The Christian Chronicle Podcast

When the U.S. Supreme Court decided the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case on June 24, 2022, it overturned two cases, Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), that established the federal right to an abortion. For decades in the United States, many, if not most, Church of Christ members prayed, volunteered, and voted in hope that the Supreme Court would do wha...

For generations, churches in Texas passed down the tradition of Juneteenth, sometimes called "America's Second Independence Day." In this episode, Karl Berry and Curtis Phillips, elders from Cedar Hill Church of Christ in Cedar Hill, Texas, talk about how their congregation is keeping and sharing the Juneteenth tradition. The Christian Chronicle's globetrotting CEO Erik Trygges...

Jordan Coss (Redwood Church of Christ, Redwood City, California) shares his research on Church of Christ ministers and retirement. What keeps so many Church of Christ ministers from retiring (if they even finish out their ministry careers)? What can congregations and their ministers do about it? Dr. Kelsey Kramer McGinnis, an expert in contemporary Christian music and a writer for Christianity Tod...

Capt. Victor Glover, a longtime member of the Church of Christ, will pilot the Artemis 2 mission to the moon in November 2024, but it will not be his first trip to space. Capt. Glover spent 168 days in space, including 167 days aboard the International Space Station in 2020 and 2021. Few human beings know what it's like to hold to the beliefs and practices of Christianity anywhere other than...

For National Church Planting Sunday (May 21), church planters Caleb Borchers, Ron Clark, and Brendin Williamson talk about why church planting is what America (and the world) needs now and why existing congregations should be glad to see church plants come to their neighborhoods. Barry McDonald of the Caruso School of Law at Pepperdine University talks about the abortion pill and "sabbatarian...

We remember the life and work of Sister Ruth Wyrick of the Marsalis Avenue Church of Christ in Dallas, Texas. Born in the segregated South of the 1930s, Sister Wyrick used the power of hospitality and kindness to forever change politics and public service in Dallas. Shay Wyrick Cathey and Christian Chronicle board member Taneise Perry reveal how Sister Wyrick's faith, hope, and love inspired...

"All of this started when they took prayer out of schools." This is a line that host BT Irwin heard many times over the years from Christians trying to explain bad things that seem to be getting worse in the United States. While their opinion has elements of truth about it, is their solution--to restore Christianity to a preferred place of power and privilege at the center of American in...

Church and school security expert Dwayne Harris (Full Armor Church) talks about the most effective (and surprising) way to keep congregations safe. The growth of the Texas Bible Bowl reflects how young people are more interested than ever to know about Jesus. Audrey Jackson reports and we interview Texas Bible Bowl organizer Lisa Kirkwood and elementary division contender Melanie Mitchell. A cappe...

Christian Chronicle contributing editor Cheryl Mann Bacon responds to those who criticized or questioned her op-ed on defending libraries. How much control should Christians have over public institutions like libraries? Christian Chronicle intern Gabriel Grant Huff, a certified "young person," gives his take on the kind of revival young Christians seek now and how they will know when rev...

In the follow-up to the Episode 13 reflection on the death of Jesus, this episode celebrates his resurrection. Features the congregational singing of the Highland Church of Christ (Memphis, Tennessee) led by Brishan Hatcher, the poetry of Dr. Sara Barton (chaplain, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California), and the preaching of Chris McCurley (Walnut Street Church of Christ, Dickson, Tennessee)....

This special episode features the preaching of Dr. Orpheus Heyward, the poetry of Paulette Guerin, and the congregational singing of the Memorial Drive Church of Christ in Tulsa, Oklahoma, led by Shane Coffman. These three artists share some of their work and talk about how it helps them and others ponder the death of Jesus. Congregational singing by Memorial Drive Church of Christ, Tulsa, Oklahom...

On February 8, 2023, spontaneous prayer and worship broke out among a few students on the campus of Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. That prayer and worship continued nonstop around the clock for the next two weeks, eventually drawing tens of thousands of people from around the world to what became known as the Asbury Revival. In this episode, we hear from Daniel Silliman, the Christianity...

A few days before recording this episode, a federal court sentenced a former Church of Christ minister to 45 years in prison for a long list of sex crimes he committed against minors in one of the congregations where he worked. Special guest Jimmy Hinton talks about what he describes as an "epidemic" of sex abuse by leaders in Church of Christ congregations. Jimmy shares his own story of...

Episode 10: Jesus Revolution, saving families in Tanzania, God raises the dead on a Texas highway Filmmaker Brent McCorkle talks about his new movie, 'Jesus Revolution.' Christian Chronicle CEO Erik Tryggestad reports on the life-saving work of Neema Village in Tanzania. Church of Christ elder Keith Johanson and his wife, Becky, tell their true story of how they saw a boy die on Texas hi...

The recent earthquakes in Syria and Turkey killed tens of thousands and made millions of people homeless. Christian Chronicle associate editor Audrey Jackson reports on how Christians--a tiny minority in Turkey--are doing all they can to help. Faulkner University's new president, Mitch Henry, talks about the challenges before Christian colleges and universities and how he thinks these times a...

In 1982, Keith Lancaster formed Christian vocal group Acappella. Forty years later, that group is now a ministry comprising multiple Christian vocal ensembles (including the original Acappella) and programs that help congregations and worship leaders learn how to find and use the unique voices that God longs to hear. In this episode, Keith and his son, Anthony Lancaster (also now a member of Acapp...

Erik Tryggestad brings the latest news from Christians and churches in both Russia and Ukraine, as they struggle to keep their faith, hope, and love alive in the hell of war. Matthew Morine shares the vision and work of Partners in Missions for Colorado, a ministry the Castle Rock (Colorado) Church of Christ is growing to minister to ministers in rural congregations. Cindy Keister and Kaye Trisler...

John DeBerry, Jr., minister to the Coleman Avenue Church of Christ in Memphis, Tennessee, talks about how his congregation is responding to the death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of five police who are accused of beating him to death. Audrey Jackson reports on ministers struggling to make ends meet in South Africa. Our two youngest guests ever, ages 15 and 9, talk about their experience with Leade...

Dr. Richard Hughes is one of the leading historians in the Church of Christ community (and beyond). Over the last 50-plus years, he wrote or co-wrote 17 books that mostly explored the origins and evolution of the beliefs, culture, and traditions that formed the Church of Christ community and its cousins, the Community of Christ, Disciples of Christ, and independent Christian churches. In this epis...

Segment One: Every Sunday, the Northwest Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois, USA, holds three distinct worship assemblies: One in English, one in Korean, and one in Spanish. Recently, the congregation tried holding one Sunday morning assembly...in all three languages at once! Leaders Paul Chae, Carlos Estrada, and Patrick Odum talk about how they did it and what congregations around the world m...

Many thanks to Sister Everly Rose for contributing a recording of Sons of Praise, the vocal group to which her husband, Richard Rose, Sr., belonged for many years. You'll hear the clip of Sons of Praise between Segments 2 and 3. At a Tennessee prison for women, inmates are earning master's degrees in Christian ministry. Remembering the legacy of two great voices and leading lights in the...

In this episode, correspondent Dr. Kenneth Pybus talks about how the popular TV drama 'The Chosen' is making its way into Church of Christ congregations across America. Reporter Audrey Jackson talks about her recent trip to Israel, "the place where it all started." And Christian Chronicle president and CEO Erik Tryggestad talks about the legacy of Joy McMillan, who poured her l...

In this first-ever episode of The Christian Chronicle Podcast: News about Church of Christ congregations and members holding on in Ukraine, why is a 105-year old Church of Christ ministry training center closing (and what does it mean to the fellowship at large), and why is The Christian Chronicle launching a weekly podcast?