Austin W. Duncan

Forum & Pulpit

When something in the news lands on a congregation, a pastor has to say something true and useful. These are those responses, newest first.

  1. March 3, 2026War with Iran: Prayer Without PropagandaWritten in the days after strikes on Iran and the reported death of Khamenei, this teaching refuses both sides of a false choice. Yes, the regime is evil: it arms terror groups, brutalizes its own people, and Christians need not pretend otherwise. But calling evil what it is and celebrating death are not the same thing, and gloating over destruction footage is sin. From there the piece walks through four texts. 1 Timothy 2 calls for prayer for all rulers, not just the ones we like, with specific prayer points for leaders, civilians, children, and Middle Eastern believers. Psalm 46 confronts the doomscrolling liturgy. Matthew 5 pushes love of enemy into concrete neighbor care. Romans 12 separates justice from vengeance. It closes with practical guardrails on posting, sharing footage, and generalizing about whole peoples.
  2. September 10, 2025Charlie Kirk Assassination: Responding to Tragedy with Biblical WisdomWritten in the immediate aftermath of Charlie Kirk's shooting, this piece refuses to let political sympathies soften the verdict on violence: harming anyone to advance a cause is sin, because killer and victim alike bear God's image. The first Christian response is lament and intercession, not a hot take, with specific prayers named for the widow and children, witnesses, first responders, investigators, and even the shooter's repentance. From there come practical guardrails: verify before sharing and correct publicly when wrong, resist doxxing and mob pressure while praying for courts to do their work, refuse to post while emotionally escalated, test whether you would speak the same way about someone of the other party, and commit to checking on the hurting a month and a year later.
  3. June 27, 2025Parents, Pluralism, and Public Schools: Reading Mahmoud v. TaylorA walk through Mahmoud v. Taylor (June 27, 2025), where a 6-3 Court held that Montgomery County, Maryland parents (Muslim, Roman Catholic, and Ukrainian Orthodox) were likely to win Free Exercise claims after the district revoked advance notice and opt-outs for "LGBTQ-inclusive" storybooks in grades K-5. Explains the formation-versus-exposure distinction, why strict scrutiny applied, and what the preliminary injunction does and does not require. Offers concrete counsel for parents, teachers, and school boards: notice systems, 48-hour opt-out forms, non-stigmatizing parallel assignments, discrete windows for sensitive content. Argues from Deuteronomy 6:6-7, 1 Peter 3:15, Romans 12:18-21, and Matthew 5:13-14 that opting out is strategic protection for young children, not withdrawal from civic life.
  4. January 21, 2025After the Vote: Unity, Truth, and Prayer for Our LeadersWritten for churches in the months after the 2024 election, certification, and inauguration, this piece argues that the task now is steady public discipleship rather than relitigating the campaign. Working from Romans 13, 1 Peter 2:17, 1 Timothy 2, Ephesians 4, and James 1, it holds honor for office together with accountability, and refuses to confuse government with God. Practical counsel dominates: name leaders in the prayers of the people, ask for sources and check them, teach the mechanics of state certification and the Electoral College so rumors lose their grip, and choose shared service projects that outlast headlines. It closes with a prayer for wisdom, guarded speech, and fairness in law, plus a short list of verifiable public facts.
  5. July 27, 2024After the Opening “Supper”: How Should We Respond?A response to the July 26, 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony, where roughly 18 performers, including drag queens, sat behind a long table with a central haloed figure. Organizers claimed the scene depicted Dionysus; the French bishops deplored "scenes of mockery and derision of Christianity" and the Vatican expressed sadness. The article argues the visual parallels to da Vinci were too specific to be accidental, weighs France's post-revolutionary secularism and the proposed Jan van Bijlert "Feast of the Gods" parallel, and grounds objections in Genesis 1:27. It then counsels four responses: speak truthfully but without vitriol (Philippians 2:3-4), refuse perpetual outrage, use the moment for gospel conversations, and remember the 10,700 athletes. Closes with 1 Peter 2:11-12 on exile, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 on running the race, and a prayer.
  6. October 9, 2023October 7th and the War: Truth, Mercy, and EnemiesLays out the documented facts of October 7, 2023 (roughly 1,175 killed, 251 taken hostage, Hamas's "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood") alongside the war that followed: over 68,000 Palestinian deaths, the Hezbollah front in Lebanon, and the fragile October 2025 ceasefire. Quotes the 1988 Hamas charter and Mahmoud al-Zahar on "from the river to the sea" while insisting Palestinian civilians bear no guilt for it. Works through Genesis 12:3, Numbers 24:9, Zechariah 12:3 and Romans 11 on the covenant with Israel, surveying differing Christian readings, then sets Psalm 10, Matthew 5:44 and Romans 12:15-21 against tribalism. Practical calls follow: reject dehumanization, verify reporting, mourn with all who mourn, pray specifically, fund relief work, advocate with a consistent ethic of life, host civil church forums.
  7. March 29, 2023Covenant School Shooting: Grief, Hope, and a Christian Response to Violence
  8. June 24, 2022After Dobbs: Life, Law, and Church CareBegins by correcting a common misunderstanding: Dobbs did not outlaw abortion but returned the question to the states, producing a patchwork of laws and only a modest drop in national numbers. That becomes the pastoral point. Legal change is a starting line, not a finish line, because laws do not address the poverty, fear, abuse, and isolation behind many decisions. Scripture on life in the womb and on defending those who cannot speak for themselves is set alongside Jesus' welcome of children. The bulk of the piece is practical: partnering with pregnancy resource centers, material and housing help, a life ethic that continues after birth, forgiveness for those wounded by abortion, care for all the vulnerable, firm rejection of violence, and gentle speech. Closes with a prayer.
  9. February 25, 2022Ukraine War: Prayer, Protection, and RefugeBeginning with the shock of February 24, 2022, this piece lays out the scale of the war: a third of Ukraine's population displaced, millions of homes destroyed, cities like Mariupol devastated. It then turns to the church's rapid response, with Baptist, Catholic, and Orthodox relief networks across Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova taking in refugees before any committee had met. From there it works through the harder questions, using Romans 13 and the traditional just war criteria to argue that Ukraine's defense is legitimate, while insisting through the Good Samaritan that compassion extends to Russian conscripts and civilians too. It closes with practical steps: sponsorship, careful giving, specific prayers, local hospitality, and a prayer for peace and justice.