Red Letter Christians

Protection in Preservation, excerpted from “Love like a Mother: How the Sacred Work of Motherhood Reveals the Maternal Heart of God”

RLC Editor — Thu, 07 May 2026 10:00:05 +0000

We all know people who have lived through the worst this life has to offer, who have witnessed the shield crack in two as tragedy marched in, who pleaded all night for rescue only to have the dawn break on their nightmares come true. In our own lives and in each day’s headlines, we have to acknowledge that the knight in shining armor doesn’t always appear to slay our dragons. This life is hard.

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What Kind of People Are You?

RLC Editor — Wed, 06 May 2026 10:00:23 +0000

On February 16, 1965, Rev. C.T. Vivian publicly confronted Sheriff Jim Clark in Selma. Countless Black Alabamians had been turned away from their constitutional right to register to vote, so Civil Rights organizations had begun a campaign to press this issue. “You can turn your back on me, but you can’t turn your back on justice,” Rev. Vivian shouted. Sheriff Clark turned and punched the…

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The Sacred Spaces of Fishing, excerpted from “Catching Hope: The Hidden Spiritual Wisdom of Fishing”

RLC Editor — Tue, 05 May 2026 10:00:48 +0000

For years I thought I just had bad luck fishing from the surf. Must be the wrong bait, or I’m not casting far enough, so I’d wade out chest deep and heave my line as far as I could, landing almost always on the sandbar, which is the exact wrong place to fish. In order to catch a fish, particularly from the shore, you need to know how to “read the beach.” When you see most people at the beach with…

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Are we there yet?

RLC Editor — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 10:00:03 +0000

There are many reasons we should be wary of cultural movements that tell us that they have all the answers. First of all, they don’t. But perhaps more importantly, they do their best to supplant, even erase, all others. The most prominent threat and impending violation to each one of us is the continuing pressure, from every arena of life, to surrender, submit, conform and be absorbed.

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Pray-In and Procession for Peace and An End to the US-Israeli War in Iran at the US Capitol

RLC Editor — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 10:30:07 +0000

Dear Friends, On Friday, April 17th nearly 60 peacemakers from the DMV held a Noon-time Pray-In and Procession for Peace and an End to the US-Israeli War in Iran at the US Capitol. This witness was co-sponsored by 20 faith-based organizations. The witness began at the East Capitol Plaza where there were was an opening/welcome by the Rev. Dr. Leslie Copeland from the National Council of…

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Follow a Compass: The Beatitudes

RLC Editor — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 10:00:51 +0000

“Follow a Compass: The Beatitudes”, extracted from Christian Citizenship: Endangered in America, Part II: God’s Domain, (Chapter 5) When Jesus gathered his followers together, he gave them compass directions—what has become known as the Beatitudes. I have studied and prayed over them to discern how we might apply them in the twenty-first century. I’m indebted to the scholarship of William…

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Under the Microscope of Jesus

RLC Editor — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 10:00:30 +0000

The State of the Union has been delivered. Applause rose. Some sat in protest. Some stood in celebration. Commentators went to work. Fact checks rolled in. Timelines lit up. That is the ritual of our age. But before we rush to defend or denounce, before we baptize our side or bury the other, it is worth asking a quieter question: What does this moment look like under the microscope of…

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Oracles: words, and what we make of them

RLC Editor — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 10:00:00 +0000

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” President Trump When it comes to the history books covering the 21st Century, surely those words will ring, not with truth, but with a resounding sense that a world leader had the means – and the intent – to literally erase one of the oldest cultures on the planet, for no particular purpose other than his own pique and…

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From Golden Calf to Sacred Dwelling: Reimagining Jewish Identity Beyond the Nation-State

RLC Editor — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 11:00:55 +0000

Editor’s Note: The following is part of a talk given by Ariel Gold at an April 13, 2026 panel on religious nationalism at Yale Divinity School’s Center for Public Theology and Public Policy When Pope Leo XIV rebuked Pete Hegseth on Good Friday for using biblical language to justify war, it stopped me cold. What was a red line for the American pope — and sparked a “tidal wave” of complaints…

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My Journey Through Sleepless Nights, excerpted from “The Sleep You’re Longing For”

RLC Editor — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 10:00:22 +0000

The sole cause of man’s unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his [bed]room. —Pascal, Pensées, trans. A. J. Krailsheimer I’ve got a friend named Leroy. Leroy can fall asleep in five minutes, no matter the situation. We have traveled the world together, from fun family vacations in Italy and Spain to intense conferences and heated debates focused on race and racism in…

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