17: Living Out Your (Evangelical) Faith In Public (Bonnie Kristian)

Chris interviews Bonnie Kristian, author and deputy editor at Christianity Today, on her new book In Defense of Evangelicalism: A Response to Its Cultured Despisers. The book addresses the intersection of faith and evangelicalism with public life.

When we hear the phrase "public life," we often think of politics, but it also includes how businesses serve the public, which Bonnie examines through the story of Olympus Spa in Lynnwood, Washington. The Lee family, evangelical Christians who own the business, are now navigating—and contesting—a law requiring them to admit trans-identified males who have not had surgery into their female-only nude spa. What does it look like to love our neighbors well when public policy and faith convictions come into conflict? Or, as may be the case for many more of us, when we're simply afraid of our faith being misunderstood?

Bonnie speaks to these difficult questions with open eyes about the shortcomings of evangelicalism, while also calling those of us shaped by this movement to champion it with gratitude and live out our faith with confidence in the public sphere.

Sources:

Bonnie Kristian, In Defense of Evangelicalism: A Response to Its Cultured Despisers (New York: Forum Books, 2026).

Read an excerpt from the book with photos of Olympus Spa at Christianity Today.

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