W.1 - PEOPLE FILES
- Alexander Ward - Anthony Ward - Bashar Warda - Raphael Warnock - Kay Warren - Tish Warren - Randall Waring - Paul Washer - Craig Waters - JW Wartick - Daryl Washington - Sharon E Watkins -
==alexander ward======
The rise and fall of Christian nationalism
The article, which was also written by Alexander Ward, defined natural law as "the belief that there are universal rules derived from God that can’t be superseded by government or judges," and likewise called it "a pillar of Catholicism" that has "been used to oppose abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and contraception" in recent decades. (Christian Post; 12/8/25) READMORE>>>>>>
The article, which was also written by Alexander Ward, defined natural law as "the belief that there are universal rules derived from God that can’t be superseded by government or judges," and likewise called it "a pillar of Catholicism" that has "been used to oppose abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and contraception" in recent decades. (Christian Post; 12/8/25) READMORE>>>>>>
==anthony ward======
Leader of schismatic Colorado Springs group disregards excommunication
After receiving a letter of excommunication from the Vatican, the leader of a schismatic group in Colorado Springs told congregants he would ignore it — furthering the divide between the small splinter group and the Catholic Church. Anthony Ward heads the Servants of the Holy Family, a group that labels itself as Catholic in spite of the Diocese of Colorado Springs’ declaration that the group is schismatic. In a 40-minute speech to his congregation in which he called Church authorities “a kangaroo court” of “heretics” and “freemasons,” Ward went public on Nov. 16 about his excommunication and his plans to continue ignoring the Catholic Church’s directives. (Catholic News Agency 12.5.25) READMORE>>>>>>
After receiving a letter of excommunication from the Vatican, the leader of a schismatic group in Colorado Springs told congregants he would ignore it — furthering the divide between the small splinter group and the Catholic Church. Anthony Ward heads the Servants of the Holy Family, a group that labels itself as Catholic in spite of the Diocese of Colorado Springs’ declaration that the group is schismatic. In a 40-minute speech to his congregation in which he called Church authorities “a kangaroo court” of “heretics” and “freemasons,” Ward went public on Nov. 16 about his excommunication and his plans to continue ignoring the Catholic Church’s directives. (Catholic News Agency 12.5.25) READMORE>>>>>>
==bashar warda======
Kathryn Jean Lopez
Christianity in Iraq is in a different place, on the other side of the ISIS genocide that drove most of the Christians from Mosul to Erbil, near Kurdistan. When it comes to the persecuted Church, Iraq is a hopeful story, if a work in progress.
“ISIS is defeated, Christ is victorious,” Archbishop Bashar Warda tells me. “The Church is back again. Mass is back again.”
Warda, who established the exchange program with Franciscan University, says it has helped change how young Iraqis see Americans.
At first, many of his people thought the students coming to teach them must have been desperate for jobs. But as the Iraqis got to know the American teachers, they saw real faith, talent and generosity.
The young people are coming because “they want to serve the needs of the Church. They show the beauty and kindness of American Catholics,” Warda says.
During the genocide, Warda was able, with the help of the Knights of Columbus and Aid to the Church in Need, to establish a Catholic university and a hospital, among other things, for the people who wound up on his doorstep as refugees from ISIS.
He was able to help Christians see a future in Iraq — education for children and jobs for their parents. Warda credits good priests like then-Father (now Bishop) Thabet Habib Yousif Al Mekko for doing the difficult work of “accompanying his people through that long, painful road.” (Both Warda and Thabet were in Orlando for the annual Knights of Columbus convention this summer.)
This is no small thing. In 2014, Iraqi Christians understandably were tempted to think “this is the end ... That there is no future for them in Iraq,” Warda remembers. --Kathryn Jean Lopez; Press Republican; Christianity is alive and well in Iraq 9.18.23
“ISIS is defeated, Christ is victorious,” Archbishop Bashar Warda tells me. “The Church is back again. Mass is back again.”
Warda, who established the exchange program with Franciscan University, says it has helped change how young Iraqis see Americans.
At first, many of his people thought the students coming to teach them must have been desperate for jobs. But as the Iraqis got to know the American teachers, they saw real faith, talent and generosity.
The young people are coming because “they want to serve the needs of the Church. They show the beauty and kindness of American Catholics,” Warda says.
During the genocide, Warda was able, with the help of the Knights of Columbus and Aid to the Church in Need, to establish a Catholic university and a hospital, among other things, for the people who wound up on his doorstep as refugees from ISIS.
He was able to help Christians see a future in Iraq — education for children and jobs for their parents. Warda credits good priests like then-Father (now Bishop) Thabet Habib Yousif Al Mekko for doing the difficult work of “accompanying his people through that long, painful road.” (Both Warda and Thabet were in Orlando for the annual Knights of Columbus convention this summer.)
This is no small thing. In 2014, Iraqi Christians understandably were tempted to think “this is the end ... That there is no future for them in Iraq,” Warda remembers. --Kathryn Jean Lopez; Press Republican; Christianity is alive and well in Iraq 9.18.23
==randall waring======
Adventists Confront Christian Nationalism at Religious Liberty Summit
This is not an endorsement of the teachings of Seventh Day Adventism, but just a note on how they are dealing with Christian Nationalism. --ZR
On November 15, 2025, three Adventist scholars made the case that our theology still has something vital to say about religious liberty, but also that the current administration poses real dangers to the separation of church and state. The Religious Liberty Summit—hosted by the Church State Council—was a reminder that our roots and prophetic identity were always meant to prepare us for precisely this moment. The moderated panel featured Steve Allred, Alan Reinach, Laura Wibberding, Devon & Dawn Horning, and Randall Waring, chair of the Paradise Adventist Church board. Reinach and Allred discussed the dangers of promoting material produced within movements whose aims Adventists cannot ethically support. Allred warned that organizations like Turning Point USA have become influential conduits for dominionist theology and that many Christians are being drawn in by nationalistic rhetoric disguised as spiritual revival. “Religion is a fertile ground for exploitation. Churches are,” Allred said. “One of the things I see with Christian nationalism is that they’re using a lot of the words[…]things that Christianity is into, and yet when you look at the underlying substance, when you look at the actual values that we’re promoting, we’re being selective.” “Christian nationalism seeks power, not influence,” Allred said. “We should be influential—but never seek dominance.” Adventists are called not to rule culture, he emphasized, but to witness within it. Reinach: “If you’re going to reject a person because of their political beliefs, then you’re putting your politics ahead of your faith. You know, that’s where you think that[…]Jesus is a Republican or Jesus is a Democrat, and if you don’t believe the way I do, it’s Mark of the Beast, us versus them thinking. So it’s fine to disagree about politics, but do we ostracize and demonize the other because they believe differently?” (Source: Spectrum;“A Counterfeit Kingdom”: Adventists Confront Christian Nationalism at Religious Liberty Summit; 11/25/25
This is not an endorsement of the teachings of Seventh Day Adventism, but just a note on how they are dealing with Christian Nationalism. --ZR
On November 15, 2025, three Adventist scholars made the case that our theology still has something vital to say about religious liberty, but also that the current administration poses real dangers to the separation of church and state. The Religious Liberty Summit—hosted by the Church State Council—was a reminder that our roots and prophetic identity were always meant to prepare us for precisely this moment. The moderated panel featured Steve Allred, Alan Reinach, Laura Wibberding, Devon & Dawn Horning, and Randall Waring, chair of the Paradise Adventist Church board. Reinach and Allred discussed the dangers of promoting material produced within movements whose aims Adventists cannot ethically support. Allred warned that organizations like Turning Point USA have become influential conduits for dominionist theology and that many Christians are being drawn in by nationalistic rhetoric disguised as spiritual revival. “Religion is a fertile ground for exploitation. Churches are,” Allred said. “One of the things I see with Christian nationalism is that they’re using a lot of the words[…]things that Christianity is into, and yet when you look at the underlying substance, when you look at the actual values that we’re promoting, we’re being selective.” “Christian nationalism seeks power, not influence,” Allred said. “We should be influential—but never seek dominance.” Adventists are called not to rule culture, he emphasized, but to witness within it. Reinach: “If you’re going to reject a person because of their political beliefs, then you’re putting your politics ahead of your faith. You know, that’s where you think that[…]Jesus is a Republican or Jesus is a Democrat, and if you don’t believe the way I do, it’s Mark of the Beast, us versus them thinking. So it’s fine to disagree about politics, but do we ostracize and demonize the other because they believe differently?” (Source: Spectrum;“A Counterfeit Kingdom”: Adventists Confront Christian Nationalism at Religious Liberty Summit; 11/25/25
==Raphael Warnock======
December 23, 2025: Anabaptist World reported: Of the five ordained members of Congress now in office, two are Democrats, and both are Black: Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, lead pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Martin Luther King Jr. was pastor, and Emanuel Cleaver, a United Methodist minister, a congressman representing Missouri. But this year at least six white clergy and one seminarian — some from evangelical Christian backgrounds and others from mainline Protestant denominations — have declared to run as Democrats in 2026. Another 20 ministers — many of whom are white Democrats — are seriously considering running for various state or local seats, said Doug Pagitt, executive director of Vote Common Good, a nonprofit that seeks to engage religious voters.
Dem Senator Says Trump ‘Policies Bear False Witness Against’ God
Georgia Democrat Senator Raphael Warnock criticized the policies of the Donald Trump administration in a post on X Monday, saying in part, "There are more than 2,000 verses of Scripture that tell us how to treat the poor. And none of those verses say we should take food away from hungry children, slash health care for the vulnerable, and give tax cuts to the rich.""These policies bear false witness against the God I know," he concluded. This is not the first time that Warnock has expressed criticism of the president and his use of religion in politics. Trump often refers to God and the Bible during speeches, signaling the Republican Party's alignment with Christian values. (Christian Post; 12/8/25) READMORE>>>>>
Georgia Democrat Senator Raphael Warnock criticized the policies of the Donald Trump administration in a post on X Monday, saying in part, "There are more than 2,000 verses of Scripture that tell us how to treat the poor. And none of those verses say we should take food away from hungry children, slash health care for the vulnerable, and give tax cuts to the rich.""These policies bear false witness against the God I know," he concluded. This is not the first time that Warnock has expressed criticism of the president and his use of religion in politics. Trump often refers to God and the Bible during speeches, signaling the Republican Party's alignment with Christian values. (Christian Post; 12/8/25) READMORE>>>>>
April 6, 2023:
CBN has an article about the upcoming election. They note that GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley and others are sounding the alarm. "All of this wokeism is trying to change the core of what the family is," Haley tells CBN News. "The family has always been one that prays at home, goes to church, teaches morals, grows their children, and sends them out to do God's work. That's always been the case until now."
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is expected to run, recently echoed that same concern on The 700 Club. "If we teach our kids garbage, if we do not remind them that this is a Judeo-Christian nation and is the most exceptional nation in the history of civilization, if we can't teach them the basics of reading and writing, and reasoning, if we get those things wrong, no secretary of state can fix that problem. The next generation will grow up thinking, gosh, we were taught America is racist. We were taught America is founded on an illogical idea and there is an oppressor class. You can't get those things back," Pompeo said. CBN also mention Trump and Ron DeSantis. Oh, and they also mention Mike Pence....who they think might has a chance...but I say not a single chance in hell.
CNS News reports that "Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.-N.Y.) has been visiting Christian churches recently, appearing at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem on Sunday, March 26, and at the Evangelical Crusade Christian Church in Brooklyn on Palm Sunday. “It’s such a joy to join together with @SenatorWarnock at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem where he once served and where he’s preaching a guest pastor today,” Schumer said in a tweet he sent out on March 26.
CBN has an article about the upcoming election. They note that GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley and others are sounding the alarm. "All of this wokeism is trying to change the core of what the family is," Haley tells CBN News. "The family has always been one that prays at home, goes to church, teaches morals, grows their children, and sends them out to do God's work. That's always been the case until now."
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is expected to run, recently echoed that same concern on The 700 Club. "If we teach our kids garbage, if we do not remind them that this is a Judeo-Christian nation and is the most exceptional nation in the history of civilization, if we can't teach them the basics of reading and writing, and reasoning, if we get those things wrong, no secretary of state can fix that problem. The next generation will grow up thinking, gosh, we were taught America is racist. We were taught America is founded on an illogical idea and there is an oppressor class. You can't get those things back," Pompeo said. CBN also mention Trump and Ron DeSantis. Oh, and they also mention Mike Pence....who they think might has a chance...but I say not a single chance in hell.
CNS News reports that "Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.-N.Y.) has been visiting Christian churches recently, appearing at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem on Sunday, March 26, and at the Evangelical Crusade Christian Church in Brooklyn on Palm Sunday. “It’s such a joy to join together with @SenatorWarnock at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem where he once served and where he’s preaching a guest pastor today,” Schumer said in a tweet he sent out on March 26.
==kay warren======
Dec 18, 2018: Christian Post: Are Christians who commit suicide condemned to Hell?
Saddleback Church co-founder and best-selling author Kay Warren whose son, Matthew, died by suicide at age 27 in 2013, has also emphasized that suicide doesn't condemn a Christian to Hell.
"God's promised us that Matthew's salvation was safe and secure. Matthew gave his life to Jesus when he was a little boy. And so, I'm absolutely 100 percent confident based on the work of Jesus that Matthew is in Heaven," she told The Christian Post in an earlier interview.
Mar 2015: Kay Warren: Christianity Today: No More Needless Deaths
Saddleback Church co-founder and best-selling author Kay Warren whose son, Matthew, died by suicide at age 27 in 2013, has also emphasized that suicide doesn't condemn a Christian to Hell.
"God's promised us that Matthew's salvation was safe and secure. Matthew gave his life to Jesus when he was a little boy. And so, I'm absolutely 100 percent confident based on the work of Jesus that Matthew is in Heaven," she told The Christian Post in an earlier interview.
Mar 2015: Kay Warren: Christianity Today: No More Needless Deaths
==tish warren====== |
For over a decade, Tish has worked in ministry settings as a campus minister with InterVarsity Graduate and Faculty Ministries, as an associate rector, and with addicts and those in poverty through various churches and non-profit organizations. She is a founding member of The Pelican Project and a Senior Fellow with the Trinity Forum. She lives with her husband and three children in the Austin, Texas area.
Jan 3, 2023
==JW Wartick======
J.W. Wartick has an MA in Christian Apologetics from Biola University. His interests include theology, philosophy of religion--particularly the existence of God--astronomy, biology, archaeology, and sci-fi and fantasy novels.
Jan 4, 2016: JW Wartick: Always Have a Reason: “Faithful Elephants”- How a children’s story taught me war is terrible
Dec 18, 2015: JW Wartic: Always Have a Reason: Star Wars: The Force Awakens- a Christian perspective
Sept 1, 2015: JW Wartick: Eclectic Theist: 80s Fantasy Movie Review: “The Last Unicorn”
Mar 15, 2015: JW Wartick: Sunday Quote!- Does Concordism Fail?
Oct 29, 2014: JW Wartick: Always Have a Reason: “The Railway Man”: Forgiveness is more powerful than hate
Sept 24, 2014: JW Wartick: Always Have a Reason: A Brief Musing on the “Prosperity Gospel” – Psalm 4:6-7
Dec 18, 2015: JW Wartic: Always Have a Reason: Star Wars: The Force Awakens- a Christian perspective
Sept 1, 2015: JW Wartick: Eclectic Theist: 80s Fantasy Movie Review: “The Last Unicorn”
Mar 15, 2015: JW Wartick: Sunday Quote!- Does Concordism Fail?
Oct 29, 2014: JW Wartick: Always Have a Reason: “The Railway Man”: Forgiveness is more powerful than hate
Sept 24, 2014: JW Wartick: Always Have a Reason: A Brief Musing on the “Prosperity Gospel” – Psalm 4:6-7
Feb 3, 2014: .JW Wartick (JW Wartick "Always Have a Reason") shared "Sunday Quote! – Secularism as necessary in the Political Sphere?" He writes: The quote this week is from Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, The Politics of Secularism in International Relations, a book which makes me reminisce upon The Myth of Religious Violence by William Cavinaugh. The book is about how secularism comes into play with international relations, and how secularism is often turned into the wielding of power of the secularist over the religious other. Here’s a juicy quote explaining one of the products of secularism:
“[T]he objective of laicism is to create a neutral public space in which religious belief, practices, and institutions have lost their political significance… The mixing of religion and politics is regarded as irrational and dangerous. For modernization to take hold, religion must be separated from politics… Laicism adopts and expresses a pretense of neutrality… This makes it difficult for those who have been shaped by and draw upon this tradition [laicism] to see the limitations of their own conceptions of religion and politics.” -Elizabeth Hurd, “The Politics of Secularism in International Relations”
“[T]he objective of laicism is to create a neutral public space in which religious belief, practices, and institutions have lost their political significance… The mixing of religion and politics is regarded as irrational and dangerous. For modernization to take hold, religion must be separated from politics… Laicism adopts and expresses a pretense of neutrality… This makes it difficult for those who have been shaped by and draw upon this tradition [laicism] to see the limitations of their own conceptions of religion and politics.” -Elizabeth Hurd, “The Politics of Secularism in International Relations”
paul washer
Paul Washer
We should never present Christ to the unbeliever as the cherry on top of an already wonderful life. The unbeliever must see that he has no life, and that all his personal achievements prior to Christ are monuments to his own vanity: made of sand and quickly passing. – Paul Washer
==craig Waters======
Dec 12, 2022: Baptist Press: Wyoming pastor’s Santa cause is pointing to Christ
It’s not uncommon for Craig Waters to experience a case of mistaken identity.
Children routinely walk up to the pastor and tug on his pants, committed to getting an audience with him if only for a minute. To be fair, Waters’ white hair and beard, considerable girth and jolly nature have a lot to do with it. It’s almost like kids can sense that a Santa suit hangs in his closet.
It’s not uncommon for Craig Waters to experience a case of mistaken identity.
Children routinely walk up to the pastor and tug on his pants, committed to getting an audience with him if only for a minute. To be fair, Waters’ white hair and beard, considerable girth and jolly nature have a lot to do with it. It’s almost like kids can sense that a Santa suit hangs in his closet.
==sharon E watkins======
Rev. Dr. Sharon E. Watkins serves as General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada. As General Minister, she is general pastor of the denomination, responsible for representing the wholeness of the church, for reconciling differences, and for helping the church retain its clarity of mission and identity. Her work includes interpreting The Design of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and convening tables for cooperative work.
Mar 28, 2015: Huffington Post: Disciples Of Christ Church Threatens A Boycott Over New Indiana Bill That Allows LGBT Discrimination
“Purportedly a matter of religious freedom, we find RFRA contrary to the values of our faith — as well as to our national and Hoosier values,” stated the letter, which was signed by Sharon E. Watkins, the church’s general minister and president, as well as the leaders of its overseas and domestic missions.
“Purportedly a matter of religious freedom, we find RFRA contrary to the values of our faith — as well as to our national and Hoosier values,” stated the letter, which was signed by Sharon E. Watkins, the church’s general minister and president, as well as the leaders of its overseas and domestic missions.
==daryl washington======
'Keep off our property' | DC area Christian leaders ask ICE to stop parking in church lots
Here are the 19 clergy that signed onto Saturday's letter:
- Rev. Graylan Scott Hagler; Plymouth United Church of Christ; senior advisor Fellowship of Reconciliation Pastor Christopher Zacharias; John Wesley African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Rev. Rubin Tendai; United Church of Christ , Rev. Patricia Fears; Fellowship Baptist Church , Rev. Jamall Calloway; Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ , Rev. Lewis T. Tait; The Village, Rev. William H. Lamar IV; Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, Rev. Marcus Leathers; Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, Rev. Wanda Thompson; The Ambassador Baptist Church, Rev. Keith W. Byrd Sr.; Zion Baptist Church, Rev. George C. Gilbert Jr.; Baptist Convention of DC and Vicinity, Rev. Daryl Washington; DM Washington Ministries, Rev. Kenneth King; New Hope Baptist United Church of Christ, Rev. Kendrick Curry; Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church, Rev. Clarence Cross, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Rev. Howard Finley; at-large, Bill Mefford; The Festival Center, Rev., Abhi Janamanchi; Cedar Lane Unitarian-Universalist Church (Bethesda, Md.), Rev. Darrryl LC Moch; United Church of Christ of Fredericksburg (Fredericksburg, Va.)
(WUSA9 8/23/25) READMORE>>>>>
Here are the 19 clergy that signed onto Saturday's letter:
- Rev. Graylan Scott Hagler; Plymouth United Church of Christ; senior advisor Fellowship of Reconciliation Pastor Christopher Zacharias; John Wesley African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Rev. Rubin Tendai; United Church of Christ , Rev. Patricia Fears; Fellowship Baptist Church , Rev. Jamall Calloway; Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ , Rev. Lewis T. Tait; The Village, Rev. William H. Lamar IV; Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, Rev. Marcus Leathers; Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, Rev. Wanda Thompson; The Ambassador Baptist Church, Rev. Keith W. Byrd Sr.; Zion Baptist Church, Rev. George C. Gilbert Jr.; Baptist Convention of DC and Vicinity, Rev. Daryl Washington; DM Washington Ministries, Rev. Kenneth King; New Hope Baptist United Church of Christ, Rev. Kendrick Curry; Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church, Rev. Clarence Cross, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Rev. Howard Finley; at-large, Bill Mefford; The Festival Center, Rev., Abhi Janamanchi; Cedar Lane Unitarian-Universalist Church (Bethesda, Md.), Rev. Darrryl LC Moch; United Church of Christ of Fredericksburg (Fredericksburg, Va.)
(WUSA9 8/23/25) READMORE>>>>>