Nebraska governor signs 12-week abortion ban, limits on gender transition for minors - BPNews

South Carolina passes ‘heartbeat’ abortion bill that limits access to 6 weeks - Fox

“We may think we understand our culture, but much of it remains below the surface. We might not see it until someone crashes into our subconscious cultural beliefs.” - TGC

“More than 450 Catholic clergy in Illinois sexually abused nearly 2,000 children since 1950, the state’s attorney general found in an investigation released Tuesday, revealing that the problem was far worse than the church had let on.” - RNS

“Scott chose a different narrative. Instead of talking about overcoming, he overcame. He said he had gone ‘from cotton to Congress’ and embraced ‘victory over victimhood.’” - Cal Thomas

Also:

“…the oldest churchgoers (those over the age of 65) are the most likely to say they participated in any type of volunteer work in the previous year (40%).” - Lifeway

“Wilmot believes his description of the Wesleyan Church’s teachings on sexual orientation and gender identity as “outdated and problematic” was another reason why he was terminated.” - CPost

“The allusion to Zechariah 4:2–10 seems to favor a symbolic interpretation of the seven spirits as a way of describing the fullness of the single Holy Spirit, but the alternative choice is not heretical.” - Word by Word

“Conspiracy theories require the involvement of huge numbers of well-informed and ordinarily altruistic guilds (e.g., law enforcement, medical professionals, the clergy, etc.) who secretly and completely betray their ideals en masse in order to support the conspiracy.” - Snoeberger

“Far from making Christianity the state religion, the Edict of Milan legalized all religions, not just Christianity. It is also claimed that Constantine determined the canon of Scripture and key Christian doctrine when he oversaw the Council of Nicaea. Both charges are nonsense.” - Breakpoint

“Intel Corporation is the most faith-friendly workplace in the country according to this year’s ranking of large companies by the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation.” - NPR

“I’m ready here to join in the former Southern Baptists Support Group with Beth Moore, with Russell Moore, and a few others,” quips former Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren as he begins an interview with Russell Moore posted on March 9, 2023.

Moore scheduled this interview many months in advance to discuss ministry transition. However, Saddleback’s recent ouster from the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) over the issue of ordaining women as pastors hijacks the conversation.

“Traditional narratives cast this period as a dark age of backwardness and barbarism, before the ‘rebirth’ of classical tradition during the European Renaissance. But the evidence suggests otherwise.” - Smithsonian

“ministry leaders are not mental health professionals… typically unsure of how to help people—including ourselves—through dark seasons. Here are four lessons I learned through my experience.” - Lifeway

“While the margin of error is high with any small subgroup, the results are thought provoking.” - RNS

“the word ‘nationalism’ cannot be disconnected from its early 20th-century history in Spain, Italy, and, most notably, Germany, nor from the revolutionary nationalism that spread across the Third World in the latter part of the 20th century. In all cases, promises of ‘liberation’ brought only brutal tyranny.” - Breakpoint

Read the series.

The previous article in this series introduced the topic of church v. state. We discussed two critical paradigm shifts with which any American Christian audience must reckon (a task in which it sometimes fails). We presented three general operating environments in which the church often operates—their boosters often see these frameworks as the preferred, ideal paradigm. I then offered a precis of the five principles which should inform any discussion of the “church v. state” problem. Now, in this piece, we’ll examine the first and most basic principle for considering this issue. Here it is …

“a measure of humility and caution may make it possible to responsibly navigate uncertainty, and the ancient Sophists’ techniques provide ways to do so – but only if people discuss their differences in good faith.” - The Conversation

“Advances noted in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, the European Union, Croatia and the Central African Republic were tempered by new and increased restrictions against Muslim Uyghurs in China, Catholics in Nicaragua, women in Iran, Christians and Shia Muslims in Afghanistan, religious minorities in Burma…” - BPNews

“The success of Keller’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church in the heart of New York City as well as his bestselling books made him one of the most influential evangelicals in the US.” - RNS

Related:

“Fellowship is…the gathering of God’s people for the task of provoking each other to good works (Heb 10:24). If we miss this point, however, we too often reduce fellowship to a self-centered focus. That’s lonely.” - Chuck Lawless

“I’d like to offer different advice: ‘Do not follow your dreams. Do not march to the beat of your own drummer. And whatever you do, do not be true to yourself.’ If you think I’m being a little hyperbolic, you’re right.” - Kevin DeYoung

“The ideas of liberty and individual dignity cannot be ascribed exclusively to Christianity—or for that matter to any other religion—as they are inherent in human nature. In short, they are what it means to be human.” - Acton

“As a church leader, you may be sending a few of your high school seniors away to college in a couple of months. Don’t guess what will happen to them…. Follow up with them. ” - Lifeway

Read the series.

Is dispensationalism dead? Well, to paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of its demise have actually been greatly exaggerated.

“Dr. Anderson will succeed Dr. Marty Marriott who has served as the school’s president since 2009 and was named chancellor (see below) at the MBU commencement program on May 5.” - P&D

“The Bob Jones University Board of Trustees today appointed Dr. Alan Benson acting CEO, effective May 17, 2023…. Teaming with Benson will be Dr. Gary Weier and Dr. Bruce McAllister.” - P&D

“1. The Need to Cojoin Substance with Accessibility….2. The Power of Explanatory Reasoning….3. The Idea of Mere Christianity” - Reasons to Believe

“The new survey shows that 58 percent of white evangelicals say there should be a requirement for children attending public schools to be vaccinated, while 40 percent say parents should be able to choose” - CToday

“The measure reduces the ban on nearly all abortions in the state from the current limit of 20 weeks down to 12 weeks. The measure also includes exceptions in cases of rape, incest, fetal anomalies and when a mother’s life is in danger.” - BPNews