Wheaton in the News

Wheaton in the News highlights Wheaton's appearances in newspapers, magazines, and other online publications.

February 10, 2023: Dr. Esau McCaulley writes that there is glory and God in the story of the Black struggle.

Understanding who we are and why we have suffered so much in this country is something like existential questions that wax and wane, coinciding with the peaks and valleys of anti-Black racism. Are we more than the identities and labels people have given us? Is there more to our narrative than the whip and the chain?

 

January 15, 2023: Dr. Esau McCaulley writes about the kind of revolution Dr. Martin Luther King envisioned for the New York Times.

King believed that too many Americans, especially those in its churches, were also snoozing through a time ripe for transformation. They needed to wake up to the injustice all around them and make demands for change.

 

December 23, 2022: Dr. Esau McCaulley discusses whether the meaning of a Christmas song changes depending on who wrote it in the New York Times.

When I decided to write an essay about the spirituals sung every Christmastime in Black churches, I was startled to discover that “Sweet Little Jesus Boy” was written not by an African American during slavery but by a white man named Robert MacGimsey in 1934. Rather than working on a plantation, MacGimsey grew up on one.

December 21, 2022: Dr. Matthew Milliner discusses the VirginMary and her place in the Christian mind for Christianity Today.

The Virgin of the Passion, also known as Our Lady of Perpetual Help, has been called the most popular Christian icon of the 20th century. I would argue the same applies to our own century as well. As an art history professor, I’ve been chasing her around the globe for nearly two decades (and have now collected those studies in my recent book, Mother of the Lamb: The Story of a Global Icon).

December 6, 2022: Dr. Timothy Larsen writes about the many true meanings of Christmas for Current Magazine.

My appeal is simply that no one should bully you by insisting that Christmas somehow does not mean to you what it in fact does mean to you or that what it means to you is somehow illegitimate. Christmas, for you, is what you decide it will be—religious or secular; pagan or Christian; commercial or part of the Buy Nothing movement. There are many true meanings of Christmas.

December 5, 2022: Dr. Ed Stetzer gives an overview of the COVID-19 pandemic and the way it changed the way the American Church functions.

While we know far more than we did even just a year ago about the impact of COVID-19 on society and churches, the truth is that we will still be unpacking its legacy decades from now. One common thread was that many churches were stepping up to serve their communities in the midst of uncertainty. ... At their core, many churches and Christians rightly understood the pandemic as a unique opportunity to commit to God’s mission in new and exciting ways.

 

November 22, 2022: Dr. Ed Stetzer discusses evangelism in customer-facing professions in for Religion News Service.

People in customer-facing professions, such as driving for ride-hailing apps, often strike up conversations about life and its challenges, said Ed Stetzer, executive director of the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center.

 

October 30, 2022: Dr. Esau McCaulley writes that Halloween is for heroes, not ghosts, in the New York Times.

I find kids decked out in the clothing of action heroes and book characters charming. The endless stream of social media posts from friends and family brings a smile to my face every year. Nonetheless, there is something fleeting about the holiday. Costumes that are funny one year feel dated by the next. That is why I’m drawn to the original and more weighty purpose of Halloween: It was meant to be a day set aside to remember the saints.

 

October 26, 2022: Wheaton College remembers Emmitt Till's death with a conversation on race, nation, and faith, reports Religion News Service.

The man moved on to the next bedroom and the next before finding and kidnapping his cousin — Emmett Till.

It was the last time he saw his best friend alive, Parker, now in his 80s, told a packed concert hall Tuesday night (Oct. 25) at Wheaton College, the evangelical flagship school in the Chicago suburbs.

October 7, 2022: Silvio Vazquez, chief enrollment management officer, shares his thoughts on culture wars and college choice with RNS.

At Wheaton College, an evangelical school in the Chicago suburbs, Chief Enrollment Management Officer Silvio Vazquez says he does often encounter folks who assume Wheaton is liberal or conservative. But he hopes students won’t draw too many conclusions without experiencing the school firsthand.

 

September 7, 2022: Dr. Esau McCaulley joins the New York Times' podcast The Argument to discuss reading lists at American schools.

Kaitlyn Greenidge and Esau McCaulley discuss why America's schools can't get on the same page about required reading lists. 

September 2, 2022: Religion News Services features the Marion E. Wade Center in light of a new show based on J.R.R. Tolkien's writings.

It was the 1950s. Clyde S. Kilby, then an English professor at Wheaton College, had a feeling about a British author he’d been reading named C.S. Lewis — that he was “probably going to be famous one day,” according to Crystal Downing, co-director of Wheaton’s Marion E. Wade Center.

 

August 31, 2022: Timothy Larsen, Ph.D. reviews Dominic Green’s new book The Religious Revolution for Current.

Green’s story is about efforts in the second half of the nineteenth century to find an alternative to Christianity. Churchill once quipped that democracy is the worst form of government “except for all the others,” and one lesson I came away with is this: One should not be so hasty to get rid of what seems to be an old clunker of a faith that they don’t take the time to examine the new model replacing it. 

 

August 12, 2022: Emily Hunter McGowin, Ph.D., writes that Dungeons & Dragons may be spiritually formative for Christianity Today.

As a pastor-theologian, I have thought a great deal about this game. It’s not the theology inside the fantasy worlds that interests me. Rather, I find the practice of playing D&D—and its theological and ethical dimensions—far more interesting.

 

July 12, 2022: Dr. Mark Talbot writes an article for Crossway.org about the Christian life through the lens of suffering.

Often when something awful happens to us or those whom we love, we find ourselves asking, Why me? Why now? Why this? Suffering disrupts our lives, seeming to violate the way life should be. This can m

June 28, 2022: Dr. Kirk Farney’s new biography about Fulton J. Sheen and Walter A. Maier is reviewed in Christianity Today.

Through the power of radio—which was then a novel mass medium—they reached millions of listeners and ultimately reshaped the trajectory of conservative religion in America. Their story is told in Kirk Farney’s compulsively readable dual biography, Ministers of a New Medium: Broadcasting Theology in the Radio Ministries of Fulton J. Sheen and Walter A. Maier

June 12, 2022: Dr. Ed Stetzer is quoted in a USA Today article about faith leaders and their response to the possible overturning of Roe v. Wade.

A post-Roe movement must promote a “womb to tomb” ethic, one that values the God-given value of life regardless of age, ethnicity, class or apparent contribution to society. We value life simply because it is life that God has given, and that means in the womb and until death.

June 6, 2022: Dr. Esau McCaulley examines what it means when gun-rights supporters talk about "evil" for The New York Times.

The language of evil and hearts often rises to the fore in the context of mass shootings. ... What are we to make of this language of evil? On one hand it is an articulation of a basic teaching of Jesus. 

May 25, 2022: Dr. Raymond Chang is quoted in Religion News Services in reference to the Uvalde school shootings.

With the news of 19 children and two others killed in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, religious leaders from across the spectrum express their sorrow, with many saying now is the time for a new approach to gun control.

May 19, 2022: Dr. Esau McCaulley writes about anti-Blackness and the Buffalo grocery store shooting in The Atlantic.

Payton Gendron’s violence was not an isolated incident but one thread in a web of anti-Black hatred.

May 6, 2022: Wheaton student Terrelle Brown is featured in The Daily Mail after finding a thrift store treasure.

A college student with an eye for art hit the jacket pot when he bought a Yoshitomo Nara ashtray at a local Goodwill store for $10 and flipped it on eBay for $2,800. 

April 27, 2022: Dr. McCaulley interviews two hosts of a popular podcast about Black Christianity.

I sat down with two of the women from Truth’s Table to hear about their struggle to build a new space that is unapologetically Black, female, and Christian.

April 17, 2022: Dr. Ed Stetzer writes an opinion column about the hope that Easter offers humanity for USA Today.

Despite what you might have seen on social media, the Christian faith is not about a political party or a particular nation. In reality, the Christian faith is rooted in a cosmic story throughout history of a God who creates and redeems. 

April 15, 2022: Dr. Karen Lee is quoted in a Fast Company article about preventing burnout in marginalized employees.

Her suggestions call for leaders to carefully examine both individual and systemic sources of potential unfairness. “It’s important to stay attuned to those unconscious behaviors rooted in bias, and how these behaviors can result in unfair treatment,” says Lee. 

April 15, 2022: Dr. Esau McCaulley writes an opinion column about Good Friday for The New York Times.

Jesus's story does not end with his the crucifixion. Similarly, racism will not have the final word. 

April 5, 2022: Dr. Ed Stetzer comments on the "He Gets Us" evangelism campaign in FaithWire.

Dr. Ed Stetzer, the executive director of the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center, says the research also shows that many people have a positive view of Jesus himself. “The hope of the ‘He Gets Us’ campaign is they might actually dig a little deeper,” he said.

March 30, 2022: Dr. Esau McCaulley writes in The New York Times about a controversial Oscars moment.

I struggle with how we as a culture — and I understand this is part of what you have to do — but how we use the lives and traumas of people as talking points.

March 25, 2022: Dr. Matthew Milliner discusses what depictions of Mary in Russian Orthodox temples say about religion in Russia.

But the real Mary is no shill for war. As much as the Virgin might appear to be a helpless hostage of nationalism, she is also its opponent. Vladimir Putin may pose with Mary's belt to bolster Mother Russia, but Mary's protective garments also failed the Byzantine emperors who Putin appears to be emulating.

March 23, 2022: Dr. Daniel M. Master writes for The Biblical Archeology Review about the biblical and archaeological evidence for the Philistines.

In his article, Daniel Master looks at archaeological and biblical evidence for the Philistines’ origins. He considers the accounts at Ramesses III’s mortuary temple at Medinet Habu. In the 12th century B.C.E., during the reign of Ramesses III, a confederation of tribes from the “islands” of the “northern countries” attacked Egypt—several times, both on sea and land. 

March 15, 2022: Dr. Denise Daniels shares the results of her survey on religious discrimination in the workplace with Futurity.com.

Two-thirds of Muslims, half of Jews, and more than a third of evangelical Protestant Christians experience workplace discrimination, though in different ways, according to a new study.

March 4, 2022: Dr. Kent Annan appears on Fox 7 News to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

Hundreds have died and millions have fled as Russia steps up its attacks on Ukraine. Author and Director of Humanitarian and Disaster Leadership at Wheaton College Kent Annan shares his thoughts on what's happening.

February 20, 2022: Dr. Esau McCaulley writes an opinion column about Black History Month for The New York Times.

Black history should be a challenge to our republic and its core narrative. 

February 3, 2022: Dr. Timothy Larsen writes about Agatha Christie's enduring legacy for Current, an online journal.

The greatest mystery of Agatha Christie’s novels is why we keep returning to them. It’s not, it goes without saying, that the stories aren’t any good. The mystery rather is why our insatiable interest continues when the primary pleasure of the stories is completely dependent on not knowing the ending.

December 30, 2021: Dr. Esau McCaulley writes an opinion column about Watch Night and celebrating New Year's Eve for The New York Times.

Watch Night began as an event celebration the Emancipation Proclamation and has become a way to honor the past and look to the future. 

December 23, 2021: Dr. Esau McCaulley writes an opinion column for The New York Times about the wonder and weirdness of Christmas.

Christmas is the grand miracle that makes space for all the smaller miracles. 

December 12, 2021: Dr. Esau McCaulley writes an opinion column for The New York Times about justice and police misconduct.

I wish that we had never met Ms. Young. In a perfect world, those police officers would have never entered her home. But they did, and now that wrong must be righted.

November 24, 2021: Dr. Esau McCaulley writes an opinion column for the New York Times about the challenges of raising children.

My children do not understand my world, and I do not understand theirs. I do not know what it’s like to be a child waking up in a home with two college graduates at the helm. 

October 4, 2021: Dr. Nathan Cartagena appears on a panel to discuss Christians and critical race theory for Christianity Today.

A webinar about the facts, falsehoods, and theological implications of critical race theory—and the way forward for the church.

September 9, 2021: Dr. Jerry Root writes about three perfect opportunities for Christians to share their faith in Outreach Magazine.

Over the years, I have noticed at least three different kinds of evangelistic contexts we may encounter when engaging in personal evangelism. 

September 22, 2021: Dr. Esau McCaulley remarks on the nature of prayer in The Atlantic.

Esau McCaulley, a professor of the New Testament at Wheaton College, pointed out to me that praying aloud reflects the nature of the relationship between God and his creations in the Christian faith. 

September 21, 2021: Dr. Jamie Aten comments on post-traumatic growth in light of COVID-19 at Vox.com.

While “post-traumatic growth is real,” says Jamie Aten, founder and executive director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College, “it doesn’t always present the way we hope it does.”

September 19, 2021: Dr. Esau McCaulley writes an opinion column in The New York Times about the dangerous politics of a lack of forgiveness.

America has spent 20 years vowing for revenge for terrorism. There's a better path. 

August 10, 2021: Dr. Esau McCaulley argues in Christianity Today that the racial justice debate needs civil discourse, not straw men.

Conversations about equality often lack goodwill. Part of the problem is a newfound fear of common grace.

August 21, 2021: Dr. Esau McCaulley writes an opinion article for the New York Times about happiness and contentment.

All these changes that people are embarking on during the pandemic make me think that we weren’t that happy before the pandemic. 

August 10, 2021: Dr. Ed Stetzer writes opinion column for Religion News Service about the harmful witness of divisive leaders.

I'm going to call Christians to a better way and implore the media to resist making them representative of the Christian faith. They are not.

August 09, 2021: Dr. Esau McCaulley is named one of "10 Spiritual Leaders You Should be Following on Social Media" by Relevant Magazine.

Twitter can actually be a platform where you can learn and grow. You can follow faith leaders like pastors, authors, speakers and humanitarians who extend their work to the Twittersphere, and you’ll quickly find your social feed doesn’t stress you out.

August 27, 2021: Dr. Ed Stetzer writes opinion column for Religion News Services exhorting Christians not to confuse military actions with God's will.

It was deeply jarring for me and other Christians to hear Isaiah 6:8 used by President Biden in his recent address.

July 29, 2021: Wheaton's Dr. Ed Stetzer is quoted in a Washington Post piece about new masking guidelines.
July 18, 2021: Dr. Esau McCaulley pens an opinion piece for the New York Times.
July 7, 2021: Dr. Esau McCaulley speaks to the Atlantic about being a Christian of color.
June 29, 2021: Wheaton's Dr. Ed Stetzer named editor-in-chief of Outreach Magazine, and general editor of Sermon Central, ChurchLeaders.com.
June 22, 2021: HDI's Dr. Jamie Aten quoted in a Washington Post piece about tornadoes and psychological stress.
June 16, 2021: Dr. Ed Stetzer was interviewed on PBS NewsHour on his thoughts regarding the Southern Baptist Convention's "watershed moment."
June 14, 2021: Wheaton's Dr. Ed Stetzer was quoted in this Washington Post piece about the Southern Baptist Convention.
June 10, 2021: Wheaton's Dr. Jim Schroeder, lead author on a study about auroras, was interviewed by NPR.
June 10, 2021: Dr. Ed Stetzer was quoted in a New Yorker piece about the Southern Baptist Convention.
June 7, 2021: CNN covered the discovery that Wheaton's Dr. Jim Schroeder and a team of others made about the force behind the aurora borealis.
May 28, 2021: Dr. Jason Long spoke to Tulsa Public Radio about his economic research on the Tulsa Race Massacre.
May 26, 2021: Wheaton's Dr. Ed Stetzer was quoted in a Religion News Service article about more churches closing than opening.
May 24, 2021: Dr. Jason Long and Dr. Jeremy Cook wrote a piece for the Atlantic about the economic effect of the Tulsa Race Massacre.
May 21, 2021: Wheaton's Ray Chang is quoted in a Washington Post piece about Korean pastors and racial justice.
May 7, 2021: Wheaton's Dr. Andrew Abernethy wrote a post for The Gospel Coalition titled "Why Matthew's Disability in 'The Chosen' Matters."
November 11, 2021: Dr. Andrew Abernathy comments on the importance of rest in Relevant Magazine.

America has tended to lean so much into the value and dignity of work that it has neglected—and in many cases even disparaged— the value of rest. "Hebrews 4 develops this idea of rest eschatologically," says Dr. Andrew Abernethy, associate professor of the Old Testament at Wheaton College.

May 3, 2021: Wheaton's Dr. Jennifer Powell McNutt penned a piece for Christianity Today called "A Novel Virus, Not a Novel Calling."
April 20, 2021: Dr. Esau McCaulley pens a New York Times piece on the Derek Chauvin verdict.
April 8, 2021: Dr. Jamie Aten interviewed by BBC News on vaccine hesitancy among American evangelicals.
April 6, 2021: Dr. Gregory Lee is quoted in a Religion News Service article on the role of the church in fighting racism.
April 4, 2021: Dr. Esau McCaulley writes in the New York Times about why Easter is much more than a celebration of spring.
March 25, 2021: Dr. Ed Stetzer writes an op-ed in USA Today about cancel culture and Oral Roberts University.
March 9, 2021: University Business highlights National COVID-19 Day organized by Wheaton's Jamie Aten and Kent Annan.
February 27, 2021: Wheaton's Dr Esau McCaulley reflects on caring for his four children during his wife's deployment in The New York Times.
February 18, 2021: Wheaton alumnus Roger Wiens '82 played a pivotal role in the Perseverance rover, which landed on Mars today.
January 29, 2021: Wheaton's Dr. Emily McGowin is interviewed in a Christianity Today piece about large families and human flourishing.
January 26, 2021: Wheaton's Dr. Ryan Kemp writes an essay for Plough about "Kierkegaard and the Call to Neighbor Love."
January 25, 2021: Wheaton Art History Professor Dr. Matthew Milliner writes a Psychology Today post about aesthetic cognitivism.
January 15, 2021: Wheaton's Dr. Tim Larsen writes an essay for the Los Angeles Review of Books about "Why George MacDonald Matters."
January 8, 2021: Wheaton's Dr. Rick Gibson pens a piece for The Hedgehog Review titled "A History Lesson from Alexander Hamilton."
December 26, 2020: Wheaton alumnus Dr. Benjamin Chan named New Hampshire Citizen of the Year for his public health work during the pandemic.
December 24, 2020: The Wall Street Journal covers "The Oxford Handbook of Christmas," edited by Wheaton professor Dr. Tim Larsen.
December 24, 2020: Dr. Esau McCaulley writes about the inadequacy of virtual church services and why he still attends for "The New York Times."
November 7, 2022: Dr. Ed Stetzer discusses polarization and politicization on the He Gets Us podcast for Christianity Today.

First, according to Stetzer, we must be able to name the challenges before us. The two dragons of culture–polarization and commercialization–lurk alongside three dragons inside each church–politicization, abuse, and moralism.