Many people around us right now are living with deep trauma and life controlling issues that literally bind their hearts and minds from enjoying the goodness of God and His mercies, new every morning.  Maybe you survived a childhood trauma that lead you to believe things about yourself and God that are not true. Maybe you suffer everyday under the life controlling power of an addiction or your harming yourself in ways you know are not healthy but you cannot stop because it’s the only way you’ve found to deal with the very real and very deep pain. You need God’s mercy and you know it but you aren’t even sure if transformation and redemption are possible.  They are. God is great and God is good and God loves you and there is hope. Don’t give up and don’t give in to the lies you’ve been told. You are beloved. God sees you and God wants you to be set free from the things others have done to you – none of which were your fault and you certainly never deserved.

Nancy Alcorn is a woman who has walked the path of redemption with thousands of young woman over the past three decades. She joins Carmen to talk about Treatment or Transformation: 13 real stories why you can’t argue with a changed life

Justin Giboney returns to talk about a range of headlines from the viewpoint of a young, urban Christian.  Carmen and Justin talk freely about the things upon which they agree and the areas where there may be disagreement, and yet mutual concern for finding answers that work for human flourishing.  It’s a conversation about politics like you’ve likely never heard.

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Leading off the show Carmen surveys a number of headlines with Ben Johnson from Acton. From the college admission scandal to the reality of c

ronyism to the latest with Brexit and the moral threat of trying to measure the pay gap, the mind of Christ is brought to bear on the headline news!

Carmen issued a call to pray British Prime Minister Theresa May. She is a fellow believer and she is experiencing very real challenges. Carmen and Ben both encourage prayers for her stamina as well as the courage and grace to face what yet lies ahead.

Sam Allberry joins Carmen for a conversation about his new book: 7 Myths of Singleness.

Sam shares one of the things “I wouldn’t believe if it weren’t in the Bible” as well as insights for families with single friends. Sam and Carmen discuss Biblical intimacy versus the reduced idea of intimacy as sex, and the importance of friendship and the family of faith to the flourishing of singles, married couples and families.

The Bible reveals singleness is a positive gift and even a blessing. So why do we commonly assume that singleness means the absence of good things? Sam blows away that myth in today’s conversation.

 

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Carmen’s comments about the #CollegeCheatingScandal:

let me just say this here: honesty is a core value and if you’re helping your kid cheat their way into college you’ve failed as a parent. If you value your kid’s admittance into a particular college more than you value the character of your kid, you’ve got a serious personal, moral problem.

It does not mean that you nor your child are irredeemable but it does mean that serious repentance is in order.  This is a story about more than just parents trying to cheat the system – these parents have demonstrated to their children that money buys everything and that enough money buys things other people have to work really really hard to achieve. It’s the worst version of privileged entitlement.

Some of these kids didn’t know – others clearly knew because they’re on record as not really valuing education at all. So whose dreams are we talking about? That’s an opportunity to look ourselves seriously in the mirror when it comes to our own parenting. In what ways are you seeking to have your own unfilled dreams met through your child? Pause right there and consider that your child is not a mini-me. He or she is a uniquely conceived and fashioned individual made in the image of God on purpose and for His purpose. Our job as adults is to help them grow up in every way into Christ – to know God and know the love of God and fall in love with God and follow God’s leading for their life – wherever that may lead.

Let’s consider for a just a moment what the children of these very rich people might have learned by failing to get into the college of their choice. They might have learned to work to make their own way. They might have learned to apply themselves. T

hey might have learned about delayed gratification. They might have learned the value of humility. Instead, they have learned their parents are not only willing to work the system but break the law and disadvantage others in order they could have the appearance of achievement. – And, everyone else knows too. 

As neighbors and friends and fellow church members of parents and kids who are now being publicly humiliated by these revelations, let us ready ourselves to be partners in the redemptive process. These individuals, families, institutions and the college admittance process is today under great scrutiny. The scandal is already wide reaching and I suspect we’ve only seen the tip of this iceberg.

Carmen discusses the revelations with Bill English and then they evaluate Trump’s budget proposal from the viewpoint of responsible stewardship.

Carmen then talks with filmmakers Jay and Sofia Lyons about the documentary,

The Long Goodbye: The Kara Tippetts story.

(it’s really good; get your tissues).

 

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Carmen opens with a quick commentary on the college admissions cheating scheme and then talks international headlines with Drew Griffin from Providence Magazine. They discuss:

* U.S. plans to close all immigration field offices worldwide,

* Venezuela – what does the U.S. withdraw of all embassy personnel and families signal about intelligence assessments on the ground? (spoiler: it’s not good. Drew uses the words “mortal danger.”)

* Syria – following good news headlines about ISIL’s defeat Drew points to a conversation Robert Nicholson had with Frederic Hof reminding us that the loss of geography is not indicative of the loss of influence among the people of the region. A battle for hearts and minds cannot be measured by Western notions of political legitimacy.

* Israel – to sum it up, Netanyahu is in trouble; and

* Politics as Mission Field (today’s must read article by Daniel Strand)

 

Pastor Kyle Idleman joins Carmen for a look at his newest book: Don’t Give Up: Faith that Gives You the Confidence to Keep Believing and the Courage to Keep Going.  They discuss the three words we all need to hear, the 5 reasons you can trust God’s timing, what to do when God’s timing doesn’t seem to line up with your expectations and the reality that God’s got your back. Kyle also shares news about his role at Southeast Christian Church, what the words “Always, only, Jesus” mean to him and his heart for the church.

 

 

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New Jersey Senator and Democrat presidential hopeful Cory Booker sounds a lot like a modern day evangelist when he exhorts a crowd. He is a person of religious faith and he knows how to stir hearts and minds with words of rebellious hope. His platform includes a call for criminal justice reform in America and the need for that reform. And what is true in all areas of life, the fruits we’re now harvesting as a culture in terms of the criminal justice system have deep roots in our common history – and, maybe surprisingly – in our religious history.

Carmen talks with Dr. Katharine Gerbner from the University of Minnesota in an effort to understand the relationship between criminalization and how religious practices are policed by those in power.  So, while we may not be a theocracy nor do we have an official state religion, we have, in our history, privileged some religious expressions over others – to the point of criminalizing some religious practices. Think here: Salem witch trials and how what we call mainline Protestants treated Baptists in the early days of the nation.  What professor Gerbner’s research adds to the conversation is the often untold stories of Black religious practices criminalized by slave owners.

Carmen also talks with Travis Wussow from the ERLC about the recent meeting of the U.N. in Geneva. They discuss the history, role and contentious position of the U.N. when it comes to human rights and specifically religious freedom.

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It has been observed that two things are certain: death and taxes. Carmen talks about both of those topics with Tommy Binion from the Heritage Foundation. Six states and the nation’s capital already allow assisted suicide and six additional states are now considering legalization. New Mexico’s bill raises questions about telemedicine, activist doctors and the lack of safeguards for individuals with mental health disorders and intellectual disabilities. 

The conversation turns from death to taxes as part of the conversation about the U.S. Federal budget process. The President’s budget proposal was released yesterday leading to wide open conversations about values and priorities.

 

Next up, Dr. Rosemary Stein joins Carmen for a conversation about kids. First, they tackle the topic of video games. Dr. Rose notes that imagination is just forming in childhood and immersion into repetitive visually rich stimuli (like video games) leads children to adopt those ideas into their psyche. Some kids can detach, others simply stay in that world and bring the realities of that world into this world.

Headlines related to kids experiencing high levels of anxiety related to school leads to a discussion about educational processes that are age appropriate and the constellation of concerns we have for our kids at any given moment.  They also talk about very practical things parents can do to alleviate anxiety – starting with not being so anxious ourselves!

 

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You LOVED the interview with Kara Powell so much we shared it again!

And for those who asked for a transcript, this is what we call a “spotlight interview” on The Reconnect.

 

Carmen also talks in the episode with David Aikman from Godspeed Magazine. They cover:

* North Korea’s test site up and running (maybe)

* the “Cost + 50” formula the U.S. is using to ask nations where U.S. troops are serving to assume some of the cost

* Brexit…what’s next, what’s likely to happen and the emergence of Brexit Preppers

 

 

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Bringing the mind of Christ to bear on the headlines, Carmen talks with

Brandon Showalter from the Christian Post about:

* TERFS – women who openly call out the introduction of transgender athletes for what it is  – unfair to women

* Mother who is speaking out about the deception, fraud and social contagion of transgenderism

* CityBus in Indiana changes course to allow pro-life group to advertise – and seeing is believing that’s a baby!

* Good news story of prayer for EVERY citizen and how YOU can engage in prayer for your congregation, community or city

Adam Carrington from Hillsdale College about:

* Death with dignity legislation under consideration across the country. (see today’s Must Read Monday for a full rundown)

* Anti-Semitism and the reality that “old hatreds never die.” Carrington observes that “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” He observes that our challenge is to tolerate the intolerant and to ask ourselves what holds us together as a nation. It is not “blood and soil” but the ideals that all people are created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights and that government by consent is a recognition of human dignity, not the creation nor granting of it.

 

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Patterns of Evidence is a documentary film adventure that began with an examination of the evidence for the Exodus and now turns to the historicity of the claims that Moses wrote the Pentateuch. Carmen talks with Tim Mahoney about the project. Find out more at https://patternsofevidence.com/  There you can watch the trailer, find a theater near you and buy your tickets for this three night film event March, 14, 16 and 19.

Carmen rounds out the week with a discussion of how we bring the Christian worldview to bear on the headlines of the day. Using the death of actor Luke Perry and the shocking expose of Michael Jackson’s abuse of children in Leaving Neverland, Carmen helps us navigate and lean in with humility, accuracy and truth.

 

 

 

 

 

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Matthew Hawkins returns to survey the religious liberty headlines and what’s going on in the nation’s capital.  He and Carmen lead off with a conversation about the state of Colorado’s dismissal of the action against Masterpiece Cakeshop owner, Jack Phillips and his withdraw of a federal court case against the state. You will recall that in June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of in a case that his refusal to make a one of a kind wedding cake for a same sex wedding in 2012 was a violation of the law. 

The high court ruled that Phillips did not violate the state’s anti-discrimination law for refusing to make a particular cake. But on the day of the Supreme Court decision, a male attorney presenting as a woman, asked Phillips to create a specialty cake that would be pink on the inside and blue on the outside as a way to celebrate a gender transition from male to female. Phillips declined because the cake would have expressed messages about sex and gender identity that conflict with his religious beliefs. Less than a month later, the state found probable cause to believe state law requires Phillips to create the requested gender-transition cake.

Even after Phillips won a 7-2 decision at the Supreme Court rebuking the commission for its clear anti-religious bias, it had pursued new charges against Phillips for failing to design a cake celebrating a male-to-female gender transition.

At issue is the animus of members of the Commission toward Phillips because of his faith.  That animus is illustrated here in a statement from Commissioner Diann Rice:

I would also like to reiterate what we said in the hearing or the last meeting. Freedom of religion and religion has been used to justify all kinds of discrimination throughout history, whether it be slavery, whether it be the holocaust, whether it be—I mean, we—we can list hundreds of situations where freedom of religion has been used to justify discrimination. And to me it is one of the most despicable pieces of rhetoric that people can use to—to use their religion to hurt others.

Justice Kennedy’s responded to that statement in his opinion related to the case: 

To describe a man’s faith as “one of the most despicable pieces of rhetoric that people can use” is to disparage his religion in at least two distinct ways: by describing it as despicable, and also by characterizing it as merely rhetorical — something insubstantial and even insincere. . . . This sentiment is inappropriate for a Commission charged with the solemn responsibility of fair and neutral enforcement of Colorado’s antidiscrimination law — a law that protects discrimination on the basis of religion as well as sexual orientation.

Disregarding the high court’s judgement, Colorado officials continued to express the same sentiments and two commissioners endorsed Rice’s comments after the Supreme Court issued its ruling:

At the June 22, 2018, public meeting, members of the commission discussed the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling. During that discussion, Commissioner Rita Lewis said, “I support Commissioner Diann Rice and her comments. I don’t think she said anything wrong.” Later,