Journalist and author Bekah McNeel talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about her new book This Is Going to Hurt: Following Jesus in a Divided America. She also discusses addressing issues of immigration, education, and guns. She previously appeared on episode 70. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A Public Witn…

Michael Austin, a philosophy professor at Eastern Kentucky University and Bonhoeffer Senior Fellow of the Miller Center for Interreligious Learning and Leadership of Hebrew College, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his new book American Christian Nationalism: Neither American nor Christian. He also discusses American values, teachin…

Jerome Copulsky, a research fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his new book American Heretics: Religious Adversaries of Liberal Order. He also discusses colonial Anglicans, debates during the Confederacy, and Christian Nationalism. Note: Don'…

Amanda Tyler of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about her forthcoming book How to End Christian Nationalism. She also discusses the Christians Against Christian Nationalism effort, issues involving public education, and different ways to engage in the public square. She previously appeare…

Blake Chastain, author of The Post-Evangelical Post, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his new book Exvangelical and Beyond: How American Christianity Went Radical and the Movement That's Fighting Back. He also discusses racism, consumerism, and Donald Trump. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A Public …

Lore Ferguson Wilbert talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about her new book The Understory: An Invitation to Rootedness and Resilience from the Forest Floor. She also discusses issues of grief, COVID-19, and hope. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A Public Witness that helps you make sense of faith, culture, …

Darryl Stephens, director of United Methodist Studies at Lancaster Theological Seminary, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his book Reckoning Methodism: Mission and Division in the Public Church. He also discusses issues of sexuality, colonialism, and public advocacy. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter …

Julie Faith Parker, a visiting scholar at Union Theological Seminary and a biblical scholar in residence at Marble Collegiate Church, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about her book Eve Isn't Evil: Feminist Readings of the Bible to Upend Our Assumptions. She also discusses translation problems, the role of the matriarchs, and female proph…

Matthew Taylor, a scholar with the Institute for Islamic-Christian-Jewish Studies, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his forthcoming book The Violent Take it By Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy. He also discusses the New Apostolic Reformation, election prophecies, and the Jan. 6 insurrection. Note: Don'…

Jason Shelton, a sociology professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his new book The Contemporary Black Church: The New Dynamics of African American Religion. He also discusses impacts of the civil rights movement, racial injustices, and the COVID-19 pandemic on church life. Note: Don't for…

Joel Looper talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his forthcoming book Another Gospel: Christian Nationalism and the Crisis of Evangelical Identity. He also discusses messianic and apocalyptic rhetoric in Trumpism. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A Public Witness that helps you make sense of faith, cultu…

Tripp Fuller of Homebrewed Christianity talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about podcasting, community, and speaking out in public. He also talks about Theology Beer Camp on Oct. 17-19 in Denver. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A Public Witness that helps you make sense of faith, culture, and politics. And …

Tony Jones, a theologian and author, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his new book The God of Wild Places: Rediscovering the Divine in the Untamed Outdoors. He also discusses hunting, death, and ministry. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A Public Witness that helps you make sense of faith, culture, a…

Thomas Jay Oord, a theologian and author, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about being disciplined by the Church of the Nazarene, which resulted in him losing his preaching credentials and being expelled from membership. He also discusses the church trial process, his defense of affirming LGBTQ+ people, and open and relational theology. L…

Jenai Auman, a writer and artist, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about her new book Othered: Finding Belonging with the God Who Pursues the Hurt, Harmed, and Marginalized. She also discusses church trauma, the importance of lament, and misuse of Scripture. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A Public Witnes…

Ross Kane, a professor of theology, ethics, and culture at Virginia Theological Seminary, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his new book The Good News of Church Politics. He also discusses local engagement, the biblical word for the church, and the importance of repentance and forgiveness. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award…

Andrew Garnett, pastor Hampton Baptist Church in Virginia, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his book Christians and the Roman Army: Lessons for Today. He also discusses the impact of the rise of Constantine, differences between leaders and congregants, and Fourth of July services. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning…

Caleb Campbell, pastor at Desert Springs Bible Church in Phoenix, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his forthcoming book Disarming Leviathan: Loving Your Christian Nationalist Neighbor. He also discusses Turning Point USA, syncretism, and missionary strategies. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A Publi…

Shirley Mullen, retired president of Houghton College (now University), talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about her new book Claiming the Courageous Middle: Daring to Live and Work Together for a More Hopeful Future. She also discusses liberal arts education, listening to others, and embracing middle spaces. Note: Don't forget to subscribe…

This episode features the audio from an online book launch for Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism. Co-authors Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood hosted a panel conversation with Dr. Diana Butler Bass, Rev. Adriene Thorne, and Dr. Andrew Whitehead on Christian Nationalism and mainline Protestants. Bass, who w…

Scott Coley, a lecturer in philosophy at Mount St. Mary's University, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his forthcoming book Ministers of Propaganda: Truth, Power, and the Ideology of the Religious Right. He also discusses the rhetoric of complementarianism, creation science, and Al Mohler. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our awar…

Joe Ingle talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his new book Too Close to the Flame: With the Condemned inside the Southern Killing Machine. He also discusses meeting with politicians and his memories of Will Campbell. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A Public Witness that helps you make sense of faith, c…

Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Susan Shaw talk with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about their new book Surviving God: A New Vision of God through the Eyes of Sexual Abuse Survivors. They also talk about considering new metaphors for God, reading biblical stories of survivors, and the importance of still finding joy. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our a…

Elizabeth Neumann talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about her new book Kingdom of Rage: The Rise of Christian Extremism and the Path Back to Peace. She also discusses terrorism and 9/11, working in the Trump administration, and how to reach those who have been radicalized. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A…

Aimee Byrd talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about her forthcoming book The Hope in Our Scars: Finding the Bride of Christ in the Underground of Disillusionment. She also discusses addressing misogyny and patriarchy in church life. She writes a Substack newsletter. More information about the book, including a video series, can be found at …

Christa Brown talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about her forthcoming book Baptistland: A Memoir of Abuse, Betrayal, and Transformation. She also discusses advocacy for survivors of clergy sexual abuse, family estrangement, and when denominational leaders do not care. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A Publ…

Trey Ferguson, a minister and writer, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his new book Theologizin' Bigger: Homilies on Living Freely and Loving Wholly. He also discusses biblical interpretation, inerrancy, and Black Panther. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A Public Witness that helps you make sense of…

Derek Kubilus, a Methodist pastor in Ohio, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his book Holy Hell: A Case against Eternal Damnation. He also discusses translation issues, Wesleyan teachings, and Star Wars. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A Public Witness that helps you make sense of faith, culture, and…

Angela Denker, a journalist and Lutheran minister, moderates a discussion with Jim Wallis of the Georgetown Center on Faith and Justice and Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about Christian Nationalism and other issues of faith and politics. A written version of this conversation was previously published at A Public Witness. Denker, author of Red Sta…

Beau Underwood talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about the forthcoming book they co-authored, Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism. They also discuss changing U.S. demographics and how the book came together. Underwood previously appeared on episode 43. Save 33% on Baptizing America with the promo …

Paul Raushenbush, CEO and president of the Interfaith Alliance, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his book Together We Rise - An Easter Story for All of Us. He also discusses Jesus's teachings, visualizing the story, and interfaith work. He previously appeared on episode 74. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-news…

David Fitch, a professor of evangelical theology at Northern Seminary and a member of the pastoral staff at Peace of Christ Church in Westmont, Illinois, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his new book Reckoning with Power: Why the Church Fails When It's on the Wrong Side of Power. He also discusses politics, megachurches, and privile…

Eric Seibert, a professor of Old Testament at Messiah College, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his book Redeeming Violent Verses: A Guide for Using Troublesome Texts in Church and Ministry. He also discusses teaching biblical stories to different age groups, issues of divine violence, and the most violent text in Scripture. Note: D…

Janet Kellogg Ray, a university biology professor, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about her new book The God of Monkey Science: People of Faith in a Modern Scientific World. She also discusses COVID-19, science denialism, and science education. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A Public Witness that helps…

Michael Wear, president and CEO of the Center for Christianity and Public Life, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his new book The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life. He also discusses Dallas Willard, gentleness, and the Buffalo Bills. He previously appeared on episode 22. Note: Don't forget…

André Gagné, a theology professor at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his book American Evangelicals for Trump: Dominion, Spiritual Warfare, and the End Times. He also discusses biblical interpretation and Neocharismatic-Pentecostal leaders like Lance Wallnau and Paula White-Cain. Note: Don'…

Tara Culp-Ressler talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about Mennonite Action, a group that formed to push for an end to the war in Gaza. The group has led multiple public vigils, including one on Capitol Hill that led to arrests as Mennonites peacefully sang hymns in a congressional building. Lean more about Mennonite Action on their website…

Ryan Andrew Newson, assistant professor of theology and ethics at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his book The End of Civility: Christ and Prophetic Division. He also discusses Roger Williams, the civil rights movement, and Quaker activist Benjamin Lay. Listen to an earlier conver…

Mike Graves, scholar in residence at Country Club Christian Church in Kansas City, talk with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his new book Jesus' Vision for Your One Wild and Precious Life: (on Things Like Poverty, Hunger, Polarization, Inclusion, and More). He also discusses issues of biblical interpretation, polarization, and ministry. Note:…

R.L. Stollar talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his new book The Kingdom of Children: A Liberation Theology. He also discusses biblical interpretation, the incarnation of God, and how churches can create opportunities for children to lead. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A Public Witness that helps yo…

Conrad Kanagy, a professor of sociology at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his new book Walter Brueggemann's Prophetic Imagination: A Theological Biography. He also discusses German pietism, Jeremiah, and psalms of lament. Kanagy previously appeared on episode 45. Note: Don't forget to subscri…

Liz Cooledge Jenkins talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about her forthcoming book Nice Churchy Patriarchy: Reclaiming Women's Humanity from Evangelicalism. She also discusses biblical interpretation, women in ministry, and church leadership practices. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A Public Witness that h…

Kathryn Cramer Brownell, a professor at Purdue University, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about her new book 24/7 Politics: Cable Television and the Fragmenting of America from Watergate to Fox News. She also discusses the impact of individuals like Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Pat Robertson, and Donald Trump. Note: Don't forget to sub…

Randall Balmer, a professor at Dartmouth College, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his new book Saving Faith: How American Christianity Can Reclaim Its Prophetic Voice. He also discusses the insights of biblical prophets, the danger of Christian Nationalism, and the meaning of the "Word" of God. He previously appeared on episode 25.…

Greg Garrett, a professor of literature and culture at Baylor University, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his new book The Gospel according to James Baldwin: What America's Great Prophet Can Teach Us about Life, Love, and Identity. He also discusses reading and teaching Baldwin and traveling to track down more of Baldwin's life. No…

John Fanestil, executive director of Via International, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his new book American Heresy: The Roots and Reach of White Christian Nationalism. He also discusses America's founding, violence, conspiracies, and ministering at the U.S.-Mexico border. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-new…

Terence Lester, founder of Love Beyond Walls, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his book All God's Children: How Confronting Buried History Can Build Racial Solidarity. He also discusses racism in churches, the importance of lament, and the work of his nonprofit. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A Pub…

Daniel Hummel, a historian who works at Upper House (a Christian study center located at the University of Wisconsin-Madison), talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his new book The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism: How the Evangelical Battle over the End Times Shaped a Nation. He also discusses post-Civil War border state theology, co…

David W. Peters, an Episcopal priest in Texas, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his book Post-Traumatic Jesus: A Healing Gospel for the Wounded. He also discusses serving as a military chaplain, the importance of the resurrection, and retelling Bible stories. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A Public…

Cheryl Bridges Johns, visiting professor and director of the Pentecostal House of Studies at United Theological Seminary, talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about her book Re-enchanting the Text: Discovering the Bible as Sacred, Dangerous, and Mysterious. She also discusses the enlightenment, Pentecost, and more. Note: Don't forget to subsc…