Our culture declares gender should be both not important and of utmost importance, becoming both “genderless” and also gender-obsessed. This is a conversation about identity. We run down some of the complications of this conversation, particularly when it comes to female athletics and Title IX. Should a man who is transitioning to a woman be allowed to compete against other women? Or what about a girl who is taking testosterone to transition to a boy? Here are some other complications:

* Genderless kids

* Genderless awards

* Genderless actors/actresses

* Genderless fashion

In our second half, we talk about revival. I hear many Christians hoping for a revival in America. They imagine that God’s Spirit would simply sweep across the landscape like some kind of smelling salts, bringing people to their senses. The scales would miraculously fall from hundreds of millions of eyes, faith would spring forth and everything would get better because everyone would suddenly be Christian. But many of the people hoping for revival are not actually praying for it to happen.

A long-time student of revival, Pastor Carter Conlon, pastor of Times Square Church calls the Church at large to seek revival through prayer. Times Square Church is an interdenominational church with thousands in attendance, representing more than 100 different nationalities.

You can participate in their Tuesday night prayer meetings through itstimetopray.org. 

In the week following Easter, we have had plenty of reminders of the reality of sin and its very real consequences. As you look around at the world full of threats and violence, Some of the examples:

* The sins of Bill O’Reilly and the sins of omission of the Fox culture to curb his seemingly rampant sexual harassment of women is but on illustration.

* Former NFL phenom Aaron Hernandez who was serving life in prison for the shooting death of Odin Lloyd ended his own life by hanging himself in his jail cell.

In Cleveland, on the afternoon of Easter Sunday, a man shot another man and posted the murder on Facebook. A multi-state manhunt ended with the suicide of the suspect, Steve Stephens. But the name and the testimony we remember in this case is that of the victim, Robert Godwin, Sr.

* The world is full of threats: news of terrorist attacks around the globe and murders here at home fill the headlines.

This week marked the anniversary of the execution of the only truly innocent man to ever live. His name is Jesus. The storyline has been written and we know the ending. So we live in the chaos as peacemakers and people of the Prince of Peace.

Dr. Roger E. Olson is the Foy Valentine Professor of Christian Theology and Ethics at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary. The Essentials of Christian Thought: Seeing Reality Through the Biblical Story. We talk with Roger about what a worldview is, the purpose of the Bible and how we answer those asking us: am I a Christian? 

Related articles and resources:

When the earth speaks

When Serena Williams won the Australian Open on January 28 she was pregnant. 

After three years as prisoners in Egypt, after Trump’s personal intervention, an American aid worker, and three others, have been released.

There’s a march for science. Has science become a belief system? “Nuns” who sell weed. How to be a Christian in a culture that calls you names. Trump looks to appoint Richard Grenell to be NATO Ambassador.

Rumblings of a rise of the “religious left” have been happening since President Trump’s election in 2016. But in his latest column for FiveThirtyEight, PRRI’s Research Director Dan Cox points out progressive religious Americans have a few hurdles standing in the way of unity.

Related articles and resources: 

Don’t bet on the emergence of a ‘Religious Left’ 

Robert P. Jones on the End of White Christian American

Must Read Monday: Weed nuns, covering:

* Christian posers

* What is (and is not) discrimination

* Understanding FGM

* Are you ready for what’s coming at the intersection of technology and ethics? Transhumanism.

 

Today is “College Day” on The Reconnect. A trend is emerging on college campuses in the United States where tolerance means free speech and ideas are only welcome if they agree with them. We take a tour of some recent examples at colleges: Wellesley seeks to regulate even private speech; visiting professor Charles Murray was prevented from speaking and attacked by a mob as he tried to flee Middlebury College; UCLA arbitrarily limits student enrollment in a free speech course.

This is not only a matter of money invested in education, it is also a matter of culture, environment, who your kids will be with, what they will be exposed to and what they’ll be able to do with their degree once they graduate.

What is “breaking news”? How does it get decided what is delivered to us as breaking news? We talk with someone who actually makes these decisions in real time: CNN Breaking News Editor Leigh Munsil.

 

Related articles and resources:

Ideological odd couple Robby George, Cornel West fight campus intolerance

Julia Roberts Is PEOPLE’s 2017 World’s Most Beautiful Woman!

Former Patriots’ player Aaron Hernandez was found dead in his jail cell. This very high profile case gives us the opportunity to talk about a subject that is hard to talk about, suicide. The Supreme Court hear oral arguments on an important religious liberty case today. We discuss what is at stake in Trinity Luther Church of Columbia v. Comer.

Best-selling author David Limbaugh’s most recent book is a guide to understanding the true Jesus, as revealed in the Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. He is our guest today to talk about why he undertook this task to seek out the true Jesus and how he hopes God uses it to move people’s hearts.

Related articles and resources:

What to know about case before the Supreme Court: Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Comer

Cleveland victim’s family: We forgive killer

The True Jesus: Uncovering the Divinity of Christ in the Gospels

#IfOnlyTheEarthCouldSpeak

 

 

 

If someone were to look at your tax return, what would they learn about where your heart is? And if you’re quick to respond that your tax returns are a private matter that will never see the light of day, well, then it’s time to remind ourselves that everything done in secret will one day be brought to the light.

In the heart of every Christian is the Christ-compassion that desires to care for others. The Bible affirms that true religion is to take care of widows and orphans in their distress. But the major distribution model of services today is the welfare state through which the government redistributes wealth (through taxes) to those in society who are considered needy. We explore the question if the federal budget shrinks, could religious organizations return to being a primary service to the poor and needy? What would it take to make that change?

Marvin Olasky is editor in chief of WORLD News Group and author of more than 20 books, including The Tragedy of American Compassion. 

 

Related articles and resources:

Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan declares victory in referendum to expand presidential powers

The Atlantic – Can religious charities take the place of the welfare state?

We take a moment to survey the news. Arkansas debates the death penalty. A man in Cleveland, OH, committed murder and live streamed it. He is still at-large. Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin declares the year of the Bible. President Trump signs law allow states to withhold funds from agencies that perform abortions.

What questions do you struggle with your faith? Dr. Jeremiah Johnston is the president of the Christian Thinkers Society, an organization with the mission “to teach Christians to become Thinkers and Thinkers to Become Christians.” He has looked at the most pressing questions people are asking about real life, pain, and suffering and encourages the Church to talk openly about them. The promises of God are present for us today.

The last person born in the 1800s has died.

Related articles and resources:

Unanswered; Lasting Truth for Trending Questions

Christian Thinkers Society

Two thousand years ago, it looked like everything had gone wrong and as if God had lost control. Jesus was supposed to be the Messiah. Now He was dead by Roman crucifixion. It was anything but “good.” What might we learn from the disciples on Good Friday?

Barry Meguiar is a car guy and a Jesus guy. He is passionate about equipping Christians to get outside the walls of the church and share the gospel. Barry is motivating every Christian to share their faith because guess what? Living for God is a joy! Sign up to be a part of a movement of Christians committed to being the salt and light every day.

 

Related articles and resources:

Easter video: Darkness cannot overcome the Light

Evil exists: How Easter provides our only response

Barry’s ministry: Revival Outside the Walls

As we survey the headlines of the day, there is chaos all around. Breaking news this afternoon: U.S. military dropped a massive bomb in Afghanistan in an effort to blast apart caves used by ISIS militants. North Korea has primed and readied a nuclear site. Territorial disputes in the South China Sea have China and the Philippines using fighting words. The famine in South Sudan is worsening as we speak. We see in stark comparison to the crumbling world full of brokenness the need for a Savior. Our calling is to shine like stars in the midst of all of it.

Ron Deal is Director of FamilyLife Blended, which serves and strengthens “blended” families. The American family is complicated. Those who were raised in and now live in families where mom and dad got married, had kids, and stayed married until death did them part are not the norm. So, Ron helps serve this large portion of the population do family and marriage well. He also shares about a great upcoming free conference for blended families.

 

Related articles and resources:

Easter video: Darkness cannot overcome the Light

Evil exists: How Easter provides our only response

Blended Families free conference: Blended and Blessed

 

 

 

 

 

White House Press Secretary takes the heat off United Airlines for a moment with a gaffe on The Holocaust. The San Bernadino gunman had a history of domestic abuse. The Alabama Governor resigns in disgrace. And we follow up on the story about schools’ shaming children over school lunch debt. (It’s a good update!)

You have to know the Old Testament to really understand Jesus and what He has done for us. Robby Gallaty is Senior Pastor of Long Hollow Baptist Church since 2015. He is the author of The Forgotten Jesus: How Western Christians Should Follow an Eastern Rabbi. Robby joins us to discuss why it is absolutely critical for Christians in our context to understand the “Jewishness of Jesus.”

Related articles and resources:

He was a pastor and a gentleman: ‘She thought she had a wonderful husband’

Resource: Interview with Autumn Miles on domestic violence and the church as a haven

Hearing the echoes of the Old Testament in the Passion of the Christ