoken racial assaults on four women of color, duly elected to the U.S. Congress, are a public sin that must be called out. Who will do that and who will not?Trump’s tweets and comments telling the four members of Congress — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib — to go back to the countries they came from is painfully reminiscent of what people and families of color have been told from the moment they arrived in America by far too many white people — all of whom were also immigrants at some point or were white settlers who stole the lands of Indigenous Peoples and tried to wipe them away.There is one thing from Donald Trumps’ tweets I agree with. It was when he said, “[see] you at the ballot box!” He’s right. And that asks all of us where the moral courage will come from among faith leaders, business leaders, and political leaders across the political spectrum before the ballots are cast in 2020. What will Christians say and do and how will they vote? Silence in the face of public evil is a fundamentally moral issue — and is a matter of faith.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After yet another mass shooting, this time in Virginia Beach where 12 people were killed, many of us had the same painful reactions of grief for the families, fear that this could happen to someone I love one day, anger at the gun manufacturers whose influence through the NRA makes them complicit in both the mass shootings and the daily epidemic of gun violence. As a parent, I’m heartsick and angry that our society now traumatizes even our youngest children by making them do active shooter drills at school. I’ve written about all of this many times before given the terrifying frequency of mass and daily shootings in the U.S. and the scale of the overall gun violence epidemic.I think it’s impossible to tell the story of this movement’s progress without looking at the impact of Sandy Hook where 20 6- and 7-year-old elementary school children and six adults were murdered. An oft-circulated 2015 tweet from political pundit Dan Hodges lamented, “In retrospect Sandy Hook marked the end of the US gun control debate. Once America decided killing children was bearable, it was over.”But in many ways the reverse is true. Many parents of children lost at Sandy Hook rose up and came together with other gun violence victims’ fathers and mothers — and have dedicated the rest of their lives to the gun safety movement — precisely because Sandy Hook was unbearable to them. The enormous traction, energy, and funding they’ve gotten to expand that work and make steady progress is due in no small part to the fact that the senseless killing of children has become unacceptable to a whole generation of parents. I don’t believe that senseless, stupid, murderous gun violence will ultimately be accepted as normal. Rather, a new generation of parents, a new insistence for change from coming-of-age voters, and a new network of urban activists committed to making their neighborhoods safe for black and brown bodies will ultimately prevail. That must be our hope and our commitment.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Donald Trump is, and always has been, a consummate liar, an amoral human being, a completely selfish man with no concern for any others, an ultimate wealth and power-seeking megalomaniac, and the kind of leader who always has and will always want to be a tyrant and dictator. Removing him from power is, therefore, a task central to the soul of the nation — and to the integrity of faith.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“Life” issues have once again become extremely politically divisive. Claiming to be either “for the women” or “for the babies,” turns empathy for only one life into single-issue voting on both sides of the political spectrum.It always astounds, and to be honest, angers me how the same legislators who focus only on abortion pay little or no attention to lives and needs of women and children: They are usually the first to cut programs and protections that benefit poor families, limit access to contraception, and oppose workplace policies that would support parents.Of course, it doesn’t help our polarization on abortion when some Democratic state legislators seek to relax restrictions even on late-term abortions or when the extreme left refuses to acknowledge the existence of “pro-life Democrats” and refuses to embrace the “safe, legal, and rare” approach to abortion that the party used to embrace.We have to move beyond judgment and recrimination. Rather, we need a time of dialogue and understanding — for reconsideration of what it means to be deeply committed to “abundant life.”In John 10:10, Jesus says "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Jesus wants our lives to flourish. What does it mean to be committed to that kind of life? Not just for woman or child, for one or the other, but for all. In seeking after the truth and striving after consistency on this issue, we will come face to face with the need for reconciliation between battling ideological forces.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In light of Attorney General Barr's egregious testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday May 1, 2019, we must use a moral lens to see clearly what is happening with our government. For Christians in particular, the acceptance of the Trump Administration's attacks on the truth are morally indefensible, especially when they are excused by Faustian bargains for political agendas and power. Faith is now at stake. Democracy is now at stake. Personal integrity is now at stake. The evidence of evil is revealed by the Mueller Report. The evidence of conscience must now be revealed by us. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Holy Week for Christians represents a dramatic movement from pain to hope. We deeply feel and lament the pain Jesus Christ endured for us, but we also feel our personal pain and the world’s pain. Then we rejoice as that pain gives way to the eternal hope that is always available to us through the resurrection — a hope that is not just for ourselves but for the world. We say, “Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!” with a joy that surpasses understanding.We see both the pain and the hope that Holy Week exemplifies all around us. The pain is everywhere. Just this week, we seem to be seeing an attorney general picked to protect the president do just that in ways that could be deeply corrosive to the long-term health of our democracy. That same attorney general also demonstrating his loyalty to the president by helping enforce his shameful, sinful, and cruel immigration policies, making it easier now for asylum seekers to be detained indefinitely while their cases are adjudicated.We see the continuing open wounds of structural racism, patriarchy, and other forms of oppression exacerbated by the current administration and far too many of our fellow citizens. We see Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and other forms of hatred practiced more virulently and openly than at any time in recent memory. Every day it seems we get new scientific information or data from observing the weather that reinforces the inescapable fact that we are running out of time to avoid the most catastrophic levels of climate change, and that those already most vulnerable in societies around the world will be first and most affected by it. We also see crowd-funding campaigns for people trying to pay for medical procedures or insulin and hear stories of people who died because they couldn’t afford the treatment they needed.And yet, Easter is a desperately needed reminder every year that pain, loss, and death don’t get the final word. The resurrection of Jesus Christ teaches us that there always is and always will be hope — we do not carry that hope in vain. And that resurrection hope is one we can see mirrored in our lives and current events, if we know where to look.The Parkland students continue to give me hope, speaking and acting after the horrible loss of their classmates to gun violence in 2018. Like many of you, I was watching and listening very carefully to the students who were speaking out and mobilizing after 17 of their friends, classmates, teachers, and coaches were killed in another mass shooting with an assault weapon. Their voices have continued to spread across the country. Their shared values are serving to preserve and protect lives, to shine a light on what needs to change with our gun laws and regulations, and to make me hope that we will eventually win this moral and political battle.Women who marched into the streets after the inauguration and many who then headed toward becoming new elected officials in the midterm elections of 2018 have been one of the most powerful and hopeful signs in these dangerous times. So have the women who have had the courage to stand up to sexual harassment and assault, creating the #MeToo and #ChurchToo movements, shining a light on our patriarchal culture.One of the most powerful signs of hope are all of the young people of color standing up for what is right and for a better future for their children, despite the odds against them, in movements like Black Lives Matter, which gives many of us a hopeful vision of long-term racial progress, right in the face of the repressive racism of the current regime. I also find hope in the black pastors who are willing to speak truth to power to protect these young people both in their churches and beyond the pulpit, offering both salt in the streets and light to the society.So even when things seem at their most hopeless, when we feel as Jesus’ disciples and loved ones felt on Good Friday, we remember that hope isn’t just a feeling that comes and goes. Hope is so much more than optimism. It is a decision we make based on what we call faith, and it’s a decision we can and need make each day. Or, as my dear friend, evangelist Tony Campolo, loves to preach, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s comin!” So Happy Easter to all of you. Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There are new voices on religion and politics — and they’re coming from the Democratic, and not the Republican side. For example, the first millennial candidate for president, the mayor of a midsize town in the conservative Midwestern state of Indiana, a gay, married man named Pete Buttigieg has been making the rounds talking about what his faith means to him.Most of us being lifted up as representatives of the “religious left” by reporters discussing the fresh words of Mayor Pete, are not really comfortable with the term “left,” as that is not how we define ourselves. We don’t believe in folding our religion around political ideology — as we see the religious right shamelessly doing every day in their uncritical support of Donald Trump — but rather want to take our commitments as followers of Jesus and as believers in the scriptures into our public life in ways that are willing to challenge all sides. Don’t go right, don’t go left; go deeper into Jesus.But a whole new and fresh conversation about religion and politics has begun in this election season as we head toward 2020, most prominently right now by a 36-year-old millennial mayor from the conservative Midwest Rust Belt, a Democrat and married gay man, speaking the kind of language that can change old narratives and national conversations. We worship a God who is full of surprises.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The combined forces of white nationalism, white supremacy, and white power pose the greatest terrorist threat now to America’s safety, and the greatest political threat to genuine democracy around the world.Donald Trump has proved his identification with white nationalism from his demonizing of immigrants, to making his anti-immigrant lies the central message of his midterm election strategy, to deciding to make his symbolic wall the heart of his vision and legacy, to his anti-Muslim ban, to his expressed hostility and falsehoods toward the Muslim religion, to beginning his political career with championing the racialized birther movement seeking to undermine the citizenship and credibility of Barack Obama, the first black president of the United States — the list goes on. Donald Trump is an evangelist of white nationalism and white supremacy and, therefore, his message must be rejected on grounds of faith by responsible Christians around the world and here in the U.S. And the bargain for power made by the white evangelical leaders who unquestioningly support Donald Trump must become a debate within the American church — the integrity of our commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ is clearly now at stake. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The declaration of a state of emergency by the President is an alarming abuse of executive power, an executive overreach that disrespects and circumvents the authority of Congress over public spending decisions. This presidential circumvention of the legislative branch is a breach of over 200 years of the norms, practices, and precedents upheld in the Constitution. The Reclaiming Jesus elders have called for “national prayer and fasting” to begin on March 6th, Ash Wednesday, and to continue throughout the season of Lent. The elders pray that these practices would foster “solidarity with the most vulnerable,” “spiritual vigilance,” and “availability” to respond to crises they see coming in 2019, where executive overreach that threatens our constitutional checks and balances and the rule of law could compound the crises that are ongoing for immigrants, families of color and our most vulnerable people. In summarizing their goals for the season of repentance, the elders hoped that Christians would “remain steadfast in their faith and engage with the deepening challenges our nation faces.” http://reclaimingjesus.org/sites/default/files/downloads/rj_call_to_pryaer_fasting_and_action.pdfSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

2019 marks the 400th anniversary of the first African slaves sold into human bondage in Jamestown, Va., in August 1619. Although President trump acknowledged other anniversaries during his State of the Union speech--the 75th Anniversary of of the Invasion of Normandy and the 50th Anniversary of the first moon landing--not one word was spoken about the pernicious practice of enslaving our brothers and sisters and its origin in the state of Virginia.There is great irony therefore, that the shameful charade of Blackface has brought about calls from both Democratic and Republican leaders for Virginia Governor Northam (D) to resign after admitting he had once darkened his face for the amusement of others. Resignation is not enough. Repentance is required. In this episode of The Soul of the Nation, Rev. Jim Wallis outlines the steps the Governor needs to take in order for true healing to begin. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Thanks be to God! For all the government workers and their families who will, hopefully, soon get their deeply deserved paychecks, we give thanks. For those of us who are constantly on the look out for what’s next on the breaking news horizon, this is a good place to start today: giving thanks to God. Let us first be thankful, then ask what is next.Many of us called for prayer to reopen the government and legions of people lifted their prayers for lawmakers. Prayer is mysterious and moves in miraculous ways that we can never fully know or understand. But I believe that it was partly the work of prayer that helped some lawmakers stand firm and others step up against party loyalty. Prayer changes national narratives and directions. I believe that.But Donald Trump has made his campaign, his presidency, his central message, and his vision for America about one thing: his wall.What Trump’s wall is entirely about is his racially divisive message that appeals to his angry and fearful white base. The wall says we must be afraid of non-white people coming to America and this will keep them out of “our” country. The wall is just a symbol, a monument, a testimony to the worst of American white racism, fear, and hatred.It is time for spiritual preparation for the crisis that is already here — especially for immigrants and people of color. It is a time for prayer and fasting and spiritual vigilance. We must undergird ourselves and our congregations for active and courageous responses — not from the left or the right, but from those who first and foremost are followers of Jesus. Stay tuned.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Apostle Paul tells us that we are engaged in spiritual warfare against principalities and powers and rulers of darkness in high places. Spiritual warfare is easily provoked between our “better angels,” as Lincoln contrasted against our worst demons in a time such as this.The longest government shutdown in U.S. history reveals the brokenness of our systems, the danger of a strong man exploiting that brokenness instead of trying to fix it, and the suffering of countless people, always beginning with the most vulnerable. It also painfully shows Washington’s current habit of blaming instead of solving problems, which has left our politics both polarized and paralyzed. in the midst of this government shutdown and the political and humanitarian crisis it has created, Sojourners is calling people of faith to prayer — as an action in itself and as a preparation for future action. We are asking every one of you, our readers and partners and allies to pray — in your daily lives and in your churches. Click here to offer your prayers for the Senate and specifically Leader Mitch McConnell, who has the authority to call for a vote that would end the shutdown and reopen the government. Sojourners is ready and willing to collect and deliver your prayers to your senators and to McConnell in person here in Washington, D.C.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Donald Trump’s wall is obviously a terrible idea: It’s both impractical and ineffective — and more importantly, it’s immoral. Building Trump’s wall would be building a 2,200-mile-long monument to racism.Racism is always based on lies; it always has been and always will be. We saw that again in Donald Trump’s address to the nation on last week. It was more of the same lies he has used since he announced his presidential candidacy in 2015.Trump is holding the most vulnerable people hostage as he shuts down the government for a vanity project that experts agree has no possibility of keeping us safer. Soon, the most basic needs of food and shelter will be withheld from the very people Jesus tells us should our top priority: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the prisoner.It’s time for Christians to show the strength of our convictions and put an early end to this poisonous racial project once and for all: Trump’s wall would indeed be a monument to our worst instincts in this nation. Therefore Christians must say that Trump’s wall will not be built on our watch, not this week, not this year, not ever.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this season of Advent and Christmas, Donald Trump poses a clear and unambiguous choice for Christians and all people of conscience.Jesus says, “welcome the stranger." Donald Trump, in great contrast, enacts policies that inflict trauma, pain, danger, and even death on the ones Jesus tells us to welcome. And the evangelical Christian leaders who support Donald Trump have absolutely nothing to say. Ask them this question, “What about Jesus?”To the objections those white evangelical supporters of the president might raise, there’s a fairly clear response we can give as people of faith: We recognize the importance of upholding just laws and protecting our border, but migrants have a legal right to seek asylum and pose no real danger to America. Beyond the letter of the law, as Christians we are called to uphold the higher law of imago dei, that we are all made in the image and likeness of God, and the command of Matthew 25, that we treat the most vulnerable as we would treat Christ himself.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I believe the remembrance of the life of George H. W. Bush last week and going forward give this man one final mission: to demonstrate the values that reveal who genuine leaders are, contrasting the values (or lack thereof) that reveal who are not. What does a leader do or not do? What are the markers of true public service that differentiate it from public exploitation?Because the Bush family is so hospitable and honorable, the current president was invited to the service — but he was not invited to speak. Instead he was in the presence of four other living presidents. I wonder if this very awkward, even perhaps painful day for him, might cause some personal reflection on his part about contrasting values. For our nation and our nation’s leaders, we are always instructed to pray and hope for redemption.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As we digest the results of Tuesday’s midterm elections, there are reasons for people of faith committed to social justice and the common good to be grateful and encouraged. There are also reminders of what we are up against and some real post-election dangers.Zooming out to the broadest level of the consequences of this week’s elections, the change in power in the House of Representatives will change Washington with the end of one party control of the federal government, and create a desperately needed check on Donald Trump’s power after two chaotic and frightening years where he faced virtually no limits or checks whatsoever. This is a vital check and a balance to growing concerns of this president’s executive power that both Democrats and some Republicans have strongly called for.In the days following the election, Trump has made a fresh declaration of political war against his opponents, including an incredible attack on the press at his first press conference in months, and the immediate firing of his attorney general that could quickly become the beginning of a constitutional crisis in America.Let us watch, pray, and be ready to act.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Diverse evangelicals, led by people of color and women, want to bring the “good news” back to the gospel of Jesus Christ; in direct contrast to the “bad news” perpetuated by older, white, and partisan evangelical men. Evangelicals are typically identified in the media and by the public as a predominately white, politically right-wing faith group with little to no concern about the poor and oppressed.Missing from the national conversation is a recognition that evangelicals are an ethnically diverse group. According to the PRRI 2017 American Values Atlas, thirty-five percent of evangelicals are people of color. Although the media focused on the eighty-one percent of “evangelicals” who voted for Donald Trump, it ignored the fact that seventy-two percent of evangelicals of color voted differently. This distortion undermines the Christian witness and negatively impacts American politics. Millions of people have left the faith, especially younger believers, during a time in which evangelicalism has become increasingly partisan and politicized.  The release of the “Chicago Invitation: Diverse Evangelicals Continue the Journey” signals a commitment to transform the current, false narrative around evangelicalism into a liberating one based upon Jesus’ teachings, the authority of scripture, evangelism, and God’s Biblical call to justice. The need to reclaim the true meaning of the word ‘evangelical’ is as urgent as it has ever been. The soul of the nation and the integrity of faith are both at stake.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.