Capitol Conversations

Joel Rainey, Phd., pastor of Covenant Church in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, joins ERLC policy director Matt Hawkins to discuss how his local church is participating in combating the opioid crisis. Also, what does it look like for a Christian church to engage their neighbors in a multi-faith context while remaining faithful to doctrine?

Joel Rainey is the lead pastor of Covenant Church. He serves with One America Movement, where he focuses on building partnerships to combat the opioid crisis in local communities. He serves on the adjunct faculty of two seminaries and is the author of three books. Joel is a graduate of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

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Jeremy Tedesco, senior council at the Alliance Defending Freedom, joins Matt Hawkins and Travis Wussow to discuss the nuances of the Supreme Court’s 7-2 decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission.

Guest bio

Jeremy Tedesco serves as senior counsel and vice president of U.S. Advocacy and Administration for Alliance Defending Freedom, where he helps oversee the implementation of strategic initiatives and advocacy campaigns. Full bio…

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Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz joins Matt Hawkins to discuss his work with the Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty in building partnerships and creating resources to share the gospel and pursue civility. Seltz brings experience in church planting, urban ministry, the nonprofit sector, and academia to Washington, DC to work on behalf of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod to advocate in the areas of life, marriage, and religious liberty.

Guest bio

Rev. Dr. Greg Seltz serves as the Executive Director of the Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty. Previous to Seltz’s work in Washington D.C., he served as the Speaker of The Lutheran Hour® radio program. Before joining Lutheran Hour Ministries, Seltz served as the Director of the Cross-Cultural Ministry Center, as well as professor of Theology at Concordia University in Irvine, California.

Prior to his work at Concordia, Seltz was the Executive Director of Life’s Journey Ministries, an urban, not-for-profit evangelism ministry in Manhattan, New York. He was also the founding pastor of the first new Lutheran mission start in New York City in more than 40 years (Church For All Nations-LCMS), started a mission church in Dallas, served as pastor of a large congregation in Tampa.

Seltz holds a bachelor’s degree in New Testament-Biblical Languages from Concordia University in Ann Arbor, Michigan, plus a Master of Divinity in Systematics–New Testament and a Master of Sacred Theology in Systematics and a PhD in Theology and Culture, from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. He also was awarded the Doctor of Divinity degree from Concordia University Irvine for his urban work in Dallas, NYC, and Los Angeles, launching churches in the city as well as training over 75 candidates for LCMS-urban Ministry in the United States. He and his wife, Marie Yvette, have one daughter, Devin.

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Travis Wussow and Jeff Pickering join Matt Hawkins to discuss their upcoming trip to the United Nations in Geneva to advocate for Malaysian human rights.

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Justice Delayed is Justice Denied: Pursuing Criminal Justice Reform. Capitol Conversations is pleased to air the audio from a workshop convened the MLK50 conference hosted by the ERLC and the Gospel Coalition in Memphis, TN. ERLC’s Matt Hawkins moderates a panel on criminal justice reform featuring Ed Copeland, James Kirkwood, Heather Rice-Minus and Julie Warren. Special thanks to Right On Crime, the sponsor of this workshop at MLK50.

Guest bios

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Dr. Marvin Olasky, editor-in-chief of World Magazine, joined ERLC Policy Director Matt Hawkins for an interview. Their conversation included American poverty and compassion, the history and future of compassionate conservatism, the charitable deduction, and Marvin’s longest streak of 10,000 steps a day.

World Magazine

Marvin’s biography, Unmerited Grace Marvin’s books at Amazon, including…

Guest bio

Marvin Olasky is editor in chief of the World News Group, dean of the World Journalism Institute, and holder of the Distinguished Chair in Journalism and Public Policy at Patrick Henry College. He worked at The Boston Globe, taught at the University of Texas at Austin from 1983 through 2007, and was provost of The King's College in New York City from 2007 to 2011. He joined WORLD in 1990.

Dr. Olasky has written 20 books, including The Religions Next Door, Standing for Christ in a Modern Babylon, Scimitar's Edge, Renewing American Compassion, Telling the Truth, Central Ideas in the Development of American Journalism, The Press and Abortion, Prodigal Press, and The Tragedy of American Compassion, which Philanthropy magazine deemed one of “eight books that changed America.”

He has written more than 2,000 articles in publications including WORLD, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post, and is often referred to as the intellectual father of compassionate conservatism. Dr. Olasky has degrees from of the University of Michigan and Yale University.

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Herbie Newell, president of Lifeline Children’s Services, joins ERLC Policy Director Matt Hawkins to discuss opportunities and challenges facing adoption communities and how local churches can assist.

Guest bio

Herbie Newell is the President/Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and it’s ministry arms including (un)adopted, Crossings, and Lifeline Village. Herbie holds a Master’s degree in Accounting from Samford University. He joined the Lifeline staff in 2003 as Executive Director. From January 2004 – December 2008, he served as the president of the Alabama Adoption Coalition. Herbie was chosen as a Hague Intercountry Adoption evaluator and team leader by the Council of Accreditation and serves in that capacity currently. Under Herbie’s leadership, Lifeline has increased the international outreach to 23 countries, helped Lifeline attain membership in the ECFA (Evangelical Council on Financial Accountability), and led the creation of foster care ministry. Having witnessed the plight of older orphans on many trips overseas, Herbie’s burden for the fatherless was a catalyst for starting (un)adopted during 2009. He worked with WAKM Companies, LLC, a prominent accounting firm, for many years as an independent auditor before being led to Lifeline. He and his wife, Ashley, live in Birmingham, Alabama, and are parents to son, Caleb, and daughters Adelynn and Emily.

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During a spring recess on Capitol Hill, Matt welcomes Congressional staffer and author Chelsea Patterson Sobolik. Their conversation focuses on childlessness and the church, a personal and cultural experience well upstream from policy issues like adoption, foster care, reproductive technologies, surrogacy and more. Chelsea’s first book is Longing for Motherhood: Holding on to Hope in the Midst of Childlessness.

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Kate Anderson from Alliance Defending Freedom joins Matt to discuss the case heard at the Supreme Court this week, NIFVLA v. Becerra. Travis and Jeff join later to discuss the bombings in Austin and the USA’s denial to Iranian refugees. Also, Jeff goes to the White House with the Houston Astros!

Case resources

Guest bio – Kate Anderson

Kate Anderson serves as legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where she is a key member of the Center for Conscience Initiatives. Anderson obtained her law degree magna cum laude in 2009 from Gonzaga University School of Law, where she served on the Gonzaga Law Review. She also completed the ADF leadership development program to become a Blackstone Fellow. Anderson is admitted to the state bars of Arizona and Washington, the U.S. Supreme Court, and several federal district and appellate courts.

Roundtable

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Greg Glod from Right on Crime joins Matt to discuss criminal justice reform. The DC team chats about current policies on the ERLC’s front burner including the Conscience Protection Act. Jeff and Matt reflect on Billy Graham’s lying in honor at the U.S. Capitol.

Guest segment: Criminal Justice Reform

Original DACA deadline passes

Conscience Protection Act (CPA)

Billy Graham

Guest bio – Greg Glod Greg Glod is the Manager of State Initiatives for Right on Crime and Senior Policy Analyst at Texas Public Policy Foundation. Based in Austin, Glod is an attorney who began his legal career as a law clerk and litigator in Maryland before joining Right on Crime. He graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with B.A. degrees in Crime, Law, and Justice and Political Science, and with his J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law.

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