How Should We Respond to the Never-Ending News Cycle?
In a culture filled with bad news, may God give us wisdom to lead graciously and share boldly the good news of Christ.
Articles for tag: Political Polarization
February 11, 2025
Keeping Up With Forty-Five Executive Orders
The perpetual onslaught of breaking news is numbing. It makes us care more … at least at first. But over time we get fatigued with the world’s chaos every second of every day, and we lose our ability to care.
September 1, 2024
Escaping the Echo Chamber
An echo chamber is an environment where the same opinions are repeatedly voiced and promoted, so that people are not exposed to opposing views. Echo chambers also extend to online groups where people with similar opinions on any topic share their voices and validate each other.
November 1, 2023
Fighting for Relationships: Striving for Unity in Politically Divisive Times
By Ben Cachiaras Shortly before his recent unexpected passing, my friend, Christian Standard editor Mike Mack, asked me via email: “How can we love one another in a culture where there is so much sharp disagreement? . . . Would you write something on the challenge of fighting for relationships?” Before his untimely death, the burden on Mike’s heart—and likely many of our hearts—was to see Christ followers navigate the nasty culture wars, the lack of civility, and the political polarization to live out faith in God-honoring ways. “How do we disagree without hating?” he asked. Indeed, some people now
March 1, 2023
Reprioritize God’s Word
By Megan Rawlings Question: What is black and white and re(a)d all over? Answer: Not the Bible. This may seem like a trivial schoolyard joke, but I wanted to get your attention. The American Bible Society (ABS) reported alarming statistics in its 2022 State of the Bible survey. Based on their findings, I fear Christians are moving away from the Bible in the hopes of finding something that makes them feel better. I have seen an influx of “do what’s best for you,” “what you put out into the world will come back to you,” and other well-intentioned pieces of
March 1, 2022
Healing Our Emotions After Two Years of Trauma
By Tyler McKenzie A pressing need exists for the church to focus discipleship efforts on emotional health, which is something the church rarely touches. It’s been over two years since COVID-19 first shut down the United States. Since then, leading a church has felt similar to being a frontline worker. I won’t pretend that our challenges have rivaled those of an emergency room doctor or a COVID-unit nurse. Still, pastoring a church has felt like a heavyweight boxing match that never ends. There has been heavy pressure, many needs, and relentless controversies. We have felt constantly embattled in fights we
November 1, 2021
The Story Behind Our Crumbling Christian Communities
By Tyler McKenzie Every minister frustrated with their congregation, every person leaving their church, and every millennial who is deconstructing needs to read the opening chapter on community in Dietrich Bonhoeffer’sLife Together. It might save your ministry, your membership, or even your faith. Our communities feel irreparably broken right now. The last 18 months have been relationally traumatic. Most of us have “had it out”—at least once—with someone we love. Maybe it was on the family text thread, over dinner one night, or in the comments section of social media. Or maybe you didn’t have it out. Maybe their outrageous
November 20, 2020
The Key to the Future Is in the Past
By Quentin Mumphery We are living in unprecedented times. A global pandemic forced us to re-envision life as we know it. Centuries-old racial tension forced this nation to wrestle with its original sin. Economic uncertainty. Businesses shuttering. Political polarization. Quarantining. Social distancing. All of these things created a “perfect storm.” The church has not been exempt from the volatility and uncertainty, yet the church is called to be a beacon of light and hope. A city upon a hill. But how do we provide light in darkness when we are wrestling with these sobering realities? How is the church, the
August 8, 2016
Rushing to Blame
By Joe Boyd Not long ago in Cincinnati, where I live, a very unfortunate accident occurred at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. As you probably remember, a young boy somehow made his way into the gorilla habitat. Ultimately it resulted in the hard decision to kill Harambe, a powerful and beautiful western lowland gorilla, for the sake of the child”s life. Soon after that, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history happened in Orlando, Florida. A gunman entered a gay nightclub and killed 49 people, injuring 53 others. (And some of the injured are still clinging to life as
February 25, 2016
Theology in the Public Square
By T. R. Robertson Polarization. Insults. Railing against wrong. The apostle Peter showed approaches better than these for Christian response to injustice in government and society. A once great nation is in the throes of transition from a democratic republic to a de facto dictatorship. A neophyte has been given the reigns of power, to which some critics maintain he has no birthright. The gap between the super rich and the middle class is widening. People from other countries covet the benefits of citizenship, yet the nation”s reputation among the rest of the world is declining. Christians find themselves increasingly
June 9, 2015
Truth in Labeling
By Mark A. Taylor If you”re buying fashion, you look for the right label. But when you”re relating to people in a polarized world, labels can be as damaging as they are discouraging. I, for one, am tired of the expectation that I”ll believe and behave according to the label someone else places on me. Must I, for example, echo the rhetoric of either the blue state or red state where I live? Must I agree with every statement and every position of the presidential candidate I vote for? Must I commit to either a conservative or liberal position in
December 10, 2014
Power, Politics, and the Kingdom
By Jim Tune There seems to be a set of unwritten rules and preferences concerning which political party one must belong to in order to be considered a Christian of good standing among many Evangelicals. I have heard such things as, “I am sorry, but I really have to question your faith if you”re a Democrat.” Of course, the left can serve up remarkably similar disdain by inferring that no real thinking person could possibly vote Republican. Both sides claim to cherish freedom, democracy, and the American way. Political differences are so polarizing that they can readily turn friends and
February 17, 2012
The Candidates and Causes We Worship
By Mark A. Taylor In her post this week, Eleanor Daniel offers one warning as we face the claims and counter claims leading up to another U.S. national election: Look carefully for the truth instead of believing the latest rumor or accusation. In his powerful little book Counterfeit Gods, Timothy Keller suggests another: Be sure you avoid the error of some people who have turned politics into an idol. Keller”s thesis is that even good things become counterfeit gods when we look to them for the fulfillment, security, salvation, or hope that can come only from God. He speaks incisively
