Faith & Chelsen - Tackling Tough Topics in Church & Culture

Found in the Files: An Excursion through 25 Years of International Religious Liberty Resources

September 18, 2018 By Faith J. H. McDonnell

File Discovery 1: 35 years and 11 More in Sudan and We Still Don’t Get It This October is my 25th anniversary at the Institute on Religion and Democracy. It is also the 20th anniversary of the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), now U.S. law. Because of both of these auspicious occasions, and because every day some incident of persecution of Christians globally proves that it’s just déjà vu all over again, I am digging through my vast resources,… Read more

It is Well With My Soul: The Witness of the Church of Nigeria

July 11, 2018 By Faith J. H. McDonnell

0 Comments

For a week in June we met as 2000 Anglican Christians from around the world at GAFCON 2018 in Jerusalem, the Global Anglican Future Conference. We worshipped, prayed, and discussed the way forward. We came as fellow believers who acknowledge the Lordship of Christ and honor the authority of Holy Scripture. Our delegation from the United States and Canada was not too shabby in size! And Australia, New Zealand, South America — even Europe — were surprisingly well represented. But by… Read more

I Can Only Imagine: Film Tells the Story of a Father Transformed by God’s Grace

March 14, 2018 By Faith J. H. McDonnell

0 Comments

One of the best perks of attending the National Religious Broadcasters’ Convention is getting to see films before they’re released. That was the case last month when I was fortunate enough to attend a premiere screening of I Can Only Imagine, the film named after the hit song by Christian band MercyMe. I Can Only Imagine, from filmmakers Jon and Andrew Erwin (October Baby, Woodlawn, Moms Night Out), opens this Friday, March 16. I will see it again – probably… Read more

Confessions of Marriage, Valentine’s Day, & Brokenness

February 15, 2018 By Chelsen Vicari

0 Comments

When we say that “marriage has its challenges,” that’s a far cry from what it actually looks like to daily battle our sinful, self-centered nature in order to love, support, and sacrifice for the sake of our spouse. Read more

I’ll Not Turn Back

February 14, 2018 By Faith J. H. McDonnell

0 Comments

A new campaign to speak out for and raise the profile of persecuted Christians around the world began today – Valentine’s Day/Ash Wednesday 2018. Save The Persecuted Christians (www.savethepersecutedchristians.org ) is an informal alliance of individuals, churches, and non-profit organizations urging our fellow Americans to become intimately familiar with the sorrow, oppression, and persecution suffered by most of the world’s followers of Jesus Christ. Save The Persecuted Church (STPC) is literally planting a flag (banner, as it were) and saying… Read more

Rejecting the Nuclear Option: President Trump Promises Support to the Iranian People, Not the Islamic Regime

January 3, 2018 By Faith J. H. McDonnell

0 Comments

It seems that God has given America a second chance to respond to cries for freedom in Iran. Crowds of Iranians are in the streets, as they were during the Green Revolution. Once again they are protesting against the repressive Islamic regime, as they did in 2009. The people of Iran are showing that they don’t want to be ruled by a brutal theocracy. In June 2009 the Iranian people took to the streets protesting the presidential election stolen by… Read more

Another Open Letter to Nikki Haley: Madam Ambassador, Apply Your Israel Common Sense & Justice to South Sudan

December 29, 2017 By Faith J. H. McDonnell

0 Comments

On Monday, December 18, 2017, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley stood up to the UN Security Council as few representatives have ever done. Hers was the lone dissenting vote as the 14 other UNSC member states voted in favor of a resolution introduced by Egypt condemning the US for deciding to move its embassy to Jerusalem. The resolution even attempted to prohibit the US from this action. Haley’s arm shot up at the call for “against” with… Read more

Three Other Things the American Atheists Get Wrong About Christmas

December 18, 2017 By Faith J. H. McDonnell

0 Comments

(In addition, that is, to the BIG ONES – concerning the Deity of Christ, and the birth of the Messiah, to Mary, a young Jewish virgin.) The American Atheists are baaack! With yet another attack on Christmas. This year’s Angry Atheist Attack comes in the form of telling people to skip church and calling the birth of Christ “fake news.” These two messages appear on a billboard with a deceptively sweet drawing of a Nativity scene with Mary, Joseph, and the Baby. Also in the scene… Read more

Top Five Reasons to Support #RedWednesday

November 21, 2017 By Faith J. H. McDonnell

0 Comments

Tomorrow, November 22, 2017, is #RedWednesday, an effort to call attention to those who are persecuted for their faith around the world using the red. Red is the color traditionally associated with Christian martyrs, and with Jesus Himself (hence, the abundance of RED church doors) but the #RedWednesday effort is for all victims of persecution and of Antisemitism globally. The 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative (21CWI) introduced this campaign in the United States. #RedWednesday began in the United Kingdom, as a creation of Aid to the Church in Need(ACN-UK). In Great Britain, the… Read more

Why Shifting Evangelical Support Away from Israel is Disastrous for Women

November 9, 2017 By Chelsen Vicari

0 Comments

Evangelicals’ failure to support the nation-state of Israel could have disastrous implications for democracy, women’s rights, and religious minorities in the Middle East. Read more