WEEKLY NEWS SUMMARY - AUGUST 19, 2026
In this week's Intersect, read about:
Johnson Amendment Fight Isn't Over Yet
"Pastors across the country have spent months believing they'd finally won the right to speak freely about candidates from the pulpit. Headlines last summer declared the Johnson Amendment dead for churches. That celebration turned out to be premature, and the real story is more complicated, and honestly more interesting, than a single headline could capture." Read more at Million Voices...
THINK.
- A federal judge did not rule on whether the Johnson Amendment violates pastors' free speech rights. He simply said a tax law technicality kept the case out of his courtroom, which means the fight now shifts to an appeal that could eventually reach the Supreme Court.
- For seventy years, a tax code provision has pressured pastors into self-censorship, treating the pulpit as a place where certain convictions must be left unsaid. A government that can threaten a church's tax-exempt status over a pastor's words holds a kind of leverage that should trouble every citizen, not just churchgoers.
- Scripture never asked believers to leave conviction at the door before stepping into public life. When a law forces silence about matters of conscience, it does not just limit speech; it asks the Church to trade boldness for approval, and that is a trade God's people were never meant to make.
PRAY.
Lord, we lift up the pastors and legal advocates fighting for the freedom of the pulpit. Grant the appellate judges wisdom and grant Treasury officials integrity as they draft new guidance. May every pastor preach with courage, trusting You over the fear of government scrutiny.
ACT.
Stay informed as this case moves through the appeals process and as new Treasury guidance takes shape. Encourage your pastor and church leadership to know their rights, and pray regularly for the courts and lawmakers shaping the future of religious speech in America.
Green Bay's Election Chief Resigns After Ballot Mess
"Green Bay City Clerk Celestine Jeffreys resigned on August 7, just days before Wisconsin's August 11 primary. Her departure came after her office sent duplicate absentee ballots to voters in two elections in a row." Read more at Million Voices...
THINK.
- This was not a single mistake. The same clerk's office sent duplicate ballots in back-to-back elections, and her tenure includes prior findings that she improperly accepted absentee ballots and failed to deactivate voter registrations as required by law.
- Green Bay is one of the most closely watched cities in one of the nation's most closely divided swing states. When basic ballot handling fails repeatedly in a place this consequential, the damage to public confidence reaches far beyond city limits.
- Trustworthy government is not a partisan preference; it reflects the order God calls leaders to uphold. A clerk's office may seem like a small piece of the machinery of self-government, but Scripture consistently ties leadership to accountability, and repeated failures without real consequences erode the trust that self-government depends on.
PRAY.
Father, we ask for integrity and competence in every election office across this nation. Raise up clerks and officials who take responsibility for their errors rather than minimizing them, and restore public confidence in the machinery that undergirds our elections.
ACT.
Get to know how elections are run in your own county, and don't hesitate to ask your local clerk's office questions about ballot handling and accuracy. Consider volunteering as a poll worker or observer, and keep praying for honest, competent administration in every election, in every state.
GRACE Act Takes Aim at Anti-Faith School Policies
"Sen. Mike Lee introduced legislation last month that would cut off federal funding to any school that refuses to honor a family's religious objection to vaccines. The bill, called the Guaranteeing Religious Accommodation in Childhood Education Act, already has a companion bill in the House and more than 50 endorsing organizations behind it." Read more at Million Voices...
THINK.
- The GRACE Act does not force any state to act. It leverages the federal education dollars that fund everything from special education to school meals, betting that no state will walk away from that money over a religious exemption policy affecting a tiny share of students.
- Only four states, California, New York, Maine, and Connecticut, refuse any religious exemption at all, even though their own prior data showed exemptions were rarely used. The First Amendment was written to keep government out of the business of judging whether a family's faith is sincere enough to count.
- Edmund Burke argued that religion is the foundation of civil society and the source of everything good within it, a conviction that shaped America's founding protections for conscience. When a school demands proof that a parent's faith is real before honoring it, that protection starts to function as a suggestion rather than a right.
PRAY.
Lord, we pray for the families in these four states who are forced to choose between their child's education and their convictions. Give lawmakers wisdom as this bill moves through committee, and remind every parent that You, not the state, hold the final word over how their children are raised.
ACT.
Reach out to your senators and representatives to voice support for religious accommodation in childhood education. Share this story with parents in your community, especially those weighing school options for their children, and continue praying that conscience remains protected in every classroom.
WNBA Star's Stand Forces League to Face Trans Debate
"Sophie Cunningham did not set out to start a national conversation. But that is exactly what happened after the Indiana Fever guard said what a lot of Americans have been thinking for years." Read more at Million Voices...
THINK.
- One player's honesty forced a league that had avoided this question for years to finally put it on the agenda. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert's memo to all 13 teams shows how much pressure had already built before Cunningham ever spoke.
- Twenty-seven states already protect girls' sports from male participation, and the Supreme Court upheld those bans in June. Professional leagues like the WNBA have moved more slowly only because they sit outside Title IX, not because the underlying question is any different.
- Conservative thinker Russell Kirk wrote that order "is made for man, and man is made for it," a reminder that the created difference between men and women is not a cultural construct up for a vote. Cunningham's willingness to say so inside one of the most progressive leagues in professional sports took real courage.
PRAY.
Lord, we ask for courage for every athlete who speaks the truth about fairness in women's sports, even at personal cost. Guide the WNBA's leadership toward wisdom, and protect young women who simply want a fair and safe place to compete.
ACT.
Support organizations that advocate for fairness in women's athletics, and share stories like this one so more people understand what is at stake. Keep praying for athletes willing to speak truthfully under pressure, and for league leaders weighing this decision in the months ahead.
My Faith Votes— is a ministry that motivates, equips, and activates Christians in America to vote in every election, transforming our communities and influencing our nation with biblical truth. An estimated 25 million Christians who are registered to vote, fail to vote in presidential elections. My Faith Votes is on a mission to change this statistic by helping Christians act on their faith and vote in every election. When we pray unceasingly for our nation, think biblically about the issues, and vote consistently in every election the impact of Christians taking action from the local to the state and federal level will be unprecedented.
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