Capitol Conversations

Institutions in American public life are not what they used to be. National organizations like political parties and the news media have changed in dramatic ways in their influence on our lives. Political journalist Jon Ward noticed this change a few years ago and began exploring why it is happening and what people are doing to rebuild. Jeff Pickering, Steven Harris, and Travis Wussow welcomed Jon to the Leland House to explore what this all means for Christians in the public square.

This episode is sponsored by The Good Book Company, publisher of Sam Allberry’s new book: Why does God care who I sleep with?

Jon Ward is senior political correspondent for Yahoo News, author of Camelot's End: Kennedy v Carter and the Fight that Broke the Democratic Party (Twelve Books, 2019), and host of “The Long Game” podcast. He has covered American politics and culture for two decades, as a city desk reporter in Washington D.C., as a White House correspondent who traveled aboard Air Force One to Africa, Europe and the Middle East, and as a national affairs correspondent who has traveled the country to write about two presidential campaigns and the ideas and people animating our times. He has been published in The Washington Post, The New Republic, Politico Magazine, Vanity Fair, The Huffington Post, and The Washington Times. He and his family live in Washington, D.C.

On Tuesday, February 25 the U.S. Senate is scheduled to take roll call votes on two significant pro-life bills. The first bill we expect to receive a vote on the floor is th e Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act and the second is the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. Jeff Pickering and Chelsea Patterson Sobolik discuss the legislation, why they matter, and what to expect for the floor debate and votes.

The ERLC publishes a legislative agenda at the beginning of each year to outline the issues and policies we will focus on in our work in Washington, D.C., to serve Southern Baptists and advance the common good. Jeff Pickering, Chelsea Patterson Sobolik, and Travis Wussow discuss specific examples of issues and policies from their 2020 Legislative Agenda and what to expect in the year ahead.

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The much anticipated 2020 Iowa Democratic Caucus became an unmitigated electoral mess as the first in the nation contest remained unresolved a day before the New Hampshire primary. Brent Leatherwood joins Jeff Pickering and Steven Harris to talk about what happened, what’s next, and how Christians can be salt and light in a polarized partisan season.

Brent Leatherwood serves as the Director of Strategic Partnerships. Before coming to the ERLC, he served as the executive director of the Tennessee Republican Party from December 2012 to December 2016, where he managed the organization’s campaign apparatus at the federal, state and local levels. In addition, Brent has worked on Capitol Hill as a senior legislative aide to former Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla). He and his wife Meredith have three children and are members of The Church at Avenue South, where Brent serves as a deacon.

We open 2020 with a month-long series On Human Dignity exploring the implications of this theological truth on life, ministry, and the public square.

For the final episode of this series, Jeff Pickering sits down with ERLC president Russell Moore for an extended conversation on human dignity. The conversations finds its way from theology and technology to the future of the pro-life movement and embracing vulnerability.

We open 2020 with a month-long series On Human Dignity exploring the implications of this theological truth on life, ministry, and the public square.

This week we bring you a special episode to mark the 2020 March for Life. On this episode, Jeff Pickering interviews Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life, at their offices in downtown D.C. about the story of how the march came to be, it’s history, and the pro-life movement.

Jeanne Mancini is the president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, which hosts its annual march around the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. She previously worked at the Family Research Council and the Department of Health and Human Services.

We open 2020 with a month-long series On Human Dignity exploring the implications of this theological truth on life, ministry, and the public square.

On this week’s episode, we continue the conversation by welcoming a longtime friend of the ERLC, Briana Stensrud to share her stories of standing up for the vulnerable. Her career is a testament for how the human dignity ethic connects to more issues than you may think.

Briana Stensrud is the Director of Welcome and lives in Colorado, with her two kids and husband of 11 years. Like many moms, her days consist of balancing work, community involvement and quality time with her family. (Moms with littles know that's professional speak for strategically muting your phone during conference calls, constantly reheating coffee and taking the kids to Chick-Fil-A, a lot). Her passion is to equip the Church to think biblically and pragmatically about exercising a holistic, comprehensive pro-life worldview. Throughout her work in the pro-life movement, Briana continually faced questions from those concerned about immigrants and refugees. Understanding that many concerns were rooted in fear and misinformation, she started a journey to re-discover God's heart for the sojourner. She holds a degree in communications from Iowa State University and a Masters of Biblical & Theological Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary.

We open 2020 with a month-long series On Human Dignity exploring the implications of this theological truth on life, ministry, and the public square.

On this week’s episode, Chelsea welcomes Janet Durig to the Leland House to share stories of Christ’s transformative power for people in need. Janet is the executive director of the Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center, a faith based non-profit organization offering help and support to women, men, and their families who are in a crisis pregnancy.

We open 2020 with a month-long series of episodes on human dignity leading up to the annual March For Life. The conversations will explore the implications of this theological truth on the public square. On this week’s episode, Jeff, Chelsea, Steven, and Travis talk about how they apply the theology of human dignity to issues of public policy in their advocacy work.

ERLC | Capitol Conversation Podcast

Jeff Pickering, Chelsea Patterson Sobolik, Steven Harris, and Travis Wussow wrap up 2019 with highlights from our advocacy work and end of year recommendations. Capitol Conversations will be off the air for the next two weeks for Christmas and back in January for a month long series on human dignity leading up to the 2020 March For Life.