Good Faith Media

12/19/2025

Randall Balmer: We talk a lot about love and even about faith, but rarely about hope.

It also occurred to me that hope is the only virtue that is volitional. That is, although we cannot choose love or even faith (especially if you’re a Calvinist), we can choose to be hopeful, even when forced to hope against hope.

In Colbert’s words, we have the duty “to push back on the temptation to despair.”

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Fear is one thing our country still manufactures, but you cannot laugh and be afraid at the same time.

12/19/2025

Merry Christmas 🎄

On the latest episode of Good Faith Weekly, Mitch and Missy share some of their favorite Christmas stories and unpack the first Christmas story, with Missy reflecting on some of the challenges she has with it.

Listen wherever you enjoy podcasts!

12/19/2025

Mitch Randall: When the angels of the Christmas story appeared after the birth of Jesus, they announced to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah” (Luke 2:10-11).

For decades, I have read and preached that very passage, accepting the angel’s invitation to be joyful and celebrate the news of Jesus’ birth. However, as I grow older, I find myself reflecting more on the journey of Mary and Joseph leading to Jesus’ birth.

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No matter whether we run or limp, when we arrive on Christmas morning, the story ends the same for everyone. Darkness does not win.

12/19/2025

Grace Ji-Sun Kim: We often forget the radical nature of Christ’s coming. Jesus did not enter the world to reinforce systems of power; he came to challenge them.

He overturned tables in the temple, called the rich to give, and proclaimed good news to the poor and forsaken. His message did not side with the powerful, but with the lowly, the poor, and the oppressed.

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Amid consumerism and busyness, Christmas calls us back to Christ’s radical message of justice, compassion, peace, and solidarity with the marginalized.

12/18/2025

Don't forget to take care of yourself ⛄🎄

For her next tip, Kali Cawthon-Freels reminds us to slow down and take a few deep breaths amidst the chaos of the holiday season.

12/18/2025

“There is no show too small for me to play,” Derek Webb told a group of about 15 people gathered at University Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, last Sunday for the final stop on the Survival Songs tour.

“These have easily been the most meaningful shows I have ever done, and the most meaningful batch of songs I have ever recorded,” Webb said.

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Derek Webb discusses his “tallest fire,” writing Survival Songs, and playing intimate house shows across the country.

12/18/2025

NEW POD: Craig Nash and Hayoung Park co-host a short weekly podcast in support of the Bible study lessons that appear in "Good Faith Magazine" from Good Faith Media.

In our pilot episode, Craig and Hayoung introduce themselves and share their approach to, and hopes for, the podcast and Bible studies. 📚🎧

Listen to episode 1: https://ow.ly/bRkP50XL9t2

12/17/2025

Sharon Jacob: "We are expected to be grateful—for visas, for jobs, for the privilege of existing in spaces not built for us. Gratitude becomes both armor and leash.

Those who come 'illegally' are vilified as ungrateful. Those who come 'legally,' educated and employed, are treated with suspicion. 'How did you get here and I didn’t?'"

This article is in collaboration with ProgressiveChristianity.org

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For those of us who know the cost of belonging, the most radical act may not be to offer gratitude, but to refuse its performance.

12/17/2025

We are excited to announce a new era of Good Faith Bible Studies, featuring a collaborative approach to its Bible study curriculum, a new leaders’ guide, and a revamped Good Faith Bible Studies podcast. 🎉

The podcast will be hosted by GFM Senior Editor Craig Nash and Hayoung Park, a theology and social work student at Baylor University.

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Good Faith Media launches the Good Faith Bible Studies podcast, a new conversational resource designed to accompany its Bible study curriculum and support small groups and individuals.

12/17/2025

Ali Khan: U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama denounced the very presence of Muslims in the state during a radio interview. He described Islam as a cult and claimed Muslims posed a threat to America.

The host enthusiastically agreed. “They don’t belong in the West,” she said.

Facing overwhelming hostility, the Planning and Zoning Commission rejected the proposal. Although the Hoover City Council would have made the final decision in January, the school quietly withdrew its application out of concern for student safety.

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The renewed platforming of this prejudice may feel fresh, but the prejudice itself is not. It is a part of us.

12/17/2025

Before Joseph can back out of his marriage to Mary, an angel finds a backchannel in the dream space and explains why he will be the stepfather of the millennia.

Accordingly, before Joseph gets out of bed, he agrees to step up and help Mary bring the prophecy to full term. Listeners hear Joseph as a silent partner, who answers the call to bear witness.

Episode 4 of The Raceless Gospel Podcast Advent series is available now.

12/16/2025

Sean Palmer: Film, perhaps more than any other art form of our time, serves as both mirror and lamp: reflecting who we are as a culture while simultaneously illuminating the deeper spiritual currents, emotional upheavals, and political and cultural questions that move beneath the surface of our collective consciousness.

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When you learn to read films theologically, you’re developing the skills necessary to understand how your neighbors see the world.