The image of the gun-toting preacher has recurred with remarkable persistence in U.S. history and culture.

“The news over the past few weeks might make you think that places such as my hometown—McAllen, Tex., in the Rio Grande Valley—are under siege from waves of undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers … The view from down here is different.” (via The Washington Post)

What’s your guiding image for ministry leadership?

On Independence Day, let us remember that religious liberty is not a bludgeon but a birthright.

“We support the rule of law, the ‘zero-tolerance’ policy, but we also want to see a compassionate response to the families attempting to cross the border illegally.”

With the release of the new documentary ‘Elvis Presley: The Searcher,’ gospel music expert Robert F. Darden considers Elvis’ religious roots. (via The Dallas Morning News)

Peru’s newfound hope for its national soccer team as a World Cup contender can give insight into the growing missions mindset among minority-world Christians. (via Baptist Press)

“I wish the organization I lead didn’t exist.” —Albert Reyes, president and CEO of Buckner International, in a commentary on the immigration crisis. (via The Dallas Morning News)

When WMU of Texas reached out to young women, they were overwhelmed by the response. Hundreds of young Latinas gathered at the SHINE conference to talk about everything from suicide to teen pregnancy. (via Faith & Leadership)

Why don’t the evangelicals who are the closest to the president—Paula White-Cain, Dobson, Burns, Jeffress and others—have the moral clarity to publicly say something about the zero tolerance immigration policy?

A move by members of the United Methodist Church to rein in Attorney General Jeff Sessions is a symptom of our exhaustion over the immigration debate. But using church discipline is shortsighted and likely to backfire.

A man does not have to be a father of a daughter to empathize better with women. He need only be a follower of Christ. (via Christianity Today)