The Jim Wallis Podcast

Thanks be to God! For all the government workers and their families who will, hopefully, soon get their deeply deserved paychecks, we give thanks. For those of us who are constantly on the look out for what’s next on the breaking news horizon, this is a good place to start today: giving thanks to God. Let us first be thankful, then ask what is next. Many of us  called for  prayer  t...

The Apostle Paul tells us that we are engaged in  spiritual warfare  against principalities and powers and rulers of darkness in high places. Spiritual warfare is easily provoked between our “better angels,” as Lincoln contrasted against our worst demons in a time such as this. The longest government shutdown in U.S. history reveals the brokenness of our systems, the danger of a strong m...

Donald Trump’s wall is obviously a terrible idea: It’s both impractical and ineffective — and more importantly, it’s immoral. Building Trump’s wall would be building a 2,200-mile-long monument to racism. Racism is always based on lies; it always has been and always will be. We saw that again in Donald Trump’s address to the nation on last week. It was more of the same lies he has used since he ann...

In this season of Advent and Christmas, Donald Trump poses a clear and unambiguous choice for Christians and all people of conscience. Jesus says, “welcome the stranger." Donald Trump, in great contrast, enacts policies that inflict trauma, pain, danger, and even death on the ones Jesus tells us to welcome. And the evangelical Christian leaders who support Donald Trump have absolutely nothing to s...

I believe the remembrance of the life of George H. W. Bush last week and going forward give this man one final mission: to demonstrate the values that reveal who genuine leaders are, contrasting the values (or lack thereof) that reveal who are not. What does a leader do or not do? What are the markers of true public service that differentiate it from public exploitation? Because the Bush family is...

As we digest the results of Tuesday’s midterm elections, there are reasons for people of faith committed to social justice and the common good to be grateful and encouraged. There are also reminders of what we are up against and some real post-election dangers. Zooming out to the broadest level of the consequences of this week’s elections, the change in power in the House of Representatives will c...

Diverse evangelicals, led by people of color and women, want to bring the “good news” back to the gospel of Jesus Christ; in direct contrast to the “bad news” perpetuated by older, white, and partisan evangelical men. Evangelicals are typically identified in the media and by the public as a predominately white, politically right-wing faith group with little to no concern about the poor and oppress...

Of course the system is rigged — systems are always rigged to protect the wealth, power, and self-interest of those who created them, those who benefit from them. That’s not hyperbole; that’s reality, that’s human nature, and that’s what the Bible calls sin. Jesus calls us to protect, in particular, "the least of these" who are most vulnerable to the systems' exploitation. This is why defendi...

As people of faith, we know the importance of professing our beliefs. We are in the midst of a national trauma, with a vast number of women in America — across political lines — being re-traumatized by the events of last week. This moment requires pastoral care for survivors and those who love them, prophetic truth-telling about what is (or ought to be) morally acceptable and unacceptable, and the...

I observed the funerals of three people recently: John McCain, Aretha Franklin, and Andre Presser. You may know the first two, but I felt such gratitude for a great man like Andre Presser, who wouldn’t be nationally recognized, but will be remembered by countless people as one who helped to shape and change so many lives. May we all live with that as our goal — to inspire and serve those we encoun...

In a time when bipartisanship seems like a forgotten dream, it is important for us to find and celebrate cases of lawmakers coming together, regardless of party and ideology, to address the many real and immediate challenges we face as a country. Especially on issues of importance to the faith community, we need exceptional and encouraging displays of bipartisanship that we hope can serve as a mod...

Make no mistake: Trump has always desired to be a strong man and now he desires to be seen as a strong man as president of the United States. His admiration for autocrats is by no means confined to Vladimir Putin. He has seemed to reserve much of his praise in public and private comments for autocratic leaders like President Erdogan of Turkey and Korean dictator Kim Jong-un , and much of his criti...

The Trump Administration's border policies targeting migrants and Muslims is a test for religious leaders to stand and take action for the beliefs they profess. The recently upheld travel ban is motivated by religious animus and racial bigotry: The Muslims being banned by this order are primarily people of color; and their targeting is directly related to the white nationalist ideology that has no...

James 1:27 clearly states " Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress..." Yet Attorney General Jeff Sessions perverts the meaning of other Biblical verses to justify his horrific treatment of migrant families and migrant children specifically. Following the signing of the Reclaiming Jesus declaration , multiracial el...

On June 14th, 350 Christian leaders, who work on the front lines of the battle for The Soul of the Nation, gathered in Washington DC to convene and create an opportunity for building relationships and cross-sector collaboration.   Five of those leaders gathered together to lay bare the controversy of what it means to be an Evangelical. ·        &nb...

Now that several million people have watched the video of Reclaiming Jesus, it is time for us to to take our response to a higher level. Signing the Declaration is a good first step but now it is time to action, to answer the call. We as elders deeply believe in this Pentecost season that the Holy Spirit is at work, even in the darkness of this political moment. We feel it calling us to reclaim Je...

Thousands of faithful people filled two churches to over-capacity the Thursday after Pentecost Sunday, emulating the early followers of Jesus, who took their faith to the streets during the Pentecost season. After hearing inspirational talks from church leaders who were the original signatories to the Reclaiming Jesus Declaration, the multitude marched to the White House to pray and articulate the...

In its first two days of release, over 800,000 people watched the Reclaiming Jesus video, seeing and hearing a broadly diverse group of church elders stand up for the principles of Jesus. As of Monday May 21, 2018, that number has almost doubled to well over 1.5 Million viewers. Now, during this Pentacost Season, is the time time for you to stand up for your faith, watch the video (https://bit.ly/...

In the late 1970's and early 1980's, right-wing political operatives — like Richard Viguerie, Paul Weyrich, Kevin Phillips, and Terry Dolan—engineered a political takeover of the evangelical movement. This was a radical hijacking of the message of Jesus Christ. Ten years earlier, the movement that became Sojourners was born at an evangelical seminary, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago...

As we approach Pentecost Sunday, it is fitting to recall the fear and trepidation early Christians felt after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Acts 2 sets the scene for us: 120 followers of Jesus were hiding in an upper room afraid to proclaim their faith publicly. It is an unfortunate parallel to our current times. But, then as the Bible tells us, the early disciples were filled with t...

The political, religious, and moral crisis in America is going to get worse before it gets better. If we are going to survive this crisis; or better yet, respond to it; or best yet, put our faith into action to turn dangers into opportunities, we are going to have to be more deeply rooted — in our faith, in our relationships to each other, and in our solidarity with the most vulnerable. All faith...

On the 50th Anniversary of the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Rev. Jim Aallis gathered with other faith leaders on the National Mall in Washington DC to give this call to action: "Let us confess our sins, repent of them, and turn this nation around." In recalling the life of Rev. King, we must remember that he was not just a civil rights leader; first and foremost King was a faith leade...

Evangelicals who support Donald Trump and his presidency are destroying the good news of Jesus Christ. In this Easter Season, Jim Wallis and a diverse group of Church elders listed below have banded together to fight for the Soul of the Nation by issuing the declaration of Reclaiming Jesus. The current administration is at war with the values of Jesus Christ so clearly enumerated in the Bible. Peo...

The Apostle James tells us, “Faith without works is dead.” That is why the Rev. Jim Wallis is calling for a national church boycott of the National Rifle Association to give life to the thoughts and prayers we send the friends and families of the victims of mass gun murders. By making enormous financial contributions to politicians on the one hand and bullying those politicians who support common...