Evangelism

Why a Theology of Free Speech is Essential

Most people clearly understand free speech as an essential human virtue and fundamental American constitutional right. But far fewer appreciate its theological importance.

That oversight can now be corrected, thanks to a new academic article co-published by Andrew T. Walker, Associate Professor of Christian Ethics and Public Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Kristen Waggoner, CEO, president, and chief counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom. These two are perfect to address this issue, one as a professor of ethics and the other, a lawyer toiling in the vineyard of protecting the free speech of Christians.

Their important essay, “The Unchained Word: A Public Theology of Free Speech” appeared this week in the on-line theological journal Themelios, published by the good folks at The Gospel Coalition. These important Christian leaders state from the outset their work is a response to “mounting threats of censorship across Western societies.”

This is indeed a very real threat, as the Daily Citizen has documented here, here, here, here and here. Walker and Waggoner explain, “We argue that freedom of speech is not merely a political concession of liberal democracies, but arises from humanity’s nature as rational agents made in the image of God, created to be seekers and speakers of truth.”

They wisely argue, “After examining the biblical purposes of speech, the limits of civil government’s authority, and the moral logic of human rights, we contend that a Christian account of free speech requires a dual affirmation: positively, that individuals have a duty to speak truthfully; and negatively, that governments bear a heavy burden of proof before restricting expression.” More specifically, “While not absolute, free speech must enjoy a presumption of liberty if societies are to order themselves toward truth and resist the perennial temptation of tyranny.”

While detailing many egregious threats to free-speech by government and media itself, Walker and Waggoner address the theological importance of free speech. They remind their readers that while “Christian reflection on free speech as such has been admittedly thin … Christianity offers a rich foundation for grounding a modern concept of free speech.”

They are correct.

Let us look at creation itself. God created all that exists through His speech. God spoke, and it was. Therefore, speech is both divine and creative. It has profound power. Thus, humans uniquely have speech as God’s unique imagers in creation. But our ability to speak has purpose and moral value – as well as, conversely, the ability to deceive. These authors hold, “Human beings, as rational agents made in God’s image, are made to be truth-seekers and truth-speakers.” They add, “These dual realities of man’s nature and purpose ground a Christian theology of free speech.”

This important article, in addressing a robust theology of free speech, is an essential contribution to gaining a fuller theology of culture and public life, something all believers must possess. Afterall, God created each of us to fulfill the cultural mandate of Genesis 1:28 of living in, participating in and helping create a world of culture that honors God and His good design for humans and His creation.

It is worth reading as a family and sharing with your friends and pastoral leadership at your local church.

Related articles and resources:

How Big is Your View of the Gospel?

In Our Troubled World, Take Heart and Remember That Christ is King

Made in God’s Image

The Church’s Lane is the Whole Cosmos

How Reasserting The ‘Imago Dei’ Can Transform Our Culture

The Saints Triumphant: The Best Awaits

The tradition of All Saints’ Day is believed to date to the eighth or ninth century. While first focused on remembering the martyrs of the early Church, it was expanded to recognize those individuals specially set apart by Rome.

In many Protestant traditions, it’s seen as an opportunity to remember any believer who has preceded us in death.

Of course, Halloween (or All Hallows’ Eve), a day which elicits strong and varied opinions from Christians, has its own origins in name and tradition from this annual sacred observance.

It can be a meaningful and wonderful tradition to remember and give thanks for the Christian saints of yesterday. That’s because we all need heroes – individuals to study, read about, and emulate. We don’t pray to them, but Scripture is very clear that we’re metaphorically encircled by them.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2).

When my father was dying, a chaplain who visited him likened his final days to an Olympic runner entering the stadium for the last mile of a marathon. He encouraged my dad to envision the saints in the stands cheering him on to the finish line. The older we get and the more we invest in our faith, the greater and louder the crowd.

Since nobody is born a Christian, every believer is likely to trace their faith journey back to someone or several people who introduced them to the Lord and helped nurture their young faith. All Saints’ Day is an ideal time to reflect and give thanks for these individuals.

This special day is also an opportunity to gain some perspective. While some people are balancing and battling more difficult circumstances than others, everyone faces their share of challenges. I think that’s what William How, author of the poignant hymn, “For All the Saints,” was alluding to when he wrote:

O blest communion, fellowship divine!

We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;

Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

However difficult the day, better and more glorious ones are coming. The struggle is real, but it is temporary.

If we’re fortunate enough, we lose loved ones in old age. But it’s still difficult to see a once vibrant parent slowly fade. You want to remember them at their peak, but time and age can take a toll. Once again, How’s lyrics reinforce the idea that the saints above bear no resemblance to the weakened ones below:

And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,

steals on the ear the distant triumph song,

and hearts are brave again, and arms are strong,

Alleluia, Alleluia!

Saints in Heaven are once more renewed and robust. The once emaciated saint with cancer will be stronger than ever before. The saint who now walks with a limp will leap with joy and ease.

C.S. Lewis observed in Mere Christianity, “How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been. How gloriously different are the saints.”

All Saints’ Day reminds us that a Heaven full of saints is very different – and something very wonderful for us to look forward to with great wonderment and anticipation.

But then there breaks a still more glorious day;

The saints triumphant rise in bright array;

The King of Glory passes on His way.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

And Amen!

Charlie Kirk’s Generosity Sowed Seeds for Future Generations

If the name Brilyn Hollyhand sounds familiar, it’s likely because you’ve heard or seen him this past month on radio and television discussing the legacy of his friend, the late Turning Point USA founder, Charlie Kirk.

At 19 years old, the Alabama native has been described as someone cut from the same cloth as the youthful and engaging slain apologist and political commentator – and even a possible successor, at least in style and passion.

Growing up in Tuscaloosa, Hollyhand began publishing a political newsletter when he was just 11 years old. That led to the launch of a YouTube channel when he was 12. He began interviewing political movers and shakers – including then Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.

When Hollyhand learned that Charlie Kirk was coming to Tuscaloosa for an event in 2018, he requested 10 minutes to interview him.

“I’ll give you 30 minutes,” Kirk responded to the youngster. A friendship was born.

Between then and Kirk’s assassination on September 10 in Utah, the two regularly exchanged texts and emails. Hollyhand has even described Charlie as “one of his closest friends in politics.”

In the aftermath of the horrific tragedy at Utah Valley University, Hollyhand has visited colleges calling for a return of civil political discourse.

Dubbing his efforts the “One Conversation at a Time” tour, the conservative Gen Zer was blunt while speaking to students at Clemson University.

“When our generation gets frustrated with politics, what do we do?” Hollyhand asked. “We shoot somebody or scream at somebody. We don’t know how to have a civil discourse.”

Teaching and preaching restraint and self-discipline, Hollyhand advocates for taking personal responsibility and countering the emotional escalation with a humble and controlled posture.

“Every single one of you have the opportunity to turn down the temperature,” he reminded students.

In a recent New York Times profile, Hollyhand was accused of unfairly leveraging his friendship with Charlie Kirk.

“There’s no way that I could have done this on my own,” he said. “The Lord opened these doors.”

A devout Christian, Hollyhand was wearing a “Jesus Saves” T-shirt while talking with students at Clemson. Unashamed and unapologetic, the teen has said that he’s a Christian first and a conservative second.

“Politics is temporary,” he recently posted. “Faith is eternal. Give your life to Jesus and trust Him. The best decision you’ll ever make!”

The growing influence and increasing reach of young voices like Brilyn Hollyhand should encourage those who have been praying and hoping for a younger generation to succeed those who have been engaging culture for decades.

“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity,” wrote the Apostle Paul to Timothy (1 Tim. 4:12).

Charlie Kirk’s tragic death has devastated not only his immediate family, but also a movement hungry for youthful leadership.

Yet, the Lord has made it clear that He gives and takes away (Job 1:21) and what man intends for evil, He uses for good (Gen. 50:20). The coming years will demonstrate that the slain communicator and evangelist’s work and influence not only served the immediate moment but also sowed seeds that will produce fruit in the future.

Image credit: Brilyn Hollyhand.

The ‘Bible’ Children Should Not Read

Over two million students participated in Focus on the Family’s “Bring Your Bible to School Day” earlier this month, a robust display of evangelical fervor which should encourage anyone concerned about the rising generation.

As organizers, we didn’t suggest what type of Bible to bring – and for good reason. According to latest reports, over 100 million Bibles were sold around the world last year. Between 10 to 14 million were purchased here in the United States. At last check, there are just over 250 different translations. The King James Version (KJV) remains the most popular overall (55%), followed by the New International Version (NIV). Focus on the Family generally cites the English Standard Version (ESV) thanks to its “essentially literal” approach.

In recent days, several outlets have been reporting on yet another version, for children.

It’s called “The Just Love Story Bible,” aimed at children between the ages of four and ten. Yet it’s not a complete bible, as it contains 52 stories written by Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis and Rev. Dr. Shannon Daley-Harris.

In promoting it, the publisher declares, ‘The big message of the Bible is that God loves us and created us to love God and each other, to do justice, and to love kindness.”

It would seem the writers are referencing Micah 6:8. “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

The book is hailed as “A groundbreaking, justice-oriented storybook Bible for children and families.”

The publisher also made it clear that the biblical characters are depicted “in various shades of brown.”

Dr. Lewis told Religion News Service, “The biblical characters mostly look Black and Brown and caramel … now White children, I imagine, looking in this Bible and seeing brown people and thinking to themselves, ‘Oh, brown people belong to God, too.'”

Do most caucasian children not already assume that all individuals of various races were also created by God?

Only the motives of the authors appear broader and far more dangerous than merely trumpeting diversity. They also want to sow seeds of doubt in children’s minds that the events depicted in the Bible are literally true, including the Resurrection.

“For me, it matters more that children know that love never dies, so that’s where I landed,” stated Dr. Lewis. “It’s OK to actually tell kids from the get-go: Some of these stories are about true people and things that really happened, and some of them are made-up stories, but they’re in there because they can still teach us true things about God.”

Questioning the accuracy and authority of the Bible is hardly a new exercise, but so blatantly and openly selling such a heretical interpretation of God’s Word to children undermines God’s sacred Word in a particularly dangerous and destructive way.

In this corrupted telling, Jesus is portrayed as being a feminist.

“When Shannon and I say we don’t want children to learn something they have to unlearn, we don’t want them to learn patriarchy from this story Bible,” said Dr. Lewis.

So what do the authors want children to learn?

For claiming to be so open-minded, it’s ironic that the authors aren’t open to children believing what the Scriptures have proclaimed for thousands of years. Instead, they want them to see the Bible as a collection of stories that promote their theologically radical and heretical views. It’s only inspired in their minds to the degree they agree with whatever they’ve deemed acceptable and tolerable.

How this book sells remains an open question, but parents shouldn’t be fooled into thinking that simply because it’s marketed as a “bible” it’s healthy and harmless reading.

This is one “bible” that should be filed under fiction.

Image credit: Beaming Books.

Is Revival Beginning in America, With Younger Men Leading the Way?

Ainsley Earhardt interviewed Christian and country singer Anne Wilson on Fox and Friends Sunday to “discuss the resurgence of Christianity among younger generations and her third studio album Stars.”

Earhardt led the segment by saying, “Young Americans are leading a Christian revival across the country.” She pointed to three cultural indicators to in support.

  • Annual U.S. Bible sales shot up 41.6% since 2022.
  • Downloads of “Religion and Spirituality Apps” were up 79.5% since 2019.
  • Spotify streams for Christian music increased 50% since 2019.

The 23-year-old Grammy and Dove Award winning artist with popular singles like “My Jesus” and “Living Water,” said it was encouraging to see those in her generation turning toward Jesus. 

Eric Daugherty, assistant news director for Florida’s Voice, posted a clip of the segment on X, garnering more than five million views.

Bibles, Prayer Apps and Worship Music

Earhardt’s statistics reflect trends building for several years toward faith. In December 2024, World Magazine and other outlets reported, “Americans bought more than 14 million Bibles in 2023 and more than 13 million in the first 10 months of this year.”  

While “religion and spirituality apps” include non-Christian meditation and “mindfulness” apps, it also includes prayer apps like Hallow and Pray, as well as Bible reading and study apps like YouVersion, Bible Gateway and Blue Letter Bible.

Those apps have seen significant increases in downloads and usage.

Denison Forum reported on the surge in Christian music in September 2024,

Contemporary Christian/gospel music (CCM/gospel) has been the fourth-fastest growing genre in the industry across the first half of this year. Its popularity has risen by more than double the industry standard and does not look to be slowing anytime soon.

And the most encouraging part is that the growth has been fueled largely by the younger generations, with Millennials and younger accounting for roughly 45 percent of its listeners. On average, fans are spending 56.8 hours a month listening to CCM/gospel, which is an increase of 19 percent in the last year alone. 

All of these statistics indicate a growing interest in spiritual growth and renewal through Bible reading, prayer and worship. But there are several other signs of God is moving in a new way – especially among young men – to build His kingdom.

Commitment to Christ  

The Christian research organization Barna reported, “Sixty-six percent of all U.S. adults say they have made a personal commitment to Jesus that is still important in their life today.”

The research group explained the significance, saying, “That marks a 12-percentage-point increase since 2021, when commitment levels reached their lowest in more than three decades of Barna tracking.”

This shift is not only statistically significant – it may be the clearest indication of meaningful spiritual renewal in the United States. Commitment to Jesus was lowest in 2021 and 2022, when it bottomed out at 54 percent. Since then, the research shows a steady, year-over-year increase in the key indicator.

The report notes the surge is driven by younger adults, born after 1984, with men showing the greatest increases in claiming a commitment to Christ:

Since the pandemic, however, Millennials and Gen Z have shown significant increases in commitment to Jesus.

Men – especially younger men – are more likely to be Jesus followers than are younger women. For example, among Gen Z men, commitment to Jesus jumped 15 percentage points between 2019 and 2025. Millennial men saw a similar spike of 19 percentage points.

Mass Baptisms and Conversions

On college campuses across the country, there are reports of large-scale worship and evangelism services followed by mass baptisms.

UniteUs is a ministry dedicated to the “movement of college students united to lift the name of Jesus.” The group has hosted outreach events at colleges since 2023. This fall semester they reported,

  • University of South Florida: “Almost 7,000 college students filled the USF arena and God moved powerfully! Close to 2,000 salvations, over 300 baptisms, a generation marked by Jesus!”
  • “Last night at The University of Tennessee!! Over 8,000 gathered. Over 500 salvations. Hundreds baptized. Countless lives changed forever.”
  • “Thousands of young people gathered at the University of Oklahoma last week to worship Jesus. Hundreds were saved, and many were baptized in the early morning hours. GOD IS MOVING IN THE NEXT GENERATION.”

Greg Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship and founder of Harvest Ministries, began hosting evangelism and baptism events in 2023 at Pirate’s Cove in Newport Beach, California. Laurie chose the site because it “was used for baptisms during the Jesus Movement in the 1960s and ’70s and was depicted in the 2023 Lionsgate film, Jesus Revolution.”

Laurie reports that his ministry has seen more than 10,000 people baptized since then.

During the COVID-19 lockdowns, evangelist and musician Shean Feucht began hosting “Let Us Worship” events in cities across the country. Two years ago, Feucht reported on the number of people attending those events: “Over 1 million gathered in person. Millions more online. Hundreds of thousands of decisions for Jesus. Tens of thousands of baptisms.”

Church Membership and Attendance

It’s not just evangelicals and charismatics who are experiencing signs of revival. Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches have seen an influx of new members joining their churches. Again, young men are leading the way.

The Pillar, a Roman Catholic news outlet, reported earlier this year,

  • The Diocese of Cleveland expected “812 converts at Eastertime 2025, which is about 50% higher than in 2024 (542) and about 75% higher than in 2023 (465).”
  • The number of converts in the Diocese of San Angelo is 56% greater in 2025 (607) over 2024 (388). 
  • Converts in the Diocese of Worcester in central Massachusetts are up almost 25% this year (323) over last year (259), and this year’s figure is 152% higher than in 2022 (128).

The Orthodox Studies Institute surveyed Orthodox churches around the country and found a statistically significant increase in male converts in 2022. The survey found that new converts were primarily younger, with 62% under 40 years old.

Across all denominations, recent Barna research shows an increase among young adults attending church. “For decades, older adults – Boomers and Elders – were the most reliable churchgoers. Today, the pattern has shifted. Gen Z and Millennials, often labeled as disinterested in faith, show the highest levels of regular attendance.”

Historically, women attended church more frequently than men. But the organization’s studies show that script has flipped, with men attending church more than women.

“As of 2025, 43 percent of men and 36 percent of women report attending church regularly, based on reported weekly attendance. In five of the last six years, men have outpaced women in this key measure of religious engagement, and the 2025 gap is the largest measured.”

Growing numbers of young men attending church has become so noticeable that even The New York Times reported on it, “For the first time in modern American history, young men are now more religious than their female peers. They attend services more often and are more likely to identify as religious.”

Historic revivals included an outpouring of God’s presence with outward manifestations of the Holy Spirit, bringing deep repentance and grief over sin, transformed lives, social changes, and church growth.

Certainly we’re seeing signs of all these today – especially among young men. It’s too soon to declare that this is a full-blown national revival, but it really does seem like the beginnings of one. Let’s pray that these signs grow and bring lasting change to individuals, our churches and our world.

Related Articles and Resources

Actor Tim Allen Begins Reading the Bible, Finds it ‘Amazing’ and ‘Unexpected’

‘Freedom March’ in Dallas – Leaving Homosexuality and Transgenderism to Follow Christ

‘I Forgive Him’: Three of the Most Impactful Moments from Charlie Kirk’s Memorial

‘I Forgive’: Tim Allen Forgives Father’s Killer, Inspired by Charlie Kirk’s Widow

In Praise of Harrison Butker’s Courage, Conviction and Christ-Centered Commencement Speech

Jesus Boldly Proclaimed at Ohio State, 50 Baptized

Meet the Christian Triplets Using Social Media to Share the Gospel: ‘Jesus is the Way’

The Myth of the Dying Church: How Christianity Is Actually Thriving in America and the World

Nearly 100,000 People Woke Up at Dawn for Charlie Kirk’s Memorial. Here’s Why.

NFL’s Jake Bates: ‘I Hope People Can See Jesus Through My Story’

Pray for Ongoing College Revival

Image credit: Fox and Friends