For the past several years, we have expressed our worship on Pentecost Sunday with our sisters and brothers of the Together in Christ International Ministries community. We have invited them to be with us again this year. We will experience the various languages recognized in the Acts 2 record of the Pentecost encounter in Jerusalem. Russell Nelson and our Worship Resource Team have planned some additional meaningful moments as well.
We will also welcome Amanda Tyler into The St. John’s Pulpit on Pentecost Sunday. Amanda is executive director of BJC (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty), in Washington, DC. Since 1936, this organization has been the leading voice for the historic Baptist principle of religious liberty: defending the free exercise of religion and protecting against its establishment by government.
Amanda Tyler’s message title for Pentecost Sunday is ‘Holy Pluralism.’ Based on Acts 2:1-21.
Amanda is also the lead organizer of BJC’s Christians Against Christian Nationalism campaign and co-host of BJC’s Respecting Religion podcast. She is author of How to End Christian Nationalism, which will be published by Broadleaf Books on October 22, 2024. The book is available for pre-order now.
Tyler’s constitutional law analysis and advocacy for faith freedom for all have been featured by major news outlets. Religion News Service named Tyler one of “2022’s rising stars in religion.” In addition to preaching in Baptist churches, she speaks at denominational gatherings, and leads sessions on college campuses and with community groups of all sizes.
A member of the Texas and U.S. Supreme Court Bar, Tyler has experience working in Congress, in a private legal practice, and serving as a law clerk for a federal judge. She testified before Congress in 2023 on the threats of Christian nationalism to religious liberty, and her 2022 testimony before Congress discussed the ways Christian nationalism proves cover for white supremacy. In 2018, she appeared before a U.S. Senate Committee to testify about threats to religious liberty around the world.
Originally from Austin, Texas, Tyler grew up hearing about the cherished Baptist principles of religious liberty and the separation of church and state as a member of Highland Park Baptist Church. Because she was committed to these principles, Tyler sought out BJC when she moved to Washington to attend Georgetown University, and she began volunteering in the office.
She graduated from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University with a bachelor’s degree in foreign service, magna cum laude. She was hired by BJC to serve as assistant to the general counsel, working closely with Brent Walker, James Dunn, Melissa Rogers, and Holly Hollman. During this time, she wrote columns for Report from the Capital, drafted statements on religious liberty issues, presented educational programs, and coordinated the broad coalition in support of the Religious Land Use.
Tyler left BJC to enroll in The University of Texas School of Law, where she received her J.D. with honors. In 2019, the school named her their “Outstanding Young Alumna.”
Following law school, Tyler worked in private practice and served as a law clerk for a U.S. district court judge in Dallas, Texas. She later joined the staff of U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett in Austin and Washington, D.C. In Austin, she served as the congressman’s district director, leading the staff in the development and execution of an outreach agenda for a 7-county congressional district, as well as serving as a spokesperson for his office. She later served as Rep. Doggett’s counsel for the Ways and Means Committee.
Amanda Tyler was named executive director of BJC in 2016, and she began her tenure in January 2017. She lives in Dallas with her husband, Robert Behrendt, and their son.
You can follow her on X: @AmandaTylerBJC. Or you can learn more about Amanda in her BJC staff Q&A.
McLeod Brown Lecture: On the evening of May 19, at 5:00pm, St. John’s own Landis Wade will interview Amanda Tyler in our sanctuary. This presentation is our 2024 McLeod Brown Lecture and will be publicized throughout metro Charlotte. The focus of the evening session is ‘Christian Nationalism and the Threat to Faith and Democracy.’