Author: Shalem John

In April 1996, Richard Smallwood and his choir, Vision, released Adoration: Live in Atlanta. The groundbreaking gospel album featured the anthem “Total Praise,” which Smallwood would later refer to as “the song that changed everything.” Later that year, Whitney Houston performed Smallwood’s “I Love the Lord” in the blockbuster film The Preacher’s Wife.  By that time, though, Smallwood had already established himself as one of the most influential composers and performers in gospel music. He had been a major figure in the niche for decades, and he was committed to reaching new generations with his music and his message by…

Signs and stickers still show up around college campuses. Digital ads appear online, and the occasional billboard brazenly advertises a way to help women become “un-pregnant.” Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization created a path to end almost all surgical abortions in Texas and other states with abortion restrictions, but stopping out-of-state advertisements and shipments of abortion pills hasn’t been as easy.  In 2023, the abortion pill (typically a two-pill regimen consisting of mifepristone and misoprostol) was already responsible for approximately 63 percent of abortions in America. Since the Food and Drug Association (FDA) loosened restrictions in 2021, a doctor…

Listen: I will send My messenger before Me to prepare the way. And then the One you are looking for will come suddenly to His temple-the Messenger of God’s promises, to bring you great joy. Yes, He is surely coming,” says the Lord of Hosts. 2 “But who can live when He appears? Who can endure His coming? For He is like a blazing fire refining precious metal and He can bleach the dirtiest garments! 3 Like a refiner of silver He will sit and closely watch as the dross is burned away. He will purify the Levites, the ministers…