In Depth:  USA

letter from America

Josh Moody

“The times they are a-changin’.” So sang Bob Dylan. “Change” was a prophetic theme when the song first came out. And change is upon us once more, albeit this time a different kind of change. The times they are a-changin’.

Ever since the 1960s, America – and I suppose most of the quote-unquote “Western World” – has lived with the revolution of those turbulent years. Fuelled by protest against Vietnam, and singing along to the tunes of not just Bob Dylan but (of course) The Beatles, and others, much of the discourse and context in which the church lives and works in the Western World has been shaped by the changing times in which we live, and which have been bequeathed by the 1960s.

Emily Pollok

Liberty University, one of the largest Christian universities in the United States, is now offering online degrees to students living in Europe and is even considering the possibility of creating a European campus in the future.

The evangelical institution, which was founded in 1971 in Lynchburg, Virginia, enrolls more than 140,000 students through its residential and online programmes. With this latest expansion, European students can access 600 options for study online.

Emily Pollok

New research conducted by the General Social Survey, which records social trends in the United States, has shown a significant increase in US Christians who identify as non-denominational.

While less than three per cent of Christians in the US identified as non-denominational in 1972, almost 40 million people place themselves in that category today. Although the Baptist denomination remains the largest Protestant group, non-denominational Christians are now the second largest grouping in Protestant Christianity with an estimated 40,000 churches across the US.

Luke Randall

The decision to deny permission to a senior student at a Colorado high school to paint a Bible verse alongside a Christian image on her personal parking space has been reversed.

Sophia Shumaker wanted to paint a text from 1 Corinthians 13 v4 alongside an image featuring a shepherd, but her request was refused by the school despite it being allowed by other schools within the same district. However, following a letter sent to the school on her behalf by the First Liberty Institute, the school has revised its policy and granted her permission.

Luke Randall

There has been mixed reaction among missionary workers to the news that the US State Department has updated its classification of Nigeria to a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) due to its severe persecution of Christians.

The ongoing situation in Nigeria gained more publicity following comments by comedian Bill Maher, who described persecution as genocidal. Now, Trump’s administration has upped its designation of the country and has hinted at further action if violations of religious freedom are not halted.

Emily Pollok

Since the assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk on 10 September, people in the United States and further afield are heading back to church in what has been termed “the Charlie Kirk effect.”

In the days immediately following his death, social media was swarming with videos of people sharing the impact that Kirk’s assassination was prompting in their lives; for many, that meant returning to church or attending a service for the first time.

Lydia Houghton

American pastor, author and educator Voddie Baucham has died at the age of 56.

Writing on Facebook, Voddie Baucham Ministries said: "We are saddened to inform friends that our dear brother, Voddie Baucham, Jr., has left the land of the dying and entered the land of the living.

Lydia Houghton

Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, has publicly forgiven her husband's alleged killer, stating: "I forgive him because it's what Christ did."

Tens of thousands of people gathered at a memorial service in Arizona, to mourn the death of political activist and Christian Charlie Kirk - who was fatally shot while addressing students at Utah Valley University on 10 September.

en staff

Influential US evangelical author and psychologist James Dobson died today, Thursday, it has just been announced.

News agency Associated Press described him as "a child psychologist who founded the conservative ministry Focus on the Family and was a politically influential campaigner against abortion and LGBTQ+ rights". He was 89.

Emily Pollok

One of the young survivors of July’s catastrophic flash flooding in Texas has written a song in tribute to the 27 girls from Camp Mystic killed in the disaster.

Skyler Darrington, 12, shared her revised rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” on US TV show Fox & Friends. “That event really helped my faith grow,” she said during the broadcast. “All my friends were there. We sung during the tragic event, and it just helped us grow.”

Politics USA

Tony Bennett

Former Vice President Mike Pence has for many years introduced himself to audiences by saying: “I’m a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican – in that order.”

I’ve heard many evangelical Christians in the UK speak warmly of Pence’s strong Biblical faith. Indeed, there is much to admire. But I’m concerned.