ProtestantBeliefs.com

By Jeffery Jordan II [About the author] The halls of power can feel strangely dim. Not because of a lack of chandeliers or marble floors, but because of how easily human stories can be reduced to policy numbers, legal categories, and political calculations. Yet on an advocacy day on Capitol Hill this winter, representing the ELCA and walking alongside members of the National TPS Alliance, I realized some profound things. Light does not need permission to shine. It only needs to be present. In the words of Jesus to his disciples from Matthew 5:14–15, he does not say you should…

In celebration of Black History Month which is celebrated in the United States in February, we share the following article which is cross-posted from Living Lutheran. The original post can be found here. VOICES OF FAITH THE TIMBRE OF BLACK JOY The timbre of my voice rumbles at the back of my throat, and my mouth opens as a roar of laughter fills the space. Laughter is good for the soul. Too often, our brown bodies feel the tension of the world, and it dulls us. It quiets us, and its load weighs our shoulders down. Time and time again, the…

It is not easy to find a sound, healthy Bible teaching evangelical church in the 21st century. For example, we (my wife and I) have been without a stable church for quite some time. We have “church-shopped,” and that gets almost defeatist after a while. It isn’t that we’re looking for the “perfect church,” not at all. We are simply looking for a church where the Word of God is opened and exposited in a way where Christ is central; where the Gospel is central; where genuine Christian proclamation is taking place. Unfortunately, the MANY churches we have visited over…

In 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed findings regarding greenhouse gases under Clean Air Act, including what is known as the Endangerment Finding – focused on the conclusion that current and projected concentrations of the certain greenhouse gases in the atmosphere threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations. This finding served as the legal basis on which the federal government can regulate greenhouse gas emissions based on public health. In July 2025, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced a proposal to rescind that finding. The ELCA gave testimony at an EPA public hearing in support of…

“For what shall we pray?” is a weekly post inviting individuals, groups, and congregations to lift up our world in prayer. This resource is prepared by a variety of leaders in the ELCA and includes prayer prompts, upcoming events and observances, and prayer suggestions from existing denominational worship materials. You are encouraged to use these resources as a starting point, and to adapt and add other concerns from your local context. More information about this resource can be found here.   Prayer prompts: For an end to war, conflict, and uncertainty, especially in Gaza, South Sudan, Ukraine, Iran, and Venezuela……

I have left some context out of the following, but based on what you have read from me thus far (on the blog in general and over the years etc.), how would you translate my rather technical phraseology? Maybe you don’t think it makes sense. If so, where does it fail in regard to its theological premises and mutually implicating ideas? (I wrote this as a quick off the top thought on X and Facebook) What folks don’t realize it seems, even at higher levels, is that when considering the decretal system and God, when it comes to the incarnation,…

“For what shall we pray?” is a weekly post inviting individuals, groups, and congregations to lift up our world in prayer. This resource is prepared by a variety of leaders in the ELCA and includes prayer prompts, upcoming events and observances, and prayer suggestions from existing denominational worship materials. You are encouraged to use these resources as a starting point, and to adapt and add other concerns from your local context. More information about this resource can be found here.   Prayer prompts: For an end to war, conflict, and uncertainty, especially in Gaza, South Sudan, Ukraine, Iran, and Venezuela……

Prepare To begin, let’s admit that the Transfiguration is a weird story. We’ve got heroes from the Bible’s past. There are voices from heaven. People faint from fear. Jesus transfigures, whatever that actually means. This story is just weird. There are a few things to keep in mind about Moses and Elijah that might be helpful for understanding this story. First, no one saw Moses and Elijah die. When Moses dies, God grants him, alone, a glimpse of the promised land and then God buries Moses, but no one knows where (Deuteronomy 34). Elijah ascends into heaven by means of…

. . . It is not a loud and stern and foreign thing, but the quiet and gentle and intimate awakening of children in the Father’s house to life in that house. That is how God exercises authority. All divine authority has ultimately and basically this character. At its heart all God’s ruling and ordering and demanding is like this. But it is in the direction given and revealed in Jesus Christ that the character of divine authority and lordship is unmistakably perceived.[1] This follows from knowing God first as Father of the Son mediated through the Son by the…

Following are updates shared from submissions from ELCA-affiliated state public policy offices (SPPOs) this quarter (formerly shared monthly). Full list and map of SPPOs available. KANSAS | PENNSYLVANIA | VIRGINIA | WISCONSIN   Kansas Interfaith Action Rabbi Moti Rieber, Executive Director These last few months have been a whirlwind of advocacy, community building, and rapid response at Kansas Interfaith Action (KIFA). Following a much-needed holiday recharge, our team hit the ground running as the 2026 legislative session began, a session that has already proven to be as grueling as anticipated. We rang in the new year by launching our legislative…