Good Faith Media

12/20/2024

Christopher Schilling: While carrying the burden of grief during the holidays is challenging enough, often those who struggle during this time of year feel as if they cannot express their grief because there is an expectation to be joyful despite the pain we feel.

While carrying the burden of grief during the holidays is challenging enough, often those who struggle during this time of year feel as if they cannot express their grief because there is an expectation to be joyful despite the pain we feel.

12/20/2024

Mitch Randall: When Mary and Joseph rode into Bethlehem to register for the census, they did so as undocumented and unhoused people. The census would address their documentation issue, but it would be complicated.

As I reflect upon and contemplate the Christmas story this year, I cannot help but imagine Mary and Joseph arriving at the church's steps today, carrying their little bastard with them. How would they be treated? There is plenty of space in the pews of the churches, but would there be room for an un...

12/20/2024

Mitch and Missy wishes you and yours a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday! 🎄

This week on the podcast, we welcomed Sister Helen Holy, a character conceived by actor and comedian Paul J. Williams.

Listen wherever you get podcasts or visit https://ow.ly/aL2q50UuWXt

12/19/2024

Aidan Diaz: This annual hybrid conference aims to provide space for LGBTQ+ Christians, along with their parents and allies, to worship, fellowship and dig deeper into their faith without questioning whether they belong in the space because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

January 23, 2025, will mark the twenty-first Q Christian Fellowship Conference, when LGBTQ+ Christians and allies from around the world will gather together. This annual hybrid conference aims to provide space for LGBTQ+ Christians, along with their parents and allies, to worship, fellowship and dig...

12/19/2024

Brien McChesney: Might we be challenged with the greater task of offering a persuasive alternative for the Christian nationalist? Could we offer them a new blueprint or compass?

Christian nationalism may be able to relate to the theological legacy of Pharaoh, Babylon, Assyria, Rome, the Beast, and perhaps even Joshua. However, those analogies would generally invite indictment and damnation in serious Christian biblical theological discourse.

12/19/2024

Rado Marchev: Christmas is one of the few times of the year when we can hear something about the Virgin Mary among Protestants.

Mary is a good guide, but not because she is sinless and always takes the right steps. In fact, if we read the gospel account carefully, we will see that she experiences doubts and hesitations. She often misunderstands her son's purpose and mission and sometimes even opposes him.

12/18/2024

Craig Nash: According to a recent Gallup poll, less than half of Americans (44%) feel good about the quality of healthcare in the country. Only 28% are satisfied with healthcare coverage.

According to a recent Gallup poll, less than half of Americans (44%) feel good about the quality of healthcare in the country. Only 28% are satisfied with healthcare coverage. These indicators are down from a high in 2012, when 62% were happy with healthcare quality, and 41% were satisfied with cove...

12/18/2024

Sean McKenzie: I worry that some of my students are in danger of being deported.

My work buddies, most of whom voted for Donald Trump, tell me there’s nothing to worry about. They say mass deportations will only apply to criminals. They are outraged over migrant crime, such as the murder of Laken Riley, and they hold the Biden administration’s permissive immigration policies responsible for it.

I teach in a 70% Hispanic high school in northwest Georgia. Although it has its challenges, it is generally a good place to work. The students are quiet but respectful, dutifully taking notes and completing their assignments. I worry that some of my students are in danger of being deported.

12/18/2024

Randall Balmer: Postmillennialism animated a range of social reform efforts, generally directed toward those on the margins of society, those Jesus called “the least of these.” These efforts included prison reform, women’s equality, public education, peace crusades and (in the North) the abolition of slavery.

As American evangelicals adopted dispensational premillennialism, their attitudes toward society changed dramatically. If Jesus were to return any minute, why bother making the world a better place?

12/17/2024

Justin Bronson Barringer: The streets are decked with lights, stores are flooded with frantic shoppers, and advertisements promise joy at a discount. Yet, in this season celebrating the birth of Christ, the poor are pushed further to the margins, exploited by a system that turns sacred traditions into profit margins.

To celebrate Christmas without addressing poverty or at least protesting the unjust systems that create it is to betray the very meaning of the holiday. IMAGE: Christmas Consumerism

12/17/2024

Trevor Barton: Sometimes we call the “Movement” that Jordan was talking about “the Kingdom of God.” However, a phrase from the Civil Rights Movement, “The Beloved Community,” may be more appropriate for our purposes.

Advent reminds us that the Beloved Community is already in this big, wide world around us. Because of the birth of Jesus into the lowly manger, the Beloved Community is already in the lowly, humble people and the lowly, humble places around us. Because God is a God who is with us, the Beloved Commun...

12/17/2024

Rev. Todd Littleton preaches, “Advent is the season that, when properly understood, does not flinch from the darkness that stalks us all in this world."

Rev. Todd Littleton has been pastor at Snow Hill Baptist Church in Tuttle, Oklahoma since 1994.

Watch this week's sermon: https://asermonforeverysunday.com

12/17/2024

Craig Nash: Navalny gained prominence in Western media as a leading figure in the fight against the corruption of Putin’s regime.

In “Patriot,” Navalny describes how he witnessed the Soviet system’s beneficiaries feign a love for democracy once the empire collapsed, only to discard it when an authoritarian offered them riches and the keys to the kingdom.

Anyone who reads Alexey Navalny’s posthumously released memoir “Patriot” without connecting the dots between Vladimir Putin’s Russian and Donald Trump’s America is either not paying attention or didn’t learn to connect dots in preschool.

12/16/2024

Craig Nash: The annual award celebrates a church that has “broken barriers and set new standards for empowering ministers and leaders,” according to its website.

Founded in 1969, Northside quickly set itself apart as a congregation willing to cross dividing lines of race and gender.

Baptist Women in Ministry (BWIM) recently announced that Northside Baptist Church in Clinton, Mississippi has received the organization’s Church of Excellence award. The award, given out yearly, celebrates a church that has “broken barriers and set new standards for empowering ministers and lead...

12/16/2024

Starlette Thomas: Walmart stores announced they are rolling back their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiative (DEI) and will no longer use the term. In response, I rolled over in bed. “Rest is resistance,” I repeated after Tricia Hersey, the Nap Bishop.

Walmart stores announced their rolling back their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative (DEI) and will no longer use the term. I roll over in bed. “Rest is resistance,” I repeat after Tricia Hersey, the Nap Bishop.

12/16/2024

Miguel A. De La Torre: Delayed and denied coverage contributed to medically induced bankruptcies for families unable to pay medical expenses. Delayed and denied coverage contributed to needless deaths for the sake of profits. For Thompson, that came to $10.2 million in earnings last year.

Violence from the far-left and the far-right extremists are equally evil. And yet, we find ourselves at a moment where such violence is not only celebrated but becoming normative and legitimate.

12/13/2024

Grace Ji-Sun Kim: Yet, this Advent season, as we reflect on the significance of Christ’s birth, we must also turn our attention to the land of his nativity—Bethlehem, nestled within Palestine—and the cries of its people amid the harrowing realities of war and injustice.

The traditional narrative of Jesus has often been co-opted to serve the interests of empire, turning the radical teacher from Nazareth into a symbol of worldly dominance. Yet, the true message of Christ’s life and ministry is a call to dismantle systems of oppression and to bring good news to the ...

12/13/2024

Mitch Randall: Matthew does not say that Jesus cured only a select group of people because they could afford his services. Nope, Jesus was generous with his healthcare, ensuring that no one could be turned away from God’s physical and spiritual grace and salvation.

Jesus did not believe in free market capitalism. Heck, he wouldn’t have even known what it was back then. Jesus certainly did not know about insurance companies, co-pays, and the Affordable Care Act. However, Jesus knew the importance of compassionate actions.