October 2025

Something about this photo stopped me. It wasn’t the tactical gear or the government patch. It wasn’t even the tension behind the camera: federal officers in Chicago, a raid unfolding, people watching in fear or confusion. It was this moment. An officer, in full gear, holding a small child.  The photographer, Derek Nielsen, isn’t a journalist. He’s a nature and conservation photographer who happened to capture this scene while documenting his city. No political agenda, no press badge, just a person with a camera, using his gift to bear witness.  Among Derek’s images that day were officers with helmets, batons, and covered faces. Some looked hardened,Read More →

Over the weekend I heard a short clip from a recent sermon by Adam Hamilton. I’m glad I was sitting down, because the questions he quoted hit me hard and they’ve been haunting me since. Hamilton credited conservative pastor Joe Carter, who wrote them back in 2020. In the clip I saw, here are the two questions that hit me: At first I thought, Bingo! That’s it. That’s what’s happening across our society, left and right. We’re trading a living faith for a political identity. I can name folks on both sides who would answer “yes” to those two questions without even blinking. But theRead More →