These days, the heat and wind of the political environment is kindling even in some Christians what seems to be an appetite for rage, revenge and violence.

When the church of Christ allows itself to be set ablaze by politics, how can it demonstrate the grace and peace of the kingdom of God? How can it bear witness to the reconciling and redemptive work of Jesus Christ? How can it be a refuge for those who are exhausted and wounded by the acrimony of our times?

Recorded in late 2025, this conversation with Tryce Prince addresses these questions head-on.

Prince is director of the Carl Spain Center on Race Studies and and Spiritual Action at Abilene Christian University, contributes to the Good Culture Show podcast and writes at the First Sunday Substack. He recently published an essay, "Fighting Fire with Plants" in Christianity Today.

As the church searches its soul and tries to find solutions to the crises of these times, Prince points to a branch of the Christian family tree from recent history. The Black church in the United States responded to hateful and violent circumstances in the 19th and 20th centuries by cultivating a "beloved community" of proactive and purposeful love and peace-making.

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Lakeview Church of Christ and Northwest Church of Christ, both in Chicago, have long histories ministering to their neighbors and welcoming strangers into their pews. For decades, migration trends mean that many of their members and neighbors are from countries beyond the United States.

For both Lakeview and Northwest, embracing and supporting these newcomers has always been a simple matter of obedience to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ and the laws of the kingdom of God as the Gospel of Matthew 25:31-46.

Changes in attitudes among some U.S. voters, however, led to a new federal administration that promised to deport 10 million illegal immigrants in 2025. Federal law enforcement is now deploying personnel and tactics that are affecting Lakeview and Northwest members and neighbors.

Which raises difficult questions for congregational leaders. What will they do when obedience to the Christ could bring them to not comply or not cooperate with the U.S. government? What will they do if law enforcement tries to enlist, search or surveil their congregations?

In this episode we hear from Chicago ministers Walter Pierce (Lakeview Church of Christ) and Carlos Estrada and Patrick Odum (Northwest Church of Christ).

Link to an archive of The Christian Chronicle's coverage of Lakeview Church of Christ

Link to an archive of The Christian Chronicle's coverage of Northwest Church of Christ

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Kids and young adults growing up in congregations with "Church of Christ" signs on their buildings have honest questions: "Who are we? How did we become who we are? Why do we do what we do?"

These are important questions for young Christians trying to decide whether to remain with the church of their upbringing or strike out in search of something different.

And, if "restoration" truly is essential to Christians who identify with the Church of Christ, then it must be a fresh practice for each new generation.

These are the reasons why Church of Christ youth ministry veterans Luke Dockery and Jared Pack wrote Origin Story: Churches of Christ and the Restoration Movement.

The book, which uses comic book illustrations and fast-moving, punchy language, seeks to orient a new generation to Church of Christ history.

In this episode, the authors discuss why church history beyond the New Testament is still crucial for present-day Christians to learn and study. They also make their case that restoring the New Testament church is always a present and future pursuit and never a past-tense accomplishment. Thus, restoration demands both an awareness of history and an orientation toward emerging generations.

Link to Zack Martin's Christian Chronicle review of Origin Story

Link to Origin Story: Churches of Christ and the Restoration Movement

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