Justice. Mercy. Faith.
Through The Christian Citizen, we seek to shape a mind among American Baptists and others on matters of public concern by providing a forum for diverse voices living and working at the intersection of faith and politics, discipleship and citizenship.
What are parables about? A review of Proclaiming the Parables: Preaching and Teaching the Kingdom of God
The parables of Jesus are embedded in the life of the hearers, even as they are at the ready to lift up the Reign of God as the work of God, not humanity, in breaking into the mundane and sin-fractured world we know all too well.
Take a breath
Jesus took time to sit, to breathe, to eat, to grieve, to lament, to pray, to be silent. Why is it so hard for us all to follow the model set before us?
Labor Day and the Elaine Massacre
Clearly the massacre in Elaine, Arkansas in 1919 had a racial component, one for which all of us should repent and work for reparations. But Elaine, and Memphis, and so many other moments in our history, are also and just as much about the violent repression of workers as they are about race.
The demon is a liar
It falls upon the listener to be able to discern truth from lies – to listen as a critical thinker.
Glacial faith
While the glacier’s till looks like the dirty snow piles a snowplow leaves behind in suburban parking lots or along the berms of interstate highways, the till may become a moraine, a rich soil with potential for new growth. This is also part of glacial faith — when what has been pushed aside becomes fertilizer for whatever new thing God may be doing in the world.
Communal redemption is calling us
So much of our personal flourishing—a sense of connection and belonging, feeling seen and heard, having genuine opportunity in life—is a function of our shared project called community. We need each other to pursue a more just, inclusive, and hopeful society.
Featured Series
Faith and Mental Health
We must make better worlds
For that dedicated, regular time away to be respected and honored, we must develop grace-filled, compassionate cultures within our churches that destigmatizes mental health and emphasize self-care for both congregants and clergy.
Still okay?
Many negative references remain in our common discourse about race, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, religious practice, and a host of other categories of human experience. The difference is, when used in public forums, the transgressor will be fired or politically maligned or cancelled or publicly shamed for using them. In contrast, commentators, politicians, preachers, and celebrities of all kinds can pepper their conversation with pejorative references to those who live with mental illness without consequence.
With more resources than ever for communication and connection, we have an epidemic of loneliness. Why?
Perhaps part of the reason for the phenomenon of loneliness in our culture is that we do not entirely understand one another in our differences, and so what can be lonely for one may feel completely replete with connection for another.
We fall down, but we get up: Mental health, faith, hope, and resilience
Falling—experiencing failure, grief, loss, and despair—is a fact of life for us, as it was for Jesus’ early followers. However, hope inculcates the ability to get back up, again and again. And where there is hope there is resilience. In this way faith, resilience, mental health, and the post-resurrection experience are inextricably connected.
U.S. Surgeon General declares epidemic of loneliness and isolation
Connected people live longer, happier, healthier lives. Connected societies do too.
The epidemic in our midst: Walking alongside those living with mental illness
One in five Americans live with some form of mental illness. Additionally, 5.5% of Americans suffer with a serious mental health disorder. There is an epidemic in our midst without an easy cure (if one exists).
In debate over gun violence, let’s stop scapegoating mental illness
In the debate about gun violence, let’s stop scapegoating mental illness and do the hard work of coming together to improve gun safety and public health.
The effects of pandemic brain fog on mental health: God’s grace is sufficient
Many of us who have survived the past couple of years have come away with significant pandemic-related “brain fog.” Forgetfulness, confusion, agitation, fear, anxiety. You might have encountered a spike in any or all of these and more. The question marks continue to appear as COVID-19 cases come and go in different parts of the world. If you do not seem to be your old, pre-pandemic self, you’re not alone.
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Christian Citizen AmbassadorsAt The Christian Citizen, we’re passionate about justice, mercy, and faith. We produce award-winning content that is provocative, timely, and relevant. What started more than 25 years ago as a print publication is now a digital-first publication that maintains a commitment to print. More recently, we’ve added a weekly e-newsletter, podcast, and a growing presence on social media. Now, for the first time, we’re adding a member support program—Christian Citizen Ambassadors!
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