Adroit, acerbic, and dry in his selective use of examples, Norman instanced Dr Robert McAfee Brown, Professor of World Christianity at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Addressing the World Council of Churches in 1975, in the guise of a penitent who now realised that he was a sinner, the Professor confessed his embodiment of “racism, sexism, classism, and imperialism”, and spoke of Jesus as a “liberator”, to be “identified with the demands of oppressed people”.

Another instance nearer to home was that of a sincere Anglican cleric interviewed on the radio, extolling the Sex Pistols’ song to change the world order as a model of true “Christian prophecy”.

Unconvinced by this unlikely juxtaposition, Norman highlighted the lacunae in the punk-rock gospel: nothing about the Christ who was the Lord of history or the sin that affects liberator and oppressor alike; silence concerning the need for the repentance and forgiveness, which are fundamental to prayer and spiritual maturity, or any acknowledgement of the final judgement of all human actions. Absent, too, was the unique Christian teaching concerning the place and ultimate end of humanity, along with any serious critique of secular visions of the future for the forsaken of this world.

The lecture series was praised for its clarity, intellectual depth, and the way in which it had facilitated a serious discussion of the relationship between Christianity, politics, and contemporary society.

Read it all.

Edward Norman, who died in April, deplored the politicisation of Christianity, writes Rod Garner https://t.co/Bs176KKzH4

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) July 10, 2026

Most churches are trying to solve a retention problem when what they actually have is an alignment problem. When you address alignment, retention follows suit.

Every church is capable of moving the needle in this area.

Stop expecting guests to figure out what you haven’t clearly communicated or culturally reinforced in the church.

When what you promise and what you deliver are the same thing—across your website, your Sunday experience, what you ask of them, and your follow-up—guests don’t need to be convinced to come back to the church. They just do.

Pick one of these four alignment gaps and work on it this month. Then add the next. You don’t need a bigger team or a bigger budget. You just need better alignment.

Read it all.

Guests don't stop coming back to your church because of what happened on Sunday. They stop coming back when what they experienced didn't match what they expected: https://t.co/3QqQfU7r4F

— Tyler Harden | Church Consulting (@tylerdharden) July 10, 2026

The church has been an indispensable part of these United States, not least by advocating for abolition, civil rights, and the sanctity of life. The American literary canon is full of biblical allusions, and our legal system’s conception of rights rests on the reality that they are an inalienable gift from God.

For those searching for meaning in America today, however, I want to offer a framework from a congressional address by the African Methodist Episcopal reverend and US congressman Richard H. Cain from January 24, 1874. Cain artfully detailed the role of a free and diverse citizenry in the American experiment:

I believe Almighty God has placed both [Black and white] races on this broad theater of activity, where thoughts and opinions are freely expressed, where we may grasp every idea of manhood, where we may take hold of every truth and develop every art and science that can advance the prosperity of the nation. I believe God designed us to live here together on this continent, and in no other place, to develop this great idea that all men are the children of one Father. We are here to work out the grand experiment…by the development in us of the rights that belong to us, and the performance of the duties that we owe each other. Our interests are bound up in this country. Here we intend to stay and work out the problem of progress and education and civilization.

Cain understood that none of us were placed here by chance. God has filled our every step on this land with purpose (Acts 17:26). In Christ, he has removed “the dividing wall of hostility” (Eph. 2:14), and as Christians, we should work tirelessly to ensure, in Cain’s words, that there’s “no antagonism between the races, no friction that should destroy their peace and prosperity.” That kingdom unity is an imperative for us, and the sins of other Christians don’t relieve us from this duty.

But as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States, the American church is in grave danger of negligently missing the moment. Christians should be leading in social innovation to address the opportunities and dangers of artificial intelligence, to remedy the devastating childhood literacy crisis, and to make peace in a war of the sexes that’s exacerbating our loneliness epidemic. Instead, the church is stuck relitigating questions settled long ago. We’re still debating whether social justice can be biblically sound, long after the abolition and Civil Rights movements unequivocally answered in the affirmative. We’re still imagining that a political party or the right president can save us, pretending government can fix communities full of broken families. 

Read it all.

At our country’s 250th anniversary, Christians can—and must—model charitable unity amid diversity, @JustinEGiboney writes.https://t.co/ocE9pvUofw

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) July 4, 2026

The questions that define civilizations don’t always announce themselves cleanly. They can arrive wrapped in the language of progress—faster, smarter, more efficient—until one day we realize that what has arrived isn’t what we wanted.

In the case of artificial intelligence, choices made in boardrooms and research labs will have far-reaching consequences. We need to understand that clearly, before the changes become irreversible. Even more, to make serious decisions about our future, we need to state the moral definitions of what it means to be human and the limits on AI’s influence on the social order.

AI development is outpacing ethical deliberation, and people are already being harmed. We’ve seen teens counseled toward suicide, a proliferation of child sex-abuse material and communities strained by sprawling data centers. And that’s only what’s come to light. This technology is permeating our lives in ways beyond our awareness. The risks of AI superintelligence run from economic upheaval to the concentration of power in the hands of whatever corporation or government wins the AI technology race.

At the same time, we have to see clearly the good of AI. 

Read it all.

We need a Christian vision for the future of AI. The development of the technology is beginning to outpace ethical deliberation, writes @revwalterkimhttps://t.co/mFl7oPAl8C

— Wall Street Journal Opinion (@WSJopinion) July 10, 2026

Heavenly Father who called blessed Everild to found a new abbey lead many souls to Christ in monastic peace, grant that we, like her, may through your Holy Spirit seek with steadfast hearts the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at your right hand, and from where he lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen (moved from yesterday).

July 9: Feast of Everild (†c.700). Wessex noblewoman who went north to become a nun with her companions Bega and Wulfreda. They settled on land owned by St Wilfrid called Bishop’s Farm, which he gave them. There they founded a convent. St Everilda's Church 📸Frederick Weeks pic.twitter.com/t00fnYh9Xy

— North Ages (@NorthAges) July 9, 2026

Set a watch, O Lord, upon our tongue, that we may never speak the cruel word which is not true; or being true, is not the whole truth; or being wholly true, is merciless; for the love of Jesus Christ our Lord.

—Daily Prayer, Eric Milner-White and G. W. Briggs, eds. (London: Penguin Books 1959 edition of the 1941 original)

Happy Friday everyone!#FlowersOnFriday 🌸#PinkFriday 🩷 pic.twitter.com/YOuJGWpLZW

— Margaret O'Connell🌻 (@MargaretOC6) July 10, 2026

Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but it is not enlightened. For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified.

Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on the law shall live by it. But the righteousness based on faith says, Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?” (that is, to bring Christ down) or “Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach); because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and bestows his riches upon all who call upon him. For, “every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”

–Romans 10:1-13

Walking on twisty paths into distant hills, through waving grasses that shine gold in the last light of the sun. These are the tiny moments in life that can bring the biggest pleasure, for those who stop to look, to watch, to notice. I'm so glad I've been blessed with the gift of… pic.twitter.com/N54vlPM6zk

— peaklass (@peaklass1) July 10, 2026