They had no idea his late mother, Maria Landa, was an Ivy League-educated psychologist.

They just knew the son of Cuban immigrants looked homeless — and desperately needed a bath.

“I mean, Jesus is for everyone,” said David Duncan, preaching minister for the Memorial Church of Christ, which averages Sunday attendance of about 800. “Nobody’s going to be turned away. And he obviously had some very dire needs.”

“I mean, Jesus is for everyone. Nobody’s going to be turned away.”

Costabile, 59, who battles a variety of physical and mental health issues, saw a banner advertising the congregation at Houston’s Memorial City Mall. 

He walked 1.3 miles from the shopping center to the church building, just off Interstate 10.

“Let’s be honest: There have been conversations where people are like, ‘He doesn’t need to be here. It’s not safe for our kids,’” said Mike Avery, Memorial’s community minister. “Some people don’t want him around. But that’s because the church is human, right? And they’re scared, and they’re fearful.

Maurice Costabile enjoys a moment of relaxation at the Memorial Church of Christ in Houston.

“But I’m happy that our church overall has really worked to help him and not kick him out,” Avery added. “So we’re really trying, and we’re not going to give up on him.”

Avery helped Costabile connect with Houston law enforcement’s Homeless Outreach Team and has taken him to medical appointments.

However, finding a long-term solution off the streets has proven more difficult. Costabile’s lack of official documents, such as a birth certificate or a Social Security card, complicates applying for government benefits.

“We tried to get him into a halfway house,” Avery said, “but he only lasted a few days because it’s made for people who can take care of themselves physically, and he can’t do that.”

To make Costabile more presentable for worship, the congregation began renting a hotel room to give him a shower before the Sunday service.

“He knows how to survive on the street, but he’s in terrible health,” Duncan said. “It’s not that you can save everybody, but when somebody comes into your church building, I think you have a responsibility to help.”

“It’s not that you can save everybody, but when somebody comes into your church building, I think you have a responsibility to help.”

‘Maurice is God’s child’

With more than 25 nationalities represented in the pews, the Memorial congregation reflects the diversity of Houston.

Church volunteers — including an 83-year-old Jamaican immigrant named Sadie Powell and a 38-year-old Russian immigrant named Yulia Merchant — lead the effort to help Costabile.

On a typical Saturday night, Merchant, a nurse practitioner, and her three school-age sons pick up food for Costabile from Spencer Prather, one of Memorial’s children’s ministers.

The Memorial Church of Christ in Houston rents a hotel room to give Maurice Costabile a shower.

Then the mother and boys give Costabile a ride from the church building to the hotel, where they connect with Powell.

Costabile has leg wounds caused by lymphedema.

“We shower him together, and after his shower, I change any wound dressings, if needed, and wrap his legs,” said Merchant, who also spearheaded the launch of Memorial’s thriving ministry for Ukrainian refugees. “He usually gets a very good night’s sleep at the hotel.”

On Sunday morning, Merchant makes sure Costabile has breakfast and drives him to worship. Powell takes him to lunch.

Costabile has the mind of a child and can’t care for himself, Merchant said.

“If that would be my child, and God would take me to heaven, I would want my child to be taken care of,” she said of her motivation. “And Maurice is God’s child.”

A missing person

Costabile told church members that he and his mother were living in an extended-stay hotel during the pandemic. But then she got into an accident and later died of COVID-19, he said.

After he wandered away from the hospital, loved ones filed a missing person report in 2021.

“But the people who filed that have since died,” Avery said.

Memorial leaders pray that publicity about Costabile might alert relatives to his whereabouts and prompt them to contact the church.

“You got some new clothes,” Duncan, the preaching minister, said as he greeted Costabile in the church office this week.

“Yeah,” Costabile replied before turning the conversation to recent heavy rains in Houston. “It’s very bad weather out. The other day, there was a lot of thunder.”

Maurice Costabile enjoys a meal with a church member.

“I just can’t believe that you’re wearing a Mets hat,” Duncan teased, noting that Costabile’s father, who died in 2001, worked for the Yankees. “Do you like the Mets better?”

“Yeah,” Costabile replied. “They’re very, very, very nice people.”

Duncan introduced me to Costabile.

“Mr. Ross, like the store?” Costabile replied, referring to the Ross Dress for Less chain. “I heard of that. It’s a good store.”

As Powell discussed Costabile’s mental health concerns, he interjected, “I may be bipolar, but I’m pretty intelligent on stuff.”

“Extremely intelligent,” Powell agreed.

Maurice Costabile poses for a picture after getting a haircut and a shave at Great Clips.

‘Is this guy … an angel?’

Avery describes Costabile as friendly with the mindset of a 7-year-old.

“He loves to color and draw airplane cockpits, and he draws them to scale,” Avery said. “And his memory is incredible as far as things that happened a long time ago.

“But I always wonder: Is this guy like an angel? Or is it like, he’s one of ‘the least of these,’ and God is testing us?” the community minister added, alluding to Matthew 25. “Sometimes I wonder about that, but he’s really an interesting guy.”

David Bean, another Memorial member active in helping Costabile, came across a documentary video recounting his father’s camera work with the Yankees.

Duilio Costabile, left, shares a laugh with Yankees first base coach José Cardenal in the 2007 documentary “Duilio: Home Movies From The Bronx.” (Video still via YouTube. Warning: Video contains R-rated language.)

Duilio Costabile worked alongside Yankees greats Phil Rizzuto and Bobby Murcer.

Bean played the video for Maurice Costabile.

“At first, it made me really sad because I know this life is not what his parents would have wanted for him,” Duncan said. “But it also made me think that maybe there are people out there who know him and want to help him.

“But secondly and momentarily, it made me really happy that he had an opportunity to see a video with his dad, whom he hadn’t seen in many years,” the minister added. “It brought real joy to him. He kept saying, ‘My dad! My dad!’”

Maurice Costabile visits with a reporter at the Memorial Church of Christ in Houston as Sadie Powell listens.

BOBBY ROSS JR. is Editor-in-Chief of The Christian Chronicle. Ross writes the Weekend Plug-in column for Religion Unplugged, where this piece originally appeared. Reach him at bobby@christianchronicle.org.

Members of the Central Church of Christ congregation gather in a prayer circle while members of the response team work to save Keith Braud’s life.

In the next 2 minutes and 57 seconds, one church member dialed 911 while others performed CPR and retrieved an automated external defibrillator. Before paramedics arrived at the church, the AED restored Braud’s heartbeat — the result of a successful emergency response plan.

“Everybody just fell into place and did everything they were supposed to do,” said Tammie Crowder, a church member and emergency room nurse of 42 years.

‘There was no pulse’ 

The emergency unfolded quickly, about 10 minutes into the Bible class in the church’s auditorium. As Braud sat with his wife, Elizabeth, he began to feel something was wrong.

“Before I blacked out, I remember thinking, ‘I’m about to pass out,’” Braud told The Christian Chronicle. “A little ringing in my ear, tunnel vision, and that’s all I remember.”

Keith and Elizabeth Braud

When Elizabeth Braud alerted the congregation that her husband had collapsed, registered nurse Evan Johnson reached Braud within seconds. Simultaneously, church secretary Robin Large fetched the AED from the kitchen, as another member called emergency services.

“I think I just got up in his face, just trying to see — did he pass out, did he fall asleep, or are we making a big ruckus out of nothing?” Johnson said.

As the response began inside the auditorium, church members who were not directly involved in the medical efforts stepped outside. About 20 gathered on the sidewalk in a circle of prayer while the emergency unfolded inside.

Rachel Neill

While Braud lay on the pew, Large brought the AED to physical therapist Rachel Neill, who prepared the device alongside Tabitha Gibbs.

“We were pretty sure we felt a pulse at first,” Johnson told the Chronicle. “But when we laid him down and reassessed, there was no pulse. That’s when we started CPR.”

About 1 minute and 28 seconds after the initial alert, Braud had no pulse, and CPR began. As compressions continued, the response team applied the AED as it began charging.

At 2 minutes and 20 seconds, the AED delivered a shock, and CPR continued.

A jolt from Braud followed the shock and rescue breaths.

“My vision started coming on very dimly, and I saw Evan, like right here in my face, and I kind of knew it was Evan,” Braud recalled. “But the first thing I said was, ‘Who are you? You need to get off of me.’”

Members of the Central Church of Christ used an automated external defibrillator to revive a churchgoer in cardiac arrest.

Braud regained a pulse, and two minutes later, police arrived, followed by EMS, which transported him to CommonSpirit Memorial Hospital. A week later, the Louisiana native returned home to Georgia after physical therapy.

“The AED 100 percent saved my life — and I wouldn’t be here without it,” Braud said, wiping away a tear. “I’m just so glad I was at church — God is good.”

‘What if we hadn’t been prepared?’

The outcome of Braud’s medical emergency was swift and lifesaving. Yet, the case underscores a broader concern: If a similar emergency occurred during services or Bible class, would other congregations be prepared to respond?

According to Mike Garron, recruitment and public relations specialist for Hamilton County EMS, many churches and other organizations fail to prepare for medical emergencies because they assume they are unlikely to occur.

Mike Garron

“People tend to get complacent — ‘that’s never happened here’ — but it will at some point,” Garron said. “It’s a lack of education. People don’t realize how quickly organs can be damaged without oxygen-rich blood.”

What unfolded in under three minutes in the Central Church of Christ auditorium was guided by an emergency response plan developed and refined over several years. Crowder, the ER nurse, saw the need for the plan’s creation after the lack of an accessible AED contributed to a death at a church retreat she attended years earlier. That experience reshaped how she viewed preparedness in places of worship.

Crowder explained that the foundation of the church’s response plan includes monthly CPR training, AED awareness and clearly assigned roles during emergencies to avoid miscommunication.

The church’s AED is kept in a designated, easily accessible location in the kitchen and includes a guidebook for its use. The building also contains an anti-choking device and a first-aid kit. Expiration dates and battery levels for each device get checked regularly.

A GregO2 device used in instances of choking and a manual on how to use it rests on the wall in the fellowship hall.

On the Sunday following Braud’s cardiac arrest, members of the response team reviewed security camera footage and participated in an after-action debriefing. They produced a written report on what happened, what worked and where response time or communication could be improved.

Crowder said that such continual refinement is intentional and necessary, noting that the goal is to prepare for any situation before it occurs.

The Central Church of Christ sign rests above the same sidewalks where members of the congregation prayed on June 3, 2026.

“There’s not a person here at this church that wouldn’t give $1,000 to make sure we had an AED after Wednesday night,” she added.

In the days following the incident, the congregation has prayed and reflected not only on what happened inside the church’s auditorium but also on the blessing of life and the importance of readiness in any place of worship.

“You think, ‘It won’t happen at church on a Wednesday night.’ And then what if we hadn’t been prepared? It could have been a very different story.”

“You think, ‘It won’t happen at church on a Wednesday night,’” said Large, the church secretary. “And then what if we hadn’t been prepared? It could have been a very different story.”

For more resources on how to develop an emergency plan geared for houses of worship, visit the Guide for Developing Emergency Plans for Houses of Worship.

EPHRAIM RODENBACH, a sports journalism major at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn., is a Christian Chronicle intern. Contact ephraim@christianchronicle.org.

For many cancer patients, ringing the bell signals the end of their journey. But it marked another milestone in an ongoing battle for McCurley, minister for the Walnut Street Church of Christ in Dickson, 40 miles west of Nashville.

The preacher has spent the past two years navigating prostate cancer, a journey that led to a diagnosis of stage four metastatic disease. In its most advanced stage, the cancer spread outside of its original location earlier this year. While radiation successfully targeted tumors, his treatment continues through hormone therapy and medication.

Yet throughout daily chemotherapy treatments and hour-long commutes to Nashville, McCurley has embraced a phrase that has shaped his outlook: “Cancer can be a ministry.”

“I don’t believe God gave me cancer, but I certainly believe he’s used it,” the husband and father of three said.

‘Why am I scared?’

McCurley’s cancer journey began in February 2024, when rising prostate-specific antigen levels signaled to doctors that a malignant growth could be developing. An MRI and biopsy confirmed a small cancerous tumor, measuring about 1 millimeter in diameter, or about the tip of a needle.

Doctors offered the 49-year-old preacher several treatment options, including radiation and proton therapy. He ultimately chose radical prostate surgery to remove the tumor.

“To me, I had cancer and I wanted it out,” McCurley said. “And it wasn’t hard to convince me.”

Chris McCurley preaches at the Walnut Street Church of Christ.

Although the surgery appeared successful, post-operation pathology revealed that the growth extended beyond the prostate capsule. Still, for nearly a year and a half, McCurley’s prostate-specific antigen levels remained undetectable.

In early 2026, as he prepared for the birth of his second grandchild, doctors found that the cancer had returned and progressed to stage four metastatic prostate cancer.

“I was scared. And I feel bad about that. I’m a man of faith. I’m a preacher. Why am I scared?”

“I was scared. And I feel bad about that,” McCurley said. “I’m a man of faith. I’m a preacher. Why am I scared?”

As the cancer spread to the bones, including the spine, femur and iliac bone, McCurley said he found peace in his relationship with God, leaning on a saying: “It’s you and me, no matter what, and it’s going to be OK.”

From that point forward, the diagnosis — and the faith that came along with it — became a daily reality, defined by chemotherapy treatments, long drives to Nashville and what he describes as unseen opportunities to share his faith.

‘This is life now — you’re a cancer patient’

After the stage four diagnosis, McCurley said the challenge shifted from treatment decisions to daily endurance. Working out at a higher intensity and taking naps on the couch in his church office became part of a new daily rhythm.

“This is life now,” he said. “You’re a cancer patient.”

For eight weeks, McCurley’s routine began early in the morning, with coffee and Bible reading before departing his Dickson home for the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. There, he underwent a series of 10- to 15-minute radiation treatments.

Chris McCurley walks down the driveway holding the hand of his granddaughter, Ash Jobe.

Waiting for him at many of those appointments was Trace Pierce, a radiation therapist at Vanderbilt and a fellow member of the Walnut Street church. Pierce first reached out after watching McCurley announce his diagnosis on Facebook, offering support and connections with medical resources at the hospital. As treatment progressed, the two developed a strong bond.

“The hardest part sometimes is just waking up every day and driving in for 39 treatments,” Pierce said. “That takes a toll in itself.”

As the weeks passed, McCurley began to feel the side effects of radiation on his body. But even on days when the preacher wasn’t feeling his best, Pierce said, few people in the waiting room and during his treatments would have known.

“He’d still come in, talk to everybody, ask how they were doing and offer to pray with them,” Pierce said. “That’s just who he is as a person.”

Those interactions became an unexpected blessing in a new season of life. McCurley said he does not miss the radiation, but he does miss the fellowship shared in waiting rooms and hospital hallways.

Chris McCurley and his wife, Libby, pose for a picture during a University of Arkansas baseball game.

“There is a sense where I’m going to miss these because you develop these friendships,” he said. “You sit in the lobby and meet these people who are there every day that had a brain tumor removed, and you get to sit there and counsel with them and do ministry, and they do ministry with you.”

The same openness that led McCurley in forming relationships at Vanderbilt reinforced a belief that had guided him throughout his walk: Even cancer can be a ministry.

“Cancer has been such a big blessing to me in so many ways,” he said. “There are things I would never have experienced if not for this diagnosis.”

‘This is a God story’

For the Walnut Street minister, that ministry did not end when he left Vanderbilt’s waiting room. Even with stage four metastatic cancer and ongoing hormone therapy through medication, McCurley continues preaching the glory of God. The cancer and an uncertain future remain, but so does his trust in faith, family and his belief that “God wins.”

Between treatments and sermon preparations, McCurley avoided turning his cancer journey into the focus of his mission. Instead, he documented every step through a series of Facebook posts, providing updates and showing appreciation for prayers.

What started as simple updates became a lifeline for many members of his congregation looking for ways to support their preaching minister.

“The videos keep us informed so we know how to pray for him,” said Joanne Brown, who has attended Walnut Street since 1976. “He’s definitely seeing that love and support full-fledged because of what he’s going through.”

The Walnut Street church’s sign references the hymn “Goodness of God.”

The updates also reflect a philosophy that, church leaders say, has defined McCurley’s ministry since he joined the congregation in 2022, long before his diagnosis.

“Ministry is not a thing you do on Sundays. It’s your life,” Walnut Street shepherd Brian Reagan said of McCurley, who’s authored multiple books and hosted over 200 episodes of the “Dear Church” podcast.. “Chris has extended that into speaking in very real, transparent terms about what’s going on in his life.”

“It’s a story about how God has navigated Chris McCurley through cancer, and how Chris McCurley is going to win because God wins.”

Even as the possibility of recurrence remains, McCurley said he does not view his story as one defined by illness but by faith. The bell at Vanderbilt marked the end of his radiation treatment but not of his ministry.

“This is not a Chris McCurley cancer story. This is a God story,” he said. “It’s a story about how God has navigated Chris McCurley through cancer, and how Chris McCurley is going to win because God wins.”

EPHRAIM RODENBACH, a sports journalism major at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn., is a Christian Chronicle intern. Contact ephraim@christianchronicle.org.

This is part of a series exploring the identity of Churches of Christ. Read more here.

Yet the name has served — for better or worse — as a way to help us identify and fellowship churches with a particular understanding of Scripture and how the church should look and function.

Likewise, Churches of Christ are not defined by the Restoration Movement, by Barton Stone or Alexander Campbell. We strive to be heirs of the first century church, following the examples we see in the New Testament.

But — again, for better or worse — Churches of Christ have an undeniable connection and influence from that movement, its leaders and its plea to restore New Testament Christianity.

As we consider “Who Are We?” during our yearlong series on the identity of our fellowship, The Christian Chronicle Editorial Board thought it useful to reflect on our individual views of why the Restoration plea is meaningful to us and how it fits with our connections to Churches of Christ. — Calvin Cockrell, for the Editorial Board.

“Christian friends within and beyond Churches of Christ don’t always agree on theology or practice, but we are unified by Christ and him crucified. May we make peace with all believers and let God sort out the differences. The fellowship as we know it may not endure, but I’m confident in the future of the kingdom.” — Cheryl Mann Bacon

“Sectarianism and power are fundamental longings of fallen human hearts. Unity based upon the teachings of Jesus, and often imperfectly embodied by his earliest disciples, offers a better alternative. At our best, Churches of Christ work toward such unity, granting the liberty to embody the Gospel across diverse settings.” — Jeremie Beller

“I value the commitment commonly held by Churches of Christ to Scripture and the examples of the New Testament. Our emulation may not be perfect, but the Restoration plea continually draws us back toward the truth and love of God and helps us resist the drift of the world.” — Calvin Cockrell

“The issue is what do we need to be restored to. The church of our parents is different than today, and young folks can learn from the past and our older saints. Today, older people need to break down cultural boundaries. Let’s talk to people and find out what people are doing.” — Hamil Harris

A Bible lay open to Acts 2, where thousands were baptized and added to the church on the Day of Pentecost.

“I think the Restoration plea calls the church to focus on what is true and unchanging, despite changes we experience over time. Looking at New Testament teachings and examples, I see the fellowship of the early church. One reason I participate in Churches of Christ is because I experience that type of relationship with other members.” — Kenzie James

“With sharp divisions taking place in America, and even within our brotherhood, it is critical for members of the Churches of Christ to remain clear-eyed regarding Jesus’ message on unity. How are we supposed to spread the Gospel if we can’t agree on what it means to be disciples?”— Trindi Mitchell

“I love the simplicity of striving to live and love like Jesus and finding truth and meaning in the stories and teachings of the Bible. It connects me to Churches of Christ because we share a common experience of relying on the Scriptures as our ultimate how-to guide.” — Bobby Ross Jr.

The questions seem to hang in the air, creating a lull in an hours-long dinner conversation.

Three Iranians — a married couple, Iliya and Naghme, and a guy who goes by Fred — sit at a backyard picnic table in a suburb of Birmingham. They’ve eaten their fill, but there are still plates full of grilled steak kebabs and sangak, Iranian whole wheat flatbread. Plenty to take home.

A worker at an Iranian supermarket in Birmingham, England, prepares a to-go order of sangak.

The conversation, in a mix of English and Farsi, roams from football to child-rearing to, inevitably, the war. The Iranians share the latest phone apps they use to reach their families back home. The government keeps shutting down access to the outside world, so the refugees search constantly for new ways to connect, new lifelines. Their host, an American missionary, excuses himself to check on his kids, who are playing inside with the Iranians’ children.

That’s when Fred asks the “what if” questions.

What if the Islamic Revolution of 1979 hadn’t happened? There would have been no hostage crisis, no nuclear program, perhaps no decades of animosity between Iran and the West. No mass killings of dissidents. No wave of refugees flooding from the Middle East into Europe.

But “would I know Jesus?” Fred asks.

The three Iranian Christians are part of what researcher David Garrison calls “A Wind in the House of Islam” that began soon after the revolution. As Iran’s Revolutionary Guard enforced a strict interpretation of Islam, interest in Christianity rose. The country went from fewer than 500 Christian converts to countless thousands meeting in secret, underground churches, Garrison wrote in his 2014 book.

Two years later, waves of Iranians, fleeing political and religious persecution, began a dangerous and deadly exodus into Turkey, then Greece. From there they spread across the European Union, Scandinavia and the British Isles as they petitioned for asylum.

Many, including Fred, brought their Christian faith to the post-Christian continent. Others, like Iliya and Naghme, became Christians here.

Iranian and American Christians prepare a meal at a missionary’s home near Birmingham, England.

Now, despite attacks on their homeland by the U.S., they worship alongside Americans, Brits, Kurds and other nationalities.

Perhaps none of it would have happened, Fred says, without Iran’s hardline regime.

“I think that’s God’s plan,” he adds. “God’s plan makes someone’s heart hard, like Pharaoh, to show his glory.”

Ramadan at the Ramada

“Peaky Blinders,” Ozzy Osbourne and mosques.

Birmingham is known for all three.

People in Birmingham walk past a tribute mural for Black Sabbath and its frontman, the late Ozzy Osbourne.

The United Kingdom’s second-largest city was home to the Peakys, notorious street gangs in the early 1900s who inspired the gritty Netflix series. Decades later, Birmingham gave birth to Osbourne, the self-proclaimed “Prince of Darkness,” and his heavy metal band, Black Sabbath.

Now, nearly one-third of Birmingham’s residents claim Islam as their faith, making them the largest religious group in the city. Their parents and grandparents came from Pakistan, Bangladesh and other former British colonies to fill labor shortages after World War II. In recent years, Birmingham has welcomed refugees from war-torn nations including Sudan, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Iran. Since the mid-1990s, Iranians who profess Christ in Britain have grown from about 100 to several thousand, according to estimates by the Evangelical Alliance, a London-based church network.

A sign points to the Ramada Hotel, a temporary home for many Iranian refugees in England.

Many of the refugees find shelter in an old Ramada hotel, which most pronounce like “Ramadan,” the Islamic holy month of prayer and fasting. The missionary who hosted Fred, Iliya and Naghme at his home has made many friends at the hotel in the past three years.

The missionary, who goes by C.M., and his family moved here as part of a disciple-making movement supported by Churches of Christ in the U.S. Like most of those interviewed by The Christian Chronicle for this report, he requested that his full name be withheld, citing security concerns.

Members of Birmingham’s Kurdish community participate in a demonstration by the Dakok Support Centre, a charity that supports the Kurdish community in the United Kingdom. Kurds are an ethnic minority in Iran.

C.M., a marathoner, works with a refugee running club — a therapeutic activity for those coping with trauma. The camaraderie can lead to discussions about Christ, he says.

Iranians are among “the most hospitable people I’ve ever met,” C.M. says. “They’re so community centric. We’ve had to learn that. Any time you go over to somebody’s house, or whenever they come to ours, it’s basically a minimum four-hour gathering. We have adapted and really enjoy the amount of time that we get together.”

Faith through dystopia and dreams

In addition to running, the missionary and the Iranians have bonded over their love of movies, especially “Interstellar,” Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending epic from 2014 about mankind’s flight from a dying Earth and its search for a new home. The film has become a running gag in the missionary’s home. Whenever there’s a spare moment, an Iranian Christian inevitably asks, “Can we start ‘Interstellar’?”

The dystopian movie’s plot and its hopeful conclusion resonate with Iranian Christ-seekers, as do their own dreams. Since 2018, Iranians interviewed by the Chronicle have described visions of the cross and dreams about Jesus that played a role in their conversion.   

For Iliya and Naghme, “what really drew us in was the way Christians treated us,” Iliya says. “We saw kindness, support and genuine care in the people around us. They welcomed us without judging us and helped us feel accepted and valued.”

A “narrowboat” navigates a canal in Birmingham, England. The city has 35 miles of canals, which played a pivitol role in the development of Birmingham’s economy in the 1800s and early 1900s.

When they fled Iran and moved to Birmingham, “we were searching for peace, purpose and a deeper connection with God,” Iliya says. As they studied the Bible with their new friends, “we were inspired by the teachings of Jesus — especially about loving others, forgiving people, helping those in need and having faith during difficult times. … Life is still not perfect, but we feel like we have more direction, purpose and comfort now than before.”

The gospel message appeals to those who grow up practicing Iran’s state religion, Shia Islam, Garrison writes in “A Wind in the House of Islam.” Unlike Sunni Muslims, Shiites believe that spiritual and political authority resides in a lineage of imams descended from the prophet Muhammad’s daughter, Fatima. Most Shiites believe in a divinely ordained line of 12 imams, the last of which disappeared after his birth. Shiites believe that this imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, will return at the end of time to establish peace and justice and redeem Islam.

Iranian children know this messianic prophecy, but they aren’t taught the truth about Christianity, says an Iranian Christian named Bita.

Locks adorn a bridge over one of the many canals in Birmingham, England.

“In Iran, they told us that Christians have three gods,” Bita says. That’s what she believed until political persecution forced her to flee Iran. She spent time in Istanbul, Turkey, where a friend gave her a Bible. During a health crisis that required surgery, Bita prayed to God and recovered. She moved to Birmingham and got a job in customer service. She studied her Bible with Christians and learned more about the faith, including the nature of the Trinity.

“In Iran, they told us that Christians have three gods. … I never thought Christianity could be like this.”

Three years ago, she was baptized. Now she’s part of a community that loves, prays for and supports each other.

“I never thought Christianity could be like this,” Bita says.

Praying for ‘an early jubilee’

One night after the backyard gathering, Bita, C.M. and other Christians gather for a prayer service hosted by a Birmingham church. The believers form circles of chairs and listen to a brief devotional from the book of Exodus focusing on the word “magnify.”

A Muslim man walks through a neighborhood in Birmingham, England.

When the Israelites were trapped between Pharaoh’s army and the Red Sea, they chose to magnify the impossibilities of their situation rather than God, one of the church’s ministers says. In the same way, Iranian Christians may be tempted to magnify problems with their asylum applications or the uncertainty of their nation’s future.

“God is so much greater than these little impossibilities,” the minister says. “You’re helping your mental health when you say, ‘I cannot sort this all myself.’”

The Christians take turns sitting in chairs in the middle of the circles as their fellow believers surround them in prayer. They ask for healing, for blessings, for the safety of their loved ones and for their homeland to know peace and justice.

“Can I have an early jubilee? Would you do that for us?” asks Graham Vallis, a British Christian, as he prays with one hand on the shoulder of his Iranian brother. In the book of Leviticus, God instructed his people to observe a year in which debts are forgiven, land is returned to its original owners, and slaves are set free. It was to happen every 50 years.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has been in power for 47.

Regardless of how the coming years unfold, Iranian Christians believe that God is at work in their lives and their homeland.

At a missionary’s home in Birmingham, American and Iranian Christians enjoy desserts including a box of gaz (nougat filled with roasted pistachios) as they play hokm, an Iranian card game similar to spades.

“Sometimes you are sleeping, and God needs to wake you up to have you travel to another land, just like Israel,” Fred says.

Even living under a repressive regime, people can cling to their families and become comfortable. “But something is missed,” he says. “It’s God’s presence, the real God’s presence.”

Across Iran and the Middle East “God is shaking,” Fred adds with a grin. “God is shaking those countries to let his people out.”

ERIK TRYGGESTAD is President and CEO of The Christian Chronicle. Contact erik@christianchronicle.org.

Given that this particular conference was for the Evangelical Press Association, that didn’t surprise me. But an a cappella church service, sung from hand-held hymnals? That was not on my bingo card!

Three of us from The Christian Chronicle attended this year’s conference in the crowded Nashville suburb of Franklin, and I was the only one from our Oklahoma City office. I think that’s a good indicator of how the Chronicle has grown in recent years. Calvin Cockrell, our managing editor, drove up from his home in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and our intern, Ephraim Rodenbach, came from nearby Murfreesboro, where he’s a student at Middle Tennessee State University.

Erik Tryggestad takes a selfie with Christian music singer Jason Gray at the EPA convention.

Being in Nashville, the conference had to start with music. Singer/songwriter Jason Gray played some of his latest work, including a great one about responding to today’s culture of outrage called “Jesus Loves You (And I’m Trying).” He also did his hit “Remind Me Who I Am.”

After dinner, we spent the evening with Keith and Kristyn Getty, a songwriting couple from Northern Ireland who collaborated with Stuart Townend to give the world “In Christ Alone.”

The Gettys recently produced “The Sing! Hymnal,” a slick compendium of 900 worship songs from past and present.

Calvin and I thumbed through the pages in search of our fellowship’s national anthem, “Our God, He Is Alive,” but to no avail.

We’ll have to paste it on the inside back cover and call it No. 900b.

The Gettys had a keyboard on their little stage at the front of the conference room, so I figured we’d be listening to some instrumental versions of contemporary hymns they’d written. Instead, Keith asked us to turn in our hymnals to No. 4, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” The song, written in 1826 by Reginald Heber, may be “the perfect hymn,” he said, in terms of lyrics, structure and balance.

Erik Tryggestad poses with Keith and Kristyn Getty at the EPA convention.

Keith wanted all of us to sing it.

“And can we do this a cappella?” he asked.

The room — filled with Baptists, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, the Salvation Army and more — answered with a resounding yes. I jumped up to film. The sound was absolutely heavenly. It felt like home. I told Calvin and Ephraim that I was going to post the video to TikTok and tell everyone it was from the first worship service of the Cool Springs Marriott Church of Christ.

Good hymns communicate “truth beyond the scratches on the paper,” Keith said. “God created with words, and words have creative power. They can speak new realities into existence.”

Keith advocates for churches to sing three old hymns for every new one they bring into a worship service “because the great hymns are a 50-year gift to people,” he told me after the service, “whereas a modern hymn is a five-year gift.”

Evangelical Press Association members sing “Holy, Holy, Holy” a cappella from “The Sing! Hymnal.”

Newer hymns tend to be “more transient,” his wife added.

He gave hymn No. 434, “Be Thou My Vision,” as an example. It’s based on a 10th century Irish poem (sometimes attributed to Dallán Forgaill, who was blind) and turned into a hymn by Mary Elizabeth Byrne and Eleanor Hull in the early 1900s.

The verses guide the believer through life, Keith said. The first, “Be thou my vision,” asks God to give us a sense of purpose and mission as we start out. “Be thou my wisdom” in the second verse is a prayer that our minds would grow. “Be thou my battle shield,” verse three, asks God to save us from temptation, and verse four builds on that by warning about the temptations of riches and “man’s empty praise.” Finally, verse five focuses on the end of earthly life. “May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heav’n’s Sun!”

Micah Voraritskul speaks on “AI Strategy for Gospel-Centered Content” during the EPA convention. Voraritskul is the founder of VerifiedHuman, a global certification platform for human-created work. His uncle, Verasak “Kim” Voraritskul, is a longtime worker with Churches of Christ in Khon Kaen, Thailand.

The rest of the conference touched on a variety of timely topics — artificial intelligence, covering controversial topics, intergenerational communication and more. But the musicians who launched the gathering provided a firm foundation for our endeavors. Throughout my time at the Cool Springs Marriott, I had multiple songs — some by the Gettys, some by Jason Gray and some by songwriters who lived hundreds of years before them — stuck in my head.

I guess that’s what great hymns do. They remind us who we are.

ERIK TRYGGESTAD is President and CEO of The Christian Chronicle. Contact erik@christianchronicle.org.

Sadly, the case remains unsolved after 63 years.

Deana Hamby Nall and Mike S. Allen. “The Abduction of Mrs. Ruby Lowery Stapleton.” Independently published. 2025. 264 pages. $14.95.

The prologue starts with a beautiful description of central Arkansas’ woods in October, with just enough suspense to encourage the reader to turn the page.

The picture was clear for me, a current Harding student, and elicited memories of fall days spent hiking at Petit Jean State Park or Sugarloaf Mountain 100 miles southwest of campus.

Nall and Allen’s storytelling immediately drew me in. As I dove further into the English teacher’s story, there were moments I forgot I was reading.

I researched the Stapleton case for Harding’s student newspaper, The Bison, in October 2025. But I was pleasantly surprised to read anecdotes in Nall and Allen’s book that I hadn’t discovered.

The authors did an excellent job of incorporating stories that described various aspects of all the characters in Stapleton’s story.

Two stories in particular were new to me: one about Ruby’s memories from Mother’s Day in 1963 and another about E.R. Stapleton, Ruby’s husband, during the 1942 cotton harvest.

I found the story about E.R. interesting because it revealed a lighthearted and competitive side of his character — depth that I had not seen during my own research.

Interview transcripts and comments from others in the book portray E.R. in a different manner — as a suspect.

Nall and Allen’s book is a thoroughly researched and extremely detailed account of Stapleton’s case.

They present a comprehensive timeline of the events connected with the abduction and investigation. One aspect I particularly appreciate about the timeline is the context for the time of Ruby Stapleton’s disappearance outside of the “Harding bubble.”

It’s easy to forget sometimes, but life goes on outside of campus. Big events were happening in 1963. Earlier in the fall semester, Harding President George Benson announced the school was desegregating.

Shortly after Stapleton’s body was found, local and national media focused on another tragedy: President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in November 1963. The news and federal law enforcement, as Nall and Allen describe, shifted their efforts away from the Stapleton case and toward the assassination.

There are two memorials for Stapleton on Harding’s campus: a portrait on the second floor of the Brackett Library and an engraved brick on the front lawn. The Writing Center inside the university’s library will also be renamed to honor Stapleton in August.

“The Abduction of Mrs. Ruby Lowery Stapleton” is a factual, engaging presentation of the Stapleton case.

All who read it — whether they are familiar with the story, are true crime fans or are reading Stapleton’s story for the first time — will close the book with a thorough knowledge of this complex case and the impact it still has today.

KENZIE JAMES is a senior multimedia journalism major at Harding University in Searcy, Ark. and returning Christian Chronicle intern. James grew up in Tallahassee, Fla., where she attended the Timberlane Church of Christ.

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But in this modern European capital with biblical roots, the nations come to them, often as refugees.

Known as a bridge to Europe, Greece is the easiest country for refugees from Africa and the Middle East to access. Hundreds of thousands of people of different nationalities pass through the country each year. This presents the opportunity for Churches of Christ to reach many people.

The Glyfada Church of Christ adapted to the variety of people by offering nine services during the week in five languages: Greek, Russian, English, Farsi and Albanian.

Some refugees stay in Athens for years, while others are only in the city for months. This transitory pattern changed how the ministers and missionaries at the congregation approached ministry.

“You’re going to think about, ‘I have this short time so I need to be prepared,’” said Ebrahim Fatahi, a member who helps lead the Farsi and Greek services. “How to approach them, how to bring them to the church, how to teach them enough that they can understand what is the plan of salvation, to be saved. Then when they leave, to tell them it’s important to be part of the church and then find them a church in other parts of Europe.”

Ebrahim Fatahi helps lead the Farsi and Greek services at the Glyfada Church of Christ.

Fatahi arrived in Greece in 2017 through Samos Island as a refugee from Iran. Through worshiping and now ministering at the Glyfada congregation, he experienced the effects of the changing number of refugees firsthand. When Fatahi started worshiping with the church, he said anywhere from 80 to 150 people attended the Farsi-speaking service.

He said attendance — and the general population of Farsi-speaking refugees in Athens — decreased in 2019 partially because many refugees from the 2015 European migrant crisis received papers to move to other countries. Today, Fatahi added, the average attendance at the Farsi service is between 30 and 40 members.

Dino Roussos, minister for the Glyfada Church of Christ, sings from a Greek hymnal.

Fatahi said that when refugees who become Christians leave for other countries, it is a bittersweet experience for the preachers at Glyfada. They do not witness firsthand the growth of new believers, but they do hear about what those Christians are doing when they settle in other countries.

“It’s a joy, and it’s sad, and sometimes it’s strange,” Fatahi said.

Overcoming challenges and change

Missionaries Keith and Tricia Young, who worship at the Glyfada congregation, learned to adapt to the flow of refugees through Athens when they arrived in October 2021. The couple expected to work exclusively with Farsi-speaking refugees, but when they arrived, there were a lot of Ukrainian refugees because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The Youngs adapted and began working with the Ukrainian refugees at the church. They later connected with nonprofit Hellenic Ministries and began serving Farsi-speaking refugees in the community.

“We never dreamed that we’d be working with the Ukrainian outreach and the Farsi,” Tricia said. “The Ukrainian outreach has taken off so much with so many people being baptized and starting to learn more about Jesus.”

Missionaries Tricia and Keith Young sit in a tree as they explore Athens with friends.

The couple attends the Greek, Russian/Ukrainian and Farsi-speaking worship services but said it has been hard for all the small groups to feel like one congregation. However, Young said that since the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders have encouraged interaction between the ethnic groups, and there is more crossover now. The smallest group at Glyfada is actually the Greek population, but Young said this gives the church more opportunities to evangelize.

“It gives the ministers here other audiences that might be more receptive,” Young said. “The refugee population has been the most receptive, especially the Iranian population. They were unhappy with what they had at home and they’re looking for something better.”

“It was traumatic for them when we talked about Jesus. This is the story they know, having to travel, going to Egypt to be in a safe place. They knew that story. It was their story, too.”

Young’s wife, Tricia, who teaches the children’s class during the Farsi service, said some of the children were receptive to the lessons because they could relate to the Bible stories.

“It was traumatic for them when we talked about Jesus,” Tricia said. “This is the story they know, having to travel, going to Egypt to be in a safe place. They knew that story. It was their story, too.”

The ebb and flow of refugees

The refugees with whom Fatahi and the Youngs work are some of hundreds of thousands of people seeking refuge in Greece. According to the International Rescue Committee, there are 214,000 refugees and 20,000 asylum-seekers in the country this year.

Major world events influence the number of refugees — and the countries from which they primarily come. Fatahi first saw the effects of the 2015 European migrant crisis, when over 821,000 refugees arrived in Europe through Greece.

A sign notes the Greek and English meeting times for the Glyfada Church of Christ.

A few years later, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Athens Institute for Education and Research President Gregory T. Papanikos said the government implemented strict border controls, temporarily reducing the flow of refugees and migrants.

Next, the Ukrainian refugee population in Greece increased with the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war. Papanikos wrote in an October 2022 paper that the Greek government welcomed large numbers of Ukrainian refugees — about 32,600 arrived from January to May 2022.

Ministers for the Glyfada Church of Christ in Athens, Greece, sing during a worship service. From left, they are Ebrahim Fatahi, Dimitrios Argyropoulos and Dino Roussos.

However, that meant the number of refugees accepted from other countries decreased.

One of the most recent world conflicts that could affect refugees in Greece is the war between Iran and the joint U.S.-Israeli forces. However, data from the Ministry of Migration in Asylum does not indicate a significant increase in Iranian refugees.

Leonid Ivanov

“To my knowledge, there is no clear evidence of (Iranian outmigration because of the war) or at least no official record,” Papanikos said. “Current reports from international organizations suggest that, despite significant internal displacement within Iran, there has not been a major cross-border exodus so far.”

Leonid Ivanov, Hellenic Ministries’ director of compassion ministry, has served with the nonprofit since 2017 and also observed the flow of refugees through working in the community. Ivanov, who came to Athens as a refugee from eastern Ukraine, said he remembered the years when refugees in Athens were primarily Farsi-speaking, and the nonprofit served over 500 meals daily. Then, he said, the majority were African refugees, and today, there are many Ukrainian refugees.

“The most rewarding (thing) about ministering to the refugee community is to see the transformation in the lives of refugees,” Ivanov said. “Of course, I mean first the spiritual transformation. … It’s great to see how Muslims become Christian. It’s good to see how people can integrate into society, into Athens.”

“The most rewarding (thing) about ministering to the refugee community is to see the transformation in the lives of refugees.”

If refugees choose to stay in Greece, like Fatahi, or if they only stay for a few months, the ministers at Glyfada serve however they can — by helping with housing accommodations, food distribution and of course, sharing the Gospel.

“Here, they find fellowship,” Glyfada minister Dino Roussos said. “It’s not just salvation for eternity, which is the most important, but while we’re on this earth, we need to have good fellowship and a good place. This is a refuge for those who are hurting and trying to find the truth.”

KENZIE JAMES is a senior multimedia journalism major at Harding University in Searcy, Ark., and a returning Christian Chronicle intern. James grew up in Tallahassee, Fla., where she attended the Timberlane Church of Christ. Contact kenzie@christianchronicle.org.

Featured image (above): Allen Wai Jang, right, receives American Tai Chi & Qigong Association Master status from Master Chung Wu from the Maryland Institute for Tai Chi Arts.

ALABAMA

FLORENCE — Hundreds of souls gathered on the grounds of the Mars Hill Bible School for an old-fashioned tent revival.

Twelve local Churches of Christ helped organize the event, which met five evenings on the Larimore Lawn. It’s the former site of noted Restoration Movement preacher T.B. Larimore’s home and the Mars Hill Academy he founded in 1871.

Larimore later changed the name to Mars Hill College and ran the school until 1887. The current K-12 school opened in 1947.

Hundreds of north Alabamians worship during a tent revival at the Mars Hill Bible School.

Attendees at the revival packed in and around a large white tent — with standing-room only Wednesday night — to hear a gospel message.

Guest preachers at the meeting included area ministers and Bible School teachers — Matt Heupel, Brad Adcock, Frank Mills, Harrison Chastain, Dewayne Tapscott — who spoke on the authority of Christ, Christ and his church, the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son and the Great Commission.

A contribution each night supported several local ministries: Isaiah’s Call, North Alabama Christian Children’s Home, the University of North Alabama Christian Student Center, Heritage Christian University and World Evangelism Missions.

MISSOURI

ST. LOUIS — The Christian Academy of Greater St. Louis celebrated its 50th graduating class, deemed the “Golden Graduation.”

The small K-12 school was founded in 1976 and is associated with Churches of Christ.

The academy hosted a series of celebratory events in honor of its anniversary, including a Kick-off Celebration Picnic, Coming Home Celebration and Appreciation Celebration Luncheon — dedicated to founders, donors and leaders who helped shape the school’s mission of “preparing students to live a life of value and meaning to God, society, and self.”

The 50th graduating class of the Christian Academy of Greater St. Louis celebrates commencement.

At the commencement, the nine graduating seniors stood alongside alumni from the academy’s first graduating class and a founding board member, Bob McGuire.

“The Class of 2026 joins a legacy of alumni who have gone on to serve in ministry, medicine, education and the military, with most of CA graduates pursuing higher education, military service and the trades,” the school said in a statement.

The academy also celebrates the retirement of longtime administrator and former student Carla J. Payne, who served as head of school for 35 years.

Payne was also an inaugural student, attending from 1976 to 1980.

TEXAS

FRITCH — Ministry League, a free app that for more than a decade has offered lyrics to hundreds of worship and devotional songs, launched a major update.

Developed by Tyler Brassfield, a member of the Fritch Church of Christ in Texas, the app has been rebranded as The Ministry Network.

In addition to Ministry League’s songbook and podcasts and teaching materials by members of Churches of Christ, the app refresh introduces Anchor Studio — a collection of devotional and study books with podcasts by the book authors.

The Ministry Network app offers new features.

The app also serves as a resource for participants of Exposure Youth Camp — an annual youth event in Huntsville, Ala. Attendees can register and access the schedule, news, keynotes and more.

“The app’s intent is to help provide materials, opportunities (and) knowledge for those in ministry both professionally and vocationally to spread the Word,” Brassfield said.

The new app rolled out alongside the Ministry Summit at the Piedmont Road Church of Christ in Marietta, Ga.

NEWSMAKERS

AWARDED — JOANNA ESTES, the Girl Scout Silver Award for her project, “Brighten Up the Blahs.” Joanna made flowers and butterflies from pipe cleaners to add color to the rooms of a hospital where she stayed during her treatment for rhabdomyosarcoma. She and her parents worship with the Memorial Road Church of Christ in Oklahoma City. ALLEN WAI JANG, Master status from the American Tai Chi & Qigong Association. Jang is a member of the Sierra Madre Church of Christ in California. MELVIN L. OTEY, the Student Organization Faculty Advisor of the Year award from Faulkner University in Montgomery, Ala.

From left, Joanna Estes, Malik Beauford, Destiny Calderon, Erica and Jason Noble.

HONORED — MALIK BEAUFORD and DESTINY CALDERON as Mr. and Miss Falcon Athletics by Florida College in Temple Terrace, Fla. JASON and ERICA NOBLE for 20 years of service to the Friendly Avenue Church of Christ in Greensboro, N.C., where Jason is preaching minister.

NAMED — JEREMY ASHLIN, JENNA GOVE and KATIE WAMPLER to the theatre department at Harding University. BETTY BRUSH and GARRY STEINBACH to the board of directors of Program for Humanitarian Aid, a Texas-based nonprofit that serves vulnerable Ukrainians and is supported by Churches of Christ. GRANT BURNS, head men’s basketball coach for Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tenn. The FHU Lions are defending NAIA National Champions. KENNETH HAWLEY, dean of the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation Honors College and KREGG FEHR, Dean of the J.E. and Eileen Hancock College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at Lubbock Christian University in Texas. ANDY MITCHELL, evangelist for the Wellsburg Church of Christ in West Virginia.

Featured photo (above): A long line of believers waits to be baptized in the Kenyan village of Bunjosi.

BERMUDA

DEVONSHIRE — “Because Bermuda is a wealthy island, many feel they do not need God,” said missionary Larry Waymire. Students at the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Bermuda “are reaching out to show the importance of trusting God’s Word rather than the word of man, man-made religions or the riches of this world.”

The school, which recently completed its first year of operation with 16 students, offers classes for two hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays and four hours on Saturdays. Waymire, of Caribbean Ministries, teaches along with ministers from Bermuda and the Trinidad School of Preaching.

“Most of the students work full-time jobs and have families,” Waymire said, “yet they and their families make the sacrifice to attend class.” The school’s director, Keithlyn Fleming, is an elder of the Brighton Hill Church of Christ in Devonshire. Fleming works two jobs in addition to his duties for the church and school.

“Pray for our students as they continue preparing to bring lost souls to Christ,” Waymire said. “It may be your prayer that opens the next door to a searching heart.”

CHINA

MACAU — This special administrative region of China, a small peninsula and group of islands on the South China Sea, is the gambling capital of the world, boasting a casino industry several times larger than that of Las Vegas. It’s also the home of the Macau Church of Christ, a congregation of predominantly Filipino immigrants who come to the region for work. In addition to worship services, the church hosts regular singing practices and recently welcomed ministry interns from Heritage Bible School in Baguio City, Philippines.

HAITI

SANTO — In a country with a collapsed government, torn apart by gang violence, Christians continue to spread the Gospel. The International School of Theology, which meets in a small town near Port-au-Prince, reported 149 new believers and three new Churches of Christ during the first quarter of 2026. Many congregations meet in small groups as a safety precaution, church members said.

KENYA

BUNJOSI — Daniel Gaines recently shared a photo of 41 people waiting in line to be baptized in a pond in this village in western Kenya. The World Bible School correspondence ministry played a role in the conversions, said Gaines, director of Tanzanian Missions.

NICARAGUA

MANAGUA — Nearly 1,000 Christian women gathered for the recent Church of Christ National Women’s Fellowship. “Women of Impact: Shining to Edify” was the theme, based on Matthew 5:14-16. Josefina Sánchez of the León Church of Christ in Managua was the keynote speaker.

The National Ladies’ Committee organized the event, said Gaby Medrano, a committee member from Masatepe, Nicaragua.

Gaby Medrano, far right, and fellow Christian take a quick selfie during the Church of Christ National Women’s Fellowship in Managua, Nicaragua.

The committee worked tirelessly for a year to raise funds, Medrano told The Christian Chronicle, so that participants wouldn’t be asked for “a single córdoba (Nicaragua’s currency) in payment.”

“The Word of God was present from morning until late afternoon,” she added, “and God’s presence was palpable. … I believe the event was a resounding success, evidenced by the fact that sisters traveled from every department (state) of the country to attend.” An international women’s conference is scheduled for October in Nicaragua.

UKRAINE

KYIV — More than 40 women attended “God’s Garden,” an event hosted by a Church of Christ in the Ukrainian capital twice each year. In addition to taking deep dives into Scripture and participating in a talent show, attendees spent time “sharing life, supporting one another and just enjoying the day,” organizer Natalia Maliuga said.

“I am truly grateful to God for every sister, for every woman, who comes to our community in search of truth and meaning,” said Maliuga, administrative director for the Ukrainian Bible Institute. “It’s especially valuable to realize that many of us met after 2022 (when Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began). Back then, in the spring, our hall was almost empty. And today we see the Lord blessing and growing our community.”

ZAMBIA

LIVINGSTONE — Even during vacation breaks, students at the Southern Africa Bible College find opportunities to preach and teach.

Take Vincent Simwanza, for example. During a recent break from his studies at the Benoni, South Africa, school, he cared for his ailing mother and also spoke to three churches — the Riverside Church of Christ in Livingstone (his home congregation) and the Luanshya Central and Kamfinsa Churches of Christ, both in Zambia’s Copperbelt province.

The Kamfinsa church “is a congregation of particular significance,” Simwanza said. “The church had closed its doors during the COVID-19 pandemic, with members dispersing and the building eventually being taken over by a denomination. However, in 2024, by God’s grace, the building was reclaimed by the church. There are now two evangelists actively serving and ministering to the congregation.”

That may seem like a lot of moving around, and it is, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I enjoy staying busy and being on-the-go. It’s normal for my friends to see me walking around campus, often with my camera or a coffee in hand. I’m probably between interviews for The Bison, photographing events or working at the student-run broadcast, HU16 — and sometimes, going to class.

My habit of being on the go developed because I grew up traveling with my family, going on summer vacations and making cross-country trips to visit relatives.

The Bison staff take a selfie while dressed up as Newsies for Halloween.

When I started at Harding three years ago, my travels expanded internationally. I spent a semester in Europe, where my friends and I trekked nonstop and visited 13 countries in three months.

I love exploring new places, but I also learned to appreciate returning to places I’d already visited.

When I studied abroad in fall 2024, my group stayed in Greece for two weeks. Some of the cities we explored included Porto Rafti, Athens and Corinth. For spring break this year, I returned to Greece for a communication class.

When we visited each city again, I felt calm as I recalled memories of roaming the streets with my friends.

Kenzie James works as a camera operator during a basketball game at Harding University in Searcy, Ark.

However, what I valued about returning to Greece was experiencing parts of each city that I didn’t see the first time. Spending a week or two in one location limited our experiences, so I was excited to focus on other aspects of the culture.

I’m experiencing similar feelings back in the Chronicle’s office in Oklahoma City — both the calm and excitement of returning to a place I’ve been before.

Those emotions may seem contradictory, but somehow, I feel them simultaneously.

Kenzie James poses for a photo at the Temple of Poseidon in Cape Sounion, Greece.

It was a very different story last summer. I had only spent a week in Oklahoma before my internship with the Chronicle, so I was a little nervous to be in an unfamiliar place and meet new people.

That feeling disappeared quickly.

I loved my time in OKC, and my internship had a huge impact on me as a journalist, specifically in my writing. I was the news editor for The Bison last year, and there were many times that I revised my articles because I could imagine what Chronicle Editor-in Chief Bobby Ross Jr. would say if he were editing the story.

Looking back at my introduction article from last year, I can proudly say I’ve grown as a writer because I struggled slightly less writing this intro.

Kenzie James produces a broadcast for HU16 at Harding University in Searcy, Ark.

When I drove into OKC this year, I felt calm. It’s a city I am now comfortable in, and I was excited to return to friends and co-workers at the office. My internship this year will be different, focusing on audio and video content. I don’t know what exactly my digital projects will be, but I look forward to finding out.

I’m excited to be in a new role in a familiar place.

KENZIE JAMES is a senior multimedia journalism major at Harding University in Searcy, Ark., and a returning Christian Chronicle intern. James grew up in Tallahassee, Fla., where she attended the Timberlane Church of Christ. Contact kenzie@christianchronicle.org.

Let me arrange the scene for you — or at least offer as good a view as you can get from a short college student from Middle Tennessee.

I joined the Bagdad Church of Christ following the death of my late father, Stacey Rodenbach. I grew up within the church but found a new home in a congregation nestled among the rolling hills of Pleasant Shade, Tenn.

In a season of loss, I found a family that welcomed my mother, Tracey, and me with outstretched arms and countless illuminating smiles. That fellowship helped me climb out of a hole, following the passing of someone who shaped who I am now.

Bagdad elder Tim Agee opens a worship service with a Scripture reading during the church’s 200th homecoming.

Every time I entered the small wooden church, an open handshake at the door and laughter shared among friends generated something many in my generation seek — genuine connection. That sense of connection led me to The Christian Chronicle.

Through countless headlines amid an ever-changing media landscape, the Chronicle provided a place for community with people who share and proclaim the love of Jesus. Every article offered a new perspective on God and how his Word impacts our lives.

With the Chronicle constantly filling my inbox and becoming a regular topic of discussion around my dinner table, I somehow completely missed the opportunity for the very internship I am writing about today.

One of my greatest journalism mentors from Smith County High School, Jason Robert Smith, suggested I apply for the internship.

Rodenbach enjoys Nashville barbecue with Chronicle President and CEO Erik Tryggestad, Managing Editor Calvin Cockrell and correspondent Ted Parks.

Without missing a beat, I filled out the application, hoping to spend my summer strengthening my faith.

What I didn’t expect was a call — or rather, email — back and the subsequent meetings confirming me as one of two summer interns for the Chronicle.

Ephraim Rodenbach, second from right, and fellow MTSU Sidelines staffers meet in Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium.

The reason for my surprise was hilariously simple: I do not attend Harding University, where many interns before me began their journalism careers. Now you may wonder — or not — where else a Chronicle intern could possibly attend college?

I attend Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, where I serve as managing editor of the student newspaper, MTSU Sidelines. I previously worked as the co-sports editor.

Rodenbach sorts issues of The Christian Chronicle at the 2026 Evangelical Press Association convention in Franklin, Tenn.

Throughout my sophomore year, I tackled everything from covering MTSU’s club hockey program to photographing events around campus.

However, my goal at the Chronicle is to tell stories that glorify God and the good work of the Gospel. With this endeavor in mind, I’m blessed to learn from members of the Chronicle staff who proclaim God’s work through storytelling.

I may not have expected this opportunity, but perhaps that’s the beauty of it all. God often creates paths far greater than the ones we plan for ourselves.

Now, as I pray before this immense opportunity, I hope that same connection, encouragement and love that first drew me to the Chronicle shine through the content that I create.

EPHRAIM RODENBACH, a sports journalism major at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn., is a Christian Chronicle intern. Contact ephraim@christianchronicle.org.

At the congregation’s 150th homecoming celebration in 2009, more than 150 members filled the pews.

The Owen Chapel Church of Christ sign on Franklin Road displays service times.

But for years, numbers dwindled as church elders dipped into the congregation’s trust fund to keep the lights on.

Elsewhere in the Nashville area, a group of Christians, unsettled by a doctrinal disagreement with their church’s elders, was looking for a new home.

“There was a group of people who were looking for help, and there was another group of people looking for a place to help,” said Dan Harrell, Owen Chapel’s minister. “And God brought us together.”

Arrival of ‘Cowboy Dan’

In 2024, Owen Chapel placed advertisements searching for a new minister. From that search came Harrell, a West Texas native better known to the congregation as “Cowboy Dan.”

A graduate of Abilene Christian University, Harrell moved to Middle Tennessee as an aspiring songwriter before building a career in agriculture. Outside of his ministry, he creates songs that spotlight agriculture while sharing his faith.

“Cowboy Dan” Harrell preaches to members of the Owen Chapel Church of Christ.

Known for his cowboy boots and Western style, he quickly brought a friendly, outgoing presence to the congregation.

Before his arrival, Sunday attendance had fallen to 10 to 15 worshipers.

“Then here comes Dan, who brings in warmth and hugging, like everybody is coming together as a group.”

“Then here comes Dan, who brings in warmth and hugging, like everybody is coming together as a group,” longtime member Sharon Cummings said.

Outside his bandana-print ties and country drawl, Harrell also brought about 70 Christians from a Bible study at his previous congregation, where the doctrinal dispute occurred. Soon, new faces filled the wooden white pews.

Members of the Owen Chapel Church of Christ laugh during a Sunday service.

For Cummings and other longtime members, the new arrivals breathed life into a church that had struggled to keep its doors open.

The influx required a few adjustments for the old-timers. For example, they were used to hearing the names of everyone on the prayer list during announcements. The growth meant a running list in the bulletin — too long to recite out loud each Sunday.

“We had a few discussions about it,” Cummings said of the prayer list. “We just needed to know, where do we go from here? How do we mesh it together?”

‘Kept moving forward’

The question of how to mesh together two groups of Christians with different traditions created a new church environment built on an ongoing conversation.

“When you bring two groups together, you’re going to have changes,” Harrell said. “But we’ve worked through them and kept moving forward.”

Dale Denny leads a hymn during worship.

The congregation’s growth also drew in Jerry Jennings, now one of Owen Chapel’s three elders. After his wife’s death, Jennings searched for a new church home. What first caught his attention was a full parking lot, up from five or six cars on Sunday.

Word had spread among neighbors that Owen Chapel was filling the pews. Intrigued, Jennings visited and found his new spiritual home.

“I walked in, and I already knew most of the people here,” the shepherd said. “It was kind of a ready-made family for me.”

Tradition and change

Over the last two years, the church’s growth has blended tradition with change. New technology includes a modern speaker system, a microphone passed around during Bible study and television screens displaying hymns and Scripture readings.

While the congregation has experienced a revival and technological updates, much of the original building remains unchanged.

Owen Chapel’s meetinghouse, built in 1867, includes two entrances that were once for men and women to enter separately.

Owen Chapel’s meetinghouse was completed in 1867, making it one of the oldest churches in Williamson County — a fast-growing county of about 750,000 people south of Nashville. It’s one of two Williamson County churches built during the Civil War that are still standing.

On Oct. 23, 1986, Owen Chapel was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The building contains many of its original features, including wooden trusses imported from Liverpool, England, and pews that have remained in place for generations.

A historic marker details some of the history of the Owen Chapel Church of Christ and its connection to David Lipscomb. A separate plaque notes the buildings place on the National Register of Historic Places.

The simple architecture — including separate entrances that once divided male and female members during services — reflects the church’s founding ideals.

For a congregation that once worried about survival, Sunday mornings now fill with laughter, conversation and hymns echoing beneath the aging wooden trusses.

A seat cushion at the Owen Chapel church is embroidered with the words of Psalm 100, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.”

“We walk by faith and not by sight,” Harrell said. “That’s what we’re doing. That’s the only thing we’ve got.”

Inside a church whose brick walls have stood beside Franklin Road for almost 160 years, new life has taken hold.

At Owen Chapel, new members now sit side by side with longtime worshipers — two groups that have become one congregation.

EPHRAIM RODENBACH, a sports journalism major at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn., is a Christian Chronicle intern.

More than half of adults under 50 said they interacted with AI at least once per day in 2025, according to Pew Research.

Meanwhile, more than 60 percent of practicing Christians said in a recent Barna study that AI is improving their lives and making the world a better place — compared to 53 percent of U.S. adults overall.

But as AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini and other AI tools become ubiquitous in everyday life, what does the technology mean for the mission of the church?

Wes Woodell

“I believe tech will play a role in this great movement of Jesus around the world, because tech is simply a means for spreading the most powerful thing given to humans — and that’s the Gospel,” said Wes Woodell, a church planter and founder of Connect My Church.

Woodell explained that Christians have always been at the forefront of new technology, often innovating new means to share the Good News. He pointed to the church’s adoption of mediums like books, magazines, radio, movies, TV, websites, podcasts, phone apps and online livestreaming — all for the furtherance of the Gospel.

“The mediums change, but the mission doesn’t,” noted Woodell, whose company — besides offering church management software — is developing AI tools for Bible study and discipleship.

AI in the pulpit

Mark Posey, minister for the Winfield Church of Christ in Alabama, likened using AI to presenting “Old Truths in New Robes.” That was the title of a pair of books by Franklin Camp, a prominent 20th century evangelist in the Yellowhammer State.

Mark Posey

“The premise of those two books was, the principles never change, but there are times when we present them in new robes to make them relevant to the time — to stay, in essence, practically up to date,” Posey told The Christian Chronicle.

“I’m just trying to use it in a balanced fashion to continue to present the unchanging truths of God’s holy word,” the preacher said of AI.

Posey said he uses ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini as research tools for sermon outlines, vacation plans, financial advice and other topics — as well as to generate graphics for the sermon starters he posts to his Pulpit Preview Facebook group.

He emphasized that he treats AI as a resource to draw ideas and concepts from — not to develop his theology. It “goes without saying,” he said, “all theology comes from the Bible.”

Mark Posey uses AI to generate graphics for the sermon starters he writes for his Pulpit Preview Facebook page.

But the Alabama minister — who’s made more than 40 mission trips to Ukraine — warned against creating “a generation of lazy preachers.”

“I do see a danger of preachers being aware of their own spiritual growth and not becoming dependent, or relying completely, on an outside source for all of their knowledge,” Posey said, recalling similar concerns about sermon outline books in years past.

AI-generated media

At the Madison Church of Christ in Alabama, media outreach minister Jason Helton helped create a series of Bible character trading cards using AI-generated imagery. The church printed hundreds of cards every week to coincide with a study of Judges and Kings.

After each sermon, kids could go up to an elder and tell him something about the day’s lesson to receive a card.

The Madison Church of Christ used AI to create Bible trading cards depicting the judges and kings found in Scripture.

“By the end of the sermon series, not only did they learn about characters and the folks in the Bible, but they also had this new relationship with every one of our elders, so the value was tremendous,” Helton told the Chronicle.

“I would much rather my Bible class teachers reward my kids with those (cards) that are constantly teaching them than with candy and little trinkets and stuff that break and don’t really have any value.”

That success later inspired Apologetics Press — a Montgomery, Ala., publisher associated with Churches of Christ — to launch a full collection of Discovery Bible trading cards.

Helton is also looking into the AI research tools of the Logos Bible study app and ways to use AI to analyze church attendance trends.

Coty Elder

At the Renaissance Church of Christ in Atlanta, Coty Elder and his team use AI to generate images and videos to accompany sermons and worship songs as well as to create social media content.

“The goal is to take a single sermon or subject and then break it all out into different mediums,” the software developer said. “I jump on Chat(GPT). I say the sermon title. We’ve already kind of prepped our Chat to know what it needs to look like, so I don’t have to prompt it multiple times. And then at that point, it generates the image.”

Elder’s company, Plotabl, also used AI tools to create Quest 4 The Kingdom, a video game-like digital experience that integrates Bible class lessons and study tools for Renaissance youth.

Avoiding artificial relationships

But Helton cautions Christians to use discernment when engaging with AI and to weigh the spiritual value of anything AI generated.

“To me, the greatest danger from a spiritual standpoint … is that it does blur our perspective of what is authentic and what is artificial,” he said. “The idea of shortcuts is a really fine line that requires a lot of wisdom and discernment to know when you’re in pursuit of efficiency but also know when you’ve gone too far. … I think spiritually speaking, shortcuts are really dangerous. I think every sin could be looked at as a shortcut.”

“The greatest danger from a spiritual standpoint … is that it does blur our perspective of what is authentic and what is artificial. The idea of shortcuts is a really fine line that requires a lot of wisdom and discernment.”

The outreach minister is especially concerned about young people developing relationships with AI chatbots and characters — often unwittingly.

“Particularly with children, they don’t know the difference — they can’t discern because they don’t have the life experience, the wisdom and even the cognitive development,” Helton said. “That’s what’s really, really dangerous to me about any kind of bot interaction among adolescents.”

Woodell, meanwhile, is pursuing an AI model that can be trained on good theology and self-contained on a small device to be sent into mission fields — similar to the solar-powered MP3 players with Bible translations and courses used by Sunset International.

“What if, instead of just being an MP3 player, you put the very best Bible professors in the world on here, where they could ask this thing a question and it’ll just talk to them conversationally?” Woodell posed.

But he stipulated that he’s not trying to replace the human element of the Great Commission.

“I am not trying to eliminate human connection,” added the Harding University graduate. “I see this as a medium to enhance human connection and a way to build the kingdom of God — not to be a hindrance, but to magnify truth, not to magnify error.”

‘Digital Babylon’

Helton developed a workshop called “Analog Faith in Digital Babylon” to help churches and families navigate an increasingly digital culture without being consumed by it, just as God gave his people a purpose in Babylonian exile in Jeremiah 29.

Jason Helton

“God says you’re going into this place that’s opposed to me, but I want you to create the culture that I’m ascribing to you and describing for you. I want you to create godly culture,” said the Faulkner University alum. “And I think that’s the role of the church in any age but especially the digital age.”

As 44 percent of millennials and 39 percent of Generation Z trust spiritual advice from AI as much as from a minister, according to another Barna study, Posey advises Christians to always go back to the Bible.

“We must have a healthy balance within the Lord’s church of cross-generation encouragement to always be the people of the book,” the preacher said.

Likewise, Helton encourages Christians to simply approach AI mindfully — not ignorantly.

“We need to be cautiously skeptical of technology, but not innovation,” he said. “I think we need to ask questions like, ‘What is my spiritual purpose for this?’ and ‘What is the spiritual value of this?’ And in doing so, I think that we can thrive in this digital Babylon age that we live in.”

CALVIN COCKRELL is Managing Editor for The Christian Chronicle and serves as the young adult minister for the North Tuscaloosa Church of Christ in Alabama. Reach him at calvin@christianchronicle.org.

The associate minister for the Kansas Expressway Church of Christ in Springfield, Mo., was about halfway through his sermon, titled “Satan Wants You,” when a summer squall erupted outside. Rain pounded the A-frame, wood-slat roof of the Branson Church of Christ’s auditorium. The winds howled, attempting to drown out the message.

Brent Green shows an artificial intelligence-generated image during his sermon at the Show Me State Bible Lectures. A friend heard the title of Green’s sermon, “Satan Wants You,” and said it reminded him of armed forces recruiting posters featuring Uncle Sam, which prompted Green to have another friend create the AI image.

Green wasn’t even scheduled to speak on the next-to-last day of the Show Me State Bible Lectures. Another minister, slated for the Saturday night spot, contracted meningitis and was hospitalized just before the lectureship. Organizers asked Green, who also teaches for the Bible Institute of Missouri, to fill in. 

Despite the impromptu request and the noisy weather, Green preached fervently, quoting from Ephesians 5:15-16 as he warned about Satan’s use of distractions to tear believers’ focus away from God: “See then that you walk carefully, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” 

“We’re in a battle for our spiritual lives,” Green said. “The devil does not take a day off.”

Thunderstorms pelted this tourist town in the Ozark Mountains throughout the week. But the weather didn’t stop the 40-member Branson congregation from offering eight days of gospel preaching by 29 ministers, seven congregational singing sessions and six fellowship meals. Nearly 300 church members came for the kickoff service on Sunday, and an average of 200 attended throughout the week, representing nearly 90 congregations in 14 states, organizers said.

Speakers at the Show Me State Bible Lectures put heavy emphasis on Scripture, in keeping with the state’s unofficial nickname. The “Show Me State” is thought to come from an 1899 speech by Missouri Rep. Willard Duncan Vandiver. “Frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me,” Vandiver said. “I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.” 

Participants in the Show Me State Bible Lectures sing hymns, including “I Know That My Redeemer Lives,” before the Saturday night sermons.

Evan Orr traveled 730 miles from Midland, Texas, to see what the lectures had to show him.

“It’s a good spiritual refresher, always uplifting,” said Orr, who at home worships with the Westside Church of Christ. “It’s almost like a family reunion.” 

Orr’s uncle, Blane Orr, is an elder of the Branson church, which launched the lectures in 2017 as a community outreach, said longtime member Danny Menter. The church broadcasts and records the sessions on its YouTube and social media channels. 

Danny Menter leads an opening prayer during the Show Me State Bible Lectures

Unlike the music shows, dinner theaters and dramas that draw 10 million visitors to Branson each year, the church does not charge attendees.

Providing the free event is expensive, said Tim Kidwell, elder and minister for the church. Costs, including housing speakers and providing meals, are close to $25,000. 

With that price tag in mind, launching the event was a leap of faith, Kidwell said. But soon after the church announced the first lectures, a real estate agent approached the leaders about buying a piece of land that the congregation owned but wasn’t using. The sale gave the church the money it needed for the lectureship. 

Participants browse through the offerings from Chula Vista Books during the Show Me State Bible Lectures.

“Ever since, the pockets of God have been deep,” Kidwell said. Churches across the Show Me State and beyond contribute to keep the lectures going.

The schedule alternates between afternoon and evening start times, allowing participants to enjoy Branson’s activities. Rather than set a theme, organizers ask ministers to share “something that the church needs to hear,” Kidwell said. 

Topics this year ranged from “I’m Too Wicked for God to Save Me” by T Roy Hass to “Scientific Evidence Supporting the Biblical Age of the Earth” by Jeff Miller to “What Will Happen to America?” by Kerry Duke. 

Steave Pearce speaks on “Dealing with Disagreement” during the Show Me State Bible Lectures.

Attendees and speakers found the lectures useful, said Steve Pearce, who delivered a sermon before Green on Saturday night. As Pearce prepared to speak on “Dealing with Disagreement,” the minister for the Aurora Church of Christ in Missouri found himself revising and rewriting his thoughts continually, eventually leading to self-doubt. Then he recalled Noah Olson’s sermon from the previous afternoon on “How to Love Myself” and Cory Orr’s on “Worry.” 

“Was I even listening?” Pearce asked himself. 

During his sermon, Pearce used the example from Philippians 4 of Euodia and Syntyche, two Christian women in the midst of disagreement. The minister outlined the apostle Paul’s model of commendation, confrontation and resolution when dealing with conflicts among believers.

Teens listen and take notes in their Bibles as Steve Pearce speaks during the Show Me State Bible Lectures.

A cluster of teens from the Kansas Expressway church was among the Saturday night attendees. 

“I thought they nailed it,” Cayden Green, 18, said of the speakers. “I got the chance to ink up my Bible. I take a lot of notes in the margins.”

Even in the digital age, the teens prefer to read — and make notes in — paper copies of God’s Word. Although there are multiple Bible apps available, “I just get distracted” when using a phone to read Scripture, said Nolan Heavin, also 18.

“I got the chance to ink up my Bible. I take a lot of notes in the margins.”

Heavin and his family have attended the lectures all 10 years. His sister, Grace, 14, said that the lectures give her a chance “to see a bunch of friends that I don’t get to see a lot.”

Nolan, a recent high school grad, plans to study at the Bible Institute of Missouri and visit Africa this summer. The Missouri school is part of the Global Schools of Biblical Studies, a network that includes campuses in Ghana, Kenya and Zambia.

“I really want to teach people how to become Christians, and the Gospels,” Heavin said. 

From left, Eli Heavin, Cayden Green, Grace Heavin and Nolan Heavin speak with The Christian Chronicle after the Saturday night sermons at the Show Me State Bible Lectures.

Tracy Menter, who has worshiped with the Branson Church of Christ since 2000, said that the small congregation enjoys seeing friends from across the country on an annual basis.

Though the devil and the winds may wail outside, “this is what heaven is going to be like,” she said, “all of us together, worshiping and singing.”

ERIK TRYGGESTAD is President and CEO of The Christian Chronicle. Contact erik@christianchronicle.org.

Glover and his crewmates — Americans Reid Weisman and Christina Koch and Canadian Jeremy Hansen — traveled 252,756 miles, a new record for human spaceflight.

Listen to the full exclusive interview on Episode 156 of the Chronicle’s podcast, hosted by B.T. Irwin.

The Chronicle’s Irwin talked to Glover, a member of the Southeast Church of Christ in Friendswood, Texas, about faith, prayer and exploration, drawing from the unique perspective of his 10-day journey.

Here are three takeaways from the 50-year-old Christian’s reflections on the life-changing mission:

1. Grace shapes life on Earth and in deep space.

Inside the Orion capsule — roughly the size of a minivan — four astronauts lived and worked in a confined space, where success depended on character just as much as skill.

Over three years, the four members of the Artemis II crew worked with specialized NASA operational psychologists in preparation for life in orbit.

Their training extended beyond spaceflight, ranging from learning from British historians about the moon’s historical and religious significance to studying creative language with an English professor.

Midway through their lunar observation period, the Artemis II crew members – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen – pause to turn the camera around for a selfie inside the Orion spacecraft.

“We worked as hard at all the facets of this, and we still probably forgot something, but we did it intentionally — that is the point,” Glover said. “We were willing and intentional, and we went and reached out to the people who could help us.”

The preparation shaped not only his readiness to manage tasks on the mission but also, in Glover’s case, personal faith practices, including reading the Bible and focusing on prayer.

One theme remained consistent among the crew throughout the years of preparation and eventual execution: grace.

“There was a heaping of grace in that capsule. We had to give and receive grace continually.”

“There was a heaping of grace in that capsule,” he said. “We had to give and receive grace continually.”

Although the crew named the capsule “Integrity,” Glover noted that it also could have been called “Grace,” mirroring the dependence required for living in close quarters.

2. Prayer in orbit was planned — and unplanned.

From hundreds of thousands of miles away, Earth appeared small from the window of the Orion capsule — “about the size of your thumb,” Glover said.

Prayer during the mission, he said, became both structured and spontaneous.

Before launch, it was intentional, part of a ritual that included preparation, speaking to his family and grounding himself. But once in orbit, prayer also emerged unexpectedly through the awe of exploring space.

NASA’s Orion spacecraft captures the moon and the Earth in one frame during the Artemis II crew’s deep space journey. The right side of NASA’s Orion spacecraft is seen lit up by the Sun.

“Your natural response is to call on God,” Glover said. “The number of times that I heard, ‘Oh, my God,’ and it was truly the only thing that made sense.”

At one point during the Artemis II mission, the crew lost communication with Earth for about 40 minutes as the moon blocked radio signals. In the blackout, with no anchor point for orientation or contact with mission control, Glover paused his geological observations of the lunar surface.

“Your natural response is to call on God. The number of times that I heard, ‘Oh, my God,’ and it was truly the only thing that made sense.”

For several moments, only the sounds of the capsule systems and the crew’s voices filled the cabin.

With his headset still on, Glover’s first response was to pray to God.

“It welled up inside of me,” he said of the prayer, “and that’s something I’m actually going to spend more time thinking about. It’s kind of the ritual versus the response, what was just truly authentic and organic — and was a response to what we were seeing and experiencing.”

3. Landing on Earth brought a new perspective for Glover.

The farther Glover and the Artemis II mission traveled from Earth, the more he began to consider what it means, as Christians, to bring faith into unexplored places — and what it means that God is always present.

“We need to appreciate God in that new place,” he said. “The weak link coming into that circumstance is us. It’s not that beautiful creation that we’re surrounded by.”

Having served aboard the International Space Station in 2020 and 2021, Glover already carried a perspective on Earth that few had experienced. But the moon mission further developed his view of how to share his experiences.

Artemis II astronauts pose for a post-mission group photo after viewing the Orion spacecraft in the well deck of USS John P. Murtha

As the spacecraft splashed down April 10 near San Diego, one defining moment came in the medical bay as crewmate Wiseman wept with a chaplain.

The scene reminded Glover that exploration reveals human dependence through the lens of achievement.

“I have a commitment to share this experience in a way that isn’t me telling you about this one once-in-a-lifetime experience I’ve had,” Glover said. “It’s to give it to you.”

“I have a commitment to share this experience in a way that isn’t me telling you about this one once-in-a-lifetime experience I’ve had. It’s to give it to you.”

From that view 252,756 miles away, Glover’s mission to the far side of the moon deepened his belief that exploration should draw people to God — and to each other.

“When I say you’re more like me than you think, or I am more like you, or we are more like one another — we’re all weak mortal beings that won’t be here forever, and we need help,” he told the Chronicle. “We need God’s help, and we need each other’s help.”

EPHRAIM RODENBACH, a sports journalism major at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn., is a Christian Chronicle intern.

Unofficially, at least 1 million more Iranians worship in secret, and their numbers are growing, claim organizations that track religious movements. Iranian authorities arrested more than 250 of those worshipers last year on charges of “propaganda contrary to the holy religion of Islam.”

That’s nearly double the number arrested on such charges the previous year, according to a report from Open Doors, Christian Solidarity Worldwide and other nonprofits.

It’s difficult to imagine a time when Churches of Christ — much less, congregations comprised of U.S. servicemen —met freely in Iran and other predominantly Muslim countries, including Libya.

Ellen and Albert Bryan

But Churches of Christ did once exist in the capitals of Tehran and Tripoli, thanks to the work of Christians including Albert Bryan.

The unlikely missionary “was the sweetest man I ever knew,” said his grandson, John Bradley. “He was so kind. He was a wonderful husband to my very sweet grandmother. All the grandchildren loved them so much.”

Born near Lebanon, Tenn., in 1892, Albert H. Bryan Sr. was the son of a farmer who also taught in a one-room schoolhouse near his farm. Two of Albert’s brothers earned medical degrees from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. One became a medical missionary in China in the 1920s and was imprisoned by the Japanese when they invaded. The Japanese later released the brother, who returned to the U.S.

Albert, meanwhile, stayed on the farm and married Ellen Waters Baker, who grew up in nearby Watertown, Tenn. Albert took over teaching at the school when his father died. Although he never went to college, Albert studied civil engineering through mail-order courses and got a job with the Tennessee Highway Department. He helped plan some of the first paved highways in Middle Tennessee. Then Albert took a job in the civil engineering office at Arnold Air Force Base near Tullahoma, Tenn.

He attempted to retire in the early 1950s, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asked him to change his plans and move to Libya.

At the time, the U.S. operated Wheelus Air Force Base, just east of Tripoli. Albert and Ellen moved there in early 1953. “I was in second grade when they left,” their grandson said.

Albert Bryan baptizes a man named David in the Mediterranean Sea in 1954.

During the Cold War, Wheelus was the largest U.S. military facility outside the U.S. Albert worked in the civil engineering department, assisting in building projects on the base.

“He and my grandmother right away started a church in their home,” Bradley said. “They were longtime members of the Church of Christ.”

John and Jan Bradley

In addition to being a self-taught civil engineer, Albert became , baptizing new converts in the Mediterranean Sea. Eventually, the Tripoli Church of Christ purchased its own meeting place with the help of the College Street Church of Christ in Lebanon. Bradley has a photo of the building, complete with North African-style pointed arches.

“There is a note on the back of the photo that says it was the first ‘non-Muslim’ church ever allowed by Libya in Tripoli,” Bradley said.

After four years, the Bryans returned to the U.S., though not for long. The Corps asked Albert to do similar engineering work in Tehran, so he and Ellen packed their bags for Iran.

“Again, my grandfather and grandmother started holding church services in their Tehran home,” Bradley said. “There were many U.S. military and civilians working there who attended those services. I do not know if they were ever allowed to buy a building in Tehran for church services.”

During the couple’s time in Tehran, U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower visited Iran’s ruler, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. “My grandparents saw a huge parade down a boulevard in December 1959 with the president and the shah sitting together in a Cadillac convertible,” Bradley said.

The Bryans returned to the U.S. again in 1962. Seven years later, Muammar Gaddafi seized control of Libya and ordered the closure of U.S. air bases there. A decade after that, in 1979, Pahlavi fled Tehran in the midst of the Iranian Revolution.

A sign welcomes worshipers to the Tripoli Church of Christ.

Albert became an elder of the College Street church, eventually serving alongside his son-in-law and Bradley’s father, Leonard K. Bradley Sr. Ellen Bryan died in 1973 at age 86. Albert followed her in 1986 at age 91.

The couple’s sons served in the military. Albert Bryan Jr. fought in the Army in World War II. Robert Bryan graduated from West Point before earning a doctorate in nuclear engineering. Charles Bryan attended the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and flew reconnaissance missions during the Vietnam War.

Albert Bryan speaks during a service in Tripoli.

Bradley himself served in the Air Force for 41 years. He flew 337 combat missions in Vietnam, received the Distinguished Flying Cross and earned the rank of lieutenant general before retiring. In 2008, Bradley and his wife, Jan, launched the Lamia Afghan Foundation, named for a 9-year-old girl who pushed her way through a crowd to ask the general for boots during his tour in Afghanistan.

Through the foundation, the Bradleys provided more than 3.5 million pounds of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, built seven schools and clinics and provided prosthetics for children injured in their country’s decades of conflict.

Ellen Bryan, far left, stands with members of the Tehran Church of Christ, which met at Ellen and Albert Bryan’s home during the 1950s.

“I always wanted to be like Papa,” Bradley said of his grandfather. “I have fallen short, but I keep trying. The work Jan and I do in Afghanistan through our foundation, we feel, is trying to help very needy people have some hope of improving their lives.”

Although laws prevented the Bradleys from evangelizing Afghans, “people there, of course, knew we were Christians,” he said.

Taking a cue from Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:40, “I looked at our work as doing for ‘the least of these.’”

ERIK TRYGGESTAD is President and CEO of The Christian Chronicle. Contact erik@christianchronicle.org.

“Top Gun” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” were massive hits at the box office.

Telephones were attached to the wall, and long-distance calls were expensive. Not home? People left messages on answering machines.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram landed in my driveway each morning, and when I had enough quarters, I bought the Dallas Morning News and the Dallas Times Herald at newsracks outside Food Fare, the only grocery store in this North Texas community.

Big hair was, um, big — both for the girls I knew and the pop culture that defined the time.

The year was 1986.

Bobby Ross Jr.’s senior picture appears in the Keller High School yearbook in 1986.

I graduated from Keller High School that May — exactly 40 years ago — so I find myself a bit nostalgic during this annual season of pomp and circumstance.

In past columns, I’ve reflected on my 35 years in full-time journalism and my 25 years covering religion news.

But I got my actual start writing for newspapers as a KHS student.

Keller, about 15 miles north of Fort Worth, was still more farm town than burgeoning suburb back then. An old gray water tower that proclaimed “Keller: Home of the Indians” greeted visitors along U.S. 377, referring to the school mascot.

I played sousaphone in the KHS marching band, traveled on mission trips to Mexico with my church youth group and drove my old Ford Pinto to flip Quarter Pounders at a McDonald’s in nearby North Richland Hills. In my free time, I listened to Texas Rangers games on my transistor radio.

But the turning point that transformed my high school experience — and my eventual career path — came when my late friend Jack O’Pelt urged me to join him in taking a journalism class.

The late Jack O’Pelt and Bobby Ross Jr. read a newspaper in the late 1980s or early 1990s. O’Pelt, the best friend of Bobby’s brother, Scott Ross, for 30 years, died suddenly in 2015.

But those ancient skills weren’t the most important lessons Ms. Crane bestowed.

Diana Dworin’s notes from a high school journalism class taught by Janie Crane Burchfield in the 1980s offer tips for counting headlines.

From the moment I walked into her classroom my sophomore year, her passion for core journalistic values such as truth, accuracy, fairness and impartiality resonated with me. She taught English students, too, but that subject wasn’t what drove her 25-year teaching career.

“The only reason I taught was to teach journalism,” she told me in a Facebook message this week.

It didn’t take me long to decide I wanted to spend my life in the newspaper business.

But first, I had to muster the courage to conduct my first interview.

Shy and introverted, I moved around a lot as a kid. My father served in the Air Force and then became a preacher. I attended schools in five states — Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Missouri and Tennessee — before we moved to Keller in 1982 for Mom and Dad to serve as houseparents at a Christian children’s home. In my freshman year at KHS, I often ate lunch alone.

So when I got my first story assignment — a piece on the KHS stage band earning superior ratings — I scribbled my questions on a piece of paper. I snuck into band director Wayne Tympanick’s office and stuck my request for answers on his desk.

1980s-era copies of The Wigwam, the Keller High School student newspaper, are pictured.

Before long, Tympanick came and found me.

“If you want to be a journalist, you need to sit down and ask me these questions,” he told me.

So I did.

Over the next two years, I devoted more and more of my time to The Wigwam. I reported on topics ranging from students cheating to a fatal crash involving classmates I knew. By the second half of my junior year, I became the editor.

I covered trends such as the “VCR craze” — as we described it in a headline.

Here was the lede I wrote as an 18-year-old senior:

Signs that something’s sizzling, maybe even sweeping the nation, certainly abound.

From the ever-expanding number of video specialty shoppes to local supermarkets to convenience stores, rent-a-movie places are popping up almost everywhere.

Many teens are staying home on the weekends, popping their own corn and throwing “VCR parties”, as a substitute for those expensive, sky-high-priced trips to the movie theaters.

Besides our serious reporting, we had a whole lot of fun, too.

A Keller High School yearbook article from the 1980s profiles the student newspaper staff, including Bobby Ross Jr. Although Ross is pictured in a Texas Longhorns hat, he later repented and became an Oklahoma Sooners fan.

My junior year, Keller High opened a new school building with a large classroom for the newspaper and yearbook staffs. Each publication had its own office. They were side by side, and one day I mischievously lifted the tiles above the newspaper office and crawled into the ceiling space above the yearbook side to listen to the conversation below. Fortunately, when I crashed to the ground as I left a messy crater overhead, a chair below softened my fall.

Ms. Crane was anything but happy with me. But she evidently didn’t kill me. Because I lived to type this.

Fellow Wigwam staff member Diana Williams — now Diana Dworin — was a year younger than me but just as devoted to a future in journalism. While I was a geeky teen, her outgoing, bubbly personality made her popular beyond the newspaper classroom. She’d later attend the University of Texas and work for the Austin American-Statesman.

One time, Dworin and I wrote a joint column on how “squeezing the Charmin” had joined the list of KHS extracurricular activities. Yes, pranking people by covering their house, yard or trees with toilet paper was a thing even back then.

As high school students, Bobby Ross Jr. and Diana Dworin wrote a column about students’ toilet paper pranks.

To my delight, Dworin — now a hospital chaplain and, like me, a doting grandparent — recently mailed me a package of old Wigwams that helped stir the memories I’m sharing.

Another Wigwam alum is Barry Ryan, a fellow Class of 1986 graduate who was one of my best friends at KHS. We still enjoy catching up from time to time at Rangers games.

“We were a very good team that complemented each other well,” Ryan said of our high school newspaper experience. “I enjoyed both the camaraderie and, in the case of Bobby and Diana, the playful and healthy competition. As a bystander to it all, it was great to watch the banter and the occasional one-upmanship.

“For me,” he added in a Facebook message, “the opportunity to explore, learn and develop skills in addition to some outstanding friendship was a privilege and a blessing.”

Amen to all of that!

After graduating from KHS, I attended Oklahoma Christian University, where I edited the campus newspaper The Talon and earned my journalism degree in 1990. I later reported for small community newspapers in Oklahoma for three years before joining The Oklahoman staff in 1993 and then going to work for The Associated Press in Nashville, Tenn., in 2002.

Friends who worked together at McDonald’s in the 1980s reunite at a Texas Rangers game in 2023. Pictured, from left, are Barry Ryan, Rick Kalifa, Scott Ross, Bobby Ross Jr., Tony Cintron and Cintron’s wife.

I’ve spent the past 21 years with The Christian Chronicle, based in Oklahoma City. I’ve traveled to all 50 states and 20 countries to cover the news. I launched the Plug-in column for Religion Unplugged in 2020 and am in my seventh year of writing it.

In so many ways, I’m living my dream life as a journalist — four decades after my Wigwam days at Keller High.

In so many ways, I’m living my dream life as a journalist — four decades after my Wigwam days at Keller High.

To all my friends in the Class of 1986, happy 40th anniversary!

I know there’s a reunion planned, but I won’t be able to make it. Total honesty: That shy, introverted teen inside me never completely disappeared, and I’m still not ready for that level of social interaction.

BOBBY ROSS JR. is Editor-in-Chief of The Christian Chronicle. Ross writes the Weekend Plug-in column for Religion Unplugged, where this piece originally appeared. Reach him at bobby@christianchronicle.org.

Maybe that’s why I left my purse in the seat beside me when the game ended. Absentminded joy.

Said joy morphed into panic after I exited Globe Life Field and realized my bag was not on my shoulder. That would be the bag with my wallet, my ID, my credit and debit cards, a couple of prescriptions and some much-loved and really expensive prescription sunglasses.

Bobby Ross Jr. and Cheryl Mann Bacon pose together at a Texas Rangers game in Globe Life Field.

And my car fob.

Yes, I had a spare — at home in Abilene, 165 miles away. Yes, I went back inside the stadium to look for the purse, checked with lost and found and filed a loss report. Yes, I immediately put a hold on the cards, berated myself repeatedly and was reallllly nice to Bobby, who was well on his way to Dallas when he had to return to Arlington to get me.

Though editors generally have earned their gruff, green eyeshade reputation, he did not complain. Because Bobby is a Rangers fan. The Rangers had just beaten the Yankees. No forgetful freelancer could diminish his joy.

And he’s a really good friend.

The game was a side benefit to the real reason for the trip: The Christian Chronicle Board of Trustees retreat beginning the next morning, making Bobby’s patience that much more impressive.

So while he drove, I messaged my text groups: my family, the group euphemistically called “The Girls,” and HWC (as in “Hello, Win Column”), composed of six women who are ardent Rangers fans.

Christian Chronicle staff members pose for a group photo during a meeting in Dallas. From left are Cheryl Mann Bacon, Sawmi Sektak, Bobby Ross Jr., Erik Tryggestad, Calvin Cockrell, Connie Penick, Melinda Wilson and Alan Phillips.

Advice began pouring in. At one point, I actually was booking a roundtrip flight to Abilene using American Airlines miles to pick up the key fob. Then Bobby reminded me I had no ID. I couldn’t get on a plane.

So friends in Abilene contrived a plan to retrieve the extra fob from my kitchen drawer and FedEx it to me. I have great friends.

Still, this meant the car would be unattended, in an Arlington parking lot for two days. A kind Arlington police officer couldn’t promise my vehicle wouldn’t be towed, but he didn’t expect that to happen. That was consoling. Sort of.

For those unfamiliar with the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, it’s really big. As in 16,000 square miles. As in 8.3 million people, one of whom was probably trying on my sunglasses at that very moment. Globe Life Field in Arlington is roughly in the middle of it. The hotel where Chronicle staff and board were staying was 27 miles east of there. That’s where we were when my phone buzzed alerting me to a Facebook message from my new best friend, Angie Gallegos.

The lack of punctuation tipped me off that the sender was probably young. I didn’t care. She had found the purse and waited for someone to return. When no one came, she took it with her and found me on Facebook. Who needs commas?

“I didn’t want it to go in the wrong hands,” the message read, “so I’m reaching out to let you know I have your bag!”

“I didn’t want it to go in the wrong hands, so I’m reaching out to let you know I have your bag!”

I asked where we could meet, and she sent me a link for a QuikTrip some 21 miles east of our hotel. I told her we could be there in 30 minutes.

While Bobby drove some more, I updated the text groups whose faith in humanity was not exactly devout.

“If the QuikTrip is sketchy call police to be nearby,” replied my attorney friend, Jane, just seconds after I had told Bobby, “Jane would probably call the police to meet her there.”

“Don’t go by yourself,” said my son.

We arrived at the QuikTrip, next door to a funeral home. A nice neighborhood. Lots of customers around. I messaged Angie to alert her that we had arrived, and she said she’d be there in five minutes.

My daughter texted after seven minutes to check on me.

Cheryl Mann Bacon takes a selfie with Angie Gallegos after meeting at a QuikTrip to exchange Bacon’s purse.

In defense of my friends and family, I had agreed to meet a total stranger at a gas station. But Angie Gallegos was no sketchy stranger.

The high school senior was still grinning from the Rangers’ win when she walked up with my purse. We chatted. I took a selfie. I asked her about the medallion on the gold chain she wore with her Rangers T-shirt — St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes. That seemed appropriate — for a Rangers fan and a retriever of lost purses.

I told her I’d send her a reward, which she assured me wasn’t necessary.

“I just wanted to do the right thing.”

“I just wanted to do the right thing,” she said. I sent one anyway.

As Bobby navigated through a full-stop traffic jam that involved 11 police cars and no apparent cause, the text groups celebrated, more than one commenting that their faith in humanity was restored, a much-needed restoration.

My children were even a tad sarcastic. I don’t know where they get that.

“Did you offer to write her scholarship, job and college recommendation letters?” my daughter asked. I should do that.

I don’t know much more about Angie, but she made my life a whole lot better because she just wanted to do the right thing. That’s a great recommendation for all of us.

CHERYL MANN BACON is a contributing editor for The Christian Chronicle. She served for 20 years as chair of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at Abilene Christian University in Texas.

In God’s timing.

That’s how members and leaders alike characterize the merger of the Coventry Hills Church of Christ and the Chesmont Church of Christ.

First in a series. Click to read all the stories. 

After decades apart, the congregations — halfway between the high-rises of Philadelphia and the horse-drawn buggies of Amish country — have joined together to become the Cornerstone Church of Christ.

“It feels like the work of the Lord,” said Christine Ober, 36, wife of Caleb and mother of 8-month-old Mabel May.

The Obers were among the few young families at Coventry Hills, which averaged Sunday attendance of roughly 30. Chesmont, which met at a Christian school 6.5 miles away, drew about 110 men, women and children on a typical Lord’s Day.

“The members that were here at Coventry Hills were willing to come under the leadership at Chesmont,” said Josh Dove, who was one of three elders at Chesmont and now serves in that role for Cornerstone. “It just seemed like it was God leading us that way.”

The pieces fit.

Coventry Hills had a church building. Chesmont had a full-time preacher and elders. Both congregations had members eager to serve the Lord and reach the lost.

Together, members and leaders believe, the new intergenerational body offers a brighter future.

“When God’s people do God’s things in God’s ways, we let all the extra stuff go, and we can dwell in unity,” said minister Thomas Wise, pointing to the apostle Paul’s admonition in Philippians 2:3-4 to “do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit” but “in humility value others above yourselves.”

Visitors take photos during the baptism of Ariana Boyd at the Cornerstone Church of Christ in Pottstown, Pa.

‘Wounds were deep’

In the case of Coventry Hills and Chesmont, “all the extra stuff” included trauma, hurt feelings and lingering concerns about past differences that caused a church split in the early 1990s.

Elder Rick Elam came to the Chesmont church with his wife, Kathy, in 1996 after the split occurred, so he has no firsthand knowledge of what transpired.

“But I know that those wounds were deep and painful for those involved,” Elam said.

Emmmitt Channell and Rick Elam pose for a picture at the Cornerstone Church of Christ in Pottstown, Pa.

“This has been a big healing process,” he said of the merger, which became official earlier this year. “People have joy here.”

Over the years, the frosty relationship between the congregations in Pottstown — a town of 23,000 about 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia — had thawed.

Chesmont had used the Coventry Hills baptistry from time to time since the school didn’t have one. Members of both congregations had enjoyed hymn singings together.

“Coventry Hills was dying. That was true,” Wise said. “At Chesmont, we had just grown stagnant in the environment we were in.

“The elders recognized it, and for (the merger) to work, each group of people needed to see who they are and where they’re at clearly,” the minister added. “And I believe that starts with God’s authority … and will we choose to put others above ourself?”

Coventry Hills members had a knack for greeting visitors and making them feel welcome, Wise said.

Chesmont members were known for engaging and teaching young people and for their volunteer spirit, he said. That spirit has come in handy as the merged body works to refurbish the church building, which was constructed in 1973 and could use a few improvements, such as new carpeting.

In becoming one, the previously separate congregations have brought those talents together.

Minister Thomas Wise teaches an adult Bible class at the Cornerstone Church of Christ in Pottstown, Pa.

‘God’s timing’

Talk of the possible merger began organically — as Wise remembers it — with Chesmont elder Jeff Custer, who was preaching at Coventry Hills once a month.

“Jeff made some kind of comment in a sermon about not knowing why the churches weren’t together,” Wise said. “And then one of the younger Coventry Hills members was inspired by it and made up a survey about merging and got the ball rolling.”

The merger possibility had prompted conversation in the past, but this time the idea gained traction.

“It definitely seems like God’s timing is always the right timing,” Wise said.

“God’s timing is always the right timing.”

Emmitt Channell, 90, has preached for more than 70 years. Channell said he and other Coventry Hills members welcomed the latest overture.

“We were down to about 20 or 25 members at that point,” he said. “We had a lot of deaths, and a lot of people moved back to the South, so we were very glad to have new life. So it’s been really great.”

Wise, 34, recalls that he was 12 years old when he was baptized — by Channell.

“It’s crazy how the circle goes,” said Wise, who later moved away from Pennsylvania before returning five years ago to serve as Chesmont’s preacher. “It’s great to see old faces, like Emmitt, whom I’ve known my whole life.”

Channell emphasized that brothers and sisters in Christ “need to be working together and healing all kinds of personal problems that we’ve had.

“Christ is our focus, and that’s where we should put our efforts in working together for the Lord,” added the retired minister, whose late wife, Betty, once served as the secretary for Olan Hicks, who founded The Christian Chronicle in 1943.

Jack Turner leads singing at the Cornerstone Church of Christ in Pottstown, Pa.

‘Don’t hold grudges’

Nancy McGrady, who attended Coventry Hills in past decades, said she left the church for “a very long time” because she didn’t feel like she belonged.

But the merger inspired her to return to worship.

“When Cornerstone came together, it was amazing for me,” said McGrady, 52. “I just love being here. … It’s everything that I’ve ever dreamed for a church family to be.”

Ken Anderson, 71, was a part of the Coventry Hills congregation before the merger.

“I was always taught that you don’t hold grudges,” Anderson said. “You just prayed that things will change. And I know it took a lot of years, but we prayed about it, and we’re all together as a family.”

Elders Josh Dove, Jeff Custer and Rick Elam and member Pedro Delgado pray for Ariana Boyd after her baptism at the Cornerstone Church of Christ in Pottstown, Pa.

A building to call their own

Coventry Hills served as the original home for Coventry Christian Schools, which has roots dating back to 1984 and has grown to more than 630 students in prekindergarten through 12th grade.

By 1993, Coventry Christian moved to a new location, and the Chesmont church began meeting in a school auditorium.

Matt Richard — now a deacon at Cornerstone after serving in that role at Chesmont — attended Coventry Hills in the early 2000s.

“The funny thing was that originally, the church here would talk about that church being progressive over there,” Richard said.

But then Richard visited Chesmont when Coventry Hills canceled services during an ice storm.

“We wound up going over there, and we were like, ‘There’s nothing crazy going on,’” he said. “So then one of the ladies invited my wife, Meredith, to a Bible study, and we started visiting with Chesmont. And then we just decided to change churches.”

Daniel Niehls, pictured with his 9-year-old daughter, Penelope, serves as a deacon of the Cornerstone Church of Christ in Pottstown, Pa.

Now the deacon and his family — including two young children — are back worshiping in the Coventry Hills building.

“We were definitely excited about having our own space,” said Richard, who is also the facilities supervisor at nearby Camp Manatawny, which is associated with Churches of Christ.

“It’s always hard when you’re a tenant in a building — we were renting from the Christian school — because nothing’s your own as a congregation,” Richard added. “You always had to worry about what the kids were doing after church.”

Another deacon, Daniel Niehls, echoed Richard.

“If you’re a tenant anywhere, if you’re renting, you’re kind of limited with what you can do,” Niehls said. “So it’s just nice, and it feels more like a church, when you have your own building. So that’s really been a benefit and blessing.

“Unfortunately, not all of my family decided to come join us here, so that’s been a little bit of a challenge at times,” he added. “But we’re very happy here. We’re excited to be here.”

John Eli Richard, right, indulges in the dessert offerings at a fellowship meal of the Cornerstone Church of Christ in Pottstown, Pa.

‘A pleasant view’

About one-third of the previous Chesmont congregation did not make the move to Coventry Hills.

Those members, including Mark Niehls, Daniel’s uncle and a founder of Coventry Christian Schools, formed the new Pleasantview Church of Christ, which meets at the school.

“Those of us that are still meeting on the school’s campus have felt that our initial vision and mission for the church to reach out and evangelize in our community is still very valid and needed,” said Mark Niehls, the school’s president emeritus.

“Our initial vision and mission for the church to reach out and evangelize in our community is still very valid and needed.”

Coventry Christian draws students from about 70 churches in and around Pottstown, he said. Only a handful of those congregations are Churches of Christ.

“The Pleasantview Church of Christ that’s meeting on the school’s campus sees that as an opportunity to reach those people who are maybe not really churched,” Mark Niehls said. “They may be on an attendance or membership roll somewhere, but they don’t regularly attend, or they’re dissatisfied with where they’re at.”

Mark Niehls declined to discuss the merger of Coventry Hills and Chesmont.

“We’re still meeting on the school’s campus on Pleasantview Road,” he said, “and we’ve kind of adopted the motto that we’re going to have a pleasant view.”

Elam, one of Cornerstone’s three elders, said he doesn’t believe any hard feelings exist between Cornerstone and Pleasantview.

“Maybe at the outset, but those seem to have calmed down,” Elam said. “We all feel like we’re wishing them well and godspeed, and they’re doing the same for us. We’re praying for each other.”

Pedro Delgado baptizes Ariana Boyd as Kelly Smyth watches at the Cornerstone Church of Christ in Pottstown, Pa.

BOBBY ROSS JR. is Editor-in-Chief of The Christian Chronicle. He traveled to Pennsylvania to report this story. Reach him at bobby@christianchronicle.org.

Find links to all the stories below:

PART 1

• Together again — decades after split: The pieces fit as two Pennsylvania congregations merge to become one body.

Elders Josh Dove, Jeff Custer and Rick Elam and member Pedro Delgado pray for Ariana Boyd after her baptism at the Cornerstone Church of Christ in Pottstown, Pa.

Check back for additional articles in the series.

BOBBY ROSS JR. is Editor-in-Chief of The Christian Chronicle. Reach him at bobby@christianchronicle.org.

In the ACP’s “Best of the Church Press” competition, the Chronicle claimed the Best in Class honor as overall top newspaper for the 10th time.

The prize was presented at the faith-based journalist group’s recent convention in Toronto.

“Quite a selection of reading, all smoothly written with a consistent voice,” the ACP judge commented, praising the Oklahoma-based international newspaper for Churches of Christ.

In the EPA contest, the Chronicle’s overall excellence was honored in the categories for best print newspaper, best online news and best publication serving a specific group. EPA winners were recognized at the Christian professional organization’s national meeting in Franklin, Tenn., south of Nashville.

RNA’s Excellence in Religion Reporting Award recipients were announced during a banquet in Decatur, Ga., just outside Atlanta.

“We are extremely honored and humbled by these awards,” Chronicle President and CEO Erik Tryggestad and Editor-in-Chief Bobby Ross Jr. said in a joint statement. “They speak to the strong commitment of our board, staff and generous supporters to high-quality journalism serving our fellowship around the world.”

“We are extremely honored and humbled by these awards. They speak to the strong commitment of our board, staff and generous supporters to high-quality journalism serving our fellowship around the world.”

See a list of the other winners below:

Associated Church Press “Best of the Church Press” awards

FIRST PLACE

• Theme issue, section or series: “In search of Shalom — the struggle for divine reconciliation” (Erik Tryggestad)

• News story (short format): “While mourning fire losses, California church helps neighbors and trusts God” (Bobby Ross Jr.)

Christians helping with the fire relief effort of the Lincoln Avenue Church of Christ in Pasadena, Calif., gather in a circle to pray in February 2025.

• In-depth coverage: Texas flooding package, including “Grief and guilt over Texas flooding deaths” by Bobby Ross Jr., “‘We were safe the whole time'” by Andrew Reneau, “Creek by Texas camp floods” by Kenzie James and “Christians organize food and supplies after catastrophic flooding” by Cheryl Mann Bacon.

• Biographical profile: “Andrew Hairston is the ‘strength that runs through our veins'” (Erik Tryggestad)

SECOND PLACE

• Biographical profile: “Christian at center of big case has ‘this sweet spirit'” (Kenneth Pybus)

• Feature article — international reporting (short format): “Bonjour! How an Algerian immigrant couple found their calling in France” (Bobby Ross Jr.)

Khaled and Djedjiga Hassani, Algerian immigrants to France, serve as caretakers for the former Betheline monastery, which is being renovated as a Christian outreach center.

THIRD PLACE

• Theme issue, section or series: “Faith in France: Exploring spiritual renewal in a secular country” (Bobby Ross Jr.)

• Convention or meeting coverage: “A journey of forgiveness on Botham Jean’s island” (Erik Tryggestad)

At the Red Tie Gala, members of Botham Jean’s family (from left, aunt Desma Charles, father Bertrum Jean, mother Allison Jean, sister Alyssa Charles-Finley and brother Valdez Franklin) watch a video about the Botham Jean Foundation’s accomplishments.

• Feature article — international reporting (short format): “Why go back to Ukraine?” (Erik Tryggestad)

• Personal experience (short format): Pope Francis yearned to be with ‘the least of these’ (Erik Tryggestad)

Evangelical Press Association Awards 

FIRST PLACE

• Emerging Journalist Award: Calvin Cockrell

• General article (short): “Church-supported nonprofit loses, then regains, USAID funding after reprieve from Elon Musk” (Erik Tryggestad)

• Single photo (candid): “In the land of ‘The Savior,’ Bibles are welcomed” (Audrey Jackson)

Children rehearse for a play at the La Palma Christian School in El Salvador.

SECOND PLACE

• Reporting: “In secular France, Christians work to bring new life to old monastery” (Bobby Ross Jr.)

• Column: Insight (Erik Tryggestad), including “Did Jesus come to bring division?” and “One man with God is everything.”

Erik Tryggestad sings hymns alongside Thailand missionary Robert Reagan and church members from across Asia during the “Bricks to Blessings” banquet hosted by the Moulmein Church of Christ.

THIRD PLACE

• Student Writer of the Year: “A Spanglish church where all are welcome” (Andrew Reneau)

• Department: International news (Erik Tryggestad and Audrey Jackson)

FOURTH PLACE

• Article series: “In search of Shalom — the struggle for divine reconciliation” (Erik Tryggestad)

• Personality article: “Confessions of a Jesus Freak” (Jerry Mitchell)

• Cover design: April 2025 front page (Audrey Jackson)

Front page of the April 2025 edition of The Christian Chronicle.

FIFTH PLACE

• Article series: “Faith in France: Exploring spiritual renewal in a secular country” (Bobby Ross Jr.)

• Editorial: “There is one body, so let’s act like it” (Calvin Cockrell)

Religion News Association Awards

SECOND PLACE

• Excellence in audio: Commentary and conversation: Episode 111, The Christian Chronicle Podcast (B.T. Irwin and Kenneth Pybus)

• Excellence in analysis and explanatory reporting: Weekend Plug-in columns for Religion Unplugged and the Chronicle (Bobby Ross Jr.), including “A miracle in my family — it’s time to tell the story” and “Grief and guilt after Texas over flooding deaths.”

Tod Dillard, second from left, with his wife Tracie, sister Tamie and brother-in-law Bobby at the Farris Church of Christ in southeastern Oklahoma.

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In fact, we must resist the temptation to pile more and more duties on our friend and colleague.

Calvin Cockrell, 30, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from the University of Alabama, maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA each time.

Calvin joined the Chronicle in 2021 as a part-time writer, editor and social media manager. In 2025, God provided the opportunity for us to hire him full time as our managing editor.

He helps coordinate coverage strategy, contributors and online and print publication. He crafts a weekly email newsletter along with social media posts highlighting the Chronicle’s articles.

Calvin has reported from seven states. Besides writing, he contributes photos, videos and reviews. He launched the Chronicle’s TikTok and grew it to 17,000 followers, with regular engagement and a viral video that reached 4.5 million views. He also published a Facebook post that reached 3 million views.

Calvin Cockrell, fifth from left, poses for a group photo with fellow Christian Chronicle staff members during a meeting in Dallas. Also pictured, from left, are Cheryl Mann Bacon, Sawmi Sektak, Bobby Ross Jr., Erik Tryggestad, Connie Penick, Melinda Wilson and Alan Phillips.

See what I mean? There’s nothing Calvin can’t do.

That’s why I nominated him for the Evangelical Press Association’s 2026 Emerging Journalist Award — and why all of us at the Chronicle were so excited when the EPA recently announced him as the winner.

“The first time I met Calvin was on a Zoom call,” said Erik Tryggestad, the Chronicle’s president and CEO. “I honestly thought that his screen kept freezing, but then I realized that he was just being really still and really quiet.

“He’s a man of few words, but he’s one of the brightest, hardest-working and most dependable people I’ve ever met,” Erik added. “The thing I appreciate most about Calvin is the initiative he takes without any kind of prompting. When you ask Calvin for a hamburger, he gives you a steak. He makes the Chronicle better, and I think he makes all of us better, too.”

Calvin and his wife, Katie, have a 2-year-old daughter, Violet. The family lives in his native Alabama, where he serves as the minister for young adults at the North Tuscaloosa Church of Christ.

Calvin Cockrell, left, receives the 2026 Emerging Journalist Award from Dwight Widaman, president of the Evangelical Press Association. The honor was announced at EPA’s recent national convention in Franklin, Tenn., south of Nashville.

Most of the Chronicle staff is based in Oklahoma City, so we don’t see Calvin often in person. But we enjoyed catching up with him during a recent meeting of the Chronicle’s national board of trustees in Dallas.

“It’s been a huge blessing from God to be a part of the awesome team at The Christian Chronicle and help share the good work of the church among our fellowship,” Calvin said of winning the Emerging Journalist Award.

BOBBY ROSS JR. is Editor-in-Chief of The Christian Chronicle. Reach him at bobby@christianchronicle.org.

“True life begins when we let go of our fear, of our past, and then something new comes,” Arisha says in German as missionary Jake Haskew translates his words into English.

It’s not easy to forget past mistakes or “thoughts that won’t go away,” says Arisha, an Iranian Christian who made the dangerous journey from his homeland to Vienna two years ago. But when believers take the bread and wine to remember Jesus, “it’s as if he’s saying, ‘I know where you are, but regardless, you are still invited.’”

Arisha, right, leads a communion devotional for the Danube Church of Christ.

New beginnings abound in the small congregation, which recently moved to a facility in central Vienna near multiple universities and the city’s U-Bahn subway. Despite conflicts among their nations, the church functions as a multinational, multilingual family — evidenced as four church members read Ephesians 2:1-10 in their native tongue.

Stefan Krassnig, a longtime minister in Vienna, reads in German. Jonah Wilcox, a student in Oklahoma Christian University’s study abroad program, reads in English. Amir, another refugee from Iran, reads in Farsi. And Artum Budzhak, an immigrant from Chernivtsi, Ukraine, reads in Ukrainian.

Artum Budzhak reads Ephesians 2:1-10 in Ukrainian during Sunday worship at the Danube Church of Christ in Vienna.

In the passage, the apostle Paul tells the church in Ephesus that they once were dead in their sins. But God, because of his great love, “made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions … For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

After the readings, Arisha says, “I think that tells us everything that we need to know.”

Before taking the bread and the fruit of the vine, the Iranian Christian asks his brothers and sisters to consider a question: “When was your beginning? What did it feel like? Or has it begun? How can we encourage others to start their new beginning?”

Members of a Church of Christ in Vienna pack them all into their cars on a Saturday morning. They drive about an hour north from Austria’s capital to reach this village near the Czech border.

The Christian caravan pulls up to Poysdorfer Hof, a hotel for refugees, and unloads. Inside, a small group of children, most of them Ukrainian, waits eagerly as the church members set up a table of snacks, plastic cups of juice and a coffee bar for the parents.

“I remember what they must feel like,” says Ibrahim, who made the drive from Vienna with his mother, Esmat. So do the other church members, all but one of whom are from Iran.

Eight years ago, Ibrahim was a refugee, too. His father had met a group of Christians while visiting the Middle Eastern nation of Kuwait. His family began worshiping with an underground church in Iran — and caught the attention of the Gasht-e Ershad, the country’s much-feared morality police. Ibrahim fled to Vienna and found the Pohlgasse Church of Christ, which baptized him. Other Iranians followed, though many of their families stayed behind. For security reasons, The Christian Chronicle is using only their first names.

@christianchronicle POYSDORF, AUSTRIA — Reggy Hiller, a member of the Pohlgasse Church of Christ in Vienna, Austria, sings with a group of refugee children from Ukraine. Hiller and a group of Christians from Iran — once refugees themselves — brought candy and Bibles for the children. #iranianchristians #ukrainianrefugees #churchofchrist #poysdorf ♬ original sound – The Christian Chronicle

Ibrahim is part of a wave of refugees from the Middle East who transformed the Pohlgasse church in the mid-2010s. The Vienna congregation now has a Sunday morning service in Farsi, Iran’s national language, for Christians from Iran and Afghanistan. The church also has an afternoon service in German and English, attended mostly by immigrants from Africa.

Add Ukrainians to the mix. The first wave came to Austria after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began four years ago. More Ukrainians followed as Russia’s drone and missile attacks intensified.

Now, both Ukraine and Iran endure daily bombings, and both peoples worry about their loved ones back home.

The U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran, launched earlier this year, quickly became entangled with the war in Ukraine. As the Middle East conflict restricted the global flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. eased its embargo on Russian oil, giving President Vladimir Putin more resources to attack Ukraine, which could result in more refugees.

Outside the Poysdorf hotel, Ukrainian children greet their visitors from Vienna.

Ibrahim prays for an end to the conflicts. He also thanks God for his new life in Austria, where he works in information technology — and for the opportunity to help fellow refugees.

After years of receiving aid from people of faith, serving the Ukrainians “feels really good,” says Parvin, another Iranian Christian. “When we support each other, differences don’t matter. In these moments, we are just people helping people, and that’s what matters most.”

‘This way we have hope’

In the hotel’s meeting room, the small group of children quickly becomes a standing-room-only crowd. The Pohlgasse church members come to Poysdorf regularly, and the numbers grow with each visit.

The kids closest to the table put down their snacks and grab copies of a Ukrainian-language children’s Bible produced by Eastern European Mission. They chatter gleefully with each other as they turn the pages. Next time, the church members will have to bring more.

@christianchronicle POYSDORF, AUSTRIA — Children from Ukraine sing “This is the Day That the Lord Has Made” in German during a visit by members of the Pohlgasse Church of Christ in Vienna. The Christians, most of them immigrants from Iran, brought candy, snacks and Bibles for the refugees. #poysdorf #ukrainianrefugees #iranianchristians #churchofchrist ♬ original sound – The Christian Chronicle

Three Ukrainian women lead a chorus of children in traditional songs, welcoming spring and celebrating Easter. Then Reggy Hiller, the only non-Iranian from the Pohlgasse church, talks about Jesus’ resurrection, the Great Commission and baptism — while doing her best to remember all of the children’s names.

Hiller, the daughter of missionaries Bob and Ruth Hare, is a longtime member and mission worker with the Pohlgasse church. She recently married an Iranian refugee, a musician and guitar instructor who was baptized in 2023.

“Is it good that Jesus was resurrected?” Hiller asks the children. “Yes! Because otherwise we would just stay dead, and that would be sad. But this way we have hope. We get to see each other again and stay with Jesus. We get to sing a lot up there, too!”

Sasha, 17, and her mother, Alesia, squeeze onto a wooden bench in the corner of the room. They’re from Mykolaiv, a port city and shipbuilding hub in southern Ukraine that’s endured heavy attacks since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022. Sasha’s sister is still in Ukraine. When asked if she’s OK, Sasha says, “Not always. It’s so hard.”

As for the Christians who came to serve them, “I think the Iran people are good, actually,” Sasha says. “They come here to find a better life, so I understand them.”

Girls flip through a Ukrainian-language children’s Bible provided by Eastern European Mission.

Sophia Semeniuk, 20, also grew up in Mykolaiv. She was studying in Germany when the invasion began and remembers crying bitterly when she learned of it. Now she’s taking online courses and earning degrees in psychology and counseling. One day she hopes to return to Ukraine and help the countless people traumatized by the conflict.

“I think it’s good,” she says of the Iranian Christians’ care for the Ukrainians, “and I think that Ukrainians can also be of help to the Iranians.”

She looks forward to the day when she can return the favor, reaching out to Iranians affected by war.

When asked if she’s found a church home in Poysdorf, she says no.

“I’m believing in God, but I believe that God is in your heart. God doesn’t have a place because he’s everywhere.”

Dimitri Godunow is on his way to do laundry when he sees the crowd in the hotel’s lobby. He grabs a snack and visits with the Iranian Christians.

Dimitri Godunow shows a photo of the bombed-out remains of his apartment building in eastern Ukraine.

On his phone, he pulls up a photo of a charred black apartment building. It once was his home in Kostiantynivka, a city in the predominantly Russian-speaking Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, now on the frontlines of the war.

“This is a completely new life here,” says Godunow, who was an attorney in Ukraine. As the brutal conflict pushed him westward, he encountered suspicion from fellow Ukrainians because of his region’s ties to Russia. And many of the men who leave Ukraine are regarded as traitors by those who remain and join the Ukrainian army, he adds.

“There are (no longer) any lines between religions and nationalities. I don’t want to make harm for anybody. I’m open to everybody — Iranians, Indians, Chinese, Americans — if we’re united in love.”

But there’s a sense of camaraderie among refugees that crosses geographic barriers, he says. He’s become friends with a Russian family from the republic of Chechnya, which endured more than a decade of bloody conflict in the 1990s and 2000s.

Receiving support from Iranian Christians might have seemed far-fetched a few years ago, but not now.

“For me, this is totally normal,” Godunow says. “It’s from the heart. There are (no longer) any lines between religions and nationalities. I don’t want to make harm for anybody. I’m open to everybody — Iranians, Indians, Chinese, Americans — if we’re united in love.”

Alisha, right, next to her daughter, Sasha, shows her forearm tattoo that reads “Only God knows why.”

Back amid the crowd of children, Sasha uses the English she knows to translate for her mother, Alesia, who’s eager to show off a tattoo she got a couple of weeks ago. She rolls up her left sleeve as her daughter rolls her eyes. Scrolled across her forearm, in cursive English, are words that seem to sum up the past four years for Ukraine, “Only God knows why.”

What inspired Alisha to have those words immortalized in her flesh?

With a teenage smirk, Sasha says, “Only God knows why.”

Laborers needed

After handing out the chicken salad crepes, the Iranian Christians pack up. Four girls, each holding an orange rose, crowd around Hiller’s car to tell her goodbye. She remembers two of their names — Marina and Adrina.

As Ibrahim drives Hiller and his mother back to Vienna, he reflects on their Ukrainian neighbors, speaking in German as Hiller translates.

Reggy Hiller, right, talks to Ukrainian women in Poysdorf.

“I’m pleasantly surprised by how nice they are,” he says. “Once you have a friend in them, you always have a friend.”

Hiller, 75, would love to see a Church of Christ planted in Poysdorf. But her schedule is full. That’s also true for Gerhard Krassnig, minister for the Pohlgasse church. As Hiller and the Iranian Christians return to Vienna, Krassnig is headed to Salzburg, near the German border, to visit a Church of Christ there. Missionaries Bill and Marie-Claire McDonough worked with the congregation and studied the Bible with Iranian refugees in western Austria. But the couple recently returned to the U.S.

“The harvest is plentiful,” Hiller says, quoting Jesus’ words to his disciples in Matthew 9:37. But the laborers — be they Austrian, American, Iranian or Ukrainian — are few, at least for now.

ERIK TRYGGESTAD is President and CEO of The Christian Chronicle. Contact erik@christianchronicle.org.

Should we keep printing this paper?

I asked the question in my January Insight column and received a lot of feedback. The price of printing and mailing this publication has risen substantially, costing the Chronicle about $56,000 per month. That’s tough to sustain for 12 issues per year. Meanwhile, we’ve enhanced our digital offerings through downloadable PDFs of the print edition and have expanded our online coverage with video and additional photos we don’t have space to run in print. We’re active on social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok. And we’re getting ready to enhance our award-winning podcast.

Nonetheless, the overwhelming majority of readers who responded talked about how much they value the print edition — particularly, the ability to hold the news in their hand and to read it in a space and manner of their choosing. “I believe I am more likely to read it cover-to-cover, as I do now,” one reader said. “I usually keep it out on the counter and read it over the course of a few days. With digital, it wouldn’t be in plain sight for me to keep going back to.” Other readers pointed out how much they love our crossword puzzle. Even if it means going bimonthly or quarterly, they want the Chronicle to stay in print.

Our plan is to keep producing a print edition as long as possible. This year we’re experimenting with producing 10 issues instead of 12 to see how this impacts our bottom line. Please know how much I deeply appreciate your feedback and all of the kind words you said about this ministry.

“Having a central location of news for the church helps (to) keep the community feeling part of the larger Christian family,” one reader wrote. That’s why we do this.

Are you getting multiple copies?

After reading about our concerns with the cost of producing and mailing the paper, some of you likely were surprised to find two copies of the Chronicle in your mailbox. As part of our move to independence, we moved our database to a new system and a few glitches resulted. If you’re getting multiple copies of the print edition, please contact Sawmi Sektak in our office at sawmi@christianchronicle.org or call us at (405) 425-5070 and we’ll get it fixed.

New PO Box

Moving to independence from Oklahoma Christian University also required us to separate our mail from the Post Office Box used by the university. Some of our dedicated supporters still have Business Reply Mail envelopes that have the old address. Please do not send contributions or correspondence to PO Box 11000 in Oklahoma City. Our new address is PO Box 5240, Edmond, OK 73083-5240. You also can send correspondence directly to our office at 2801 E Memorial Rd. Ste 102, Edmond, OK 73013.

Thank you!

Last year we set the ambitious goal of raising $168,000 to help with one-time transition and equipment costs and ever-rising prices. I’m thrilled to report that, thanks to your gifts, we met and exceeded that goal!

If you missed the chance to contribute, fear not! We currently have a $100,000 matching gift given toward our spring appeal. The funds we raise will go toward stories that matter to you, including our “Who Are We?” series. Please mail checks to the address above or look for the “donate” button on our website, christianchronicle.org.

ERIK TRYGGESTAD is President and CEO of The Christian Chronicle. Contact erik@christianchronicle.org.

That realization didn’t come from theory. It came from experience. After more than 20 years in a close friendship, I began to recognize patterns I had never been taught to see: manipulation, confusion and a slow erosion of my sense of reality.

What unsettled me most wasn’t just the behavior itself. It was how easily that same person could use church spaces, relationships and language to uphold a completely different image.

Growing up in the Church of Christ, I heard a lot about false teachers. We were taught to measure everything against Scripture and be careful about doctrines that didn’t align with God’s Word. That emphasis mattered. It protected many of us.

But there was another kind of danger I was never taught to recognize.

No one ever taught us how to identify harmful relational patterns.

Listen to Marie Stroughter, host of the the “MoMo 634” podcast, discuss mental health on The Christian Chronicle Podcast.

Today, the word narcissism is everywhere. It’s often overused and misused, and the Bible doesn’t use the term at all. But Scripture clearly describes the behaviors. In 2 Timothy 3:1–5, Paul warns about people who are “lovers of self,” abusive and yet maintain “a form of godliness.” Jesus cautions about “wolves in sheep’s clothing” (Matthew 7:15). And in 3 John, the elder calls out Diotrephes for loving prominence and using his position to push others aside.

The language may be modern.

The patterns are not.

What I’ve come to understand is that many Christians simply haven’t been equipped to recognize these patterns. We’ve been taught to watch doctrine closely but not always to “test the spirits” (1 John 4:1) or examine fruit in the context of everyday relationships. We know what truth sounds like. We don’t always know what manipulation feels like.

Church environments can unintentionally make this harder. We’re taught to see the best in people. We’re taught to forgive quickly. We often avoid conflict. And we elevate and celebrate those who appear spiritually mature. These are good and necessary parts of our faith. But without discernment and accountability, they can also provide cover for someone who is highly invested in maintaining an image.

“We know what truth sounds like. We don’t always know what manipulation feels like.”

In some cases, that image becomes a shield.

One of the more damaging dynamics that can emerge is what’s often called a smear campaign, where a person subtly or overtly discredits someone else to protect their own reputation. Because the individual has carefully built trust, credibility and spiritual standing, their version of events is often believed without question. Meanwhile, the person on the receiving end may find themselves isolated, misunderstood or even abandoned.

I once read a comment from a woman who described her husband as “shape-shifting” the moment he stepped into the church parking lot, becoming gentle, kind and respected in public while being something very different at home. That kind of contrast can make it incredibly difficult for truth to surface.

To be clear, not every difficult person is a narcissist. And the goal isn’t to label people or act as clinicians. You don’t need a diagnosis to recognize when a relationship consistently produces confusion, fear, manipulation or emotional harm.

The label isn’t the point. The pattern is.

Scripture calls believers to be both loving and discerning. Paying attention to patterns, especially when behavior consistently contradicts a person’s public image, is part of that discernment. It allows us to care well for ourselves and others and to avoid enabling harm in the name of grace.

“The ‘fruit’ Jesus speaks about isn’t just what people say. It’s what consistently shows up in their actions, especially in private.”

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and this is simply an encouragement to learn. Seek understanding about unhealthy relational dynamics. Talk with your children about manipulation and emotional harm in age-appropriate ways. Help them understand that the “fruit” Jesus speaks about isn’t just what people say. It’s what consistently shows up in their actions, especially in private.

For many of us, this kind of awareness was never part of our spiritual training. But it can be now.

And sometimes, that awareness is what protects our minds, our faith and our sense of self from harm we were never taught to see.

TANEISE PERRY, a Christian who lives in the Charlotte, N.C., area, serves on The Christian Chronicle’s board of trustees.

Winners were announced this past weekend at RNA’s 77th annual conference, held at an Atlanta-area hotel.

B.T. Irwin, the Chronicle’s podcast host and director, and Kenneth Pybus, a freelance correspondent, earned second place in the audio conversation and commentary category.

B.T. Irwin

Irwin and Pybus were recognized for Episode 111, an interview with Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti about his role in the U.S. Supreme Court’s biggest transgender case ever.

Bobby Ross Jr., the Chronicle’s editor-in-chief, accepted the award for Irwin and Pybus.

“The greatest joy in receiving this honor with The Christian Chronicle team is knowing that we made something that the people in the pews received as fresh air and light,” Irwin said in a statement read by Ross at the awards banquet. “On their behalf, thank you for encouraging us to always strive for higher standards.”

In his own statement, Pybus, a professor and chair of communication and journalism at Abilene Christian University in Texas, said: “I’m honored to receive this recognition from the Religion News Association for my podcast interviewing. I’m grateful for the opportunity to engage thoughtful discussions where faith connects with law and public life, and I appreciate the colleagues and listeners who make that work meaningful.”

Kenneth Pybus

The award comes as the Detroit-based Irwin prepares to leave his role with the podcast, which he launched in January 2023 and has guided through more than 150 episodes.

“Being part of The Christian Chronicle team is one of my all-time favorite experiences,” said Irwin, who will remain in his role through the end of May. “It’s been such an honor and privilege to get to learn from some of the best journalists and most earnest Christians anywhere. And it’s been pure joy to get to meet and serve so many Christians from all over the world and all walks of life. I’m excited to see what The Christian Chronicle does next with new media like the podcast.”

The Chronicle will announce future plans for the podcast soon.

“We’re grateful to Brad for all the hard work and expertise he has put into making the Chronicle’s podcast so relevant to our audience,” Ross said. “We have some exciting plans in the works to keep building and improving our audio journalism efforts.”

Also at the RNA conference, Ross won an award for analysis and explanatory reporting for the Weekend Plug-in column he writes for Religion Unplugged. It’s the eighth RNA award of his career.

Bobby Ross Jr. accepts an award at the Religion News Association annual conference in Decatur, Ga.

My wife, Jeanie, coaches the kids from our congregation, the Memorial Road Church of Christ in Oklahoma City, who sign up to do Bible Bowl at the annual North Texas Leadership Training for Christ convention. Jeanie and I are a great team. She teaches the kids the Bible, and I write practice questions and tell jokes.

Leadership Training for Christ, or LTC, is a program where kids memorize Scripture, lead singing, give speeches, sign for the deaf, perform dramas and puppet shows and test their Bible knowledge. It’s similar to the Lads to Leaders program I did growing up in Macon, Ga. Memorial Road’s coordinators strongly recommend that all participants do Bible Bowl, Bible Quiz (an open-book test taken by teams) or Bible Reading in addition to whatever other events they want. Some kids pick two or three events to do before or at the convention. Others, like Wesley and Natalie LaRue, do basically everything on the list.

This year we had more than 60 kids sign up for Bible Bowl. That’s a record. We covered three books from the Old Testament — Joshua, Judges and Ruth. The theme for this year’s LTC, “We will Serve,” comes from Joshua’s warning-laden farewell speech to the Israelites. He told them to “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. … But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

Serving 60 kids meant reviewing a host of unfamiliar names and places. The book of Judges alone is filled with hard-to-remember details — not to mention guys like Othniel, Ehud, Jepthah, Shamgar (who killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad), Tola, Jair (who had 30 sons who rode on 30 donkeys), Ibzan, Elon and Abdon.

Jeanie makes learning entertaining by using Lego illustrations of the Bible stories that she finds online. Yes, that includes Jael and her tent peg from Judges 4. We have to censor some of the Lego slides, no joke! And this year we ran into another challenge — there were no slides for the book of Ruth.

For Lucy, our 12-year-old sixth grader, this was an injustice that had to be corrected. So we got our Lego bricks out of the storage closet and went to work recreating the story of Ruth, Naomi, Orpah and their ill-fated husbands. Unlike the slides we used for Joshua and Judges, the story of Ruth had a decidedly Disney princess and “Star Wars” feel. Among the guests at the wedding in chapter four were R2-D2 and Cinderella. And one of the town elders who witnessed Boaz negotiate with Ruth and Naomi’s guardian-redeemer might have been Santa.

Ruth meets Boaz as she gathers grain in his field. The Lego scene is part of Lucy Tryggestad’s PowerPoint presentation for her fellow LTC Bible Bowlers.

We built the sets, placed the Lego mini figures, took photos and put together a PowerPoint that combined the pictures with the Bible verses from Ruth. In addition to teaching our Bible Bowl kids, Lucy entered the presentation in one of the LTC pre-convention events. At the convention on Saturday night, our church hosted its annual banquet and awards ceremony. Lucy got a gold medal for her PowerPoint — and a gold in Bible Bowl, which was no easy feat this year. Despite my best efforts to challenge our students with practice questions, this year’s Bible Bowl was nothing short of brutal. But I was so proud of how much our kids remembered.

Our church’s award ceremony is my favorite part of LTC. Those of us who coach line up and hand out full-size candy bars to the students — one for each year they’ve participated in LTC. This year was especially meaningful for me and Jeanie as we watched our 18-year-old, Maggie, get 10 candy bars. She started LTC in third grade. That’s the first year that students are allowed to participate. For sticking with the program for a solid decade, she got a $500 scholarship from Oklahoma Christian University, where she’ll start this fall.

Maggie is part of an incredible group of high school seniors at our church. We hugged, celebrated and prayed for them all. Maggie cried. Jeanie cried. Chris McKeever, one of our church’s elders who oversees children’s ministry, cried. I took pictures.

The annual, Easter-weekend trip to the Hilton Anatole in Dallas has become a big part of our lives — and will continue to be at least until Lucy graduates from high school. I know a lot of adults who stay involved in LTC even after their kids have left the nest. We all believe in the value of programs like LTC and Lads to Leaders. These programs encourage our kids to dive headfirst into Scripture and to develop fun ways to illustrate God’s Word through drama, puppet shows, speeches and art.

After the LTC award banquet, Maggie Tryggestad, center, shares a hug with her mom, Dr. Jeanie Tryggestad, left, and fellow seniors Olivia Newberry, Annie Compton and Megan Sims.

I always come away from our Bible Bowl studies more well-versed in the Bible. My big takeaway after studying Joshua, Judges and Ruth is the incredible difficulty of staying the course. Time and again, despite having God literally talking to them, the children of Israel lose focus on the things that matter and fall into the idolatrous patterns of the world. The kind of longevity that Lads and LTC promote is exactly what we need.

As much as I’d love to map out a direct path for my children along the straight and narrow, I know that they ultimately will decide whom they will serve. I pray that Jeanie and I have provided Maggie with as firm a foundation as possible as she takes these next, exciting steps.

ERIK TRYGGESTAD is President and CEO of The Christian Chronicle. Contact erik@christianchronicle.org.

After Sunday morning worship, elder Doug Boyle thanks fellow members of the Garriott Road Church of Christ for their concern during the April 23, 2026, tornado.

The storm “wiped out that entire neighborhood,” said Doug Boyle, an elder of the Garriott Road Church of Christ who lives just south of Gray Ridge. “It’s just like a war zone,” the combat veteran said, “trees snapped, houses gone, nothing but rubble.”

As the funnel cloud touched down, multiple church members called or texted Boyle. 

“My phone was blowing up on Thursday,” the elder said as he addressed the congregation after Sunday worship, thanking them for their concern.

One call came from Bret Moore, a church member in Edmond, Okla., who works with Alabama-based Project Unify. Moore and Boyle rounded up volunteers and helped storm victims recover personal items from the debris. Boyle said he was impressed by Project Unify’s emphasis on serving victims’ physical and spiritual needs.

The Garriott Road church’s Sunday bulletin had a special insert titled “Emergency Safety Instructions.” The flyer told church members what they should do in the event of an active shooter, a power outage, a fire and, finally, a tornado warning.

A copy of the Garriott Road Church of Christ bulletin with an insert about emergency procedures is next to a hymnal on a church pew.

The timing was coincidental, said Dan Biby, leader of the church’s newly formed safety team. But it emphasized the need for Christians to know what to do in an emergency, he said, especially in a state known for deadly weather.

Dan Biby

“This was the fastest-building storm I’ve ever witnessed,” Biby said of the April 23 tornado. He grew up on a cattle ranch in the nearby community of Nash, Okla., and remembers a 1964 twister that sprung to life after midnight and destroyed his family’s barn. He was 3 years old, and back then “the only tornado warning you got was when the power went out.”

That’s not the case in 2026. Warning sirens abound in most Oklahoma municipalities, and TV weather forecasters can pinpoint the “hook echo” of a tornado-producing supercell down to the nearest cross streets. Most Oklahomans have easy access to storm shelters. Despite the damage, no deaths or serious injuries were reported after the Thursday storm.

The Sunday service focused on the Garriott Road church’s global outreach. Guest speaker Alex Coloma preached on “God’s Mission is Our Mission.” Coloma, a former missionary on the island of Guam, is finishing a degree at the Memphis School of Preaching and will soon return with his wife, Brenda, to their native Philippines. The couple plans to stay at least seven years planting churches in the South Cotabato province of Mindanao, a southern island in the Philippines.

“The Lord’s church is something that lasts through eternity,” Alex Coloma tells the Garriott Road Church of Christ as he discusses his upcoming mission work in the Philippines.

Jesus “does not wait for people to find him,” Coloma said. “He came to earth to seek and save the lost.” He urged church members to pray fervently for lost souls in the Philippines. He also asked them to send encouraging messages to mission workers, to make short-term trips to see the work and to give of their earthly wealth to support the mission.

Those also are good principles for disaster relief, Boyle said. 

“If you know anybody that lives in (Gray Ridge), reach out to them, give them the words of encouragement that they need, especially at a devastating time like this,” he told his fellow Christians. “Think about how everything was lost, we’re talking even the basics. They’re gone. They have absolutely nothing.”

Workers with Project Unify and the Garriott Road Church of Christ take a break during tornado cleanup work in Enid, Okla.

Boyle prayed that God would meet the victims’ short-term physical needs. “But we also pray for an influence in their lives, a godly influence, an influence that will touch their hearts spiritually,” he prayed. 

“Heavenly Father, let them know that you are there and that you are God and that you’re the one true God and the Holy Father, that you love them and that you want what’s best for them.”

ERIK TRYGGESTAD is President and CEO of The Christian Chronicle. Contact erik@christianchronicle.org.

The Gray Ridge neighborhood in Enid sustained heavy damage from an EF4 tornado on April 23, 2026.

An overturned boat stands among the ruins of a home in Enid, Okla., after the April 23, 2026 tornado.

Deacon Roger Gaddie oversees the welcome table before Sunday worship at the Garriott Road Church of Christ in Enid, Okla.

The sign for the Garriott Road Church of Christ stands on a main thoroughfare in Enid, Okla.

Featured photo (above): During the Bible Conference in Panama, a woman in the traditional dress of Panama’s Indigenous people watches during a children’s class.

BOLIVIA

SUCRE — Butch and Patricia Sandoval traveled to this South American city to conduct a seminar titled “Images of Spiritual Leadership: Profiles of the Apostle Paul,” hosted by the Sucre Church of Christ. Sandoval encouraged church leaders “to remain tenacious in the midst it difficulties, to keep their integrity in the midst of criticism, to speak and act with authority living what they believe,” he said, “always being responsible, knowing God is aware, and remaining humble just like Jesus.”

Butch Sandoval is a minister and missions coordinator for the Mid-County Church of Christ in Troy, Ohio. In 2007, he and his wife were part of a church-planting team in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba, which they visited before traveling to Sucre. Cochabamba now has five Churches of Christ.

Butch Sandoval speaks in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

CROATIA

VARAZDIN —

Young people from across this Central European nation learned about Jesus during the annual Croatia Spring Camp hosted by the Varaždin Church of Christ and coordinated by the ministry Next Generation for Christ and Mladen Dominic, minister at Varaždin. The camp included activities for youths in the coastal city of Crikvenica and gospel messages at the church building in Varaždin. Kevin Withem, senior minister for the North County Church of Christ in Escondido, Calif., spoke on topics including “The God Who Searches” based on Jesus’ parables of the lost sheep, coin and son from Luke 15.

Goran Kumric, minister for the Church of Christ in Vukovar, Croatia, also shared his testimonial.

INDIA

KAKINADA — The largest Lads to Leaders conventions outside of the U.S. took place at four locales in southern India, said minister Ricky Gootam.

“We started with 200 kids in Kakinada in 2019, and we have grown to 2,200 in four places and in three different languages,” said Gootam, an India-born evangelist who serves on Lads to Leaders’ board of directors. The 58-year-old ministry, founded by Jack Zorn, hosts conventions for more than 20,000 young people from Churches of Christ at locales across the U.S.

Ricky Gootam addresses a Lads to Leaders convention.

This year, four participants were baptized during the convention in Srikakulam, India, and two more were baptized at the Kakinada convention. Students preached, read Scripture and sang in Telugu, Oriya and a tribal language called Kulu. Two participants memorized more than 500 Bible verses in Kulu, Gootam said.

Organizers gave Bibles to participants and asked them to give a Bible to someone who didn’t have one. “We have been getting reports already how our kids in the villages are reaching out to their friends and family for Christ and gifting them a Bible,” Gootam said.

India, the world’s most populous country, is home to nearly 1.5 billion people. Nearly half of that number is under the age of 25, according to global population estimates. “The fourth largest economy in the world has lot of energetic young Christians,” Gootam said. “We keep on encouraging our young Leaders and Leaderettes to be strong leaders in their local churches.”

NIGERIA

UKPOM ABAK — About 500 church leaders, alumni, government officials and stakeholders in Christian education attended the 72nd Founders Day and Matriculation Ceremony at the Nigerian Christian Bible College, said public relations and development director Uyai S. Joshua.

The college, associated with Churches of Christ, admitted 41 new students. Members of 18 Churches of Christ presented songs of thanksgiving during the event. See africanchristianschools.org.

PANAMA

PANAMA CITY — Bezaleel and Oholiab aren’t names that come up in a lot of sermons. But they were the focus of Esteban Rodriguez’s sermon, titled “God gives us the skills to perform our work.”

Rodriguez was a speaker at the Conferencias Bíblicas hosted by the Bible School of the Americas, which trains ministers for Churches of Christ across Latin America. Hundreds of Christians from North, Central and South America attended.

During the Bible Conference in Panama, a woman in the traditional dress of Panama’s Indigenous people watches during a children’s class.

Bezaleel and Oholiab, from the tribes of Judah and Dan, respectively, had special skills in stone cutting and making artistic designs in gold, silver and bronze. They played an important role of the construction of the tabernacle, described in Exodus 35.

In a social media post, the conference’s organizers thanked God “for every word received about work, money and communion with God, learning to live in balance between material and spiritual.” Watch recordings from the conference at facebook.com/EscuelaBiblicaAmericas.

Villegas, the son of immigrants and a Mennonite pastor in Durham, N.C., shows that migration is woven throughout the biblical story — from Adam and Eve leaving Eden to Abraham’s journey, Israel’s exile and ultimately the incarnation of Jesus.

Isaac S. Villegas. “Migrant God: A Christian Vision for Immigrant Justice.” Eerdmans. 2025. 167 pages. $22.99.

God moves, crosses boundaries and chooses to identify with the displaced. God cares for those who migrate, knows the names of those who die in the attempt and hears the cries of the bullied, persecuted, detained and deported already inside American boundaries.

Villegas writes from experience, close-at-hand encounters and the practice of presence; he has walked through the desert, frequented immigrant aid centers, visited prisons and transformed his own congregation into a sanctuary for immigrants.

For him, this topic is not political rhetoric. His concern for immigrant justice is born of his lived experience and hard theological work.

Villegas’ book resonated strongly with us as co-ministers in a multicultural, multiracial congregation in Chicago that welcomes native-born Americans and immigrants from four continents. He tells stories of people whom we recognize, sit with on Sundays and serve the Lord with throughout the week.

There is the church outside Dallas creating a pueblo of God by their communal meals, where “worship spills over into the kitchen” and everyone has a place at the table. There is Rosa, a Honduran refugee from domestic violence who lives and serves at Villegas’ church in order to have a chance at a new life with her children.

There is the church-run network of shelters in Mexico providing places for migrants to live and thrive. These are stories of peace, not violence: of human beings trying to live with their neighbors in faith, justice and dignity.

Villegas wants his readers to remember that God knows every name, every hair on the head of migrants, just as surely as he knows those who have lived in America for generations.To him, nationalist government policies are not a fight against migration, but rather a war against immigrants who cross borders equipped only with the hope of a more dignified life — a hope that dies with many of them in the desert.

Some will find Villegas’ book challenging, perhaps even occasionally offensive. He points out, for instance, laws that the federal government has passed since the 1950s to offload responsibility for border crossing deaths onto migrants themselves. Villegas challenges all who identify with Christ to cease waving the banner of nationalist theology and offer places at our tables for immigrants.

Ultimately, “Migrant God” is both theological reflection and call to action. It reminds us of biblical commands to love and protect the foreigner. For Villegas, welcoming immigrants is central to faithful Christian living. This book challenges and inspires readers to see migrants not as strangers, but as neighbors — and even as reflections of God himself.

PAUL CHAE, CARLOS ESTRADA and PATRICK ODUM are ministers for the Northwest Church of Christ in Chicago, which has worship services in Korean, Spanish and English.

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Mark Posey speaks on “The Lord’s Church Wears Scriptural Names” in the Lester Chapel at Faulkner University.

“That divine name identifies that sacred relationship between Christ and his church,” said Mark Posey, minister for the Winfield Church of Christ in Alabama.

“The church, it belongs to Christ,” Posey added in a recent lecture at Faulkner University in Montgomery. “Therefore it should wear only names that glorify Christ, reflect Scripture and certainly preserve our unity. “

“I understand it descriptively,” echoed Charles Teddington, who preaches for the Vintage Park Church of Christ in Elk Grove, Calif.

“It’s not a title, like a corporate title. It’s not a denominational name. It’s a relational statement, and it’s a declaration of ownership.”

“It’s not a title, like a corporate title. It’s not a denominational name. It’s a relational statement, and it’s a declaration of ownership.”

The description “churches of Christ” has its origins in Scripture. The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 16, the closing salutations of his letter to the church in Rome, “All the churches of Christ send greetings.”

This is part of a series exploring the identity of Churches of Christ. Read more here.

But the 19th century American Restoration Movement popularized the use of the identifier, along with “Christian Church” and “Disciples of Christ.”

For a group of believers intent on being “Christians only” with “no creed but Christ” — as popular phrases in the movement went — it was a rejection of denominational names in favor of biblical descriptors.

“When Scripture calls it either the churches of Christ plural or we see the emphasis in regard to the church our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ built, it reflects and declares those that are called out that belong to Christ,” Posey said.

“Not to Luther, not to Wesley … not to Campbell, not to Stone,” he added, referring to the Protestant Reformation figure Martin Luther, Methodist Church founder John Wesley and Restoration Movement leaders Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone.

Not just ‘the right denomination’

“Church of Christ” eventually became the “the more common name for more doctrinally conservative congregations,” noted John Young, a Restoration Movement scholar at Amridge University in Montgomery.

Teddington said he believes many Christians have misunderstood the name.

“I would say that it’s very plausible that it almost seems to be like a brand,” the California minister told The Christian Chronicle. “I don’t personally see it that way, but … it seems like the lack of understanding of what Christ was saying has made this a brand, maybe even unintentionally.”

That tension between Scriptural descriptor and denominational label is not a new one.

In a 1964 issue of the Chronicle, M. Norvel Young — then-president of Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., which is associated with Churches of Christ — lamented a growing misconception.

“As the plea for non-denominational New Testament Christians becomes more popular and is accepted by more people,” he said, “it is easy for those who make the plea to accommodate themselves to thinking of the church as ‘the right denomination’ rather than the non-denominational Kingdom, the body of Christ, which includes all those through the ages who have obeyed the gospel and who have been added by the Lord. …

In the Oct. 30, 1964, issue of The Christian Chronicle, M. Norvel Young writes a special editorial on “Congregations of the Church.”

“We must be careful that we do not use ‘churches of Christ’ in a sectarian or party sense,” Norvel Young added. “Other descriptions of the church such as ‘church of God’ or ‘the Kingdom’ or ‘churches of God in Christ Jesus’ are just as Scriptural and as appropriate and should be used along with ‘church of Christ’ in order to avoid giving the wrong impression that we think ‘church of Christ is a denominational name.”

About 20 years ago, The Christian Chronicle began using the capitalized “Churches of Christ,” in keeping with The Associated Press Stylebook’s recommendation for news reporting.

Some readers object to the practice, expressing concern that capitalizing “Church” and using the fellowship’s name as a modifier (as in “Church of Christ preacher”) is tantamount to identifying the fellowship as a denomination.

‘A secret handshake’

Jeff Brown, minister for the Woodmont Hills Church in Nashville, Tenn., said “Church of Christ,” like denominational names, has become for many a “shorthand for sorting people in groups” with specific expectations. Woodmont Hills considers itself a Church of Christ, though it no longer prominently uses the name.

Jeff Brown

“I grew up in Oklahoma in Churches of Christ, and it did often feel like it was like a secret handshake,” Brown told the Chronicle. “If somebody said, you know, I am a member of the church, it’s like, oh, they’re part of a Church of Christ. That was like the wink and the nod that they’re one of us.”

The Tennessee preacher noted, too, that the phrase “Church of Christ” means different things to different people.

“What I have discovered it means to people has a lot to do with where they came from. … I think it depends a lot on what your first experiences were, whether they were good or bad,” Brown said.

When the a cappella Northside Church of Christ and instrumental Sunrise Church of Christ in Spokane, Wash., merged in 2024, perceptions were a major factor as leaders discussed whether their new name should include “Church of Christ.”

Troy Burns, right, and Henry Holub preach at the CityLight Church’s first service.

Most Christians associated with Churches of Christ would expect an a cappella congregation, said Troy Burns, preacher for the merged church, called CityLight Church: A Church of Christ Family.

Despite having preached for the instrumental Sunrise church previously, Burns said even he primarily associates “Church of Christ” with a cappella worship.

At the same time, others in the region would associate the phrase with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon church.

And for the unchurched members of the surrounding neighborhoods, “the name ‘Church of Christ’ doesn’t necessarily mean anything,” Burns added.

Park Linscomb

Still, the history and tradition associated with the name was important to many members, especially those from the former Northside church.

“There’s a number of people that it was really difficult for them to think about us not having that name included,” Burns told the Chronicle.

Dropping the designation can say as much as including it, said Park Linscomb, minister for the Rock Hill Church of Christ in Frisco, Texas.

“These days, deliberately omitting ‘Church of Christ’ from public advertising is almost always a way of saying that the congregation has left the brotherhood’s doctrines of a cappella music, baptism and/or male leadership,” Linscomb said.

‘Scriptural names’

So does the name on the sign even matter?

No — but yes, said several ministers.

“To think that somebody selected a different name, and they’re somehow ruled out from being in the body of Christ — I just don’t see any evidence at all in Scripture that God is concerned, that God requires or desires a specific name on the sign,” said Brown, the Nashville preacher.

“I just don’t see any evidence at all in Scripture that God is concerned, that God requires or desires a specific name on the sign.”

It’s not the name but the fruit that shows whether a church body belongs to Christ, he added: “Let’s look deeper than the name on the sign or even the printed order of worship on a Sunday morning — to look for evidence of the work of God, for the fruit of the Holy Spirit.”

Teddington, the California preacher, went even further: “Do you need a name on the building at all? You don’t.

“And how do you tell that someone is subscribing to New Testament doctrine?” he added. “By what they’re teaching and by what they’re practicing based upon what they’re teaching. And the first century church didn’t have this problem because the only Christian movement was Christ.”

Still, Teddington and other preachers emphasized that if a name — or description — is used, it must be biblical.

Clint Davison

“I don’t believe the specific name ‘Church of Christ’ is a mandatory thing, as long as a group uses a biblical name which identifies who the worshipers truly are — the church, the assembly, the called-out, who belong to Jesus,” said Clint Davison, associate minister for the Linder Road Church of Christ in Meridian, Idaho.

“Congregations should guard against titles or slogans that detract from the cross,” Posey said in his lecture, titled “The Lord’s Church Wears Scriptural Names.”

He recalled what his father, Glenn Posey, a longtime preacher in Churches of Christ, told him: “Remember, the Church of Christ wears his name because it bears his cross.”

CALVIN COCKRELL is Managing Editor for The Christian Chronicle and serves as the young adult minister for the North Tuscaloosa Church of Christ in Alabama. Reach him at calvin@christianchronicle.org.

Featured image (above): A new church plant, The Way, meets in downtown Abilene, Texas.

GEORGIA

ATLANTA — Morehouse College, the historically Black alma mater of Martin Luther King Jr., recently inducted Edward J. Cribbs Sr. into its Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers.

The honor recognizes “distinguished clergy from across the nation who exemplify moral leadership, spiritual conviction, and a commitment to justice and service in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”

Cribbs preaches for the Oakland Church of Christ in Southfield, Mich., and serves as chief operations officer for the Crusade for Christ.

Edward Cribbs poses with Georgia senator and minister Raphael Warnock at the Morehouse induction ceremony.

He’s also preached for the Russell Woods Church of Christ in Detroit and taught middle school social studies.

“Bro. Cribbs’ induction reflects a life of faithful preaching, servant leadership, and an unwavering commitment to advancing the gospel through both ministry and organized evangelistic efforts,” the Crusade for Christ said in a statement.

“Crusade leadership gives thanks to God for Bro. Cribbs’ faithful service and his continued leadership. … This honor reflects … the spirit and mission of the work he helps lead, with a continued impact on the work of evangelism.”

TENNESSEE

PIGEON FORGE — At the LeConte Event Center — minutes from Dollywood, the theme park named for iconic singer Dolly Parton — 13,000 gathered for the Challenge Youth Conference.

“While headlines often focus on a narrative of decline, a powerful story of hope and spiritual hunger is unfolding in our churches,” said P.J. Hicks, minister for the Whitney Church of Christ in Texas.

“This event wasn’t just another weekend getaway,” he added. “It was a vibrant testament to a generation actively seeking a deeper connection with God.”

Kyle Butt speaks at the Challenge Youth Conference in Tennessee

The theme of the year’s youth event was “ChatCYC: Hearing God in a Digital Age,” a play on the name of the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT.

Teens came together to grow closer to God and each other through worship, devotionals and fun activities.

Hicks was encouraged by the passion and energy he saw at CYC.

“Today’s teens are not looking for superficial programs or watered-down messages,” he said. “They are searching for authenticity and substance. They crave solid biblical truth that speaks to the complex challenges they face daily.”

TEXAS

ABILENE — The Remington Ridge Church of Christ on the outskirts of this West Texas city has planted a new church in downtown Abilene.

The new congregation, called “The Way — A Church of Christ,” meets at the 201 Mesquite Event Center west of Front Porch Coffee Co. and Bakery.

A new church plant, The Way, meets in downtown Abilene, Texas.

“From the time we started worshiping together as Remington Ridge in 2017, part of our vision has been to plant more churches in the Abilene area to continue spreading the Word of God,” said Ron McElyea, one of Remington Ridge’s elders. “We’re in our ninth year, and that’s happening.”

Zane Dennis, another elder, explained that Remington Ridge was intentional about growing a church to about 375 to 400 members, which leaders believed was a good size for members to actively engage in ministry and fellowship.

“We didn’t want to be a megachurch,” Dennis said. “So when our numbers neared the 400 mark, conversations started about seeding another church. Matthew 28:19 says ‘go,’ and that’s what we’re doing.”

NEWSMAKERS

BAPTIZED — ROBERT CLANTON of the Maysville Church of Christ in Alabama. BRENT CLARK of the Central Church of Christ in Paducah, Ky. SOPHIA DEBOLT and KENLEE VANDAGRIFF of the North Terrace Church of Christ in Zanesville, Ohio. SYLOUS GATROST of the Camden Church of Christ in Tennessee. JACOB GRIFFIN and TRAVIS HANEY of the Sullivan Village Church of Christ in Lawton, Okla. LYNN JARVIS of the Millington Church of Christ in Tennessee. YOLANDA JOHNSON of the Bellingrath Road Church of Christ in Theodore, Ala. SAM JONES of the Prattville Church of Christ in Alabama. ANJI ORTIZE of the Roosevelt Drive Church of Christ in Jacksonville, N.C. JASMINE PETTY and TYSHIRA, DAMARI, DAMIAN and DECANTER GORDON of the U.S. 19 Church of Christ in Albany, Ga. RHONDA SESSION of the Dominion Park Church of Christ in Houston. MAXIMO SOTO of the Rome Church of Christ in Tampa, Fla. CHLOE WALKER of the Jefferson Avenue Church of Christ in Cookeville, Tenn. ANGELA WESNER of the Sunset Road Church of Christ in Burlington, N.J.

Elizabeth Krumrei Mancuso, Dr. Deborah Octobre Stock and Joshua Marcum

AWARDED — ELIZABETH KRUMREI MANCUSO, professor of psychology at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., a $1.2 million grant from Templeton Religion Trust to conduct three years of research on religious pluralism. The funds are part of a $2.2 million award distributed to the University of Kansas to fund an interdisciplinary team of four scholars within the domains of philosophy, religious studies and psychology. Mancuso is the project’s co-director.

ACCOMPLISHED — DR. DEBORAH OCTOBRE STOCK passed the Philippines Medical Board Exam. She and her husband, Michael, are missionaries for Churches of Christ and work in Tagbilaran on Bohol Island in the Philippines.

Dennis Marquardt, Kristi Reynolds, Rob Phillips and Zechariah Smith

NAMED— GRIFF ALDRICH, head men’s basketball coach at Pepperdine University. ETHAN LASTER, assistant professor of theology, and JOSHUA MARCUM, director of the Christian Workers Institute at Harding School of Theology in Searcy, Ark. The institute is a new program funded through the Lilly Endowment’s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative. Marcum also will serve as assistant professor of ministry. DENNIS MARQUARDT, dean of the Paul R. Carter College of Business Administration, and BRETT BIGGS, senior advisor to the president and executive in residence for the College of Business Administration at Harding University in Searcy. ROB PHILLIPS, head football coach for Columbia Academy in Tennessee. KRISTI REYNOLDS, head of upper school and assistant head of school for strategic and innovative initiatives at Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, Tenn. ZECHARIAH SMITH, minister for the Dellcrest Church of Christ in San Antonio.

After serving in various churches across the Midwest as a youth minister and preaching minister since 2001, in 2019 he began noticing symptoms of what he would later come to know as burnout.

“I didn’t even know what to call it at the time. I thought I might be depressed or just unfaithful,” Sears said. “Even though I had to write all those papers that stressed me out, I had a great network of minister friends in school. I didn’t realize how much I missed that until I was out of it.”

“I didn’t even know what to call it at the time. I thought I might be depressed or just unfaithful.”

After he began a doctorate in ministry at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn., which is also associated with Churches of Christ, Sears’ experience in ministry inspired him to complete a dissertation focused on minister burnout in 2023. Leaving full-time ministry, he began teaching at York.

“Part of the reason that I got out of full-time preaching was I wanted to be a person that got to help train students going into ministry,” Sears said. “But I also felt a calling in my heart from God to be some kind of lifeline for ministers that are in the field.”

In his office, Darrel Sears prepares for one of the THRIVE Cohort’s meetings.

While teaching at York, Sears approached the university’s Kite Center for Ministry. He offered to be a tool for the center, unsure of where this calling might go.

The connection led Sears to create the THRIVE Cohort. Started in January 2026, the cohort consists of Sears and seven ministers who meet online eight times throughout the year, with breaks during summer and December. Sears plans to start another cohort every year “as long as it’s beneficial.”

“It’s called THRIVE because we’re not supposed to just survive in ministry or in our Christian life, but God made … us to flourish,” Sears said. “I want ministers to really love what they’re doing and thrive in ministry.”

While Sears’ research has focused on burnout, he emphasized that isn’t the cohort’s sole focus — it’s to offer community and support for those in every stage of ministry.

Rion Curtis

Rion Curtis, preaching minister for the Clearwater Church of Christ in Kansas, is early on in his ministry. But he said the THRIVE Cohort has helped him look out for the warning signs of burnout — and prevent it before it starts.

“We make sure we know we’re not alone as ministers because it’s not an easy job,” Curtis said.

Connor Lewis, preacher for the Trinity Baptist Church in Douglas, Wy., has also only been in ministry for a few months, but he’s found valuable support with THRIVE. At 26, he’s the youngest in the group and says he’s been able to learn from the more experienced members.

“I look forward to learning more from their experience and their wisdom,” Lewis said, “And for this cohort to be a safe place to have other ministers to rely on.”

During their meetings, cohort members have time to check in with one another and enjoy a unique kind of community they may not find elsewhere. “I have lots of good friends in the church, but there’s something that only ministers will understand,” Sears said. “They know what it’s like to always be ‘on.’”

He explained the difficulty of maintaining a work-life balance when he was in full-time ministry: “I was always ‘Preacher Darrel’ or ‘Youth Minister Darrel,’ but I needed spaces for myself where I could just be ‘Darrel,’” Sears said. “So I’m trying to create a space for these guys where they don’t have to be ‘preacher’ or ‘teacher,’ but they’re just ‘disciple of Jesus’ — and hopefully that’s what makes this cohort lifegiving for them.”

Darrel Sears, far right, meets with students and future ministers in York University’s cafeteria.

As cohort members talk, read, learn and practice spiritual disciplines together, Sears’ goal is to ensure ministers aren’t trying to give life to their churches apart from the source of life.

“I just feel like there’s far too many of us in ministry that are disconnected from the vine,” he said, referencing Jesus’ metaphor in John 15.

“We preach and we teach all the time, but I’ve realized I would go an entire day of doing ministry without thinking about Jesus.” Sears said. “How did that happen?

“I want us to be connected to the vine and thinking about Jesus. I want us to be able to give life to our congregants, but we also have to have life within us. I’m just passionate about making sure we’re thriving through the Spirit, not just surviving.”

ELIZA ROHDA is a senior at York University in Nebraska double majoring in vocational ministry and English — with an emphasis in professional and media writing — and minoring in Greek. She’s written for the Seward County Independent in Seward, Neb.

I heard the welcoming voice of my friend and colleague Hamil R. Harris as soon as I stepped out of my car in his Washington, D.C.-area driveway.

On a recent East Coast trip, my son Brady, 7-year-old grandson Bennett and I saw our favorite team, the Texas Rangers, play the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. In the nation’s capital, we explored sites such as the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.

Bobby, Brady and Bennett Ross visit the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

But for me, a highlight of the trip was seeing Harris, a former longtime Washington Post reporter who serves on The Christian Chronicle’s Editorial Board.

“Y’all made it to the ’hood!” Harris said enthusiastically. “Come in, and give me a hug.”

The 66-year-old father of four has battled health issues in recent years. Still, he preaches regularly for the Glenarden Church of Christ in Maryland.

For years, Terry Mattingly, a nationally syndicated religion columnist, invited Harris to speak to students at the Washington Journalism Center, a former program of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

Mattingly still recalls Harris’ attention to detail, including when he covered an anniversary of the 1968 D.C. riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

Harris wanted to see the riots through the eyes of those who experienced them. So he rode buses through affected neighborhoods and took notes.

“Harris marked key buildings that were still in ruins,” Mattingly said. “Then he went back and wrote down the graffiti on the buildings.

“My students simply could not imagine going into that level of detail,” the columnist added. “But Harris didn’t settle for vague adjectives and sloppy adverbs. He sweated the details.”

The Washington Association of Black Journalists honored Harris in 2022 with its inaugural Legacy Award.

“Hamil is a celebrity in the D.C. journalism scene,” said Michelle Boorstein, the Post’s longtime religion writer. “Hamil is respected by and connected to so, so many people active in religious life in the D.C. area.

Hamil R. Harris and Bobby Ross Jr. pose for a photo at Harris’ Washington, D.C.-area home.

“For someone with such wide-ranging expertise … Hamil is one of the most loving and down-to-earth people you will meet,” Boorstein added. “When we worked together, he would always call me ‘Shelly’ and say I looked like Cher, which kills me.”

A Florida native, Harris cares about quality journalism.

But he cares even more about people.

Trindi Mitchell

“Hamil is not merely a colleague on the Editorial Board,” said Trindi Mitchell, a member of the Henry Street Church of Christ in Gadsden, Ala. “He is my big brother and mentor.

“I consider Hamil as a combination of John, ‘the apostle of love,’ and Barnabas,” added Mitchell, who serves alongside Harris on the board, which collaborates on topics and stances for the Chronicle’s editorial page. “He has an earnest, genuine love for all people, always ready to uplift and encourage everyone he meets.”

When Harris suffered a stroke back in October, I sent him a text message to tell him I was praying. Almost immediately, he called me from the hospital.

The stroke had slowed his speech, but he was grading papers — in his hospital bed — for a journalism class he teaches at Morgan State University.

Always eager to pitch a story idea, he offered to write about his stroke experience. I urged him to focus on his healing.

Anytime we talk, Harris always insists on praying. During the October call, I asked God to bless my brother’s recovery, and he emotionally thanked the Lord for saving his life.

Harris embodies 1 Thessalonians 5:17: He prays without ceasing.

“At the end of every conversation I have with Hamil,” Mitchell said, “he ends with a prayer and says, ‘I love you, sister.’”

Cheryl Mann Bacon, a Chronicle contributing editor, said, “I have never had a conversation with Hamil that he didn’t want to conclude by praying for me, and I know of no other person like that. No one ever feels so prayed for as when they have been prayed for by Hamil.”

Hamil R. Harris prays during a visit with the Rosses at Harris’ Washington, D.C.-area home.

Erik Tryggestad, the Chronicle’s president and CEO, echoed Mitchell and Bacon: “I can’t count the number of times Hamil has prayed for me over the phone. Just can’t say enough about this great reporter, minister and friend.”

I felt so honored that my son and grandson got to meet Harris.

“You know what?” my friend said as we visited. “There’s nothing like the power of fellowship.”

As we prepared to go, I knew what was coming.

“Bobby, you know how I am,” Harris said. “I’m going to say a prayer.”

But before he did, he had a question.

“You got enough money?” he asked. “You all right?”

Family photos hang on the living room at Hamil R. Harris’ Washington, D.C.-area home.

I assured him I had plenty of money.

Still, he reached into his wallet and pulled out $11, which he handed to Bennett. My grandson shyly accepted the cash and excitedly spent it later that day.

As I bowed my head for my brother to pray, I never felt so rich.

Hamil R. Harris offers a gift — $11 in cash — to 7-year-old Bennett Ross, grandson of Bobby Ross Jr.

BOBBY ROSS JR. is Editor-in-Chief of The Christian Chronicle. Reach him at bobby@christianchronicle.org.

We know you must be tired, but you energized us.

You and your Artemis II crewmates traveled 252,756 miles from Earth — a record for humanity.

We won’t take a lot of your time. But as your brothers and sisters in Christ, we must thank you.

Not for becoming the first African American astronaut to fly to the moon, although that’s cool.

Not for the fame piloting NASA’s first moon mission in 53 years brought you, although that’s terrific.

Not for the technical skills you demonstrated aboard “Integrity” — the name your crew gave the Orion spacecraft — although you’re brilliant.

Instead, we must thank you for the faith and humility you displayed throughout the mission.

You made us proud.

So, so proud.

A member of the Southeast Church of Christ in Friendswood, Texas, you never failed to glorify God. Again and again, you publicly thanked the Creator of the universe.

And again and again, you emphasized the importance of love. Specifically, you pointed to Jesus’ instruction to love our neighbors.

“To all of you down there on Earth and around Earth,” you said while still in space, “we love you from the moon.”

Your message came in loud and clear. A quarter million miles from home, you made the world seem smaller and brought us all closer together. Given the division that so often permeates our corner of the galaxy, that’s an amazing accomplishment.

Please pass along our appreciation, too, to your crewmates: Reid Weisman, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. 

Each of you reminded us of the value of teamwork and camaraderie. You didn’t just work hard. You also enjoyed each other’s company.

Even when faced with not-so-otherworldly problems — namely a clogged toilet in a part of the universe lacking plumbers — you kept laughing.

The Artemis II crew, including Reid Weisman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen, greets friends, family and colleagues at Ellington Airport near NASA’s Sapce Center Houston.

To our delight, you made us all feel like a part of the team.

“We wanted to go out and try to do something that would bring the world together, to unite the world,” Wiseman said.

Congratulations! Mission accomplished.

Koch talked about how much the support from those who followed Artemis II meant to the crew of three Americans and one Canadian.

“It was every bit as important as accomplishing the technical goals and being there for our NASA teammates,” she said. “(We wanted) to make this the world’s mission and for it to have a positive impact.”

Again, congratulations! Mission accomplished.

Hansen described viewing the Earth, the moon and the stars from such an amazing vantage point.

“We’re all kind of struck by these things that make us feel small,” he said. “The sense I had was this sense of fragility and feeling small — infinitesimally small — but yet this powerful feeling as a human feeling, like as a group.”

Amen!

Victor, thank you and your crewmates for journeying farther into space than anyone in history. You inspired us. You increased our awe.

We can’t wait to see where the Lord leads you on your next adventure.

Godspeed, dear brother.

Victor, thank you and your crewmates for journeying farther into space than anyone in history. You inspired us. You increased our awe.

BOBBY ROSS JR. is Editor-in-Chief of The Christian Chronicle. He wrote this editorial on behalf of the Chronicle’s Editorial Board. Reach him at bobby@christianchronicle.org.

Authored by Collin Packer, Jerry Taylor and Mark Hamilton, the 975-word letter details concerns about “clear evidence of great evil,” including the “deliberate and ongoing persecution of people of color in our country — a persecution that is intensifying, not receding. 

“We see the removal of migrants without due process of law or regard for the danger those removed may face,” write Packer, director of strategic development for Dallas-based Let’s Talk Race Ministries; Taylor, retired founding director of Abilene Christian University’s Carl Spain Center on Race Studies and Spiritual Action; and Hamilton, a professor in ACU’s Graduate School of Theology.

“We see the steady erosion of hard-won civil rights and even basic respect for African Americans and other people of color, including our fellow Christians,” the letter adds. “And we hear the church’s deafening silence as confused or self-deluding white Christians blithely throw away the good news of Jesus Christ in favor of the bad news of Empire.”

The co-authors characterize the statement as “An Open Letter to a Beloved Fellowship,” written by “Christians with affiliations to Churches of Christ and the American Restoration Movement and as partisans of the kingdom of God.” 

The spiritual danger, the letter maintains, “goes under many names, most notably Christian nationalism or in its most extreme forms, Christian Dominionism.

“The movement confuses the gospel with a political agenda and makes us susceptible to the death-dealing designs of corrupting leaders,” the statement declares. “It disguises venomous hatred with pious words. It uses the precious name of our Savior, the saving symbol of the cross, and the music by which we celebrate our redemption to mask the great harm done to large groups of our fellow human beings. It wrests the very Scriptures of the church in order to seduce men and women into flagrant disobedience to their Lord.”

Why some signed the letter

At the time this story was published, the number of signatures stood at 969 from 42 states and 11 countries.

Mika Roland

Among those endorsing the letter: Mika Roland, a member of the College Church of Christ in Fresno, Calif., and a former missionary to Mozambique. 

“When I see migrants removed without due process, when I hear dehumanizing rhetoric go unchallenged, when I watch the church stay silent — I cannot stay silent alongside it,” Roland told The Christian Chronicle. “God is the God of the marginalized, the non-American and the American alike.”

Like Roland, Carlos Carbajal, a Miami Christian who has ministered to congregations in Honduras and the U.S., felt compelled to back Salt & Light Resistance’s statement.

“In this moment, I believe the church, especially within the Restoration Movement, is called to recover its prophetic voice,” Carbajal said. “This means courageously discerning and confronting ideas, systems and powers that distort the Gospel, while also offering a faithful, Christ-centered alternative grounded in love, justice and truth.”

Carisse Mickey Berryhill, a member of the Broadway Church of Christ in Lubbock, Texas, and a retired Christian university professor, said: “Christians should advocate for peace and justice in the secular state, but we must protest when human government, or any part of society, promotes war, cruelty or injustice in the name of Jesus Christ.”

The open letter, shown on a computer screen, has accumulated nearly 1,000 signatures.

Why others didn’t sign it

But the letter, made public March 31, has drawn sharp criticism from other Christians.

“I view this letter as absolutely harmful to the unity of the church and for the church’s ability to present Jesus as Light and the salvation for the world,” said Gail Hopkins, a former longtime board chairman of now-defunct Ohio Valley University in Vienna, W.Va., whose family traces its Restoration Movement roots back to the 1800s. 

“This letter is quite simply a contemporary political effort couched in theological, biblical and historical terms,” Hopkins wrote in an email. “It is an effort to gin up opposition to President Donald Trump’s current federal government’s efforts to control illegal immigration into the United States of America.”

Jay Kelley, evangelist for the Austin Street Church of Christ in Levelland, Texas, said: “I believe these folks have allowed themselves to be deluded into the very thing they decry — the politicization of Christianity.”

Donald T. Eason, a minister and elder of the Metro Church of Christ in Sterling Heights, Mich., said he believes the co-authors and signers of the letter “are of the best intentions.”

Donald Eason

But Eason, who serves as president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Urban Renewal and Education, takes issue with the statement’s claims.

“The idea that a leader guided by Christian principles is ‘susceptible to the death-dealing designs of corrupting leaders’ is concerning,” Eason said. “Those that created this document are Christians but seem to disdain the idea of Christian leadership in the political realm.”

Bill Robinson, a domestic missionary who serves the Upper West Manhattan Church of Christ in New York City, also said he does not question the letter’s sincerity.

“But sincerity does not determine truth,” Robinson said. “The only safe ground is the Word of God. At the heart of the letter is a fundamental error. It shifts the focus from sin against God to social and political conditions as the defining moral crisis. Scripture does not do this.”

Meaning of Christian nationalism

Debate over Christian nationalism has raged since Trump’s 2016 election as president. 

The war of words intensified after Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — many waving signs linking the Republican political leader, who disputed his 2020 defeat, to their Christian faith.

Tiffany Dahlman

“The embrace of Christian nationalism, even in its subtle forms, rejects participation in the embrace of God, which leaves those who traditionally hold little power in our contexts vulnerable to serious harm,” said Tiffany Dahlman, lead minister for the Courtyard Church of Christ in Fayetteville, N.C., and a member of Salt & Light Resistance’s 12-person guiding coalition.

Trump and many of his supporters maintain that God saved him from an assassination attempt during his successful 2024 campaign “to make America great again.”

“Whether ‘Christian nationalism’ is a danger or not depends very much on how one defines the term,” political scientist J. Matthew Wilson, director of the Center for Faith and Learning at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, told the Chronicle. “If it means the belief that the United States has been, is and/or should be governed by a general ethos rooted in Christianity, this is a widely held view that is hard to construe as dangerous.

“If, on the other hand, one means the belief that only Christians can legitimately be American, or that other religions should be actively suppressed, this is much more dangerous to the American social fabric — but also much less common,” Wilson added. “Social science research on American public opinion consistently shows that support for more extreme, exclusivist formulations of Christian nationalism remains a fringe position.”

Protesters wave flags and climb the walls of the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.

‘A public witness’

Salt & Light Resistance’s letter does not mention Trump or any political party by name.

However, in an interview with the Chronicle, Packer voiced concern about the manner of the federal government’s crackdown on illegal immigration in major cities such as Minneapolis and Chicago.

“It really isn’t related to this administration,” Packer said of the letter. “We really believe there’s a public witness that’s needed whenever leaders of any party are creating a threat to our brothers and sisters and really all of our citizens and those who are undocumented.”

Such a letter “sort of runs against the grain of how Churches of Christ have viewed autonomy,” said John Mark Hicks, a retired Bible professor at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn., and an expert on the Restoration Movement.

“At the same time, unheard or ignored voices might only be heard through this medium,” Hicks said. “When autonomy silences people, they will find ways to voice their concerns and offer an alternative public witness.”

“When autonomy silences people, they will find ways to voice their concerns and offer an alternative public witness.”

John Young, a Restoration Movement scholar at Amridge University in Montgomery, Ala., signed the letter. He emphasized that he did so as an individual, not as a representative of the university.

“While there were undoubtedly efforts at mass mobilization among Churches of Christ prior to the internet age, it’s hard to imagine something like this taking off without social media making it possible for this message to be shared,” Young said. “There are definite geographic clusters of signees but also participants from some pretty far-flung areas, and this kind of connection, which is not directly tied to a particular congregation, publication, university or other institution, is unusual.”

Patrick Odum serves as a minister and elder of the Northwest Church of Christ, a Chicago congregation that offers worship services in English, Spanish and Korean.

“I wanted my church, many of whom are immigrants, people of color and others that Christian nationalism excludes, to know where I stand and that I have their back,” said Odum, who signed the letter.

Christians enjoy a multicultural potluck meal at the Northwest Church of Christ in Chicago in 2023.

On the other hand, Kevin Withem, senior minister for the North County Church of Christ in Escondido, Calif., chose not to add his name to the list.

“It seems like ‘Christian nationalism’ is sometimes overapplied as a term,” Withem said. “I think you can have love and appreciation for certain aspects of your country, which offers unparalleled freedoms, without being idolatrous toward it.”

Managing Editor Calvin Cockrell contributed to this report.

BOBBY ROSS JR. is Editor-in-Chief of The Christian Chronicle. Reach him at bobby@christianchronicle.org.

Both had special reasons for doing so.

Hankins serves as an elder of the Southeast Church of Christ in Friendswood, Texas, the congregation about 6 miles from NASA’s Space Center Houston that Artemis II pilot Victor Glover and his wife, Dionna, call home.

“He’s just a top-shelf guy and down to earth, but with all the experiences and accolades,” Hankins said of Glover, who launched into space with three other astronauts at 6:35 p.m. EDT April 1 from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.

As a shepherd, Hankins said he came to love and support the Glover family and cheer and pray for them.

“It was a rush,” the Texas elder said of witnessing the launch. “I mean, I think we all had tears in our eyes. When we got to about five seconds in the countdown, the magnitude of that was pretty overwhelming.”

Pilot Victor Glover, second from left, with Artemis II crew members, including Commander Reid Wiseman and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen.

Lamm, a member of the Twickenham Church of Christ in Huntsville, Ala., spent 38 years working for NASA and private companies in the space industry. He attended the Southeast church during a four-year stint as a chief operating officer at Space Center Houston in the 2010s.

“It’s pretty moving,” said Lamm, who — with Hankins — watched the beginning of the 10-day test flight around the moon from a seventh-floor hotel rooftop.

Lamm’s voice choked with emotion as he spoke.

“We’ve been trying to find this new launch vehicle and a spacecraft to get us to the moon,” he said. “I spent a lot of years trying to help do that. … It just meant a whole lot to be able to be there and see that.”

Journey into the history books

Glover, a U.S. Navy captain set to celebrate his 50th birthday April 30, became the first Black astronaut to journey around the moon.

Lamm recalled hearing the former combat pilot speak at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. Glover paid tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen and other pioneering Black military pilots who came before him.

“I got to hear him say, ‘I’m standing on the shoulders of greatness,’” Lamm said.

“But it goes back to … the connection to God, the connection to people,” the Alabama church member added. “And then being able to share that in a way that brings people to understand that we’re humans, but we were filled with a spirit to serve and to honor and to glorify God in anything that we may do.”

Before Glover’s 168-day International Space Station mission from November 2020 to May 2021, he talked to The Christian Chronicle about sending up communion cups and a Bible for his time in space.

“I want to use the abilities that God has given me to do my job well and support my crewmates and mission and NASA,” he told the Chronicle in that interview. “That’s really the thing I think the most about.”

Podcast: Victor Glover discusses his faith with The Christian Chronicle

After his return home from the space station, Glover discussed his faith on the Chronicle’s podcast and reflected on the lessons he learned partaking of the Lord’s Supper 250 miles above Earth.

“In the military, there’s a saying that there are no atheists in foxholes,” he said on the podcast. “There aren’t any on top of rockets, either.”

NASA astronaut Victor Glover shakes hands with Scott Tingle, chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, after Glover’s extraction from the Orion spacecraft upon splashdown off the coast of San Diego.

‘On the shoulders of greatness’

Glover and his Artemis II crewmates — Americans Reid Weisman and Christina Koch and Canadian Jeremy Hansen — made a record 252,756-mile journey around the moon before looping back to Earth.

Dionna and the couple’s four daughters — Genesis, Maya, Joai and Corinne — invited Hankins and Lamm to attend a reception after the  launch. The daughters are all in their late teens or early 20s.

Dionna grew up in the Pinole Church of Christ, about 20 miles east of San Francisco.

Before her husband’s International Space Station trip in 2020, she talked about the mix of emotions she felt as an astronaut’s wife.

“Of course I’m excited, but it’s also a little scary,” she told the Chronicle then. “I’m nervous. I’m excited for him. I have Scriptures that I’m reading regularly to try to remind myself not to worry and not to stress.”

No doubt she experienced similar feelings during her husband’s moon mission.

At the reception, Hankins said he hugged Dionna and told her, “God is so good. I celebrate with you. My heart is exploding with you.”

He recalled telling Corinne, the youngest daughter, “I just love that y’all are Jesus-loving people.”

At the end of the Chronicle’s 45-minute interview with Hankins and Lamm, Hankins asked if he could pray.

“Father, I want to lift up my brother, Victor, and his team that are on this mission,” Hankins said as he raised his voice toward heaven. “Let your name be glorified in it all.”

Victor Glover with his wife and daughters after his return from the moon mission.

Jesus’ ‘greatest command

Glover certainly did his part to glorify God’s name.

In an April 5 interview with Glover and his crewmates, CBS News’ Mark Strassman noted that Apollo 8 — which in 1968 became the first human spaceflight to reach the moon — “had a memorable Christmas Eve reading from Genesis.

“Do you have a message from space that you’d like to share about Easter Sunday?” Strassman asked.

Glover replied that he didn’t have anything prepared but was glad Strassman brought it up.

Then the 49-year-old former combat aviator offered this eloquent response:

“I think these observances are important, and as we are so far from Earth and looking at the beauty of creation, I think for me one of the really personal perspectives that I have up here is I can really see Earth as one thing. And when I read the Bible and look at all the amazing things that were done for us — who were created — you have this amazing place, this spaceship.

“You guys are talking to us because we are on a spaceship really far from Earth. But you’re on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe, in the cosmos.

“Maybe the distance we are from you makes you think what we’re doing is special. But we’re the same distance from you. And I’m trying to tell you, just trust me: You are special.

“In all of this emptiness — this is a whole lot of nothing, this thing we call the universe — you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together. I think as we go into Easter Sunday, thinking about all the cultures all around the world — whether you celebrate it or not, whether you believe in God or not — this is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are and that we are the same thing and that we got to get through this together.”

On April 6, just before the Orion spacecraft experienced an anticipated 40-minute communications blackout on the far side of the moon, Glover again reflected on his faith.

“As we get close to the nearest point to the moon and farthest point from Earth — as we continue to unlock the mysteries of the cosmos — I would like to remind you of one of the most important mysteries there on Earth,” Glover said.

“As we get close to the nearest point to the moon and farthest point from Earth — as we continue to unlock the mysteries of the cosmos — I would like to remind you of one of the most important mysteries there on Earth.”

“And that’s love,” he added. “Christ said in response to what was the greatest command that it was to love God with all that you are. And he also, being a great teacher, said the second is equal to it, and that is to love your neighbor as yourself.

“And so, as we prepare to go out of radio communication, we’re still able to feel your love from Earth. And to all of you down there on Earth and around Earth, we love you from the moon.”

the Earth draws closer to passing behind the moon.

A hero’s welcome

Americans — and the entire world — celebrated April 10 when the Artemis II crew splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego.

In his first post-mission public appearance upon his return to Houston on April 11, Glover again referenced his faith.

“I wanted to thank God in public,” he said, recalling the journey’s beginning. “And I want to thank God again, because even bigger than my challenge trying to describe what we went through, the gratitude of seeing what we saw, doing what we did and being with who I was with … it’s too big to just be in one body.”

Given a hero’s welcome outside his Houston-area home April 12, Glover had a message for his neighbors.

Again, it involved Jesus’ greatest command.

“Some of us have never met before, and you know whose fault that is? Ours,” Glover said. “So let’s choose to do this. Let’s be this more. Let’s be neighbors.

The Artemis II crew is pictured: clockwise from left: Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen and Victor Glover.

“I don’t know if you heard me say it,” he added, “but God told us to love him with all that we are and love our neighbors as ourselves.”

“That’s right!” a woman screamed as the crowd cheered.

“I love you!” Glover replied. “I love you!”

BOBBY ROSS JR. is Editor-in-Chief of The Christian Chronicle. He interviewed Victor Glover in 2020. Reach him at bobby@christianchronicle.org.

Measures meant to make camps safer may instead cause some to close permanently.

On April 7, 19 Texas camps filed a lawsuit in Travis County against the Texas Department of State Health Services challenging the constitutionality of the proceeding statutes that require redundant internet service, including end-to-end fiber among other things.

One of the plaintiffs, Texoma Youth Camp, was originally owned by Boles Home, a children’s home associated with Churches of Christ. Texoma is located on Lake Texoma on the Texas-Oklahoma border and leases its facilities to Churches of Christ and some other organizations to conduct camps each summer.

Cam Havens, president of the Texoma board of directors, said he was not at liberty to discuss the litigation. But he did explain that the camp had been told by a major provider that they could get fiber to the camp entrance for $120,000 but work could not begin for six months.

Numerous other camps associated with Churches of Christ face similar dilemmas. Or worse.

Even in a normal summer, the whims of Texas weather, the emotional highs and lows of adolescence and the spiritual awakening many campers find when surrounded by nature and friends can drive the most stalwart director to his knees.

The summer of 2025 was anything but normal.

Most of the 700-plus camps operating in Texas lie many miles from the Guadalupe River, which brought record flooding to central Texas on the Fourth of July. At least 137 people — including 27 campers and staff from Camp Mystic, near Hunt — died.

‘Doing camp right’

In 2022, Riley Watkins moved his family to Camp Oak Haven, some 200 miles east of Camp Mystic, to fulfill a lifelong dream of “doing camp right.”

Watkins thought that dream had come true when Gulf Coast Christian Camp owners responded to an inquiry about selling their property. They offered to give it to a nonprofit foundation.

“We sold everything we owned, moved and changed the name to Camp Oak Haven,” Watkins said. He and his wife, Brynna, lived there with their two children in a travel trailer on the grounds.

Riley and Brynna Watkins with their children, Paisley and Davis.

Oak Haven is small by Texas standards. It’s set on a hill just off Interstate 10 outside Columbus on 112.5 acres with 118 beds and a grove of 200-year-old oak trees.

The Watkinses spent eight months getting the facility ready for inspection by the Texas Department of State Health Services. They fixed the air conditioning, fenced the pool and made the site operational.

Word spread.

The sun sets over a pavilion at Camp Oak Haven.

“We passed with flying colors in 2023,” Riley Watkins said.

In addition to their own camp programs, Oak Haven also rented the facility to others. Bookings jumped from two that first year to 40 for 2026.

Watkins had big plans for 2026. Then on Sept. 3 last year, he heard about two bills moving through the Texas Legislature in response to the tragic losses at Camp Mystic.

‘We didn’t think they’d apply to all camps’

Search and rescue operations in Kerr County were still underway when Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session July 9. Flood-related issues topped his agenda. But political theatrics over more partisan issues led to Democrats leaving the state to prevent a quorum, and little lawmaking happened.

When the second special was called on Aug. 15, the House and Senate made camp safety their first priority with the introduction of House Bill 1, Senate Bill 1 and several other bills, all of which passed with substantial bipartisan majorities after emotional testimony by families of campers at Camp Mystic and elsewhere.

Many of the new requirements seemed reasonable to camp directors who talked to The Christian Chronicle. They said emergency and evacuation plans, enhanced training, public address systems and parental access to emergency information were attainable or already in place.

Regarding other rules, Watkins said, “We didn’t think they would apply to all camps — just camps in flood plains.”

Martin Tucker

But they did. Camps in flood plains do face additional regulations, but two of the most onerous changes affected everyone: increased license fees and redundant internet access, including at least one end-to-end, fiber-optic service — regardless of size, location, proximity to a body of water or a flood plain.

A preliminary study by the Christian Camps and Conference Association found that at least 173 camps in Texas do not have access to fiber.

Camp Deer Run near Winnsboro, about 40 to 50 miles north of Tyler, saw the cost of its license increase from $600 to $10,000. Martin Tucker, a Deer Run board member for 25 years, volunteers with the college ministry at Shiloh Road Church of Christ in Tyler.

“In no way are we unsympathetic to the families or the victims at Camp Mystic,” Tucker said. “It’s an enormous task to try to legislate to protect against a natural disaster — something that is unforeseen.”

“There are campers that are unable to go to camp because the ones that remain open will have a flood of clientele that they can’t serve. For camps that feel the charge to spread the seeds of the Gospel, it’s devastating.”

Although Deer Run was fortunate to have the required internet access in place, Tucker said he knew some camps would close, and the impact will be felt even by those that remain open.

“There are campers that are unable to go to camp because the ones that remain open will have a flood of clientele that they can’t serve,” he said. “For camps that feel the charge to spread the seeds of the Gospel, it’s devastating.”

‘A little overwhelmed’

Camp Bandina was also fortunate. Less than an hour south of Camp Mystic, the campsite is elevated above the flood plain despite its location near the Medina River.

Even last year’s record-setting floods did not reach the campgrounds.

End-to-end fiber was installed a couple years ago, according to Elaine Stotts, Bandina manager. Starlink service provides the required redundancy.

Water races under the bridge over the Medina River leading to Texas Highway 16 in 2025. The river is about 100 feet downhill from Camp Bandina.

But, Stotts said, a newly mandated alarm system cost $6,000, and the license rose from $750 to over $10,000.

A new law authorized the Department of State Health Services to adjust fees “as necessary to recover the costs.”

The department declined a request for an interview for this story. In an email, senior press officer Lara Anton said, “Youth camps can renew their license at any time. However, they must pay a $250 late fee if they renew it after March 31.”

“We’ve called, but we were told, ‘We’re a little overwhelmed.’”

She added that licensure requirements would be reviewed prior to an inspection, and the process can take several weeks to complete for each camp.

As of the last week in March, Stotts still didn’t know when the state health services inspection would happen, even though the deadline for renewal was March 31.

“We’ve called,” she said, “but we were told, ‘We’re a little overwhelmed.’”

No camp this summer

The ironically named Lake Cisco Christian Camp isn’t on Lake Cisco, nor anywhere near a flood plain. About 45 miles east of Abilene, the facility was acquired by several Churches of Christ in 1958 — but records go back to 1921.

Jonothan Masters attended as a camper and has served as director for six and a half years.

Jonothan Masters

“The lake is across the highway, but we don’t even have lake access,” Masters said. “We’re on top of the mountainside. I get asked all the time, ‘Do ya’ll have jet skis?’ No! We can’t afford jet skis!”

And they can’t afford fiber.

“We’re in a little better spot than camps in rural areas — we have fiber somewhat nearby,” Masters said. But even if fiber were brought to the camp, they can’t afford the monthly fee of about $600 a month.

So Lake Cisco won’t open for any camps this summer, though it can host some retreats, which by definition can only last three days and two nights.

Joe Howe, board president at Peach Valley Christian Youth Camp between Gonzalez and Shiner, began calling internet providers the moment he heard the news. The major provider costs were prohibitive, but the camp was able to secure a half-mile connection to the Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative for just 10 cents a foot and $130 per month.

The chapel at Lake Cisco Christian Camp.

“We have submitted our application and paid the fee that’s five times what it’s been in the past,” Howe said. “For a small camp, that’s a big deal.” Like other camp directors, he had hoped lawmakers would revisit the issues raised in committee testimony. But without a special session, that can’t happen until the legislature reconvenes in January 2027, too late for many camps that can’t afford an entire year with no income.

Joe Howe

“I think it was a hastily written and poorly constructed bill,” Howe said. “It doesn’t mean I think there weren’t things needed in response to the tragedy at Camp Mystic.”

The Chronicle tried to reach sponsors of the legislation for this story. The office of Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, said he was not available for an interview. The office of Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, did not respond to interview requests.

Howe said some things are positive for Peach Valley. “We’re a mile-plus from any flood plain — and we’re getting to know the emergency management of our county — that’s good. Everyone’s for kids’ safety.”

‘A long road to the middle of nowhere’

Oak Haven was not that fortunate.

The camp is located “at the end of a long road to the middle of nowhere,” Riley Watkins explained.  “We can’t get fiber.”

Campers gather in the tabernacle at the Peach Valley Christian Youth Camp.

And so on March 30, the camp closed its gates for good. The property has been sold. Watkins has accepted a job as a maintenance tech with Camp Pine Cove, a multimillion dollar enterprise with camps in three states. After more than a decade as a youth minister and three more at Camp Oak Haven, he will have a job with benefits for the first time in his life.

“I’m looking forward to that. God is redeeming this situation for our family,” Watkins said. “We’re waiting to see how he’ll redeem it for our campers.”

CHERYL MANN BACON is a contributing editor for The Christian Chronicle. She served for 20 years as chair of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at Abilene Christian University in Texas.

In an in-depth story last year, the Chronicle reported that “the one-time downtown anchor faces litigation and a future full of uncertainty.” That story followed weeks of reporting spurred by a Wall Street Journal article on the “yearslong legal dispute” between the church and benefactor Andrew Mizell “A.M.” Burton’s heirs, including singer-songwriter Amy Grant.

In later coverage, the Chronicle detailed a settlement agreement reached between Burton’s estate and the Nashville church, requiring the sale of the historic building. A later story noted that the church had settled a second lawsuit and would restore $440,000 to the trust and transfer it to a nearby church.

Mark Thomson, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney who focuses on defamation and First Amendment cases, asserts that the Chronicle “falsely reported that NCC’s congregation ceased meeting in the Church’s historic building in 2018.” 

In an emailed letter, Thomson provided an image that he said “shows NCC’s congregation meeting in its historic building in 2019. I trust that suffices to get the Chronicle to correct the error, but please let me know if more is required.”

The Chronicle could not independently verify the date on the electronic image.

During the Chronicle’s reporting last year, a different attorney representing the church declined to respond to specific questions, instead referring the newspaper to public documents.

The detail challenged by Thomson came from the “Memorandum in Support of Nashville Church of Christ, Inc.’s Motion for Summary Judgement,” filed in the Davidson County Chancery Court on Nov. 5, 2021.

On page 6 of the Memorandum under the third section, “Additional Facts,” the church itself states, “In December 2018, it became necessary for NCC’s congregation to temporarily meet at locations other than the church building for worship services while renovations were and are ongoing.”

That sentence suggests that renovation, which started in 2018 and was still under way in 2021, when NCC filed the court document, caused the congregation to meet somewhere other than at its historic building. 

Thomson also asserts that the Chronicle “falsely reported that Dr. Shawn Mathis and his wife joined Central Church of Christ in 2017. Dr. Mathis and his wife joined CCC in 2016. Dr. Mathis can personally attest to that, as can Spencer Davidson, NCC’s Preaching Minister.”

The date cited in the Chronicle’s story was attributed to Howell Townes, who grew up in the Central church and served as its treasurer for 30 years. The story noted that Townes “recalled that Mathis and his wife began attending sometime in 2017.”

In this photo taken in 2025, a plaque marks the meeting place of the Central Church of Christ, later owned by the Nashville Church of Christ.

Thomson also claims: “The Chronicle falsely reported that CCC was a nonprofit before Dr. Mathis convinced its leaders to incorporate” as a 501(c)(3) organization.

The Chronicle quoted former member Ken Tucker as saying, “He was insistent, right from the beginning to … make it a nonprofit organization, although it was already a nonprofit organization.” 

According to the IRS, churches “are automatically considered tax exempt and are not required to apply for and obtain recognition of exempt status from the IRS.”

Thomson also takes issue with the Chronicle’s note that the legal battles “stemmed from the January 2018 incorporation of the Central church as the Nashville Church of Christ, shortly after Shawn Mathis became the church’s third elder.”

“That’s not true,” Thomson said. “None of NCC’s ‘legal battles’ was caused by, or even related to, the decision to incorporate. Nor is it a matter of opinion to say so. It’s just a false factual assertion, which the Chronicle should correct as a matter of basic truthfulness.”

Bobby Ross Jr., the Chronicle’s editor-in-chief, said the newspaper worked hard to report the story in a journalistically responsible manner, despite the church’s unwillingness to answer questions at the time the articles were written.

“The facts were presented as fairly and accurately as possible given the information that we had available to us,” Ross said.

To respond to this story, email letters@christianchronicle.org.

In an interview with Glover and his crewmates Sunday, CBS News’ Mark Strassman noted that Apollo 8 — which in 1968 became the first human spaceflight to reach the moon — “had a memorable Christmas Eve reading from Genesis.

“Do you have a message from space that you’d like to share about Easter Sunday?” Strassman asked.

Glover replied that he didn’t have anything prepared but was glad Strassman brought it up.

Then the 49-year-old former combat aviator offered this eloquent response: 

“I think these observances are important, and as we are so far from Earth and looking at the beauty of creation, I think for me one of the really personal perspectives that I have up here is I can really see Earth as one thing. And when I read the Bible and look at all the amazing things that were done for us — who were created — you have this amazing place, this spaceship.

“You guys are talking to us because we are on a spaceship really far from Earth. But you’re on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe, in the cosmos. 

“Maybe the distance we are from you makes you think what we’re doing is special. But we’re the same distance from you. And I’m trying to tell you, just trust me: You are special. 

“In all of this emptiness — this is a whole lot of nothing, this thing we call the universe — you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together. I think as we go into Easter Sunday, thinking about all the cultures all around the world — whether you celebrate it or not, whether you believe in God or not — this is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are and that we are the same thing and that we got to get through this together.”

The moon, backlit by the Sun during a solar eclipse, is photographed by NASA’s Orion spacecraft on Monday during the Artemis II mission. Orion is visible in the foreground on the left. Earth is reflecting sunlight at the left edge of the moon, which is slightly brighter than the rest of the disk. The bright spot visible just below the moon’s bottom right edge is Saturn. Beyond that, the bright spot at the right edge of the image is Mars.

‘Love God with all that you are’

On Monday, just before the Orion spacecraft experienced an anticipated 40-minute communications blackout on the far side of the moon, Glover again reflected on his faith.

“As we get close to the nearest point to the moon and farthest point from Earth — as we continue to unlock the mysteries of the cosmos — I would like to remind you of one of the most important mysteries there on Earth,” Glover said. 

“And that’s love,” he added. “Christ said in response to what was the greatest command that it was to love God with all that you are. And he also, being a great teacher, said the second is equal to it, and that to is love your neighbor as yourself.

“And so, as we prepare to go out of radio communication, we’re still able to feel your love from Earth. And to all of you down there on Earth and around Earth, we love you from the moon.”

I first became aware of Glover’s devotion to Jesus in 2020 — in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic — when a fellow Christian suggested that I tell his story.

At the time, the father of four daughters was preparing to embark on a six-month mission to the International Space Station.

I tried official and unofficial channels to request an interview, contacting NASA and sending an email to Glover’s wife, Dionna.

“It is likely too close to launch for us to be able to arrange for any time with Victor, but if you want to fill out the attached form and send it back to us, we can take a look and see if there’s anything we might be able to do,” a NASA public affairs specialist replied.

Podcast: Victor Glover discusses his faith with The Christian Chronicle

Two weeks later, when I checked on the status of my request, I was told, “I’m sorry, we don’t have any individual interview time left with Victor before his launch. However, he will be participating in a virtual Q&A event a few days before launch which you are welcome to join.”

But the next day, NASA emailed again to inform me Glover wanted to do the interview with The Christian Chronicle.

“We typically cannot arrange interviews this close to launch, but since Victor wants to support we definitely will,” said the NASA contact, who arranged a 30-minute window that afternoon for me to visit with Victor and Dionna via Zoom.

Glover’s faith journey

When we talked, Glover indicated that marrying Dionna and becoming a father played a major role in his faith journey.

“As we’ve become parents, that’s when I’ve really found an appreciation for my own faith and really growing my relationship with the Bible and my own personal spiritual growth,” said Glover, whose family attends the Southeast Church of Christ in Friendswood, Texas, about 6 miles from NASA’s Space Center Houston.

Of the International Space Station mission, he said, “I want to use the abilities that God has given me to do my job well and support my crewmates and mission and NASA. That’s really the thing I think the most about.”

In that same interview, Glover talked about learning patience. He joined NASA in 2013 and then trained for more than seven years before embarking on his first space mission.

“I would love to go to the moon, but that’s not something I control,” he told me then. “That’s really helped me understand patience. I spent some time meditating and thinking about that and praying and writing about that.”

Glover may be a famous astronaut, but he’s an attentive husband, too. When he sent me family photos to use with my story, he made sure to copy his wife.

“Of course, Dionna has first right of refusal,” he said in the email. “Thanks again and God bless you.”

After returning home from the space station, Glover appeared on the Chronicle’s podcast, hosted by my colleague B.T. Irwin.

“In the military, there’s a saying that there are no atheists in foxholes,” Glover said on the podcast. “There aren’t any on top of rockets, either, I would think.”

Victor Glover’s wife and daughters pose for a photo with fellow Christians after last week’s launch of Artemis II.

Faith in space

In a 2024 Associated Press feature, Holly Meyer highlighted a Baptist church’s effort to support its members on the space station:

About 10 miles from Johnson Space Center, a Houston-area church takes a moment during Wednesday Bible studies and Sunday evening services to pray for two members who cannot be there.

In fact, there’s no way on Earth for NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Tracy Dyson to show up at Providence Baptist Church. They’re in space, orbiting the planet. More specifically, these two members are working on the International Space Station together.

Like many astronauts before them, they brought along their faith when they launched into space.

“God uses all of us in pretty neat ways, and I think I get the most joy from what I do thinking about it in those terms,” said Dyson, discussing her job on the “Bible Project” podcast ahead of her March launch on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

While the Apollo 8 and Artemis II missions both included public references to religion, astronauts aboard the Artemis’ Orion spacecraft have struck a broader, more global tone, according to Religion News Service’s Jack Jenkins, who did his graduate thesis on religion in space.

In a story this week, Jenkins writes:

Much of the God-talk on the Artemis mission has centered on Glover, who is also the most publicly religious astronaut on the mission. He reportedly brought a Bible along with him for the 10-day journey in space, which is something he’s done before: He told The Christian Chronicle in 2020 that he had a Bible and Communion cups sent to the International Space Station in preparation for his arrival aboard a Space X capsule in November of that year. At the time, Glover suggested he planned to worship virtually with his church while in orbit, as he had been doing throughout the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On his Substack this week, Daniel Silliman — who interviewed Glover for Christianity Today in 2023 — recalled asking the astronaut about prayer:

Glover took the opportunity to talk about how prayer changed the way he saw himself as a pilot on a mission to the moon. He talked about how prayer shapes the pray-er, and that’s part of why Christians do it, not only to ask for things out there in the world but to communicate a request, a desire, a willingness for internal transformation. Prayer is an act of submission. It’s like opening a hand, more than pointing.

He gave the example of the Lord’s prayer, saying he prayed that a lot, praying that God’s will be done “on earth as it is in heaven” as he anticipated slipping over the line from earth to space.

“When Jesus was teaching the disciples to pray, he used that very specific prayer that we all know, ‘Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name …,’” he said. “So, listen, I am a messenger of his kingdom; his will be done.”

The Artemis II crew is expected to splash down off the coast of San Diego later today.

As Glover offers his post-mission thoughts, don’t be surprised to hear more about his faith.

BOBBY ROSS JR. is Editor-in-Chief of The Christian Chronicle. Ross writes the Weekend Plug-in column for Religion Unplugged, where this piece originally appeared. Reach him at bobby@christianchronicle.org.

It got him a punch in the stomach — and what likely would have been a lifetime of persecution.

Christo and Vania Arnaudov

Christo Arnaudov was a rarity in communist Bulgaria — a third-generation evangelical Christian. His grandfather preached the Gospel in the days before the Eastern European nation, which sits atop the intersection of Greece and Turkey, became a satellite state of the Soviet Union after World War II.

“There was a slang saying from the Communist Party that religion is like a drug for the nation,” said Deanna Christova, referring to Karl Marx’s critique of faith as “the opium of the masses” — an oft-quoted phrase in the communist era.

“If someone was holding a Bible, was caught with the Bible, they would accuse him of possessing drugs like opium.”

“And if someone was holding a Bible, was caught with the Bible, they would accuse him of possessing drugs like opium,” said Christova, a Bulgarian English teacher who worships with the Sofia Church of Christ, where Arnaudov preaches. The minister and his wife, Vania, spoke with The Christian Chronicle over a lunch of shopska salad, minced meat skewers and yogurt. Christova served as translator.

Christians had to be careful during the communist days. Arnaudov remembers his father receiving a treasure trove of 100 Bulgarian-language Bibles via a colleague in Sweden. A neighbor found out and told the police, who questioned his father for three days about where he got the Bibles. “I don’t know. One day I just found them in my house,” his father insisted — which was technically true.

Deanna Christova and Christo and Vania Arnaudov stand outside the meeting place of the Renaissance Church of Christ.

When he turned 18, Christo Arnaudov signed up for two years of obligatory national service. He was in line for appointment to a prestigious unit of investigators, similar to military police. About that time, an innocent-looking, plain-clothed man approached him and asked him about his faith.

“So I started evangelizing him,” Christo said with a laugh. He talked about the Partisans, the resistance soldiers who fought the Nazi occupiers in World War II. “They were few, but they brought Bulgaria the victory. And Christians, we’re very few, too, but God will give us the victory.”

Then came the gut punch. The curious man, it turns out, was an investigator for the military.

“You’re demoted!” he told Arnodov. Instead of serving in the special unit, the minister got posted to what American troops call K.P. duty (Kitchen Patrol). He guarded a food storage unit.

“Rather than beating me to death, he gave me the best position — manager of the food,” Christo recalled. “Everyone was my friend!”

From musician to full-time minister

Culinary benefits aside, Christo’s run-in with the secret police could have haunted him for decades in a society that viewed Bible and narcotics possession equally.

That changed in 1990 as the Iron Curtain fell and Bulgaria held its first multiparty elections. The country, then with a population of about 8.8 million, avoided the political turmoil and bloody wars of its neighbor, Yugoslavia, as it transitioned to a parliamentary democracy. But years of economic instability, food shortages and hyperinflation followed. Banks went bankrupt, including the one where Vania Arnaudov worked.

Shoppers and sightseers walk past the Church of St Petka of the Saddlers, a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church building that stands next to Roman-era ruins in a semi-submerged mall in Sofia, Bulgaria. Behind it stands the Banya Bashi Mosque built by the Ottomans in the 1500s.

Vania, like most Bulgarians, grew up atheist but started questioning her non-belief during a period of illness. A coworker introduced her to the Bible and invited her to a church that met in secret. Vania met Christo there. They lived in Burgas, a city on the Black Sea near the historical region of Thrace. Christo, an accomplished viola player and singer, conducted the city’s choir.

The transition from communism to democracy affected Christo’s job, too, as musicians left Bulgaria to pursue opportunities in Italy and Austria. Bulgaria joined NATO in 2004 and the European Union three years later. More Bulgarians took jobs in other parts of the EU, and the country’s population fell to 6.4 million.

Christo looked for opportunities to perform in Western Europe, but making the move would cost at least 5,000 Euros. He made what he called “an extreme decision” to leave home and look for work in Athens, Greece. On arrival, he found the ancient city crowded with other Bulgarians. He took whatever jobs he could find. Vania later joined him and worked as a nanny.

Their daughter, Natalia, graduated from college in Burgas and came to visit them in Athens. That’s where she encountered a group of study-abroad students from Harding University in Searcy, Ark. The students worshiped with the Omonia Church of Christ, where Dino Roussos served as minister.

Dino Roussos

“They arrived already well‑versed in Scripture,” Roussos said of the Arnaudovs. “We had the privilege of guiding them deeper into the teaching and practice of the Bible and the Church of Christ.”

The “care and love of the brethren at the Omonia Church of Christ” made the biggest impact on the family, Christo said. As a result, “God changed the material and financial focus in me into an aim to grow spiritually and devote myself to ministry to the Lord.”

The Omonia church building served as the site of the Athens Bible Institute, an affiliate campus of Texas-based Sunset International Bible Institute. Christo began studying at the Athens school. His family launched a Bulgarian-language service for the Omonia church in 2001.

Over the next seven years, some 300 Bulgarians became Christians through the Arnaudovs’ work.

“Christo brought not only a strong teaching ability, but also the rather rare gift of organizing choirs, being a professional musician,” Roussos said. “His musical talent strengthened the church significantly.”

Roussos began traveling to Bulgaria in the mid-1990s. He preached to crowds of hundreds and baptized dozens. It was “a season of extraordinary openness and spiritual hunger,” he said.

Ten years later, as the Arnaudovs shared the Gospel in Athens, they got requests from Bulgarians back home to return. In 2004, Christo registered Churches of Christ as a legal entity in Bulgaria, as required by law. Four years later, the musician who left for Greece to earn seed money for a music career returned to Bulgaria as a church planter.

Rebirth in a changing Bulgaria

The Arnaudovs launched the Renaissance Church of Christ — an allusion to “rebirth” after decades of communist rule — in a small apartment in Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia, in 2008.

“From a very small home group, God kept adding to the church new people,” Christo said, “families with children who would believe, repent and be baptized into Christ.”

Eighteen years later, the Renaissance church meets in a rented facility owned by a local artist. Paintings and sculptures line the walkway to the bright white entrance. Sunday attendance ranges from 30 to 60, including regular guests from the U.S. embassy in Sofia. The church translates its services into English as needed.

A bulletin board in the Renaissance church building, decorated with Christian symbols, reads “Your Story.”

The Bulgarian Christians worship freely — a big change from the communist era when congregations met in secret. While he praises God for religious freedom, Christo said he misses the sense of unity that Protestant churches once had in his homeland.

“There was one church,” he said. “Some had Baptist beliefs. Others were Pentecostal.” But they found ways to work together and help each other survive under the communist regime.

“There wasn’t a separation between denominations,” Christo said. “Now, there is a line.”

But the collapse of communism has other benefits, including easy interaction with Christians from around the world.

“God opened the hearts of brothers and sisters to support us in the new planting,” Christo said. Among those is the West Ark Church of Christ in Fort Smith, Ark. Rick Odell, who served on the church’s ministry staff, led multiple groups to conduct children’s camps, Vacation Bible Schools and parenting seminars. Odell continues to recruit young people for mission trips to Bulgaria in his current role as associate director of church relations for Oklahoma Christian University.

There are no stomach-punching secret police in the streets of Bulgaria today, but other threats loom, including apathy. About 70 percent of the country claims Eastern Orthodoxy as its faith, and about 11 percent of Bulgarians practice Islam. But surveys show weekly church attendance at only 5 percent.

For that reason, building up the faith of young believers is paramount for the Arnaudovs.

“We encourage the young men at our church toward ministry and dedication,” Christo said, “so that they may continue God’s work.”

Back in Athens, Roussos now ministers for the Glyfada Church of Christ, a multicultural congregation of believers who speak Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, English, Farsi and Albanian.

“The multicultural nature of the ministry reflects the very heart of the Gospel, which was never intended for one nation alone.”

“The multicultural nature of the ministry reflects the very heart of the Gospel, which was never intended for one nation alone,” Roussos said.

Despite the challenges, “Bulgaria has a great future,” he added. As for the Arnaudovs, “their ministry is living proof that seeds planted in faith do not return empty.”

ERIK TRYGGESTAD is President and CEO of The Christian Chronicle. Contact erik@christianchronicle.org.

A young Iranian Christian filmed the festivities on a Sunday afternoon in Vienna, Austria, after worshiping with the Pohlgasse Church of Christ. The worship service, though more subdued than the outdoor celebration, was one of happiness and “a great sense of relief,” said Reggy Hiller, a longtime member and mission worker with the church. “Prayers were lifted for the safety of loved ones and for Iran in general to finally be relieved from 47 years of suffering.” As the service concluded, two people put on Christ in baptism.

Reggy Hiller, left, gives Arabic-language Bibles to Iranians in Vienna.

Since the Iranian Revolution, Vienna and other cities across Europe have served as refugee and resettlement hubs for persecuted minorities — Jews, Christians, Baha’i and more — fleeing Iran and other Muslim-dominated countries of the Middle East. Large waves from Iran and Afghanistan arrived in the mid-2010s, and new waves are expected as the U.S. and Israel conduct daily airstrikes on Iran.

Churches of Christ have embraced the refugees, helping them to find housing and apply for asylum. Church members also study the Bible with the new arrivals and, if requested, baptize them. Several European churches translate their worship services into Iran’s national language, Farsi.

“Iranian Christians are part of the broader movement for freedom and democracy in Iran,” said Zhale, who worships with the Pohlgasse church. “Our advocacy is both faith-driven and patriotic … Iranian Christians in Europe are actively supporting movements that seek to bring peace, justice and national revival to Iran. Our faith inspires us to advocate for a future where all Iranians are safe and free.”

‘A matter of survival’

Iran, once known as Persia, appears in the Bible nearly 30 times. Its king, Cyrus the Great, ended Israel’s decades-long captivity by the Babylonians. The Old Testament prophet Daniel served in the royal courts of Babylon and Persia. The book of Esther revolves around Persian king Ahasuerus and his Jewish queen, Hadassah.

A series of shahs ruled Iran until 1978. The final shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, implemented rapid modernization, dubbed the “White Revolution,” and fostered strong ties to the U.S. Muslims across Iran expressed discontent with the shah’s pro-Western stance and authoritarian rule, which included severe repression by his secret police. Pahlavi, who suffered from leukemia, fled to the U.S. as the revolution brought Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to power. Iranian militants seized the U.S. embassy in Iran’s capital, Tehran, and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days as they demanded that the shah be returned to Iran for trial.

Members of a Church of Christ in Vienna, many of them Iranian, meet in an apartment in 2018 and sing a hymn in German, “Dies ist der Tag” (“This is the Day”).

Zhale was born a year after the revolution. Her father was a member of the shah’s army. He rarely left their house.

“The Islamic revolutionaries wrote slogans on the walls of our house, made threatening phone calls and warned us that my father would be arrested,” Zhale said, “even referring to stealing or harming the children … Our neighbors were radical Muslims who considered us taghuti.” The Arabic term refers to anything worshiped, obeyed or followed in rebellion against Allah. For security reasons, The Christian Chronicle is withholding Zhale’s full name.

Zhale’s school taught strict adherence to Islam, “and any question or doubt about Islamic teachings was met with disciplinary action or humiliation,” she said. “Over time, Islam became for me more a source of psychological pressure, guilt and suppression of individuality than a source of peace.”

In 2020, Zhale moved to Italy to study human rights. Eventually, she traveled to France, Austria and Slovakia and became closely acquainted with Christians there. Last year, while visiting a park in Vienna with her son, she met an Iranian Christian.

“As time passed and we became more familiar, I noticed her very kind personality, her energy and her positive spirit.” Zhale recalled. “She always had a smile on her face, and being around her gave me a feeling of peace and happiness.”

Eventually, their conversations turned to faith, and the Iranian Christian talked with Zhale about the concept of grace.

“Encountering the idea that God loves and saves a human being without coercion, without fear and without the mediation of force created a deep transformation in me. I came to Christianity not out of hatred but out of hope.”

“Encountering the idea that God loves and saves a human being without coercion, without fear and without the mediation of force created a deep transformation in me,” said Zhale, who was baptized on April 30, 2025. “I came to Christianity not out of hatred but out of hope.”

Nonetheless, she knew that putting on Christ meant she could not live under Iran’s current government. After her baptism, she applied for political asylum in Austria.

“What is slowly healing inside me in this safe country could easily be destroyed again in Iran,” she said. “Being here is not simply a choice for me — it is a matter of survival.”

A war against evil, and the evils of war

Other Iranian Christians told the Chronicle that they see the current war as part of God’s plan for their homeland. However, they mourn for the lives lost and pray continually for their friends and family in Iran.

Christians abhor violence and death, said Hossein, who worships with a congregation in Birmingham, England. At the same time, he said, “I’ve watched my country struggle for so long, and part of me hopes this could mean real change. I love Iran and our people deeply, and that’s exactly why I want to see more justice and freedom there.

“My faith, especially what I learned from the Gospel of Matthew, reminds me to care about peace and mercy even when things are complicated. I’m praying that innocent people are protected, that this leads to accountability where it’s needed and that it’s real. Freedom can grow in Iran.

Austrian Christian Gerhard Krassnig leads a “Five Finger Exercise” as he teaches a Bible lesson to members of the Pohlgasse Church of Christ in Vienna, including refugees from Iran, in 2018.

I’m also praying that hearts would change, that violence wouldn’t spiral and that somehow God would bring lasting peace out of all of this.”

The people of Iran, who live under an Islamic theocracy, “endure an experience even worse than prisoners behind the Iron Curtain,” said Fred Petrossian, an Iranian journalist, author and researcher based in Belgium. “Nevertheless, Iranian Christians, facing dehumanization since the Islamic Revolution, deprived of their basic rights and subjected to persecution, have continued to resist and bear witness to their faith and identity.”

“Iranian Christians, facing dehumanization since the Islamic Revolution, deprived of their basic rights and subjected to persecution, have continued to resist and bear witness to their faith and identity.”

In a column for Religion Unplugged titled “Against Evil Or War?: A Defining Choice For Iran’s Christians,” Petrossian discussed the plight of Iranian Christians — those spread among the diaspora and those worshiping in secret in Iran.

Iranians are “living under bombs, caught between a brutal present and an unknown future,” Petrossian wrote. Yet, “they can also find some comfort in the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who fought apartheid: ‘I’m not optimistic, no. I’m quite different. I’m hopeful. I am a prisoner of hope.’

“This, too, is the current sentiment of many Iranian Christians: hope, but without any illusions.”

ERIK TRYGGESTAD is President and CEO of The Christian Chronicle. Contact erik@christianchronicle.org.

So said Steve Cloer in his keynote address to open the 33rd National Urban Ministry Conference. About 130 city ministers, scholars and students gathered for the meeting at the Levy Church of Christ in this city of 65,000. They represented 40 churches and ministries from a dozen states.

Steve Cloer

Attendees nodded with familiarity when Cloer compared city ministry to the story of the apostle Peter getting out of his boat and trying to walk to Jesus on a stormy sea. Peter began to sink.

“In city ministry, it is so easy to take our eyes off Jesus,” said Cloer, director of the Harding School of Theology’s Center for Church and City Engagement in Memphis, Tenn. “It is so easy to sink.

“But even in our moments of little faith, let’s remember that Jesus is going to be there.”

Tracing its roots to a few inner city Church of Christ ministers who gathered in 1990 for mutual encouragement and support, the National Urban Ministry Conference evolved into a hub for city ministers to learn, network and take time for themselves.

The 2026 iteration featured a preconference workshop, three keynote lectures and 19 breakout sessions. Organizers said attendance and the breadth and quality of conference programming continue to grow in the post-pandemic years.

Ron Clark, co-director for Agape Community Ministries in Portland, Ore., returned to the conference after several years away. He said the event fills a need for many city ministers like him.

Ron Clark, left, and Taylor Cave pray with other conference attendees.

“A lot of the conferences that I go to are more from the academic perspective, but there’s a real need to train the people who do hands-on ministry,” Clark said. “I’m impressed with how the people here are coming to learn how to do ministry more effectively.”

Aron Clevenger, a children’s minister with the bilingual South Walker Church of Christ in Oklahoma City, was a first-time attendee at the urban ministry conference. She said the event gave her a sense of community with fellow city ministers. New to city ministry, Clevenger expressed gratitude for how the conference gave her new ideas and tools for her work.

“I came to Oklahoma City from a very rural setting, so it’s been a cultural shock for me to live there, much less worship there,” she said. “So I’m excited to learn more by being at the conference.”

But for a meeting that many city ministers attend to get ideas for what they can do, organizers wanted this year’s event to focus on what God can and is doing in cities.

Participants pray during the National Urban Ministry Conference in North Little Rock, Ark.

“Our theme, ‘Deeper and Wider,’ came from the Gospel of John, Chapter 15,” said Keith Lape, an evangelist for the River City Church in North Little Rock and one of the conference organizers. “We wanted our focus to be on heeding the call of Jesus to abide in him and to bear much fruit.”

One example of that focus was a two-hour prayer session that many participants described as the highlight of their experience.

“I’ve never been to a conference where they took two full hours just to pray,” said Walter Pierce, another first-time attendee and minister for the Uptown Church of Christ in Chicago. “That was really powerful because it helps us see and understand that God is the lifeblood of our ministries. Change is not going to come because of our works — it’s going to come through the work of God.”

Cloer said he found the 2026 National Urban Ministry Conference to be the best yet. He foresees the conference becoming one of the most important annual gatherings of ministers.

“As the world becomes more urban, there needs to be more spaces where ministers and leaders can think strategically about how to engage the city with good news and good works.”

“This conference is vital for the future of Churches of Christ,” Cloer said. “As the world becomes more urban, there needs to be more spaces where ministers and leaders can think strategically about how to engage the city with good news and good works.”

The 34th National Urban Ministry Conference will convene at the South Walker Church of Christ next February.

B.T. IRWIN directs and hosts The Christian Chronicle podcast. He and his family live in Clawson, Mich., and are members of the Rochester Church of Christ in nearby Rochester Hills.

Farsi wasn’t on the list.

Nonetheless, the 65-year-old ministry, supported by Churches of Christ, has experienced a sharp spike in demand for God’s Word in the languages of the Middle East. Waves of Iranians and Afghans took dangerous paths to reach Turkey and Greece in 2016, and additional waves are expected in the wake of new attacks on Iran by the U.S. and Israel.

On top of a Farsi-language Bible open to the prophet Isaiah, Miriam flips through her own copy of a Farsi New Testament. She has highlighted the parable of the Pearl of Great Price in the Gospel of Matthew.

Workers with EEM are preparing not only to supply more Bibles for Iranians in Europe but also to send God’s Word into Iran itself.

“We cannot wait for that moment and then start deciding what to do,” said Bob Burckle, EEM’s president. “The Bible already exists in the languages many Iranian people can read,” and depending on the outcome of the current conflict, “the need could be far greater than anything we have seen before.”

The ministry has produced almost 90,000 Bibles for various age groups in Iran and is working on the first-ever New Testament in Gilaki, a language spoken by an ethnic group that lives in northern Iran near the Caspian Sea. EEM works with Transform Iran, a ministry focused on strengthening Iranian believers in the country and reaching new believers through radio and digital media. Transform Iran also invests in Bible translation.

Lana Silk

Iran’s 93 million people speak 39 languages, but a full version of the Bible exists in only four of these languages, said Lana Silk, an Iranian-born Christian and president and CEO of Transform Iran. Nonetheless, Iran has one of the fastest-growing Christian communities in the world, she said.

“For many here in the West, it is so much easier to write off this nation as a lost cause — to close the door on caring about these beloved people and justify that God either doesn’t care about them or that they’re out of his reach,” Silk wrote in a column for Today’s Christian Living. “Yet, I’ve seen God move radically in the hearts of the Iranian people, hungry for hope, freedom and justice. …

“Iran is changing, and consequently, so will the greater Middle East.”

Bart Rybinski

Bart Rybinski, vice president of EEM’s European operations, asked Christians worldwide to pray.

“This is a dangerous and deeply uncertain moment for the people of Iran,” Rybinski said, adding that believers should “pray for peace, for protection and for the Lord to move powerfully in the midst of crisis.

“But we also have to be ready. If a door opens for more people in Iran to receive the Bible, we must be prepared to respond without delay.”

Both had special reasons for doing so.

Hankins serves as an elder of the Southeast Church of Christ in Friendswood, Texas, the congregation about 6 miles from NASA’s Space Center Houston that Artemis II pilot Victor Glover and his wife, Dionna, call home.

“He’s just a top-shelf guy and down to earth, but with all the experiences and accolades,” Hankins said of Glover, who launched into space with three other astronauts at 6:35 p.m. EDT Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.

Pilot Victor Glover, second from left, with Artemis II crew members: Commander Reid Wiseman and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen.

As a shepherd, Hankins said he came to love and support the Glover family and cheer and pray for them.

“It was a rush,” the Texas elder said of witnessing the launch. “I mean, I think we all had tears in our eyes. When we got to about five seconds in the countdown, the magnitude of that was pretty overwhelming.”

Lamm, a member of the Twickenham Church of Christ in Huntsville, Ala., spent 38 years working for NASA and private companies in the space industry. He attended the Southeast church during a four-year stint as a chief operating officer at Space Center Houston in the 2010s.

“It’s pretty moving,” said Lamm, who — with Hankins — watched the beginning of the planned 10-day test flight around the moon from a seventh-floor hotel rooftop. 

Lamm’s voice choked with emotion as he spoke.

“We’ve been trying to find this new launch vehicle and a spacecraft to get us to the moon,” he said. “I spent a lot of years trying to help do that. … It just meant a whole lot to be able to be there and see that.”

No atheists on rockets

Glover, a 49-year-old U.S. Navy captain, will be the first Black astronaut to journey around the moon.

Lamm recalled hearing the former combat pilot speak at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. 

Glover paid tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen and other pioneering Black military pilots who came before him.

“I got to hear him say, ‘I’m standing on the shoulders of greatness,’” Lamm said. 

“But it goes back to … the connection to God, the connection to people,” the Alabama church member added. “And then being able to share that in a way that brings people to understand that we’re humans, but we were filled with a spirit to serve and to honor and to glorify God in anything that we may do.”

Before Glover’s 168-day International Space Station mission from November 2020 to May 2021, he talked to The Christian Chronicle about sending up communion cups and a Bible for his time in space.

“I want to use the abilities that God has given me to do my job well and support my crewmates and mission and NASA,” he told the Chronicle in that interview. “That’s really the thing I think the most about.”

After his return home, Glover discussed his faith on the Chronicle’s podcast and reflected on the lessons he learned partaking of the Lord’s Supper 250 miles above Earth.

“In the military, there’s a saying that there are no atheists in foxholes,” he said on the podcast. “There aren’t any on top of rockets, either, I would think.”

Excited and nervous

Now, Glover is rocketing nearly 250,000 miles to the moon.

Dionna and the couple’s four daughters — Genesis, Maya, Joai and Corinne — invited Hankins and Lamm to attend a reception after Wednesday’s launch. The daughters are all in their late teens or early 20s.

Dionna grew up in the Pinole Church of Christ, about 20 miles east of San Francisco. 

Brent Hankins, center, and Tracy Lamm pose for a photo with the Glover family after this week’s launch of Artemis II.

Before her husband’s International Space Station trip in 2020, she talked about the mix of emotions she felt as an astronaut’s wife. 

“Of course I’m excited, but it’s also a little scary,” she told the Chronicle then. “I’m nervous. I’m excited for him. I have Scriptures that I’m reading regularly to try to remind myself not to worry and not to stress.”

No doubt she’s experiencing similar feelings now. 

At the reception, Hankins said he hugged Dionna and told her, “God is so good. I celebrate with you. My heart is exploding with you.”

He recalled telling Corinne, the youngest daughter, “I just love that y’all are Jesus-loving people.”

At the end of the Chronicle’s 45-minute interview with Hankins and Lamm, Hankins asked if he could pray.

“Father, I want to lift up my brother, Victor, and his team that are on this mission,” Hankins said as he raised his voice toward heaven. 

“Let your name be glorified in it all.”

“Let your name be glorified in it all.”

BOBBY ROSS JR. is Editor-in-Chief of The Christian Chronicle. Reach him at bobby@christianchronicle.org.

Featured photo (above): Students at the Lomami Bible School take a class taught via cellphone by Yann Opsitch, director of Online French Bible School.

AUSTRALIA

MELBOURNE — About 65 voices from seven churches in Australia’s most populous city “joined to make a joyful noise” during Summer Song, church member Brett Christensen wrote in Happenings, a newsletter for Churches of Christ down under.

The Dandenong Church of Christ coordinated the event, and the Belmore Road Church of Christ hosted Sunday worship. David Nelson led singing and taught Bible classes. Nelson is an elder of the Otumoetai Church of Christ in Tauranga, New Zealand, and a facilitator for South Pacific Bible College.

As Australia’s summer turns to autumn, churches in Melbourne and Gosford will host ReConnect marriage retreats. Owen and Lauren Mitchell of Eustis, Fla., host the events. The couple works with Franklin, Tenn.-based Marriage Dynamics Institute.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

MWENE-DITU — Wooden benches, open Bibles and a fully charged cell phone are all that’s required for study at the Lomami Bible School, which meets in the heart of the massive Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The school, launched in 2019, prepares Christians for ministry in Churches of Christ and has three teachers, said director Godefroid Kabamba.Guest lecturers also instruct students via Zoom or WhatsApp. Students take 60 courses over a period of three years. “We have already trained two cohorts,” Kabamba said, “and the third will complete their training in July 2026.”

The school seeks a sponsoring church.

Students at the Lomami Bible School take a class taught via cellphone by Yann Opsitch, director of Online French Bible School.

FRANCE

COLMAR — The Église du Christ that meets in this town just west of the German border had 25 visitors on a recent Sunday as a traveling group from Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tenn., joined the small congregation for worship.

The travel-abroad students stopped in Colmar as they made their way from Italy to Belgium. They spent the day “discovering our beautiful city and sharing in some fraternal communion with the congregation,” Colmar church members said in a social media post. “They have blessed us so much with their presence, their joy of life and their zeal for the Lord. It was a day full of brotherly love, moments where the fruits of the Spirit overflowed in each and every one!”

PAKISTAN

LAHORE — A Church of Christ recently hosted its first worship service in this capital city of Pakistan’s Punjab province. An evangelist and his wife taught Bible classes for six months leading up to the first service, attended by members of other Churches of Christ in the city including minister Asher Kaleem.

“The people in this area eagerly waited to gather for Sunday worship, and Asher thanks God for making this possible,” church members said in a social media post. About 97 percent of Pakistan’s population of 259 million identifies as Muslim. Pakistani Christians asked for prayers for the new congregation.

The Woodmont Hills Church of Christ in Nashville, Tenn., supports the work.

Asher Kaleem prays for church leaders in Pakistan.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

LAE — A recent youth camp in this South Pacific nation brought together 723 participants from 29 Churches of Christ and yielded 14 baptisms. The Melanesian Bible College hosted the event, which featured guest speaker Steve Raine of the South Pacific Bible College in New Zealand.

“The camp’s main objective is to strengthen Churches of Christ in the Marobe Province and beyond,” said Arthur Tatara, who teaches for World English Institute. Many youths walk for three or four days to attend the camp, Tatara added.

PHILIPPINES

SOFRONIO ESPAÑOLA — Christians in Palawan, a province of long, slender islands on the western side of the Philippines, trek through jungles to conduct home Bible studies. Evangelists from multiple congregations, including the Puerto Princesa City Church of Christ, make the trips at the behest of Filipinos who listen to a gospel radio program and ask for more information. “Above all, we thank God for this opportunity of preaching thy words into the heart of the lost,” church members said in a social media post. “May God give the increase.”

Church members conduct a home Bible study in rural Palawan, Philippines.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

PIARCO — About 50 Preachers of the Caribbean gathered at a hotel near Trinidad’s international airport for a three-day ministry seminar. Bruce McClarty and Mark Blackwelder of Freed-Hardeman University in Tennessee taught on the theme “The Integrity of the Body of Christ.”

Inside the small wooden church, the theater-style seats began to fill with a capacity crowd for worship and a 200th anniversary celebration that brought together generations of Christians.

“There is love — honest, we love you here,” said Connie Dyer, a longtime member of the Bagdad Church of Christ. “People see it and they feel it.”

The homecoming celebration featured a flatbed trailer loaded with heaps of food, from cakes to barbecue and everything in between. The Sunday service filled every pew, and the sounds of laughter and kids playing echoed through the sanctuary.

The congregation tripled in size that Sunday, with 155 people attending. Edward Anderson, a former minister for the church in the 1960s, returned to deliver the sermon. Anderson also led a gospel meeting that ran from Sunday to Wednesday.

Homecomings have long been a hallmark of Bagdad, with tables spilling over with homemade dishes and members traveling miles to reconnect with their roots each year.

A sign notes meeting times for the Bagdad Church of Christ.

“They would actually have stretched wire outside and put tablecloths over it,” said Tim Agee, a lifetime Bagdad member and now elder. “There would be so much food. … It was a great meeting, good lessons and good fellowship.”

Founded in 1825, Bagdad exemplifies faith while preserving its small-town traditions.

“The church has been there 200 years — same congregation, same name,” Tim Agee said. “Of course, there have been a lot of different changes since then.”

“The church has been there 200 years — same congregation, same name. Of course, there have been a lot of different changes since then.”

In the two centuries since the church’s inception, the worship hall has undergone numerous changes, including the construction of a new building after a fire and the addition of a fellowship hall. Over that period, the overall population of Pleasant Shade shrank as families moved to urban centers in pursuit of job opportunities.

But the Bagdad congregation continues to host a healthy crowd of varying ages for worship. A typical Sunday morning church service averages 50 members, from gray-haired Christians to a bouncing baby boy.

Bagdad elder Tim Agee opens a worship service with a Scripture reading during the church’s 200th homecoming.

If you ask any member of the congregation, Sunday meals every month are a highlight of the tight-knit church family.

Due to an interpretation of Scripture, church elders first rejected the idea of eating in the church building, opting instead to eat at members’ homes or in front of the church.

But over time, the need for a place to cook and store food led the church to add a fellowship hall in the 1990s.

“We do not have any bickering and squabbling,” said Stan Agee, an elder. “We are like a family — more really, more than anything. You can tell that we enjoy being together, and we have a lot in common.”

“We do not have any bickering and squabbling. We are like a family — more really, more than anything. You can tell that we enjoy being together, and we have a lot in common.”

As the congregation looks back on 200 years of services, hymns and generations of families, members suggest that the future of the church can be seen in the youngest faces sitting in the pews or lying on the floor.

During Sunday services, young men in the church step forward and lead the congregation in song before the main worship service begins.

For most members, singing a cappella hymns from song books passed from generation to generation is one of the church’s defining traditions. The congregation fills the sanctuary with a tapestry of voices singing hymns like the “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” and “The Old Rugged Cross.”

Members of the Bagdad church look over the trailer full of homemade dishes during the church’s 200th homecoming celebration.

“We’re known for our singing at Bagdad,” Tim Agee said. “A lot of people like to come because the building’s acoustics are really good, but I think we’ve also got some good singers.”

For older members, watching young families and children grow up within the church is a reminder of Bagdad’s continuing story and the enduring work of God.

“We look around at the kids and just say, ‘Thank you, God,’” Dyer said. “They are our future.”

As Pleasant Shade has grown quieter across decades, the small church along the creek bed continues to fill its pews with families, songs and fellowship.

Over 200 years after its founding, members say the foundation of the Bagdad Church of Christ has never been the building itself, but the generations of people who continue to walk through its doors each morning looking to carry out one thing: praise to their God.

“When you walk through those doors,” Dyer said, “you’re family.”

EPHRAIM RODENBACH is a sophomore sports journalism major at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. He’s the lead sports reporter for the MTSU Sidelines student newspaper.

He also wants everyone in the United States to take time to read God’s Word. 

Bob Burckle

Burckle is president and CEO of Eastern European Mission, a nonprofit that provides Bibles and Bible-based materials across the former communist world. He’s one of nearly 500 people — including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and actress Candace Cameron Bure — who will take turns reading aloud through the entire Bible from April 19-25 at the Museum of the Bible in Washington. 

The effort, America Reads the Bible, coincides with the nation’s 250th anniversary and has as its goal “reigniting America’s spiritual foundation,” organizers said.

Burckle spoke with The Christian Chronicle in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro, where he serves as deacon of missions for the Grapevine Church of Christ. He grew up in the pews of the Highland Church of Christ in Louisville, Ky., and used amateur radio to speak with people in foreign countries. He earned master’s degrees in electrical engineering and business. He worked at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, on stealth and countermeasures projects during the height of the Cold War.

“At the time, Russia was the big bear and we were working on technology to penetrate Soviet airspace for the U.S. Air Force,” Burckle said. But he couldn’t shake a sense of futility, realizing that any attack would end in nuclear annihilation. 

“It’s not that I was anti-war or anti-technology,” Burckle said. “I just thought, ‘There’s got to be a better way.’”

At the same time, Eastern European Mission, or EEM, was smuggling tiny New Testaments under the Iron Curtain and into the communist world. Lynn Camp, the ministry’s former president, recalled young church leaders stuffing 80 Hungarian-language Bibles into a spare tire. Reading God’s Word and underground evangelism became forms of nonviolent, ideological protest in the Soviet Bloc, according to researchers and journalists including Barbara Von Der Heydt, author of “Candles Behind the Wall: Heroes of the Peaceful Revolution That Shattered Communism.”

Fliers advertising free literature from Eastern European Mission are prepared for the mail in Serbia.

As communism collapsed, EEM no longer had to produce tiny Bibles that could be mistaken for cigarette packs. The ministry moved its printing operations from Vienna, Austria, to former Soviet countries and produced full-size, hardback Bibles, sometimes in large print for the vision impaired and colorful children’s Bibles. Last year, the nonprofit produced 2.1 million Bibles and Bible-based materials in 32 languages and distributed them free of charge across 36 nations.

“Our books are spoken for before they’re even delivered,” said Burckle, who left a successful career in the private sector to serve as EEM’s president in 2016 — a temporary assignment that’s lasted 10 years. “Our Bibles are asked for and not just put on a shelf or in a drawer.”

Christians in Minsk, Belarus, demonstrate after their country’s contentious presidential election in 2020. They carry Bibles produced by Eastern European Mission.

Despite unprecedented access to the Bible in multiple versions and languages, only about 11 percent of Americans surveyed by the American Bible Society said that they read their Bible daily, the society reported in 2021. But the organization’s 2025 State of the Bible Report showed an upward trend in Bible users — people who read the Bible outside of church services at least three times a year. Much of the growth is among young adults. The number of millennials who said they read the Bible regularly jumped 29 percent from 2024. More than half of respondents said they wished they read the Bible more often.

Christians Engaged, a nonprofit that seeks to increase voter turnout and civic involvement among Christians, launched the America Reads the Bible project to call for nationwide spiritual renewal and to encourage regular reading of Scripture. Burckle is scheduled to read passages from the Old Testament book of Lamentations on April 23 at the Museum of the Bible. Organizers also will livestream the weeklong event.

“Reading the Bible is crucial for everyone, everywhere and in every language to know God and his truth,” Burckle said. “America Reads The Bible aligns with the heartbeat of EEM. It is a privilege to join others in reading aloud the most powerful and transformational book of all time. 

“We know the impact that the Word of God can have — we want everyone to get a Bible in their hands and for the Scriptures to be written on their hearts so that they can know and serve Jesus Christ. You may never know the eternal impact of someone getting a Bible.”

Bob Burckle holds a Polish language teen Bible produced by Eastern European Mission as he stands by photos of children looking through other EEM products.

Why read from Lamentations, a collection of poems in which Israel mourns  the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, who took them into captivity?

“Lamentations shows us what happens when people become disconnected from God’s Word — everything begins to unravel,” Burckle said. “Whether in Europe, Asia or here in America, putting Scripture into people’s hands is how lives are rebuilt and hope is restored.”