Daniel Silliman

The Secret Prayers of Gamblers - Christianity Today Locating the spiritual longing hiding in America’s obsession with betting.

a remarkably thoughtful piece by my colleague @danielsilliman.bsky.social on the spirituality of (yes, really, folks!) gambling

www.christianitytoday.com/2025/09/gamb...

Classic cover from the @christianitytoday.com archives

One Lost Soul: Richard Nixon’s Search for Salvation (Library of Religious Biography (LRB)) Amazon.com: One Lost Soul: Richard Nixon’s Search for Salvation (Library of Religious Biography (LRB)): 9780802878199: Silliman, Daniel: Books

If you want to know more about how this impacted Nixon, I wrote a book about his troubled, tumultuous spiritual journey www.amazon.com/One-Lost-Sou...

Last year I looked at why Huffman was different than the other ministers around Nixon. You can read that (unlocked) here: www.christianitytoday.com/2024/07/rich...

Died: John Huffman, Pastor Who Told Richard Nixon to Confess - Christianity Today The Presbyterian minister and CT board member committed to serve the Lord and “let the chips fall where they may.”

Huffman died last week at 85. I wrote about his life here: www.christianitytoday.com/2025/09/obit...

I first discovered John Huffman, the one minister around Nixon who told the president he should publicly confess to Watergate, in the digital archives of old newspapers.

Only later did I realize he was connected to @christianitytoday.com, was still alive, and I would one day write his obit.

Today in the life of my Appalachian church, we remembered the hurricane that hit a year ago, prayed for a family whose daughter has died, for a family whose daughter is having emergency brain surgery, and for a minister who has returned home to a country at war.

Also, Scripture, singing, a potluck.

Popular Trinitarian beliefs not adding up, per the latest Lifeway study.

Mosaic Conference board recommends leaving Mennonite Church USA | Anabaptist World A Mosaic release said the conference and MC USA “have been unable to reconcile significant differences around polity and intercultural practices.”

Story: anabaptistworld.org/mosaic-confe...

A sixth conference is looking at leaving the Mennonite Church USA, the progressive anabaptist denomination that formed in 2002

Half of US Churches Now Enlist Armed Security - Christianity Today Survey: Evangelical, Pentecostal, and Baptist churches are most likely to have church volunteers carry guns.

In a 2020 survey, 45 percent of US pastors said their security team included church members with firearms. www.christianitytoday.com/2020/01/half...

Florida considers a bill to allow church volunteers to serve as armed security. www.tallahassee.com/story/news/l...

From America's next poet laureate:

“As far as you yourself are concerned, love.” — Augustine, sermon on 1 John

An Exhortation to the Exhausted Black Christian - Christianity Today Many Black Christians left evangelicalism after 2020. I almost joined them—until God showed me justice in his Word.

www.christianitytoday.com/2025/09/lecr...

Lecrae's prayer for the church:

Bible reading this morning like "tag yourself"

Died: Charlie Kirk, Activist Who Championed ‘MAGA Doctrine’ - Christianity Today With a confrontational style honed for college campuses and social media, the Turning Point USA founder sought to renew America.

How Charlie Kirk became Charlie Kirk: www.christianitytoday.com/2025/09/died...

Papua New Guinea Adds the Trinity to Its Constitution - Christianity Today And other news from Christians around the world.

More here, from my bimonthly roundup of Christian news from around the world: www.christianitytoday.com/2025/09/papu...

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the average hourly wage for American clergy is $30.64.

For comparison, marriage and family therapists earn $33.04 and roofers earn $26.85.

Apphia: Philemon's Wife or Another Phoebe? - Marg Mowczko Apphia, a woman, is greeted by Paul in his letter to Philemon. What was her role or position at Colossae? Was she Philemon's wife?

Fascinating look at the woman named as one of three recipients of Paul's letter to Philemon margmowczko.com/apphia/

Good mail day

Pretty much got it all, looks like

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In the @christianitytoday.com daily newsletter, a thought on how cool it is to see people moved by awe

Died: Appalachian Trail Legend Gene Espy - Christianity Today He wanted to see God’s work in nature, so he walked from Georgia to Maine, becoming the second person to complete the trek.

Got to write about the second person to ever complete the Appalachian Trail for @christianitytoday.com, Gene Espy.

“I got what I intended out of the Appalachian Trail,” he once said. “I got to see God’s work in nature.”

www.christianitytoday.com/2025/09/died...

Study: Gen Z Now Leads in Church Attendance - Christianity Today But American churchgoers average only two out of every five Sundays.

I reported on the new Barna Group research for @christianitytoday.com, full story unlocked here: www.christianitytoday.com/2025/09/stud...

Gen Z churchgoers average 23 services per year.

Millennials: 22
Gen X: 19
Boomers: 17
Elders: 17

Spiffy new logo for the podcast

“Two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.”