H-4 PEOPLE-FILES
- Timothy Head - Travis Hearne - Peter Heather - Lorie Hedgepeth - Ryan Helfenbein - David N. Hempton - Matt Herman - Matt Herndon - Jim Herod - Carter Heyward - Jack Hibbs - Flavio Rogerio Hickel Jr - Steve Hickey -
==timothy head=============
Timothy Head is the executive director of the Faith and Freedom Coalition. Prior to joining Faith and Freedom, he was the district director for a member of the Texas congressional delegation. He also has served as chief of staff and as policy adviser to members of the Texas legislature and worked on the Texas Republican Party's 2010 Victory Texas effort. Before working in public policy, Head did missionary work in Asia, the Middle East and Europe and worked on staff at Antioch Community Church in Waco, Texas. He holds a bachelor's degree in psychology, a master's degree in social work and a law degree, all from Baylor University.
Timothy Head
“Speaker Johnson has demonstrated his commitment to defending freedom, protecting life, and promoting limited government. We look forward to seeing the House get back to serving the American people under his leadership.” --Timothy Head; Executive director of Faith & Freedom Coalition 10/25/23
==travis hearne==================
“Everybody understands God’s righteousness and his punishment for sins in their conscience and by nature,” Horton said. “It’s the gospel that is surprising. It’s the ‘but God’ that interrupts karma. As the Law mediated the Old Covenant, Christ as the new Adam mediates the New Covenant and provides his righteousness for those who believe.”
Horton believes contemporary challenges to the biblical doctrine of justification undermine the sufficient work of Christ by falling into legalism and antinomianism. A particular error Horton corrected was the teaching of the so-called new perspective on Paul, which is commonly associated with James Dunn, E.P Sanders, and N.T. Wright. Contrary to proponents of the new perspective on Paul, the Reformers understood Paul’s teaching on justification correctly as a great exchange where Christ’s righteousness is imputed to the faithful.
“Justification is not about the ethnic problem of inclusion or how to get in and stay in the covenant,” Horton said. “It’s the opposite. The question of the true nature of Israel is provoked by the coming wrath of God, not whether Jews must circumcise Gentiles. The questions they were asking were, 'How must we be saved? Am I among that Israel?”
Therefore, according to Horton, Paul’s concern with legalism was a secondary concern to his main concern—that Christ alone is our salvation. The Reformation doctrines of the solas, which include Scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, and to the glory of God alone, all require the central teaching that man is dependent on Christ alone for faith, grace, and true understanding of Scripture.
“Paul totally rejected self-dependence. He saw man as completely depraved and dependent on God. God, through Christ, provided Paul with a salvation that the law could not provide. The prerequisite for that salvation was the quality Abraham had—faith.” --Travis Hearne; Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Michael Horton Delivers Norton Lectures at Southern Seminary 9/15/23
Horton believes contemporary challenges to the biblical doctrine of justification undermine the sufficient work of Christ by falling into legalism and antinomianism. A particular error Horton corrected was the teaching of the so-called new perspective on Paul, which is commonly associated with James Dunn, E.P Sanders, and N.T. Wright. Contrary to proponents of the new perspective on Paul, the Reformers understood Paul’s teaching on justification correctly as a great exchange where Christ’s righteousness is imputed to the faithful.
“Justification is not about the ethnic problem of inclusion or how to get in and stay in the covenant,” Horton said. “It’s the opposite. The question of the true nature of Israel is provoked by the coming wrath of God, not whether Jews must circumcise Gentiles. The questions they were asking were, 'How must we be saved? Am I among that Israel?”
Therefore, according to Horton, Paul’s concern with legalism was a secondary concern to his main concern—that Christ alone is our salvation. The Reformation doctrines of the solas, which include Scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, and to the glory of God alone, all require the central teaching that man is dependent on Christ alone for faith, grace, and true understanding of Scripture.
“Paul totally rejected self-dependence. He saw man as completely depraved and dependent on God. God, through Christ, provided Paul with a salvation that the law could not provide. The prerequisite for that salvation was the quality Abraham had—faith.” --Travis Hearne; Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Michael Horton Delivers Norton Lectures at Southern Seminary 9/15/23
==peter heather======
Unholy alliance
Christian nationalism is as old as Constantine and as new as MAGA. From the Roman emperor to the Trump slogan, the merging of religious and national identities has taken many forms. Constantine’s conversion did not spiritualize the empire, says historian Peter Heather in his new book, Christendom. Just the opposite: It produced the Romanization of Christianity — religion as servant of the state. American Christians, too, forfeit the soul of their faith when they try to link it with secular power. But the discrediting of faith is only half the damage. Christian nationalism distorts both faith and democracy.
(Paul Schrag/Anabaptist World 8/21/23)
READ MORE>>>>
Christian nationalism is as old as Constantine and as new as MAGA. From the Roman emperor to the Trump slogan, the merging of religious and national identities has taken many forms. Constantine’s conversion did not spiritualize the empire, says historian Peter Heather in his new book, Christendom. Just the opposite: It produced the Romanization of Christianity — religion as servant of the state. American Christians, too, forfeit the soul of their faith when they try to link it with secular power. But the discrediting of faith is only half the damage. Christian nationalism distorts both faith and democracy.
(Paul Schrag/Anabaptist World 8/21/23)
READ MORE>>>>
==lorie hedgepeth======
Lorie Hedgepeth is executive administrative assistant to the superintendent of Mississippi District Assemblies of God
Lorie Hedgepeth
This passage of scripture affords us more than the basis for the traditional Christmas story. Consider with me three timeless truths from this passage of scripture that are relevant to our life regardless of season or circumstance:
We, like Mary have the favor of God on our life (v. 28). Psalms 5:12 says, “For you Lord will bless the righteous; with favor you will surround him as with a shield”. I’d rather have the favor of God than the fortune of this world. His Favor never runs out! Psalms 30:5 teaches us that God’s favor lasts a lifetime. Through every season of our life the people of God have the favor of God. God loves all people…but He has placed His favor on His people. Thank God for favor!! Stop, look, and see all the ways that God has canopied your life with His amazing favor.
The Lord is with us (v.28). The Lord said He would NEVER leave us or forsake us. I can get through what I am going through when I know He is with me! We can walk through difficult places, dismal places, and dry places when we know He is with us. Isaiah 41:10 says, “FEAR THOU NOT…..for I AM WITH THEE! Christmas will come and go…but HE remains. Family comes and goes…but HE remains! This Christmas may be painfully different from last Christmas…but HE is with us! We can get through what we are going through because Jesus…the Son of the living God is with us.
Like Mary, Jesus, the Son of God lives in us (v.29-32). We don’t visit God at Church—He lives in us. Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “..Christ liveth in me”. The promise of Revelation 3:20 is that when we open our heart’s door to Christ, He comes IN! Paul said in Colossians 1:27 that Christ in you is the hope of Glory! Christ in us is what makes Christmas more than just a religious observance. He, the Christ of Christmas resides in us! I don’t know what you are facing…what you are dealing with this Christmas but know this: this same Jesus whose birth we celebrate can heal broken hearts, heal sick bodies and make a way even in the most desperate of situations.
--Lorie Hedgepeth ; Mississippi Assemblies of God;
We, like Mary have the favor of God on our life (v. 28). Psalms 5:12 says, “For you Lord will bless the righteous; with favor you will surround him as with a shield”. I’d rather have the favor of God than the fortune of this world. His Favor never runs out! Psalms 30:5 teaches us that God’s favor lasts a lifetime. Through every season of our life the people of God have the favor of God. God loves all people…but He has placed His favor on His people. Thank God for favor!! Stop, look, and see all the ways that God has canopied your life with His amazing favor.
The Lord is with us (v.28). The Lord said He would NEVER leave us or forsake us. I can get through what I am going through when I know He is with me! We can walk through difficult places, dismal places, and dry places when we know He is with us. Isaiah 41:10 says, “FEAR THOU NOT…..for I AM WITH THEE! Christmas will come and go…but HE remains. Family comes and goes…but HE remains! This Christmas may be painfully different from last Christmas…but HE is with us! We can get through what we are going through because Jesus…the Son of the living God is with us.
Like Mary, Jesus, the Son of God lives in us (v.29-32). We don’t visit God at Church—He lives in us. Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “..Christ liveth in me”. The promise of Revelation 3:20 is that when we open our heart’s door to Christ, He comes IN! Paul said in Colossians 1:27 that Christ in you is the hope of Glory! Christ in us is what makes Christmas more than just a religious observance. He, the Christ of Christmas resides in us! I don’t know what you are facing…what you are dealing with this Christmas but know this: this same Jesus whose birth we celebrate can heal broken hearts, heal sick bodies and make a way even in the most desperate of situations.
--Lorie Hedgepeth ; Mississippi Assemblies of God;
==Ryan Helfenbein======
“Third Wayism”: The New Evangelical Excuse for Retreating From the Political/Cultural War
What happens when we separate God’s law from His Gospel in the name of political neutrality? If you’ve been paying attention to Evangelical discourse recently, you’ve likely encountered what’s now called “Third Wayism” — a term for the modern Evangelical approach to political and cultural engagement without the baggage of moral or political absolutism. The premise sounds reasonable enough on the surface: Occupy a middle ground between the Left vs. Right culture war, avoiding strong alignment with either major political party, platform, or group.
Proponents claim they’re simply being “winsome” and “balanced” — rising above tribalism and transcending versus trendsetting in order to proclaim a pure Gospel untainted by political entanglements.
Third Wayism often sounds like this: “Jesus is neither right nor left.” Or “Jesus wasn’t an elephant or a donkey. [sic] but the Lamb.” Or “Jesus would be too liberal for conservatives and too conservative for liberals.”
That’s true enough, but is that all that needs to be said about our cultural and political divide? What actually [is] happening here? Third Wayism has become a Trojan horse for laundering progressive ideas into the Evangelical churches under the guise of neutrality. Helfenbein makes some other good points, too.
For example, he states that Third Wayism
(New American 11/28/25) READMORE>>>>
What happens when we separate God’s law from His Gospel in the name of political neutrality? If you’ve been paying attention to Evangelical discourse recently, you’ve likely encountered what’s now called “Third Wayism” — a term for the modern Evangelical approach to political and cultural engagement without the baggage of moral or political absolutism. The premise sounds reasonable enough on the surface: Occupy a middle ground between the Left vs. Right culture war, avoiding strong alignment with either major political party, platform, or group.
Proponents claim they’re simply being “winsome” and “balanced” — rising above tribalism and transcending versus trendsetting in order to proclaim a pure Gospel untainted by political entanglements.
Third Wayism often sounds like this: “Jesus is neither right nor left.” Or “Jesus wasn’t an elephant or a donkey. [sic] but the Lamb.” Or “Jesus would be too liberal for conservatives and too conservative for liberals.”
That’s true enough, but is that all that needs to be said about our cultural and political divide? What actually [is] happening here? Third Wayism has become a Trojan horse for laundering progressive ideas into the Evangelical churches under the guise of neutrality. Helfenbein makes some other good points, too.
For example, he states that Third Wayism
- relentlessly critiques traditional Christians (especially “Christian nationalism”). Yet it remains mum or goes soft on far-left evils: prenatal infanticide, child “transgenderism,” classroom sexual indoctrination, political violence, illegal migration, socialism, etc.;
- is a modern Marcion, neo-gnostic heresy that attempts to detach God’s law from His Gospel — seeking the comfort of grace without the confrontation of God’s moral standards;
- refuses to implicate and confront progressive “defeater beliefs” (e.g., labeling biblical sexuality “transphobic”). Third Wayism thus makes evangelism harder and the church culturally irrelevant. Helfenbein notes that the most liberal areas are also the least-churched ones; and
- causes pastors to stay neutral/silent on defining moral issues, disarms Christians, and renders the church lukewarm and irrelevant rather than prophetic.
(New American 11/28/25) READMORE>>>>
==david N Hempton======
How Technology Transformed the Global Church
David N. Hempton’s Christianity at the Crossroads: The Global Church from the Print Revolution to the Digital Era shows how encounters often take place at crossroads or networks and have significantly transformed global Christianity. His work, conceived for the prestigious Gifford Lectures, is a selective retelling of Christianity over the past five centuries. Hempton, a distinguished professor at Harvard Divinity School, blends narrative history with imaginative historiography. His methodology as a social historian shifts away from nations, denominations, and institutions and focuses instead on “transnational flows and networks.”.
(Christianity Today 11/13/25) READMORE>>>>
David N. Hempton’s Christianity at the Crossroads: The Global Church from the Print Revolution to the Digital Era shows how encounters often take place at crossroads or networks and have significantly transformed global Christianity. His work, conceived for the prestigious Gifford Lectures, is a selective retelling of Christianity over the past five centuries. Hempton, a distinguished professor at Harvard Divinity School, blends narrative history with imaginative historiography. His methodology as a social historian shifts away from nations, denominations, and institutions and focuses instead on “transnational flows and networks.”.
(Christianity Today 11/13/25) READMORE>>>>
==matt herman======
Matt Herman enrolled at Missouri State University (MSU) with plans of becoming an accountant. But during his first semester he got involved in the Chi Alpha group there and by his junior year sensed a call to campus ministry. He graduated in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in religious studies, then earned a master’s in theology at Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. Afterward he served a year as a Chi Alpha intern at Georgetown University. Herman published Pioneering Campus Ministry: What You Should Know Before Stepping into the Experience. The book is a resource for would-be planters about the lessons Herman learned in starting two campus groups.
==matt herndon======
Nondenominational Christians on the rise
In the “Eye on America” news feature, CBS co-anchor Maurice DuBois began by stating that although attendance has declined among the major Christian denominations in the U.S., many people are flocking to “independent Christian churches.” DuBois interviewed Matt Herndon, head pastor of Rooftop Church near St. Louis, Missouri, and Ryan Burge, a Washington University professor in St. Louis who studies the influence of religion in America. Herndon spoke of trying to better engage with his congregation through “a way that they can understand and lean into.” Burge expressed that many nondenominational churches “really talk about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.”
(Independent 11/25/25) READMORE>>>>
In the “Eye on America” news feature, CBS co-anchor Maurice DuBois began by stating that although attendance has declined among the major Christian denominations in the U.S., many people are flocking to “independent Christian churches.” DuBois interviewed Matt Herndon, head pastor of Rooftop Church near St. Louis, Missouri, and Ryan Burge, a Washington University professor in St. Louis who studies the influence of religion in America. Herndon spoke of trying to better engage with his congregation through “a way that they can understand and lean into.” Burge expressed that many nondenominational churches “really talk about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.”
(Independent 11/25/25) READMORE>>>>
More Americans than ever attend nondenominational churches. Experts say it's a major shift in U.S. Christianity.
At Rooftop Church, just outside St. Louis, Missouri, it's not collars and frocks — it's baseball caps and jeans. Head pastor Matt Herndon sets the tone on Sundays. "When a lot of people come in, they do notice some things that maybe they wouldn't see at other churches, [like] oh that's strange, he's wearing a hat. Oh, we just watched a video clip from 'Beauty and the Beast,'" Herndon said. "We really do want to engage with people in a way that they can understand and lean into." Rooftop is one of an estimated 40,000 nondenominational Christian churches in the U.S., meaning its teachings are rooted in the Bible, but it's an independent house of worship. What Herndon launched in a community center nearly 25 years ago now attracts as many as 600 people to its seats in any given week. (CBS News 11/17/25) READMORE>>>>
At Rooftop Church, just outside St. Louis, Missouri, it's not collars and frocks — it's baseball caps and jeans. Head pastor Matt Herndon sets the tone on Sundays. "When a lot of people come in, they do notice some things that maybe they wouldn't see at other churches, [like] oh that's strange, he's wearing a hat. Oh, we just watched a video clip from 'Beauty and the Beast,'" Herndon said. "We really do want to engage with people in a way that they can understand and lean into." Rooftop is one of an estimated 40,000 nondenominational Christian churches in the U.S., meaning its teachings are rooted in the Bible, but it's an independent house of worship. What Herndon launched in a community center nearly 25 years ago now attracts as many as 600 people to its seats in any given week. (CBS News 11/17/25) READMORE>>>>
==jim herod======
May 29, 1998: Baptist Press: Utah churches face challenges as part of religious minority
“You are always aware of where the power is,” said Jim Herod, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Hyram, Utah. “But they try to be very careful and not abuse that power, especially in an overt or obvious way. And they are sensitive to others who are not Mormons.”
Over the past 20 years or so, in fact — as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been increasingly portrayed as a part of mainstream Christianity — there has been even more interest in working cooperatively and respectfully with non-Mormons, Herod said.
“You are always aware of where the power is,” said Jim Herod, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Hyram, Utah. “But they try to be very careful and not abuse that power, especially in an overt or obvious way. And they are sensitive to others who are not Mormons.”
Over the past 20 years or so, in fact — as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been increasingly portrayed as a part of mainstream Christianity — there has been even more interest in working cooperatively and respectfully with non-Mormons, Herod said.
==carter heyward======
Rev. Dr. Carter Heyward is an American feminist theologian and priest in the Episcopal Church, the province of the worldwide Anglican Communion in the United States. In 1974, she was one of the Philadelphia Eleven, eleven women whose ordinations eventually paved the way for the recognition of women as priests in the Episcopal Church in 1976.
Carter Heyward's new book calls out sins of white Christian nationalism
I first became aware of feminist liberation theologian Carter Heyward on July 30, 1974, when I was 11 years old. I was reading the local newspaper at my family's home in South Carolina and, among stories reporting the death of Cass Elliot and the chaos surrounding the final days of the Nixon administration, ran one about Carter and 10 other women. These women had defied the hierarchy of the Episcopal Church and, at the Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia, been ordained as priests. They would quickly become known as the Philadelphia Eleven. For the next few years, I followed the media storm around their ordinations — the coverage on The Evening News, the appearance on Phil Donahue TV show, the articles in The Washington Post, The New York Times and other major newspapers (and local ones like my own). I saw the Ms. cover featuring Carter under the headline "Who's Afraid of Women Priests?"
(National Catholic Register 11.4.22 READ MORE>>>>>
I first became aware of feminist liberation theologian Carter Heyward on July 30, 1974, when I was 11 years old. I was reading the local newspaper at my family's home in South Carolina and, among stories reporting the death of Cass Elliot and the chaos surrounding the final days of the Nixon administration, ran one about Carter and 10 other women. These women had defied the hierarchy of the Episcopal Church and, at the Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia, been ordained as priests. They would quickly become known as the Philadelphia Eleven. For the next few years, I followed the media storm around their ordinations — the coverage on The Evening News, the appearance on Phil Donahue TV show, the articles in The Washington Post, The New York Times and other major newspapers (and local ones like my own). I saw the Ms. cover featuring Carter under the headline "Who's Afraid of Women Priests?"
(National Catholic Register 11.4.22 READ MORE>>>>>
In a time of national crisis, when human rights and democratic ideals are under threat, it’s everyone’s responsibility to take a stand—but those of us who benefit from the harmful systems fueling the emergency have an even greater moral obligation to act. For the Rev. Dr. Carter Heyward, a groundbreaking feminist theologian, that means Christians need to play a much bigger role in the fight against fascism.
Today’s Republican Party seems intent on transforming the United States into a grimly theocratic nation, inspired by a deeply capitalistic form of Christianity. Though Trumpism offers a novel twist on old bigotries, its roots run deep in our country’s history. “Nothing we are witnessing in the 21st century is new,” Heyward writes in the introduction to her book, The Seven Deadly Sins of White Christian Nationalism: A Call to Action, released in September. “In the past several years, however, our problems have come to a boil.” |
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==jack hibbs======
May 29, 2022: Denver Post: Christian nationalism on the rise in some GOP campaigns
Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in Chino Hills, California, has also sought to influence local elections. While he does not let candidates campaign at the church, he frequently offers endorsements as a way of signaling to his flock those who are “pro-family, pro-life and pro-freedom.”
But “the hair on my neck goes up” when he hears the term “Christian nationalism,” he said. And he was embarrassed to see Christian imagery during the Jan. 6 riot: “That was a sad day, to see those sacred symbols and words pimped like that.”
Yet while he believes the founders created a secular nation, Hibbs said every Christian should have an equal say.
Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in Chino Hills, California, has also sought to influence local elections. While he does not let candidates campaign at the church, he frequently offers endorsements as a way of signaling to his flock those who are “pro-family, pro-life and pro-freedom.”
But “the hair on my neck goes up” when he hears the term “Christian nationalism,” he said. And he was embarrassed to see Christian imagery during the Jan. 6 riot: “That was a sad day, to see those sacred symbols and words pimped like that.”
Yet while he believes the founders created a secular nation, Hibbs said every Christian should have an equal say.
==Flavio Rogerio Hickel Jr=======
Flavio Rogerio Hickel Jr
While born-again Christians favored Carter over Republican Gerald Ford, 58 to 33 percent, in the 1976 Presidential Election, their allegiance switched to Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, due in part to the work of independent (and eventual Southern) Baptist Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority. Falwell formed his political organization in advance of the 1980 election to counter what he and his allies perceived to be a moral decline in America in the 1960s and 1970s. Falwell’s Moral Majority sought a return to promoting the (White) Christian traditional heterosexual nuclear family on the heels of recent movements aimed at greater racial, gender and sexual equality. The group helped deliver important electoral gains, especially in the South, for Reagan, who similarly campaigned as a “family values” conservative. The Moral Majority supported Reagan’s successor, George H.W. Bush, in 1988, which demonstrated the power and GOP leanings of the White evangelical vote. --Flavio Rogerio Hickel Jr; Washington Post; Born-again Christians are less Southern Baptist than they used to be 7.7.23
==steve hickey======
July 7, 2023: Washington Post: Born-again Christians are less Southern Baptist than they used to be
“Mike Bickle is not distractible,” said Steve Hickey, a seminary professor at Alaska Christian College and a former pastor. “He’s very focused. He’s got a very biblical and responsible approach.”
“Mike Bickle is not distractible,” said Steve Hickey, a seminary professor at Alaska Christian College and a former pastor. “He’s very focused. He’s got a very biblical and responsible approach.”
