Brian Kaylor

Jefferson City

President and Editor-in-Chief at Word And Way

Baptist minister with PhD in political communication. New book: 'Baptizing America.' President & Editor-in-Chief - @WordAndWay [email protected]

Articles

Missouri lawmakers should reject fake ‘chaplains’ in schools bill - Sedalia Democrat

2 weeks ago | sedaliademocrat.com | Brian Kaylor

Posted 5/1/25As the 2025 legislative session of the Missouri General Assembly nears the finish line, one bill moving closer to Gov. Mike Kehoe’s desk purports to allow public schools to hire spiritual …This item is available in full to subscribers.
Missouri lawmakers should reject fake 'chaplains' in schools bill • Missouri Independent

2 weeks ago | missouriindependent.com | Brian Kaylor

As the 2025 legislative session of the Missouri General Assembly nears the finish line, one bill moving closer to Gov. Mike Kehoe’s desk purports to allow public schools to hire spiritual chaplains. However, if one reads the text of the legislation, it’s actually just pushing chaplains in name only. The bill already cleared the Senate and House committees, thus just needing support from the full House.
Brian Kaylor, Author at Missouri Independent

2 weeks ago | missouriindependent.com | Brian Kaylor

During a recent debate in the Missouri Senate over a proposal to create rape and incest exemptions to Missouri’s abortion ban, one lawmaker argued against such exceptions by defaming God. Republican Sen. Sandy Crawford, who called herself “a woman of faith,” argued that while rape can be “mentally taxing,” women should be required to give […]
The Supreme Court Case That Could Dismantle Church-State Separation

2 weeks ago | publicwitness.wordandway.org | Brian Kaylor

St. Isidore of Seville, a 7th-century Church leader in modern-day Spain, is often called the “patron saint of the Internet.” The theologian and bishop who lived quite a few years before the creation of the Internet receives this unofficial patron status because of his ambitious project to compile universal knowledge in his tome Etymologiae, which became an influential textbook during the Middle Ages.
Churches to Ring Bells to Recall Start of Revolutionary War

3 weeks ago | wordandway.org | Brian Kaylor |Jeremy Fuzy |Jeremy Füzy

NOTE: This piece was originally published at our Substack newsletter A Public Witness. Listen, my children, and you shall hear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere. On the eighteenth day of April, in Seventy-Five. With those opening lines, famed poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow commemorated Paul Revere’s ride to warn that British troops were coming toward Boston.
New Faithful America Head Challenges Theology of Christian Nationalism

4 weeks ago | wordandway.org | Brian Kaylor |Jeremy Fuzy |Jeremy Füzy

NOTE: This piece was originally published at our Substack newsletter A Public Witness. For years, Rev. Shannon Fleck has been challenging Christian Nationalism in what could be called the state leading the way in advancing the ideology. Now, she’s ready to focus not just on mobilizing Christians in Oklahoma but also across the nation. Last week, the advocacy group Faithful America named Fleck, a minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), as the organization’s new executive director.
Will Christian Schools Speak Out for Their International Students?

4 weeks ago | wordandway.org | Brian Kaylor |Jeremy Fuzy |Jeremy Füzy

When the Biden administration issued a rule in 2021 prohibiting institutions of higher education from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in housing, some Christian schools quickly filed legal actions to block the rule. The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, which has over 180 member institutions, backed the effort filed by some of its members.
Supporting Church-State Separation With Faithful Challenges to Christian Nationalism

1 month ago | wordandway.org | Brian Kaylor |Jeremy Fuzy |Jeremy Füzy

NOTE: This piece was originally published at our Substack newsletter A Public Witness. “I believe in the separation of church and state. This isn’t a hard equation because the kind of religion that the state traditionally enforces has not been good for my people.”Author and historian Jemar Tisby offered that assessment as he contrasted the difference between Christian Nationalism and the political witness of the Black Christian tradition.
Clergy Hold Vigil Backing Legal Fight Against ICE Raids in Houses of Worship

1 month ago | publicwitness.wordandway.org | Brian Kaylor

“It’s alright to pray for lawyers. It’s alright to clap for lawyers — even in church.”Rev. Jim Wallis offered that quip as he stood in the pulpit of National City Christian Church in Washington, D.C., on Thursday (April 3) during a vigil on the eve of a legal hearing.
Cloud of Witnesses Beneath the Sanctuary

1 month ago | wordandway.org | Brian Kaylor |Jeremy Fuzy |Jeremy Füzy

In April 387, the bishop of Milan prepared for Easter services. Bishop Ambrose is still recognized as one of the leading theologians of the 4th century, often called one of the four “Great Latin Church Fathers.” However, as he baptized new converts that year during the Easter vigil, a young man among the group would also become another one of the four greats and even surpass Ambrose in reputation. Augustine. A rhetoric teacher, the 33-year-old Augustine had moved to Milan three years earlier.