Capitol Conversations

For this two part series, we bring you ERLC president Dr. Russell Moore teaching on the Kingdom of God and what this theology means for Christian engagement in the public square.

The lectures were recorded live in Washington, D.C., as part of the ERLC Academy on the Hill event series earlier in 2019.

In part one, Dr. Moore introduced the theology by teaching on the Kingdom that is to come. And in part two, he teaches how the Kingdom has already come in Christ.

For this two part series, we bring you ERLC president Dr. Russell Moore teaching on the Kingdom of God and what this theology means for Christian engagement in the public square.

The lectures were recorded live in Washington, D.C., as part of the ERLC Academy on the Hill event series earlier in 2019.

In part one, Dr. Moore introduces the theology by teaching on the Kingdom that is to come. And in part two, he teaches how the Kingdom has already come in Christ.

For Thanksgiving travels, we wanted to bring you a message on the twin values of civility and courage ERLC president Russell Moore recently gave at Veritas Church in Iowa City. This event was part of the ERLC's Faith and Healthy Democracy project that seeks to help Christians better understand our chaotic public square and engage our current cultural moment.

Travis Wussow is in Hong Kong this week meeting with local leaders, pastors, and government officials, and filming interviews for a project ERLC is working on. The pro-democracy protests remind the world of the dignity of freedom and the dangers of authoritarianism. For a special, second episode for the week, Travis joined Jeff by phone from his 53rd floor airbnb over Kowloon Bay to talk about the week and how Christians ought to think about these events.

Herbie Newell comes back to the Leland House studio to join Jeff and Chelsea to talk about serving children and families in difficult situations. His experience leading Lifeline Children’s Services with fostercare and adoption as well as parental reconcilation allows him to speak powerfully to the pro-life ethic. November is national adoption month, and this is a timely reflection of what Christian love can look like in that arena.

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.

Jeff and Chelsea are joined by friends and coalition partners Miriam Harmer and Brian Walsh to discuss our advocacy work for a bipartisan repeal of the new tax on nonprofits and, for the first time in American history, houses of worship.

Miriam Harmer is Director of Congressional Affairs at the Orthodox Union where she works to promote the OU’s interest in energy, education, Israel, and religious freedom issues. A veteran of four presidential campaigns, Miriam has spent much of her professional career with the United States House of Representatives and Senate. As a Hill staffer, Miriam was a Legislative Assistant for Representative Rob Bishop, Counsel for Senator Bob Bennett, and most recently a Legislative Counsel for Senator Mike Lee, where she advised him in his position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Prior to her time on the Hill, Miriam clerked in the office of Utah’s Attorney General and with the law firm of Oldaker, Biden & Belair.

Brian Walsh is a Washington, D.C.-based attorney and serves as Executive Director of the Faith & Giving Coalition, a multi-religious, multi-denominational initiative working to protect and promote faith-based and other charitable giving. Walsh previously served as Senior Legal Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation and as executive director of an Ethics and Public Policy Center research program on freedom of religion and conscience. Walsh has testified before committees of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives as well as the White House Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. His commentary has appeared in numerous publicans such as USA Today and The Wall Street Journal, and he has been interviewed on multiple networks including CNBC, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and NPR. Walsh was a commercial litigation associate with the international law firm of Kirkland & Ellis in Washington, D.C., and with Willcox & Savage in Norfolk, Virginia. He served as a law clerk to Judge Pasco M. Bowman on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Historian Thomas S. Kidd stops by the Leland House for a roundtable conversation on evangelicalism and politics with Jeff, Travis, and Chelsea. Dr. Kidd tells the story of evangelicals by providing an in depth look at the beliefs that binds them, the history that formed them, and how politics affects their movement. Most importantly for the ERLC, he tells the story of our office namesake, John Leland.

Thomas S. Kidd teaches history at Baylor University, and is Associate Director of Baylor's Institute for Studies of Religion. He also recently joined the faculty at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Church History. Dr. Kidd writes at the Evangelical History blog at The Gospel Coalition. He also regularly contributes for outlets such as WORLD Magazine, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. His recent books include Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father; George Whitefield: America's Spiritual Founding Father; and Baptists in America: A History, with co-author Barry Hankins. You can find him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thomas.kidd and on Twitter @ThomasSKidd.

Jeff Pickering and Travis Wussow welcome Mindy Belz of World magazine to the podcast to talk about Islamic extremism and the future of ISIS after the killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by US Special Forces. We also cover the rising instability in the Middle East as Turkish aggression threatens the Kurdish and Christian people in Syria.

Mindy Belz is senior editor of World magazine and author of They Say We Are Infidels: On the run from ISIS with persecuted Christians in the Middle East. Writing for the publication since 1986, she has covered war in the Balkans, Sudan, Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, and has given on-the-ground news coverage from Nigeria, Egypt, Turkey, and elsewhere. Her reporting has been published in the United States and overseas. Belz and her husband have four children and live in Asheville, North Carolina. Follow her on Twitter @mcbelz.

This week marks a milestone for the ERLC’s podcast from Washington, DC as we publish the 100th episode of Capitol Conversations. Jeff Pickering welcomes the founder and former host Matt Hawkins back to the studio for a top 10 countdown of our favorite episodes.

Matthew Hawkins career spans 18 years at the intersection of religion and politics, including over a decade of broadcasting and podcasting experience and eight years in government relations. Most recently he served in Washington, D.C. as a policy director for the ERLC. After eight years in Washington he is pursuing a PhD in public theology while working as a podcaster, writer, and consultant. Matt remains an Associate Fellow with the ERLC’s Research Institute and serves as a board member for One America Movement, an initiative to bring Americans together across racial, religious, political and geographic divides to address pressing social problems. His writing has appeared at The Wall Street Journal, ERLC.com, and ReligiousFreedomInstitute.org. Matt holds an M.A. in Philosophy (Ethics and Public Affairs) from George Mason University, a B.B.A from Belmont University, and lives with his family in the Nashville area.

Jeff Pickering welcomes Brent Leatherwood of the ERLC and Paul Miller of Georgetown University to discuss their research project exploring what American adults with evangelical beliefs think about civility and politics.

Paul D. Miller is a professor of the practice of international affairs at Georgetown University, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, and a research fellow with the ERLC. Miller also taught at The University of Texas at Austin and the National Defense University and worked at the RAND Corporation prior to his arrival at Georgetown. Before his career in academia, Dr. Miller served as Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan on the National Security Council staff; worked as an intelligence analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency; and served as a military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. Miller holds a PhD in international relations and a BA in government from Georgetown University, and a master in public policy from Harvard University.

Brent Leatherwood is no stranger to our podcast but as a refresher, he serves as the ERLC’s Director of Strategic Partnerships. Before coming to the ERLC, he served as the executive director of the Tennessee Republican Party and also worked on Capitol Hill as a senior legislative aide. Brent and his wife Meredith have three children and are members of The Church at Avenue South, where he serves as a deacon.