The Startling History of Capitol Hill Baptist Church

Whether in the Southern Baptist Convention or the American evangelical movement more broadly, the past 10 years have been rife with political and cultural controversy. Broader shifts in the direction of extreme polarization have infected the church perhaps more than any other social institution. But Caleb Morell’s A Light on the Hill takes the long view. This history of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., reminds us that the work is no less God’s work when we’re arguing about pandemic church closures, prohibition, or integration. And it’s still God’s work when we’re arguing about real estate purchases, appropriate church polity, and multisite vs. church-planting approaches to church growth. Like any marriage worth its salt, a church body will be a messy affair, its members duking it out among themselves but also loving, drawing boundaries, forgiving, and reconciling.